Setup
Setting up FTP on your trail camera
Where the settings come from, what to enter, and why it's usually done from the camera's app.
To upload on its own, a trail camera needs to know where to send its photos and videos, and how to log in there. In Untamed Data those details belong to one specific camera: when you add a camera to a project, the platform hands you its own server address, port, username, and password. This guide is about the next step — getting those values into the camera itself.
The details you'll enter
Whatever the brand, you're entering the same handful of things, and Untamed Data gives you all of them when you create the camera:
- Server address (host) — where the files go.
- Port — the numbered "door" on that server.
- Username and password — the login for that one camera.
- FTPS or FTP — choose FTPS (encrypted) when the camera offers it, and fall back to plain FTP only if it doesn't. More on the difference →
- Passive mode — if there's a passive or PASV option, turn it on. It avoids most connection trouble from behind a SIM or router.
Copy them exactly. One wrong character in the host or password is the most common reason a camera won't connect.
Where you type them in
The values are identical on every camera; only the screen you enter them on changes. There are three common routes.
1. Through the camera's app (most cellular cameras)
Most modern 4G and LTE trail cameras are set up from a phone app made by the manufacturer. You pair your phone with the camera — over Bluetooth, a short-lived Wi-Fi hotspot, or the mobile network once a SIM is in — then open the network or FTP settings in the app and enter the values above. The app pushes them to the camera. One thing to watch: many of these cameras ship set to send footage to the manufacturer's own cloud. Look for an "FTP" or "upload mode" option and switch it over, so the camera sends to your Untamed Data server instead.
2. On the camera's own menu
Some cameras — often the ones with a small built-in screen — let you type the settings directly on the device, under a network, FTP, or connection menu. It's slower to key in, but no app is needed.
3. By SMS or a config file
A few cellular models take their settings a different way: a text message in the exact format the manual specifies, or a small configuration file you place on the SD card before powering the camera on. Your camera's manual will say if it works like this.
Before you walk away
Once the settings are in, a few quick checks save a wasted trip back to the site:
- SIM and data. For a cellular camera, make sure the SIM is active, has data, and — if the manual mentions it — the right APN.
- Send a test shot. Most cameras have a test or manual capture that uploads right away. Use it and confirm the image lands in your Untamed Data project before you leave.
- Protocol and port first. If it won't connect, re-check FTPS versus FTP and the port number before anything else — those two account for most failures.
- Passive mode. If the connection times out partway through a transfer, switch passive or PASV on.
Rather not deal with any of this in the field? You can skip automatic upload and upload from the SD card later, or ask us — we're happy to advise on getting a camera connected.
