Dahua Default Password: What It Is, Why It Stops Working and What to Do

This guide is for Dahua recorders (NVR, XVR and DVR), IP cameras and intercoms that you own or look after. We install and repair Dahua CCTV systems every week, and one of the most common calls is some version of “the password on the sticker does not work”. It covers what Dahua’s own notices say, which logins applied to which devices, and what to do when yours fails. Last checked 10 November 2026; if your model behaves differently, its own manual wins.

What is the Dahua default username and password?

The username has stayed the same for years: admin. What changed is the password. Which case you are in depends on the age of the device and its firmware.

Two Dahua notices dated 9 and 16 November 2017 (one for networking cameras, one for storage devices) describe the change. Both say new firmware requires a compulsory strong password at first use, and recommend adding an email address for resets. Neither names a firmware version, so the date is the safest guide: if your device was made after 2017 or was updated to newer firmware, assume there is no default password.

IPVM, the security-industry research site, covered Dahua’s older defaults in its public IP camera passwords report and rated Dahua “weak, but improving” at the time. That report is old, so treat it as history, not as a guide to current firmware.

How to tell whether your Dahua is old or new

Dahua’s notices do not give a firmware number, so use these practical checks, from easiest to hardest.

1. Look at the first screen. A device that asks you to create an admin password the first time you open it is a newer unit. It has no fixed default.
2. Check the model and the manual. The label gives the model and serial number. The manual for that model lists the factory IP address and the setup steps.
3. Check the age. Equipment bought or installed after 2017 is likely to use the first-start password. Older equipment, or equipment that was never updated, is where admin/admin appears.
4. Ask whoever set it up. If an installer fitted it, the password and recovery email should be on your handover sheet.

Why the Dahua default password does not work

If admin/admin is rejected, several things could explain why. Start with these common possibilities.

What about the 888888 and 666666 logins?

Older guides list extra accounts. Treat these as history, not as logins to try first.

You may find other credential pairs on forums and password-list sites. We have left those out on purpose, because Dahua does not document them and we cannot confirm they are real.

How to set the first password on a new Dahua device

On a new or factory-reset Dahua device, the first screen asks you to create the admin password. Dahua’s notices set these rules.

1. Connect power and network. For a recorder, also connect a monitor and mouse so you can use its screen.
2. Wait for the setup screen. The first start asks you to create the admin password. The exact screens vary by model.
3. Choose the password. Use at least two of letters, numbers and special characters, and avoid the apostrophe, double quote, semicolon, colon and ampersand.
4. Add a recovery email you can reach. It is what makes the email reset route possible later.
5. Log in and check the basics. Set the date and time, and look for a firmware update.
6. Record the password. Use a password manager or your handover sheet, and note which device it belongs to.

Forgot the password you set? Your official options

This guide is about the default login. If you set a password and lost it, Dahua’s own documents describe these routes.

1. Email security code through DMSS or Easy4ip. You scan a reset QR code in the app and Dahua sends a security code to the email address set earlier. This works for the admin account only, and only if an email was set at first start.
2. Security questions on the recorder’s own screen. Dahua’s storage notice says this works on NVR and DVR local menus, if the questions were set up earlier.
3. The reset button. The Dahua Wiki says most IP cameras have a physical reset button that restores factory defaults.

Dahua keeps a password reset page on its wiki that links the steps for each device type. If the app is the problem rather than the password, the DMSS app setup guide covers adding a device.

If you are locked out: what not to do

Being locked out of your own recorder is stressful, and some of the advice online makes it worse.

• Do not keep guessing. Repeated wrong attempts can lock the account.
• Do not start with a factory reset. It clears your settings, and you may not need it.
• Do not download password generators or “master password” files from forums. They are unreliable and can carry malware.
• Do not try to get into a device you do not own or manage. In Australia that can be an offence.

How to secure a Dahua system after you log in

Because default and shared logins are well known, set the device up as if someone will try them.

1. Give every device its own strong password and store it in a password manager.
2. Add a recovery email you still own, so you can reset without a factory wipe.
3. Keep the firmware current. Dahua published a security advisory in November 2021 about an identity authentication bypass in some of its products, and CISA lists CVE-2021-33044 in its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
4. Do not expose the recorder directly to the internet. Use the app route, or a properly secured connection, rather than opening ports on your router.
5. Review who has access. After a contractor, tenant or previous owner leaves, change the passwords and remove accounts you do not recognise.

Choosing between brands? Password handling is only one factor. Our Hikvision vs Dahua comparison covers the rest, and if you have Hikvision gear instead, see the Hikvision password guide. If a camera shows offline after you log in, start with the Dahua DMSS camera offline fix.

Dahua default password FAQ

Need help with a Dahua system in Melbourne?

If you are locked out, have inherited a Dahua system, or want a recorder checked and set up properly, we can help. See our Dahua CCTV repair and maintenance service or the Dahua takeover and reconfiguration service, or browse the Dahua range we install. Call 0406 432 691.

Sources and further reading

• Dahua: Initialization and Password Reset for Networking Cameras V1 (notice dated 9 November 2017)
• Dahua: Initialization and Password Reset for Storage Devices V3 (notice dated 16 November 2017)
• Dahua Wiki: Password Reset (reset routes by device type)
• Dahua: Security advisory, identity authentication bypass (15 November 2021)
• CISA: Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (CVE-2021-33044)
• IPVM: IP camera passwords report (older Dahua defaults)

The Dahua details above come from Dahua’s own pages and can change with firmware updates. The older 888888 and 666666 details come from IPVM and third-party guides, not from Dahua. The order of steps and the advice on what to check are our own guidance from working on Dahua systems. Last checked 10 November 2026. SIPKO Security, Security Adviser and Equipment Installer Licence Z47-808-30S.

Ray

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