The XCAM Nano sets up in two stages. First your phone connects to the camera directly, over the camera's own little WiFi hotspot. Then you give the camera your home WiFi details, so it can go online and you can watch it from anywhere. Most setup problems come from mixing up those two stages, so it helps to know which one you are in.
Before you start
- Charge it. Plug the camera into a standard 5V USB charger with the USB-C cable. The orange light stays on while it charges and goes out when it is full, which takes about five hours from empty. Do not use a charger that outputs more than 5V.
- Insert a microSD card (up to 32GB) if you want the camera to record by itself. You can watch live without one.
- Check your WiFi. The Nano uses 2.4GHz WiFi only. Its network name and password must be plain letters and numbers. Symbols, spaces and non-Latin characters in either one are the most common reason pairing fails.
- Install the app. The Nano uses iWFCam. On iPhone, search for it in the App Store. On Android, scan the QR code in the printed manual and choose the Android download.
Step 1: Switch it on
Press and hold the power button for about three seconds. The red light comes on and stays on, and the blue light starts blinking slowly. That pattern means hotspot mode: the camera is broadcasting its own WiFi network and waiting for your phone.
Step 2: Join the camera's WiFi from your phone
- Open your phone's WiFi settings. Look for a network whose name starts with BH and connect to it.
- Your phone will warn that this network has no internet access. That is expected, because it is the camera, not your router. Choose to stay connected.
- Keep the phone within about 10 metres of the camera.
Step 3: Add the camera in iWFCam
- Open iWFCam. The camera usually pops up by itself. If not, use the app's search to find it.
- Add it. When it shows as online you can open the live view straight away. You can skip the optional prompts for now.
At this point the camera works, but only while your phone is next to it and connected to its hotspot. That is useful for testing an angle, but it is not remote viewing yet.
Step 4: Put the camera on your home WiFi
- In the camera view, tap the settings button (bottom right), then Advanced settings → WiFi.
- Choose your home 2.4GHz network, type the password carefully and confirm.
- The camera updates and restarts. Reconnect your phone to your normal home WiFi.
- When the camera shows as online again in iWFCam, it is in remote mode. You can now watch it from mobile data or any other network.
Keep the camera within about 10 metres of the router the first time it joins. You can move it once it is connected, but check the signal from its final position. See our WiFi troubleshooting guide if it keeps dropping off.
Step 5: Change the default password (do not skip this)
Every Nano ships with the same device password, 8888. Set your own in the app before you place the camera anywhere. A camera on your home network with a factory password is the one security risk you fully control. If you ever forget the new password, a reset brings the camera back to 8888 (see below).
What the lights mean
| Lights | What it is doing |
|---|---|
| Red steady, blue slow blink | Hotspot mode: waiting for your phone to join its WiFi |
| Red and blue both steady | Remote mode, connected to your home WiFi |
| Fast blinking | Remote mode, but it cannot reach the network (wrong password, out of range, router off) |
| Orange steady | Charging (goes out when full) |
If you'd rather the camera didn't glow on a shelf, you can switch the indicator lights off in the app.
Around the live view
- Night vision on the Nano is a switch, not an automatic mode. Turn the infrared on in the app when the room is dark, or schedule it for set hours.
- Talk: hold the intercom button to speak through the camera, and release it to listen.
- Snapshot and record buttons in the live view save to your phone. Scheduled recordings go to the microSD card in the camera. A motion trigger sends an alert and takes a series of still photos, which are pushed to your phone and saved there by default. It does not record a video clip.
- Image: flip the picture if the camera is mounted upside down, and adjust brightness, contrast and sharpness to suit the room.
Mounting
The Nano comes with a swivel bracket (a base plate with a thumbscrew) and a clip mount with an adhesive pad on its base. Use them on a shelf, desk, wall or car dashboard. The hinge sets the angle. Our placement guide covers height and angle.
Resetting, and other things worth knowing
- Factory reset: with the camera on, press and hold the MODE button for about three seconds until you hear it click. It restarts with default settings and the password 8888.
- New router or new home? Reset the camera first, then repeat steps 2–4. Changing networks without a reset is the usual cause of a camera that "won't connect anymore".
- Card not recognised? Format it from the app. If it still fails, try a different card. See our microSD guide.
- Stop recording in the app before switching the camera off, or the last clip may not be saved.
- It gets warm while running. That is normal and does not affect performance.
Next decision: whether you want weeks of standby or instant motion alerts. On the Nano you choose one at a time. Our battery life explainer covers why.