If you are trying to set up your Hikvision device and the message “Communication to Server Failed” shows up, probably the DNS configuration is not correct on the device and you need to fix it.
Every device that connects to a network and communicates to the Internet needs to have some parameters correctly configured and a Hikvision DVR, NVR, or IP camera follows the same principle.
How to fix the "Communication to Server Failed" problem
To fix this problem, open the device's network menu and set up the DNS Preferred Server and Alternate DNS server to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 respectively.
The diagram shows an illustration of how the DVR asks the DNS server for the Hikvision IP address. That's why it is so important to set up the DNS correctly.
The picture below shows how to change the DNS servers in a Hikvision DVR/NVR.
As long as the DNS servers are correct the DVR can communicate to the Internet.
Why use these DNS Servers?
The DNS IPs (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4) are from Google DNS servers and they are available for public use so you can set up your devices to use them.
The advantage of using such a DNS server is that they are trustable and fast.
There are other alternatives out there such as the 4.2.2.2 which is a DNS server from Berkeley University which is publicly available as well.
Related articles
Sometimes the problem could be also related to other network issues.
Here is a list of related articles that can help you.
Conclusion
The message “Communication to Server Failed” indicates that something is wrong with the network configuration and most of the time this related to the DNS servers but it can also be related to some other network problem.
Make sure you changed the DNS information as explained in this article but also check the network configuration to look for possible miss-configuration.
If you need extra help visit the Hikvision website and ask for help.
I hope this article can help you, please share it with your friends.