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Use Your Alarm.com Camera Without a Subscription

Alarm.com doesn't make cameras — it's the platform your dealer's cameras run on, and those cameras are usually OEM ONVIF hardware (often Dahua-based) sold as ADC-V-series. That's good news: once you have the local credentials, the camera itself speaks RTSP/ONVIF and can run on your own network without the dealer plan.

Does Alarm.com lock your camera when you cancel?

No. Alarm.com service (via your dealer) handles remote viewing and off-site storage — not your local stream. Cancel it and the camera keeps working on your own network over RTSP/ONVIF.

Alarm.com RTSP and ONVIF stream URLs

Main stream:

rtsp://<user>:<pass>@<camera-ip>:554/live

ONVIF: Most ADC cameras are ONVIF (often Dahua-based); use ONVIF discovery to find the real stream path, which varies by OEM (/live, /live1.sdp, /cam/realmonitor…).

Default ports:

PortProtocolNotes
554RTSPpath varies by OEM
80HTTP

Alarm.com gotchas worth knowing

  • The dealer usually holds the camera credentials — a factory reset is the clean way to take ownership.
  • The exact RTSP path depends on the OEM behind the ADC label; ONVIF GetStreamUri is the reliable way to find it.
  • Some ADC cameras are locked to the dealer's account until reset.
  • Port 554 is typically open on these once local access is restored.

How to cancel Alarm.com service (via your dealer) and keep the camera

  1. Note that ADC cameras are dealer-provisioned — you'll likely need to factory-reset the camera to clear the dealer config and set your own admin password.
  2. After reset, find the camera's local IP and log in.
  3. Enable ONVIF/RTSP and use ONVIF discovery to get the exact stream path.
  4. Add the camera to RSC over RTSP/ONVIF — no Alarm.com service required.

Alarm.com vs a no-subscription setup

Stay with Alarm.comNo-subscription with RSC
Monthly costset by your dealer; video usually bundled into monitoring$0 Free · $22/mo Pro
Who holds your footageVendor cloudYou — local + your own cloud
If you stop payingRemote view / clips lostFull local access continues
Extra hardwareNoneNone — reuse a phone or an ONVIF camera you own

Works with RSC

Once reset and on your network, these behave like any ONVIF camera and connect straight to RSC — no Alarm.com or dealer subscription.

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