Camera FTP at the venue: Wi-Fi or your phone's hotspot

Venue Wi-Fi or hotspot?

Start on the hotspot unless the venue confirms a network with a plain password and no sign-in page. Keep the other one as your backup: if your camera keeps more than one network profile, save both before the event.

Using the venue's Wi-Fi

• Ask for a network with a password (WPA2 or WPA3) and no sign-in web page. A camera can't open that page, so it never gets online.
• Office and hotel networks often block FTP. Ask their IT team to allow outgoing TCP port 21 and ports 30000 to 30049, which SnapMila uses for the photos themselves.
• Test from where you will shoot, such as the stage or the mandap, not from the lobby.
• A guest network slows down as the hall fills. Take one more test shot once guests arrive.

Setting up a phone hotspot for your camera

iPhone

1. Open Settings › Personal Hotspot, turn on Allow Others to Join and note the Wi-Fi password.
2. If the camera doesn't list the hotspot, turn on Maximize Compatibility on the same screen. On iPhone 12 and later the hotspot uses 5 GHz, and many cameras look only for 2.4 GHz networks; this switch moves it to 2.4 GHz.
3. Stay on the Personal Hotspot screen until the camera has joined.

Android

1. Open Settings › Network & internet › Hotspot & tethering › Wi-Fi hotspot. Names differ a little by phone brand. Set a name and a password.
2. If the camera doesn't list the hotspot, set its band to 2.4 GHz.
3. Turn off Turn off hotspot automatically (on some phones: a timeout, or “keep hotspot on”). Otherwise the hotspot stops while the camera is quiet, for example during a long speech.

On both

• A hotspot uses a lot of battery. Keep the phone charged, or carry a power bank.
• Keep the phone in your pocket or bag, close to the camera.
• The same phone can run the SnapMila app, so you can watch photos arrive and see if any file number is missing.

How much mobile data it uses

Each photo uses about its own file size in data. A JPEG from a 24-megapixel camera is often 5 to 15 MB, depending on the quality setting and the scene. Check a few files from your own camera to know yours.

• Speed: a 10 MB photo takes about 8 seconds at an upload speed of 10 Mbps, and about 16 seconds at 5 Mbps. In a burst, photos wait in the camera and go one after another.
• Upload JPEGs only. SnapMila doesn't accept RAW files, so with RAW + JPEG set the camera to upload the JPEG alone.
• A smaller JPEG uploads faster and uses less data. Guests download exactly the file you send, so choose the size you want them to keep.

Keeping the connection up

• Turn on your camera's option to keep the network connected: on a Nikon, Keep connection on; on a Canon, Power saving off; on a Sony, FTP Power Save off. Without it, the camera drops the link between bursts. Carry a spare battery.
• SnapMila keeps a quiet camera signed in for up to an hour, so a long speech doesn't sign it out.
• After a drop, cameras usually send the photos still marked for upload once they are connected again. If any photo doesn't arrive, the SnapMila app names its file number; send it again from the camera's upload menu.

Troubleshooting

Your camera's own steps

Menu names differ by maker. Step by step: Nikon Z50 II FTP setup, Nikon Z6 III FTP setup, Nikon Z8 FTP setup, Canon EOS R6 Mark II FTP setup, Canon EOS R5 FTP setup and Sony a7 IV FTP setup. Guides for more cameras are on the way.

Sources

• Apple — Personal Hotspot and Maximize Compatibility, If Personal Hotspot is not working. Checked 27 October 2026.
• SnapMila's own FTP server settings: port 21, passive ports 30000 to 30049, one hour before a quiet camera is signed out. Checked 27 October 2026.

Using SnapMila at your events

• For event photographers
• For event managers
• For corporate events
• For weddings