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Archived link to Axis website, https://archive.ph/8oCS2</ref>
Archived link to Axis website, https://archive.ph/8oCS2</ref>


==Axis Companion Classic==
== Consumer impact summary ==
 
* User Freedom:
* User Privacy:
* Business Model:
* Market Control:
 
== Incidents ==
 
=== Closure of Axis Companion Classic ===
Released in 2016,<ref name=":0">Companion software release notes, https://www.axis.com/ftp/pub_soft/cam_srv/cam_companion/latest/relnote.txt
Released in 2016,<ref name=":0">Companion software release notes, https://www.axis.com/ftp/pub_soft/cam_srv/cam_companion/latest/relnote.txt


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'''This restriction removes functionality without providing any benefit to the customer.'''
'''This restriction removes functionality without providing any benefit to the customer.'''


==Axis Companion==
=== Axis Companion ===
As part of their efforts to upgrade software while retaining legacy setups, Axis created Axis Companion after renaming the previous Companion to Companion Classic.
As part of their efforts to upgrade software while retaining legacy setups, Axis created Axis Companion after renaming the previous Companion to Companion Classic.


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The company justifies this change by claiming their SD cards are optimized for surveillance applications and offer greater functionality and endurance.<ref>NetworkWebcams.co.uk article to explain pricing https://www.networkwebcams.co.uk/blog/why-use-axis-sd-surveillance-cards-in-ip-cameras/</ref> This change also coincides with Axis' expansion of proprietary storage requirements across their product lines, including their Camera Station Edge platform which similarly mandates the use of Axis-branded SD cards.<ref>FAQ for Axis Edge, https://faq.axis.com/s/article/third-party-sd-cards-as-recording-storage-in-my-vms-solution</ref>
The company justifies this change by claiming their SD cards are optimized for surveillance applications and offer greater functionality and endurance.<ref>NetworkWebcams.co.uk article to explain pricing https://www.networkwebcams.co.uk/blog/why-use-axis-sd-surveillance-cards-in-ip-cameras/</ref> This change also coincides with Axis' expansion of proprietary storage requirements across their product lines, including their Camera Station Edge platform which similarly mandates the use of Axis-branded SD cards.<ref>FAQ for Axis Edge, https://faq.axis.com/s/article/third-party-sd-cards-as-recording-storage-in-my-vms-solution</ref>


==Axis SD cards==
=== Axis SD cards ===
Axis sells proprietary SD cards manufactured by SanDisk,<ref>Technical Datasheet of Axis 256GB SD Card https://www.axis.com/dam/public/55/dd/19/datasheet-axis-surveillance-card-256-gb-en-US-417022.pdf</ref> marketed under their own brand with claims of specialized optimization for surveillance applications. These cards come with a five-year warranty and are claimed to have up to six times more endurance than standard SD cards.<ref>NetworkWebcams.co.uk article to explain pricing https://www.networkwebcams.co.uk/blog/why-use-axis-sd-surveillance-cards-in-ip-cameras/</ref>
Axis sells proprietary SD cards manufactured by SanDisk,<ref>Technical Datasheet of Axis 256GB SD Card https://www.axis.com/dam/public/55/dd/19/datasheet-axis-surveillance-card-256-gb-en-US-417022.pdf</ref> marketed under their own brand with claims of specialized optimization for surveillance applications. These cards come with a five-year warranty and are claimed to have up to six times more endurance than standard SD cards.<ref>NetworkWebcams.co.uk article to explain pricing https://www.networkwebcams.co.uk/blog/why-use-axis-sd-surveillance-cards-in-ip-cameras/</ref>


===Pricing and market position===
==== Pricing and market position ====
As of 2025, Axis' SD cards are sold at approximately five times the price of comparable third-party SD cards<ref>Pricing 256GB Axis SD Card, https://archive.ph/nS3l4
As of 2025, Axis' SD cards are sold at approximately five times the price of comparable third-party SD cards<ref>Pricing 256GB Axis SD Card, https://archive.ph/nS3l4


Pricing 256GB Samsung SD Card, https://archive.ph/CM2z8</ref> despite being based on standard SanDisk hardware. The company's transition to requiring these proprietary cards across their product lines creates a closed ecosystem where consumers must purchase storage solutions exclusively from Axis at premium prices.
Pricing 256GB Samsung SD Card, https://archive.ph/CM2z8</ref> despite being based on standard SanDisk hardware. The company's transition to requiring these proprietary cards across their product lines creates a closed ecosystem where consumers must purchase storage solutions exclusively from Axis at premium prices.


===Platform lock-in===
==== Platform lock-in ====
The requirement for Axis-branded SD cards is now being implemented across multiple Axis platforms:
The requirement for Axis-branded SD cards is now being implemented across multiple Axis platforms:


Latest revision as of 10:06, 15 March 2025

Axis
Basic information
Founded 1984
Type Subsidiary
Industry Security
Official website https://axis.com/


Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Lund, Sweden, Axis is a video surveillance company with approximately 4,000 employees across more than 50 countries.[1]

Consumer impact summary[edit | edit source]

  • User Freedom:
  • User Privacy:
  • Business Model:
  • Market Control:

Incidents[edit | edit source]

Closure of Axis Companion Classic[edit | edit source]

Released in 2016,[2] Axis Companion Classic (formerly just Axis Companion) was a freely provided software for Axis account owners to be able to setup, configure, & manage cameras on the network. It also allowed a remote viewing feature for an iOS or Android Companion app to be able to view camera feeds remotely.

Removal of remote access support[edit | edit source]

Axis signaled that they would be removing remote access for any new sites created after March 31, 2023.[2] Their software was updated in version 3.74.000 (released on March 15, 2023) to notify customers.[3]

When version 3.75.000 was released on March 24, 2023,[3] the only change was to prevent users from being able to enable remote access to camera feeds for new sites.

Release Notes:

Changes since 3.75.000

========================

No Secure Remote Access on new sites created after 2023-03-31.

If a consumer never updated to this or later versions, all remote access would continue to work and consumers could continue to create new sites without restriction.[2]

This restriction removes functionality without providing any benefit to the customer.

Axis Companion[edit | edit source]

As part of their efforts to upgrade software while retaining legacy setups, Axis created Axis Companion after renaming the previous Companion to Companion Classic.

Removal of third-party SD card support[edit | edit source]

Starting June 27, 2024, Axis removed support for any new device configurations in Companion with third-party SD cards.[4] This policy change effectively forces customers to purchase Axis-branded storage solutions for any new installations, while existing installations using third-party SD cards would continue to function.[4]

The company justifies this change by claiming their SD cards are optimized for surveillance applications and offer greater functionality and endurance.[5] This change also coincides with Axis' expansion of proprietary storage requirements across their product lines, including their Camera Station Edge platform which similarly mandates the use of Axis-branded SD cards.[6]

Axis SD cards[edit | edit source]

Axis sells proprietary SD cards manufactured by SanDisk,[7] marketed under their own brand with claims of specialized optimization for surveillance applications. These cards come with a five-year warranty and are claimed to have up to six times more endurance than standard SD cards.[8]

Pricing and market position[edit | edit source]

As of 2025, Axis' SD cards are sold at approximately five times the price of comparable third-party SD cards[9] despite being based on standard SanDisk hardware. The company's transition to requiring these proprietary cards across their product lines creates a closed ecosystem where consumers must purchase storage solutions exclusively from Axis at premium prices.

Platform lock-in[edit | edit source]

The requirement for Axis-branded SD cards is now being implemented across multiple Axis platforms:

  • Axis Companion (new installations after June 27, 2024)[4]
  • Camera Station Edge platform[10]

This represents a shift from open hardware compatibility to a closed ecosystem where customers have to buy Axis-branded storage at sky-high prices to maintain full functionality of their security system.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Axis website, https://www.axis.com/en-us/about-axis Archived link to Axis website, https://archive.ph/8oCS2
  2. ↑ Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 2.2 Companion software release notes, https://www.axis.com/ftp/pub_soft/cam_srv/cam_companion/latest/relnote.txt Archived, https://archive.ph/RNJ8J
  3. ↑ Jump up to: 3.0 3.1 Axis Companion FTP download site, [1] Archived, [2]
  4. ↑ Jump up to: 4.0 4.1 4.2 Policy update regarding 3rd Party SD Cards, https://www.axis.com/dam/public/11/2e/29/axis-surveillance-cards-now-required-en-US-443994.pdf Archived, https://archive.ph/uHiaB
  5. ↑ NetworkWebcams.co.uk article to explain pricing https://www.networkwebcams.co.uk/blog/why-use-axis-sd-surveillance-cards-in-ip-cameras/
  6. ↑ FAQ for Axis Edge, https://faq.axis.com/s/article/third-party-sd-cards-as-recording-storage-in-my-vms-solution
  7. ↑ Technical Datasheet of Axis 256GB SD Card https://www.axis.com/dam/public/55/dd/19/datasheet-axis-surveillance-card-256-gb-en-US-417022.pdf
  8. ↑ NetworkWebcams.co.uk article to explain pricing https://www.networkwebcams.co.uk/blog/why-use-axis-sd-surveillance-cards-in-ip-cameras/
  9. ↑ Pricing 256GB Axis SD Card, https://archive.ph/nS3l4 Pricing 256GB Samsung SD Card, https://archive.ph/CM2z8
  10. ↑ FAQ for Axis Edge, https://faq.axis.com/s/article/third-party-sd-cards-as-recording-storage-in-my-vms-solution
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