24/7 Video monitoring

Despite some of the issues with the WYZE cams, I’m happy with what they do for the price. Now that I have them set up I’m thinking about a new application.

I’d like to place a ‘monitor’ in my kitchen and one in a room on the 2nd floor to allow me to view a blind spot at my house instantly. Maybe an old iPhone dedicated to just the WYZE app?

Any suggestions?

repurposing old phones is fun, i have a few old ones i used as makeshift security cameras for a while…the only problem with that is the battery, do i let the battery run down and recharge or leave it plugged in and risk overheating…I was also thinking of something similar to this and thought about getting a cheap tablet so i have a bigger screen, but then i have the battery issue again.

next i considered getting a fire tv, since my fire stick will display the picture from my cam i believe this will as well (however i can not say for sure), main problem here is that it will only display one at a time…hopefully they will build some more functionality into this so we can customize number of cams and size/orientation - this one looked promising, and would give a 32" screen for 132 bucks:
https://smile.amazon.com/Toshiba-32LF221U19-32-inch-720p-Smart/dp/B07FPR6FMJ/ref=sr_1_12?keywords=fire+tv&qid=1567890042&s=gateway&sr=8-12

to get around the one camera feed limitation i started looking at android tv options, this is an android box running 9.0, which you can use with any existing hdmi screen you have - main problem here is that i am not sure if the Wyze app would work on this platform:
https://smile.amazon.com/pendoo-Android-9-0-Box-32G/dp/B0747NL7PH/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=android+tv&qid=1567890699&refinements=p_36%3A8589204011&rnid=8589203011&s=tv&sr=1-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzMFFKVEVZWkJSUzI2JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMjcxMDA0Mk85Rk9FWTZSWDY4VCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMTgxNjg2MzM1MTkzODkxS1ZJNCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

here is a cheap 32" android tv for $128 - although there seems to be some issues with certain apps per the reviews, and again not sure if the Wyze app would download to this:
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07NYQNGRP/ref=twister_B07PCMFYDH?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

edit, found one more option, in the customer question and answer section of this android stick $48 someone states that Wyze can be side-loaded if you have the APK:
https://smile.amazon.com/Upgrade-Android-9-0-Stick-Mini/dp/B07PZBN8DL/ref=pd_sbs_504_1/146-5933852-2613367?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07PZBN8DL&pd_rd_r=b2b37b12-ee43-41ab-bfd7-5851fd5f5a50&pd_rd_w=Oox2E&pd_rd_wg=ohJLn&pf_rd_p=d66372fe-68a6-48a3-90ec-41d7f64212be&pf_rd_r=GARX2E9GEM0BJ753NZ77&psc=1&refRID=GARX2E9GEM0BJ753NZ77

I have not found something that was a good enough option to pull the trigger yet, and will probably keep looking. Has anyone tried any of these options out yet? Or have any other ideas?

I’ll probably look into using an old phone and go with it left plugged in. I can monitor the overheating issue with a smoke detector located near by along with a WYZE cam to watch the old phone and send me an alert if the smoke detector goes off. Simple. :grin:

I have a old samsung smartphone that had a removable battery, removed the battery and soldered wires to the battery contacts.

Ran the wire to a voltage regulator (sold on e-bay < $5) and set the regulator to 3.7 volts (or whatever the battery voltage was labeled) phone is happy and thinks it’s a battery.

Search on e-bay for “Adjustable DC-DC LM 2596 Converter Buck Step Down Regulator” for the adjustable regulator. I have noticed quality varies from vendor to vender and the green connectors were of better quality than the blue ones…

1 Like

That’s great information! Two thumbs up. :+1: :+1:

Off to ebay to looks for old phones and voltage regulators. :grin:

Hello bryonhu
Very nicely done.
Thankyou.
Victor Maletic

Forgot to mention if the display times out (depending on smartphone and settings) there are apps to keep the screen ON

Some phones don’t allow the screen to stay on longer than display timeout so there are apps for that…