I have had a bunch of cams all over and recently about half of my v3 cams decided they wanted to stop connecting. I do not believe this was a firmware update issue, but could be a firmware issue.
This process never works on these 6. I hold the reset button with the SD card correctly formatted, but it never goes “purple.” It never talks, It just goes to a flashing red alternating with blue. I let it run for a long time, hours, but it never came around, factory reset goes back to problem 1.
Firmware Downgrade with this firmware - 4.36.9.131
same results as #2.
Edit to add more detail -
I use Ubiquity WAPS and have other v3’s that are all over my network area without issue. Sometimes literally right next to each other pointing different directions where one stops connecting.
I have an IOT SSID/vlan these connect to. That SSID is limited to 2.4ghz because IOT devices and cams historically suck at newer wifi standards.
I tested if it was a power issue, It does not appear to be. I used a higher capacity wall-wart to give it all the juice it wanted, but it made no difference. The included Wyze power supplies are only 1000mA, so I do not suspect power.
I have most of the other Wyze products/cams also and while some of the smart plugs sometimes drop off, those are not as noticeable these cams.
I did a bunch of power cycling of these (they were mostly mounted on dedicated outlets in the ceiling so power cycling was not a huge problem, but the cycling did not bring these 6 back.
After pulling these 6 down, I ran the reset and firmware upgrade/downgrade tests above from my office, where I have a WAP and verified good usb power.
I suspect it is firmware due to the multiple failures in a short period, but could be a failed wifi chip, or something else entirely.
Firmware that these are running -
4.36.10.4054 (x4)
4.61.0.3 (x1)
4.36.8.32 (x1)
I contacted support, but that was not really beneficial as they just assumed the cam was bad and issued a credit for the one I used as an example case.
Does anyone have more advanced troubleshooting steps to narrow the issue?
So I did some more testing with the idea that maybe 10 v3 devices was some sort of server-side limit that was preventing additional devices to be added.
Quick answer - inconclusive.
Long answer - I pulled a v3 that was working perfectly and deleted it from my account. I then attempted to add two different “bad” v3’s from my issue above, both said cannot find the network and failed to connect. Attempted to re-add the one I took out of service at the start of this test and it added back without issue. I also pulled the car/log/messages files from my WAP and my router and found the “bad” wap did not register any type of connection attempt. It does not appear to have any type of connection attempt (that I was able to locate) and never requested an IP address. I was able to see the good v3 as expected in the WAP and router logs.
At this time, I suspect:
I just have bad luck and these 6 just happened to have the wifi chips die at the same time.
2, Some part of the firmware is buggered.
The wifi chips are buggered.
Anyone have any additional back-door or “troubleshooting” steps that I could take on these devices?
Any way to get a console into the camera itself to see what error logs may be showing?
I was searching for some sort of console level access and found this page - GitHub - gtxaspec/wz_mini_hacks: wz camera mods... make your camera better. - it notes - “perform a fresh format on your micro-sd card, using fat-32 ( this is a hard requirement, the bootloader does not support ex-fat or ext, and thus will not load wz_mini )”
So the official documentation says it “recommends” a fat32 formatted SD card…but does not REQUIRE it.
Conclusion - I am only part way through (2 cams completed, working on the third now), but so far after formatting a 32gb microsd card with fat32 and grabbing the 10.36.10.4054 official firmware, it works.
hey @wyze team - can you update the firmware instructions page to state it MUST be a Micro SD card (32 gb of less) that is formatted with FAT32 or else the camera will not be able to see the manually placed firmware file?
Another update - three cams flawlessly came back to life after the manual firmware install via the specially formatted SD card. I then tested the beta firmware ( 4.36.11.4293) install via the app with one cam and that was also successful. Unsure what killed these cams, but it looks like they are coming back around…for now.
I took out of service at the start of this test and it added back without issue. I also pulled the car/log/messages files from my WAP and my router and found the “bad” wap did not register any type of connection attempt. It does not appear to have any type of connection attempt (that I was able to locate) and never requested an IP address. I was able to see the good v3 as expected in the WAP and router logs.
Next day update - I was able to fully resurrect 5 cams. 2 are going back into service today, three will be on the shelf until I need them for something, and one will likely be deemed actually failed.
If they fail again in the future, I will post here again.
So happy update I guess…just need Wyze to update their documentation now!
So is it better that I just take the SD cards out? I (65 yr old) have to get on a ladder to reset my cameras. Kinda scary for me. I don’t quite follow what you all are saying except it’s something with the SD card, correct? I have 11 cameras. If I take the cards out they will work. Is there a link for a video on this? Please help before one of the perhaps working cameras capture me falling off the ladder.
What is wrong with your 11 cameras are they all off line? Just taking the SD card out will not fix anything. Maybe you have network issues?? The discussion about using an SD card pertains to adding the camera firmware either the newest version or an older version with a 32GB SD card. If you are going to add an older version you will need to factory reset your camera: Instructions for the V3 are in the second paragraph. the firmware may be found by clicking on the Release Notes shown written in Blue.
@alyse1958 - I am not sure what you are asking. I recommend creating a new post under the camera type you have. It sounds like the problem you are seeing is not really related to the problem/solution of this thread.
