Update: I did just find a couple of these on the FAQ that I’m reading through right now but feel free to answer anything below that’s not in the FAQ…
I’m very interested in this camera but have a couple general questions I hope someone can answer…
AMAZON STUFF
How do I view the videos stored on the AWS cloud? Can I view from a browser or only through the phone app? –App Only per the FAQ
Can I save video files down to my computer if there’s something that gets recorded that I need to keep past the 14 day cutoff? –Within the App per the FAQ
What happens if there is motion for more than 15 seconds after it is detected. Will it keep recording 15 second clips until the motion stops or only record once and then miss the rest? I’d prefer that it would keep recording once it starts until there is no more motion.
LOCAL STORAGE
If I put an SD Card in the camera to record to, does it also record up to Amazon?
Will the camera give me any sort of alerts if the SD card fills up or will it roll when it fills up and just record over the oldest videos?
WEATHER
Can the Wyzecam be used outdoors if it’s under cover from rain/snow?
Are the temperature limits within which the camera will or won’t work? E.g. can be it outside in the winter?
CONNECTIVITY
Does the app connect directly to the camera or is it viewing things through the Wyzecam servers somehow?
How does the 2-way Audio work? Am I talking and it’s coming directly out of the speakers or does it get routed through something in the middle?
SECURITY
I know that most inexpensive webcams on the market seem to be riddled with hard coded root access logins, uPNP settings that open ports all over the place, etc. I know multiple people who put their webcams online and they got hacked. How is Wyzecam security different than these other types of cameras?
How does the camera get firmware updates if they are available?
Can I log directly into the camera via the IP address to configure things or is everything only done through the app? –Only through the App
MULTIPLE DEVICES
If I have multiple cameras, can I link them all with one app and then pick which one I want to view?
Can the app work on different devices to see the same cameras? (E.g. I have the app on my phone and my wife has it on hers) Do we just log into the app with a shared username/password?
1 & 2- There is a 5 minute time delay between alert recordings. If you have SD card it will take sequential clips without the 5 minute delay. And it will record to both the cloud and SD card. This delay is to minimize the FREE storage capacity of WYZE. IMO there should maybe be a couple 12 second recordings in a row then a 2 or 3 minute cool down. Or perhaps have the delays graduated in an increasing manner. Someone could easily be messing around your house and not show their face within the first 12 seconds and then be gone 5 minutes later.
3- The SD card is supposed to write over the oldest when it reaches capacity.
4- Yes, I have read numerous posts about camera’s out this past winter in very cold climates. Must be protected from moisture though.
5- Connectivity- I don’t know if video and audio is routed through servers but why are you asking?
6- Firmware update is automatic
7- Yes all cameras are within the one app and you can choose between them. You can not view a collage of all your cams at one time however. I have not seen multiple devices accessing the same cameras but I don’t see why not. Someone here will have tried it I am sure.
CONNECTIVITY: Once connected the video is routed point to point. If both the phone and camera are on the same local network, the video stream stays within the network.
MULTIPLE CAMERAS: Yes, multiple phones can view the same camera at once.
So if I’m NOT using an SD card, it will detect motion and record for 15 seconds. Then, even if there’s continuous motion, it will stop recording and won’t start again until a few minutes have passed. Then if there is still motion it will record another 15 seconds?
However, if I have an SD card in the camera, it can still be set to Motion Capture but will continuously record as long as there is continuous motion? That’s kind of a make or break setting since I would guess most people get a camera for security type reasons and want to record all the motion, not just the first 15 seconds of it.
No, after 15 seconds of recording (to cloud) it will time out for 5 minutes and then go active for the next motion detection event. If however there is a SD card inserted it will keep recording clips if there is continuous motion to activate cam. It does both simultaneously, 12 second cloud clips and SD sequences of clips.
Yes, the cloud alert clips and the motion recording to the card are completely independent of each other.
Cloud Notification Alerts: 12 second clips uploaded to the cloud, minimum 5 minute elapsed time between clips, played back from the Notifications section of the app. Can be saved or shared via the Share button when being viewed.
microSD Card Recordings: Either continuous recording or motion activated. Motion activated records as long as there is motion detected. Motion sensitivity is fixed, does not depend on setting under “Alert Settings” in the camera settings. Played back via the “View Playback” button on the Live Stream view. While playing back, can be recorded to the phone’s camera roll in real time via the Record button during playback. The timeline during playback can be expanded using a pinch-out gesture to get finer control of the playback time moment.
So for the SD card recording, it will just detect motion, start recording, and not stop recording until there is no more motion? Like a standard motion capture type thing would work that most people are used to?
Is there a way to manually save a file from the SD card via the app or anything like that or would I just need to pull the card and put it in my laptop and copy the files off that way? And do we know how big the files are so I’d know if I need a really big SD card or just need to copy any files off quickly before it might roll over and overwrite them?
Correct: SD card keeps recording until motion stops. Actually, it records in one minute files, so it keeps recording until the end of the current minute after motion stops.
As mentioned above, you can record what’s on the card to your phone in real time during playback. Other than that, you have to remove the card from the camera to transfer the files.
What size and kind of microSD cards does the Wyze Cam support? How long does an 8GB or 32GB microSD card last for local recording?
Wyze Cam supports 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB microSD cards in FAT32 format. We recommend Class 10 for optimal performance.
The video file size will depend on whether your Wyze Cam is recording HD or SD video. You can toggle between HD and SD video on the live stream view of your camera.
For HD, the video size is approximately 400MB/hour (~10GB/day). For SD, the video size is approximately 130MB/hour (3-4GB/day).
Because some storage space is used for formatting the card, a 32GB microSD card will store approximately 2 days of HD video or 7-8 days of SD video. Your Wyze Cam will overwrite the oldest footage when it runs out of room on the microSD card.
The maximum supported card size is 32GB, although users report success with higher capacity cards.