This is a very niche request, however being that many kitchen appliances have adopted Sabbath modes for Orthodox Jews to be able to use the appliances on Sabbath and Holidays, it would be amazing to see something like this developed for the Smart Home market, Due to religious restrictions in activating electronics on the Sabbath and holidays, the first thought behind my purchasing any product is “How will this work?”. I have my Wyze cameras set to go off on Friday at sundown and on again Saturday night. I have my video doorbell (not Wyze, same idea) plugged into a Wifi plug to turn it off for Sabbath. I had to permanently disable certain features on my Smart thermostat to make it permissible for use. I am looking at the Wyze lock, and I think I would have to put the Wifi bridge on a timer (similar to the doorbell) and disable auto lock and door open sensor to be able to use it.
A Sabbath observant compatible, fully functional Smart Home is something that is lacking on the market and would only take software/firmware updates to create such a reality for the many thousands of families who practice in this way. (See here for further: https://automatedabode.com/shabbos-mode-for-smart-homes/ )
Welcome to the Wyze community @yitzyf!
I agree that this feature would be a great option for users who would need it.
Don’t forget to vote for your own Wishlist item too!
This is currently the best way to Sabbath observant compatible Wyze devices.
But isn’t it about power and starting or stopping circuits / fire? I’ve never understood how any of this made sense even on its own terms. A stove that stays lit or an elevator programmed to stop at each floor, okay. But the Wyze cameras you have set to “go off on Friday” never really turn off - they keep operating and drawing current but report “off” when polled in the app. The separate timers that actually cut off power are themselves drawing power.
And handling any of it by merely changing firmware demands that those devices are always drawing power to use that firmware…
It’s a complicated topic the details are more than likely beyond the scope of this forum, however, on a broad level the concept is not actively causing a change in something electronic or fire - so leaving lights, heat, AC on a timer is fine, however there would be an issue (for example) with using an electronic lock, turning on and off lights etc. Cooking is more complicated and not really relevant to this forum so I won’t get into it here. I hope this helps a bit!
It may be beyond the scope of the form, but details may help others understand the rules, and help us all help others that want to do the same if this is not implemented.
So to clarify, there are volumes of work written on these topics that would be difficult to summarize in a forum post. If a developer would be interested in putting together this feature, they would need to consult with a Jewish Orthodox authority (such as the Star K was consulted for most kitchen appliances) to enable it to be done correctly. The basic needs would be to disable any sensor or smart function based on a Jewish calendar from before sundown Friday evening or the eve of a holiday until after nightfall of the ending evening (so would need to be location based as well)
Not to be disrespectful, but you can open the fridge to get food but the light can’t be on. Isn’t the fridge on, why does a light bulb matter? Can use a hot plate (for the food) but can’t turn it on or off. Can use an app to control devices for observance, but can’t touch the devices?
I would be happy if there was simply a master “OFF” option that would turn off the HUB and all the devices registered in the Wyze APP. As in full 100% off - no recording, no sensors when motion is detected or doors and windows are open, no cameras operating. The cameras seem to be the only devices that have a true “OFF” mode. Seems like a 100% off mode would be the simplest upgrade option to firmware of devices and the phone app. Even if the sensors went into sleep mode until they got a “wake” signal (over radio frequency they are using to communicate with the hub), that would be great. Just so long as they are not detecting anything during the OFF mode (and not triggering tones and not turning on / off their red activation lights, etc.).
The cameras do not have a true Off mode. They are always actively drawing power and communicating with the cloud servers, and their sensors are active, to the point that camera viewing is possible with them “Off”. There is no “hub” for AC powered Wyze cameras. Powering off contact and motion sensors but having them continue to respond to radio is nonsensical.
Actually, not really nonsensical at all (regarding power off of contact and motion sensors … and camera): It is possible to leave a device in “standby” mode where it is not operating (it is sleeping) but remains ready to accepts a power-on / power-up signal over the radio connection to the hub (or anywhere else). This is precisely the purpose of the “wake-on-lan” protocol in ethernet: Put the PCs (or other devices with ethernet cards) into sleep mode then trigger a wake-on-lan signal to start them up. Similar capabilities exist in wireless protocols and it would not be difficult programming to offer such a feature into Wyze products. That way, the contact, motion and camera sensors could be put to “sleep” over Shabbat and then “woken” after (per timed rule). Regarding the camera, when it is in “off mode” its sensors and recording are no longer active. The fact that it continues to communicate to the cloud over the Internet is not a Shabbat problem (as long as you don’t physically interact with the camera, just like a computer or laptop that is left on over Shabbat). The key here is getting the motion, activity, and door sensors to turn off. My current approach is using Velcro to attach each door sensor so that I can remove the sensor from the door before Shabbat then reattach it after Shabbat. I put small boxes over the motion sensors. And I have a timer rule set to turn off the cameras so they stop recording. But, this approach is a bit ridiculous and all of these features could and should be coded into the products by Wyze.
Okay thanks, that makes slightly more sense. You are trying to keep your physical actions from creating a change in current, however small. Does that extend only to devices you own? If your motion triggers a neigbor’s motion lights is that a problem? What about the simple fact of your walking increasing ambient heat and triggering your house thermostat to kick on? Similarly washing your hands might trigger a water heater, etc.
Interesting topic. Is the whole point deference to God and discipline? If you attempt in good faith to respect the requirements is close enough good enough for God?
Earnest questions, no need to answer, I’ll leave it at that.
This is a technical forum, not a theological one. It is exclusively about specific features and functions required / desired in Wyze (or any home monitoring) products.
The features we are discussing are technically theologically based.
If we split hairs, then hairs get split.
Hitting the main breaker to shut down the house seems acceptable so as not to technically break Shabbat. Using technology to step over rules seems disingenuous to the religion and it’s rules. But again, I do not know anything about the Jewish religion nor any of its rules. The closest I get are the constant calendar reminders.
Who said anything about theology? We’re asking for further clarification on just what the rules are. How can any technology be expected to satisfy an undefined condition?