I doubt they’ll offer a “continuous cloud” option, if you mean 24/7 cloud recording. It’s theoretically possible, but if they did that, they’d have to change how the server handles the incoming video. Also, most people probably wouldn’t WANT that. I certainly wouldn’t. That would be a LOT of data to be sending to the cloud CONSTANTLY, especially if you have multiple cameras. And not everyone has unlimited data. Comcast caps its customers at 1TB/month. One camera sending video to the cloud 24/7 would probably use about half of that (~500GB) in a month.
If they did that, they’d either need to live-stream it constantly and devote computing resources to it in the cloud, in order to save it, or the camera would constantly upload short clips (1-5 minutes.) Regardless, to give you what you want – the ability to splice the video at a certain time and download only that subset as a video file – they’d have to devote server resources to stitching or splicing the video, which is no small task. Doing that would probably not be a super quick process for you to download an event of indeterminate length that starts at an indeterminate time and ends at an indeterminate time. It can be done, but you’d at least have to wait several minutes for the server to process your video before you could download it in that way. I highly doubt they’re going to offer a feature like that. It would be expensive to set up and run, and I doubt there’s that many people who need it, especially since it can easily be done with free third-party software on your own computer.
As for whether you need more than that – it can still record an event with 10 minutes of continous motion, you just may have to download a few files to see everything that happens.
For most people, the 24/7 cloud recording isn’t necessary, but I’d like to see them offer it for those that need it. Thank you for making me aware of the technical situation that they would need to address if they were to offer this. It’s kind of the same problem with their new cloud feature though, because if the camera is taken during the motion event it wouldn’t have been uploaded to the cloud. So, although a five minute window is enough for most people, if the camera is stolen during the recording of the third minute, none would have been uploaded to the cloud.
Regarding the data usage, that’s a problem with each individual internet service provider. I’m glad that in my case there isn’t a data cap, but feel bad for those that need to worry about it.
Thank you again for the information and for the technical perspective.
I like the 12 s clip. It alerts me ( its purpose) to go to the SD recording to get the full recording. Right now we have to use the time stamp to find it, but they are working on a direct link, which I agree is needed. You do not need to download the 12 s clip. I just delete it after I direct to the SD or just delete if not relevant. Works for me with no hassle.
I thought this was going to be another whiny post but it certainly was not. Your are absolutely 100% right on the money when you say this isn’t something that should have taken a year to fix.
For those that just need a notification, the 12 second clip isn’t necessary, just a motion based notification. I’m not sure what made Wyze decide to set it up this way, but it certainly isn’t the most efficient. It is causing unnecessary delay for the customer, and unnecessary cloud storage costs for Wyze.
I’m hoping this is changed with their new cloud infrastructure that they said they are working on.
Thank you. I’m trying my best to have a balanced viewpoint. It’s understandable for a company to take time to progress, but when we see totally unrelated products being developed (such as a smart bulb and smart thermostat), with the CEO and software engineers assisting with the shipping process, and the most basic functionality still isn’t available, something is clearly wrong, even if it’s something as simple as not having the right priorities.
Again - who sets the priorities? You, one user? Their somewhat flaky voting system?
When I started buying in to the Wyze system I did so mainly so I could surveil the outside of my houses, have a few portable cams, set up a few trail cams. That amounts to about 20 cams so far. And all with an affordable price and be able to run them from an accessible power supply, like a portable battery.
Those were MY priorities.
The Reolink Argus 2 fit my bill for onesies and twosies. But 20 Reolink cams would break my budget.
If they are struggling to prioritize, there are many options, and one of them is asking the community - those who are going to spend money to purchase their products.
If I’m coming across as having the answers to everything, that is not my intention.
It’s just obvious to me that a company should focus on having a product that is meeting or exceeding the competition before adding more products.
At $26 (with shipping) a camera, I doubt their goal is to meet or exceed the competition. It is to provide a way for people to have basic cameras at an affordable price. Some of their other products are closer to market level though and will probably generate more profit.
I agree, like you stated and I have read in a few places that their mission (goal) is to make smart home technology accessible to everyone at an affordable price.
That is also why I never did view the bulbs and plugs as unrelated, since they are smart home technology.
Its primary functionality is as a camera, not a motion sensor. It DOES do pixel-based motion detection, but since it was never built with that as a primary purpose, I think it’s not as easy as snapping their fingers to change the way the camera and server handle all of that.
If what you need is motion detection, they sell a motion sensor. And notifications are indeed pretty much instant.
Considering their ridiculous growth, (which is likely THEIR priority) I think they’re probably in a better position to define their priorities than random guys on web forums, frankly. Single-product companies don’t usually last very long, so obviously it makes sense for them to expand with new products in order to secure their long-term growth and expand their customer base. They’re building a product ecosystem.
Why do you think they’re struggling to prioritize? Because they haven’t prioritized the things you’ve prioritized?
As for “asking the community” – they’re doing that! They communicate with and pay attention to their customers more than ANY similar company I’ve seen. If you think they’re somehow failing at this, show me an example of a company which is doing a better job. They’re heads-and-shoulders above the pack when it comes to this, in my opinion. If I have an idea or a suggestion, I know that I can come here and talk to them directly about it. That doesn’t mean they’re definitely going to implement it, or that it will happen overnight, but if I’ve got concerns, I know that I can communicate them and they’ll hear me, at least.
I don’t think I agree that’s obvious, although I think they already DO meet or exceed the competition. But to grow their customer base, it’s important to diversify, diversify, diversify!
As for “meeting or exceeding,” they’ve already done that, in my opinion. Most of their competitors don’t have the features you’re talking about either, and they usually cost 5-10x as much. I’ve got Blink cameras that were much more expensive and don’t do half of what my Wyze cameras can do. Blink is owned by Amazon, and they’ve pretty much abandoned the product ecosystem. (Amazon was interested in their chipset tech, not their product.) It’s a dead product. They’ve stopped adding value to the product, and they’ve scrapped every product expansion they had planned before Amazon bought them. I’m getting rid of them as soon as Wyze releases their outdoor cameras.
If the competition is able to provide an instant motion alert before the motion event has ended, what is preventing Wyze from doing the same? If it’s a hardware issue, that is understandable, but from what I’ve read on here it’s most likely just their way of processing.
There isn’t anything wrong with adding additional products, but if the first product (or, from what I’m reading, most of their products) are still having trouble, it wouldn’t make sense to keep adding more and more before addressing the current situation.
I’m saying they appear to be struggling to prioritize because rather than making sure their first product(s) have the functionality most people would expect (such as getting a notification of motion, and seeing the full event whether in the cloud or via the microSD card), they are adding more products.
Also, having their CEO and software engineers working in the shipping department is another indication of them not prioritizing staff, as they should have known more orders would come in, and have already had enough people in place to fulfill those orders. We’re not talking about some small company with three people working outside of their garage. This is a company that has received over $20 million in funding: The Future of Wyze is Coming Part 1 - #138 by baker195
Regarding asking the community, they allow people to vote and interact with the community, and that is great, but they have announced products that from what I’ve seen, people on here haven’t even requested, while they still not have added some functionality that people have been asking for and voting on. I’ll include the top three below, all of which are still marked as “maybe-later”:
It’s easy to grow a customer base, but keeping those customers, and making sure they are satisfied, is the tough part. They are adding to their customer base quickly, but the more customers they add, the more we are going to see people here confused that their products aren’t working as they expected. That’s my reason for saying they should meet or exceed the competition, because people have friends and family using other products, and are going to have expectations based off of that (such as getting an instant notification, being able to view the full motion event, and being able to download that clip).
I’m not too familiar with Blink, but are you saying they don’t provide an instant notification upon detecting motion, don’t allow you to see the full motion event, and don’t allow you to download it? If that is the case, I’m surprised Amazon even continued to offer that product. Samsung purchased a company for their technology (called MST) and totally discontinued the brand, and instead integrated the technology in some new Samsung products: Magnetic secure transmission - Wikipedia
Then, there is a product request that less than 20 people voted for, and that has already been announced and is being tested: Wyze Scale
But, at the same time, they have announced and are testing the outdoor camera that over 2,000 people have voted for: Outdoor/Weatherproof Wyze Cam
So, they are going in the right direction, but appear to need to reconsider their priorities with product development.
I’m going to need to update my post here. It is looking like the one product (the smart scale) was already being worked on and since it was posted so recently it’s tough to get a fair idea on the number of people interested.
It was posted back in May, and just has 85 people that voted on it, yet that product has also been announced and is in-development, where there are people much more interested in other improvements that are in the “maybe-later” stage, as mentioned above.
Not all of them do. Blink doesn’t. I don’t think Nest does either, although I’m not 100% sure about that one. Arlo does. Ring does – sort of – but it’s always super delayed, and the video takes forever to load. (I have Ring products, too. They suck.) But it’s certainly not across-the-board by any means. I’d still say they’re exceeding the competition because ALL of those companies are much more expensive, and if I want to spend $20 to expand the capabilities of my camera with the motion detector, I have the option to do that with Wyze, and it’s STILL a fraction of the price of the other cameras.
Agree to disagree, I suppose. Sounds like a good way for them to bankrupt themselves, devoting all of their resources to one thing while ignoring growth.
In that case, I guess most of their competitors are failing to give users what “most people would expect.” As for full event in the cloud, that’s already available in beta (Something they added because they listened to their customer demand, by the way) As for instant notificaton of motion, spend an extra 20 bucks and add it. (Something made possible by their decision to expand into additional products. )
Have you looked at the roadmap section, or only the wishlist? The wishlist items are, by definition, not yet implemented. When they start to implement them, they move them to the roadmap section. Check out all the stuff they HAVE implemented based on user suggestions in the roadmap section.
Is it? Oh, okay.
I use other products, and I have reasonable expectations based off of those. Wyze can do TONS of things my other products can’t do. Some of my other products can do a couple things Wyze can’t do. Every product is different. But none of my other products give me as much bang for my buck as Wyze.
No, they don’t have instant notification. Their event length and cooldown period are are limited, like Wyze. (Unlike Wyze, they aren’t working on a premium option to remove that limitation.) They also have a hard limit on cloud storage, regardless of how many cameras you own and regardless of how long it’s been since the video was taken, which Wyze thankfully doesn’t have. You CAN download the videos, yes. You can do that on Wyze, too.
This wasn’t based on voting at all. Haha. I’m the one who started that Wyze Scale thread AFTER I learned it was coming from a tech blog, because I was curious to see what the company had to say about it. Not every single decision they make is based on customer feedback. In the case of the scale, they have a production partner who already makes this product. They’re basically putting their logo on it and integrating it into their ecosystem. I agree it seems like a weird product, but they haven’t even released it yet, so I’ll reserve my judgment until I actually see how it works / what people think about it
My post was actually updated to reflect that. I’m assuming you didn’t get a chance to see that update before responding.
If that’s the case, that is excellent! It so much easier and cheaper than starting fresh. That is kind of what they did with their camera too, but they seem to have the ability to change the manufacturing process too, maybe from purchasing in bulk.
“View on PC” isn’t a “product” at all. It’s an expanded functionality. It doesn’t directly generate cash for Wyze, so I’m not surprised they’d give it less priority. You can argue that more people would buy the product with this, but that’s debatable. There’s already RTSP functionality which provides for this (and which was implemented based on user feedback)
I don’t know the exact reasons they’ve shelved that for now, but since they’re working on the cloud architecture next year, I’m guessing it wouldn’t make sense for them to devote a bunch of resources to a brand new functionality that they’ll have to revamp in less than a year anyway. That’s my guess.
Thank you for telling me about your experience with Blink and Ring. I’m going to do a little more research on them to try to educate myself further.
We agree on the bankruptcy part, just not on the method of getting there.
I’ve looked at both. They have the outdoor camera in the roadmap section.
Yes, it is easy to grow a customer base, but keeping those customers, and making a profit is the challenging part. For a great example, check out MoviePass. For the most part, nobody had heard of them. Then, overnight they grew, so fast they couldn’t handle the growth and couldn’t maintain profitability. They had a customer base - a large one, but that didn’t help their situation.
I’m glad they are working good for you. After reading other comments here, a lot of people aren’t as satisfied as you are.
I’m surprised Amazon is even offering a product like that.
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