Bulb Cam and Wyze Switch

Cameras
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I have a bulb cam and supporting bulb under my front patio, and a Wyze switch connecting to both these light sockets. I also have a v4 facing the driveway and doorbell pro on the front door.

I would like for the switch to be able to turn on / off the bulb cam lights only when pressed. There is an automation for this when “switch on/ off” but it does not work. The double tap function does work to control the bulb cam lights, however…

I would also like for when a person is detected by either the driveway cam, or the the doorbell, it would turn on the bulb cam lights. I thought “turning on the switch —> bulb cam lights on” automation would solve for this, but again, it’s not working.

My workaround is two Wyze br30 bulbs under the patio for the lights, and everything worked! However, I would like the cam bulb to work the same so I have the camera!

Any thoughts? Not sure why the automationb would exist if it doesn’t work. I tried all the troubleshooting options. Thanks!

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Welcome to the Forum, @bheyman12! :wave:

I don’t have Wyze Switch, so I can’t advise you on activating the Bulb Cam lights with the Single Press function beyond what’s in the Quick Start Guide. What you describe about the Double Press comports with my understanding, and I can imagine something like that being used to actuate a Shortcut Automation to turn the lights on or off.

I would try setting it up as a Device & Service Trigger Automation like this:

  • IF
    • Driveway Cam v4
      • Detects a person
  • DO
    • Patio Bulb Cam
      • Turn on the lights

I’d create a separate trigger for the Video Doorbell Pro.

The problem with these is that the lights will just remain on indefinitely unless you have some other means to turn them off, and there’s currently no built-in way to do this after a given amount of time in Automations (i.e., there’s no native “if lights have been on for…” Trigger or “turn on the lights for…” Action for Bulb Cam and Accessory Bulb). If you have a spare Wyze Plug or Plug Outdoor with an unused socket, then you could use that as a logical switch and create an additional Device & Service Trigger:

  • IF
    • Plug
      • Has been on for 1 minute (or whatever time you like)
  • DO
    • Plug
      • Turn off
    • Patio Bulb Cam
      • Turn off the lights

Then you’d have to modify the earlier Automations to incorporate this:

  • IF
    • Driveway Cam v4
      • Detects a person
  • DO
    • Patio Bulb Cam
      • Turn on the lights
    • Plug
      • Turn on

In a scenario like that, you’d basically just be using the Plug to give you a timer (again, as a logical switch; you’re not actually using the Plug to provide power for anything) for the lights to turn off.

For my own Bulb Cams and Accessory Bulbs, I’m just using the built-in schedules for Ambient Light and motion-triggered lighting to adjust based on what those cameras see in the evening and overnight hours, but I can see why someone might want to use other cameras to trigger the lights, too.

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