Someone is jamming my camera frequency from recording. Camera sits on window facing outside. I have to keep rebooting the camera and I lose the blocked events. How can I prevent this?
There could be many reasons why your camera is not recording. How did you determine your WiFi is being jammed?
How can you tell it’s a jammer?
I ask because if it’s just that you
have to keep rebooting the camera and I lose the blocked events
There are lots of causes for this, many of which are more common and more likely than someone intentionally using a jammer against you. Believe it or not, contrary to popular fears and belief, jammers generally have to be very close or they are huge and not very portable. They are also not very precise and you’d have almost no functional Internet with anything. And if that’s what is happening, the culprit is more likely either your router or ISP. Jammers are also very difficult to implement with today’s technology due to self-healing networks that can change frequency automatically, requiring jammers to blast a wide range of wavelengths and the power consumption can get ridiculous to be effective. We could go on for pages about why a jammer is one of the least common explanations for this issue, but I am just curious if you have some specific other information that helps you to know it is a jammer?
Very few criminals Carry around Jammers nowadays because the portable ones don’t work very well or they die really fast, and they aren’t able to target it things specifically. Something more common. If it is actually somebody targeting you with technology to kick your camera off the network and not be able to upload could be something called a de-auth device which they will often carry around as a watch. What this device basically does? Is it monitors the radio waves to capture packets for a device like your camera connecting to your router and your router sending packets back to the camera then it will send the camera spoofed packets pretending it is the router telling the camera to disconnect from the Wi-Fi, while also sending packets to the router pretending to be the camera telling it to disconnect. Both devices think the other one is telling each other to disconnect and stop talking to each other and so they do. This is called a Wi-Fi deauthentication device or de-auth. These devices are a lot more commonly used by criminals nowadays because they are a lot more targeted and precise and small and battery friendly and effective.. Or at least they used to be. Some of the Wyze cameras now support a protocol that this de-auth spoofing doesn’t work against. So you were asking what you can do about it, and it kind of depends on the model camera that you have. It might support certain security protocols which will make de-auth not work at all if you turn it on in your router settings (WPA3). Several of the newest Wyze cam models (mostly those with Wi-Fi 6 chipsets in them) support WPA3, But some of the legacy devices don’t support it. So if you do have one of the models that does support it, what you can do is tell your router to broadcast a signal that is wpa3 only and connect your camera to that Network. Now nobody can execute a de-auth attack against you and your camera. This could even explain why your camera stays disconnected until you restart it. The de-auth device would have told the camera to disconnect and told the router to disconnect from the camera and they both would have complied.
But honestly, that is still not the most likely explanation. The most likely explanation can still depend a little bit on what camera model you have, but common reasons for people to experience what you are reporting include it being a sign of power consumption issues. For example, it is something that happens to a lot of people if either their power adapter or cord. Going to the camera is defective and needs to be replaced. People often find that if they use a different charger and cord that is high enough quality and putting out enough power, their problems are totally solved. On a related note, this problem also happens a lot to people who use a long third party USB cord instead of the cord that came with the camera. When you try to use a long USB cord, the power adapter doesn’t put out enough power to keep the camera running Optimally. The camera will often work intermittently, but then if something happens to cause it to use more power than normal, But it is unable to get the amount of power it needs during that Spike, the camera suddenly have a big problem. This can manifest in different ways, including the Wi-Fi chip not connecting to the router correctly, and failed cloud event recordings. Sometimes the camera will even restart itself all on its own if it didn’t have enough power. It can have all sorts of unexpected problems, but the problem you are describing is one of the most common issues that is indicative of a power consumption issue. The solution is to make sure to get a good quality 6ft USB cord and a power adapter that puts out at least the minimum power requirements for that particular camera model (and if you were using a power adapter that has multiple ports, you need to make sure that each Port has dedicated power instead of shared power or that it is the only device being used in that adapter).
There are at least a dozen other things that cause the issue You are reporting.
Another one, is similar to jamming but it is not intentional. And sometimes it is you doing it to yourself, but often it can be due to neighbors, even though they aren’t doing it intentionally. It is something called signal interference or saturation. Basically, you have too many devices nearby that are all using the same radio frequency and interfering with each other. When there are too many devices trying to use the same frequency, they can often interfere with each other causing the exact thing that you are reporting. One common solution to this is to get some kind of Wi-Fi signal app and check what Wi-Fi channels are being used the most near you and which are unused and probably better for you. Then you can go into your router, and tell it to switch Wi-Fi to broadcast on a different channel that none of your neighbors are using so that your devices aren’t getting interference anymore. Problem solved [probably].
Another extremely common issue that I previously mentioned is the issue is often caused by the router. A lot of cheap routers, especially tend to have something called a memory leak. Or sometimes they will have weird protocols about how it switches between different devices taking turns. Sometimes this doesn’t severely negatively impact other devices in your house, But can be completely devastating for others such as a security cam which can be reliant on a clean, dedicated signal during specific activity needs, whereas other devices such as a TV are open to sporadic connection with buffering leeway, etc and don’t suffer the consequences. Or sometimes the router will have various settings that really mess up the camera, including things like QoS, WMM, And other default settings that sometimes destroy the connectivity of critical iot like a smart camera.
Sometimes the isp’s default DNS is the thing causing all the problems with the connectivity and causing the camera not to stay connected correctly. I have met users who simply changed their default ISP DNS to a different DNS setting and their cameras were magically working fine after that without needing to be restarted. A lot of routers actually specifically say they have a small limit on the number of devices it can handle at once because it has such limited ram in the router and a small processor. But also sometimes they’re antenna and protocols have different issues. Sometimes the only solution needed is to get a moderate to higher end router. That is not the default router the ISP sent out with the internet because those are almost always trash.
There can be bandwidth issues too. Whether the upload or download is too low, or somebody is using a cable internet provider that uses a daisy chain system, so even though the um plan says that it provides a certain amount of bandwidth for uploading download, there have been people with Cable internet providers that cause them to have problems during peak use hours when everybody else on the same causing things to choke. The solution to that is to not use a cable internet provider. Who has those problems or to increase the plan.
Again, I could probably list dozens more causes of this exact thing you’re reporting. But the solution can depend entirely upon a verified cause or else doing step-by-step troubleshooting testing to figure out which is the cause.
If you share what your camera model is and the firmware it has, some of us may have other potential suggestions to make. There are sometimes some things that are model specific tips.
But yeah, if you are absolutely sure that it is some form of jamming, it would be helpful to share how you know that, and how that is affecting other devices in your house, and if it’s happening during certain times regularly, or if you know who is doing it and why among other things. Then I could potentially suggest some other advanced countermeasures. The jamming if you definitely know that it is intentional malicious jamming. There are ways to triangulate that and report it and other such things because the authorities take intentional jamming extremely seriously especially when it is a chronic repeated issue. If you report it right, there are authorities who will definitely be all over that kind of situation.
Please read prior response to Dave. I know because it only happens when specific parties are existing or entering my building.
Thanks for all that. But no. It’s being jammed by someone living in my building. Now do you know how to prevent it?
My router is Verizon’s and they told me I cannot change the signal. Said they only run on one DNS.
Do you have a link to Dave’s response? I am not seeing it on this thread and i do not check every thread on this forum.
Your responses tell me you don’t understand networking. Its not a jammer.
Urban legend.
Sorry I’m back again! You actually already suggested several things I could do. I know I can use a SD card but prefer the feed from WiFi. What should I look for in a router that help to may prevent the jamming?
Model WYZECP2 INPUT 5V=2A
Not sure what else you may need to answer your last question. Thanks!
There is no router that is going to prevent what you are experiencing. Trust me, I am well versed in this subject matter. The thing that is more than likely occurring is called a de-authentication attack. This attack is very common and SUPER easy to perform. This is why WPA2 security is a complete and utter joke and has been for years! Anyone that trusts a WPA2 WiFi camera for their true security is foolish. Actually, anyone that trusts anything WiFi for true security needs is pressing their luck.
You CANNOT stop WPA2 de-authentication attacks from happening to any WiFi device that uses WPA2 security - full stop.
If you want to stick with WiFi cameras, you need to find one that supports WPA3 WiFi security. I have been begging WYZE to support WPA3 on all of their cameras for years and years. Some people think the old hardware has limitations, but my personal research has found where there’s a will there’s a way (v2 cams and newer).
The v4 cam was released supporting WPA3 security for sure. There may be others as well, but you’ll have to do your own research to determine which ones. In the WYZE world, they (unwisely) do not list which WiFI security protocols a given cam supports. However, if WYZE states their cam supports WiFi v6, that cam SHOULD support WPA3 security. WPA3 WiFi security protocol support is required in order to claim a product supports WiFi v6.
In the meantime, pony up for an SD card. This way when these certain people run their deauth attacks, you’re still going to capture the video to the local SD card in the cam. Then once these certain people move their equipment out of range, your cam will connect back to your WiFi network. You can then connect to the camera and playback the footage via the SD card.
Keep in mind, WPA3 security can be hacked as well, just not NEARLY as easily as WPA2. Just know, there IS NO SUCH THING as a secure WiFi network.
I didn’t bother watching this video, but suspect it will give you a basic idea of how easy these attacks are. Keep in mind, you don’t have to own the specific hardware found in the video.
Here is an interesting device for $119.
Even with WPA3 there are jammers that just use tons of RF noise in the wifi frequency range to overpower your wifi. They’re usually a bit larger and probably giving the bad guy cancer, so at least there’s that.
OP has posted in several threads and I don’t think there is any “jamming” going on. I think they’re just using it as a generic term. Sounds like someone is unplugging the cam or the internet or they’re just going in to the house a different way and avoiding the cam(s).
I hear ya and realize that WiFi jamming devices do indeed exist. However, they are quite expensive, bulky, and difficult to hide. Odds are the OP is more than likely facing de-authentication attacks. De-auth devices are inexpensive, legal to own, and easy to hide.
In my opinion everyone should run a card. Wifi can be unreliable, internet can go down, etc. I run all my cams with continuous recording to SD card that way I’m even protected if the cam doesn’t detect motion, it will be there, just may take a while to find it.
Ideally you should use an SD card rated for “endurance” especially if you are going to run it continuous. Event only is less demanding and can use a cheaper (but still decent) SD card, but there is some risk of missing things that don’t trigger the cam to log an “event”. If you do go that route you may want to consider changing to “all motion” instead of smart events (if you’re using smart events). Less chance of missing something because it didn’t identify it.
Samsung Pro Endurance, Sandisk High Endurance, and Sandisk Max endurance are all good for continuous recording, but with memory prices these days, they’re all pretty expensive right now.
If you do event only recording, then most known brands (sandisk, lexar, maybe PNY) are ok, but make sure you buy them from a reliable source, there are lots of fakes out there. If you buy from amazon, make sure it is “shipped from and sold by” amazon, not a 3rd party.
Stay away from Team Group, Adata, kioxia and other budget brands like that, even event recording will usually kill them pretty quick.
Actually you can make a RF jammer at home pretty easily and there are lots of options out there that aren’t that expensive. Deauth attacks aren’t really as common as people think, and they also aren’t as effective as you might think either.
Honestly I don’t think they’re facing any sort of jamming. Just someone tampering with the camera or internet. Or the cameras are just plain missing the events as someone has figured out how to evade them.
I only drop into threads that look interesting so I am probably missing the complete picture.
The OP of this thread did state above “it only happens when specific parties are existing or entering my building.”
How about asking the specific parties “Hey, are you doing something that affects my WiFi cameras?”.
Come to my neighborhood. Kali Linux paired with the right WiFi adapter can have your entire router locked up in a matter of minutes. Particularly if you have an older WiFi router.
Not saying it doesn’t exist, just that people (like OP I suspect) frequently think they’re being jammed when they’re not actually. Around here the thieves just wear hoodies and COVID masks, does just as much to defeat the cameras as a deauth attack.
Sounds like the people are doing it intentionally (a person living there that is not supposed to be). My guess is they’re just unplugging the cam or internet or avoiding the cams.
Even if they did invest in one of the many jammers out there, there’s nothing Wyze can really do. WPA3 may or may not help but that requires buying new cams. Same goes for any wifi device out there from any company.