I have a couple of questions about getting the Cam Plus or Unlimited service. I’ve been using Wyze cameras for a couple/few years, and usually have been fine just recording to SD Card. I only record events and I’m normally only away from home a few hours a day, so recording at those times and at night when sleeping has worked out ok. I’m looking into more traveling; work and leisure, so I’ll be wanting to arm the cameras more often, thus more event recording. I like the idea of recording without the 5 minute delays and it being easier to find event recordings and play them back. Plus the 14 rolling cloud storage. (Free plan SUCKS trying to get to the exact event recording). So here are my questions. I’ll try to be short and concise.
Is the paid service worth it? I know this is subjective opinion, no need to explain, just a simple YES or NO in your opinion.
If I don’t care about face recognition and the home/away smart modes, AND if you have LESS than 5 cameras, then it seems that the Cam Plus is better than the unlimited plan. Example: have 3 cameras; $19.99 PER YEAR for Plus plan, equals $60 for all 3 cameras… vs $99.99 a year for unlimited cameras (But I still only have 3 cameras). Do you agree? Buy the Cam Plus plan for each camera instead of the Unlimited plan.
Say I go with the Cam Plus plan (individual cameras) how do you subscribe to this plan and let it know WHICH CAMERA you are wanting the plan for? Just in case I decide to only record 2 of the 3 cameras. (Some cameras are outside and some are inside. Might not need ALL cameras on a plan. Might be ok if one or some were still only recording to SD Card and not the cloud.
Final question: I assume with either plan and 14 day rolling cloud recording, the same events are still recorded on the SD Card? (In case internet goes down). Will I LOSE anything I currently get or will anything CHANGE with what’s being recorded now only to SD Card?
One other thing, not sure if it’s a Cam Plus vs Unlimited question. If instead of subscribing to one of these plans, if I was to set my cameras to CONTINUOUS RECORDING, I know that it fills the card and records over the oldest and so on, but are events still recorded separately and alerted or would I have to search through the continuous recording looking for the event?
Thanks
Mike
For me, no. But for many it is. Depends on your situation and what you want.
As of right now, yes 5 cams is the break even point (so more than 4 you might as well go for it). But it changes with each sale, so you need to re-evaluate each year (and consider whether you might want to add more cams). I think unlimited now includes a couple extras but I may be wrong on that (there is a new Pro subscription too that I might be confusing).
In your account you associate the cams you want with the “slots” you’ve purchased.
SD card is totally separate, your cloud recordings won’t change or impact it in any way, other than the fact that when viewing the SD card timeline you’ll see “tags” for events that otherwise would have been skipped due to the 5 minute cooldown. However they are recorded either way, just not tagged/notified if you have the cooldown.
Still recorded and alerted (and tagged) separately, just with the 5 minute cooldown limitation.
I run with cards only, running continuous recording on most, no subscription, it is plenty for my needs. Sure some of the features (like different speeds of fast forward/rewind and web view for reviewing videos etc) would be nice, but in my case not enough to justify the cost. But obviously everyone has different needs/preferences.
If I did have a subscription, I would still run SD cards with continuous recording.
YES as you have a backup of the events in the cloud but also NO as those backups in the cloud are useless if someone steals your camera and activates it under your account.
By assigning each camera to the subscription as @dave27 mentioned above. I just want to add that if you pick unlimited, all cameras will be forced to use the plan, designed by Wyze. That is one of two reasons (second being loosing cloud events in case of theft above) I cancelled may plan. Wyze doesn’t let you remove any of the cameras from the plan.
Thanks for the reply. Question though… why is “Theft of the camera” even a consideration? Whether I record only on the SD Card or I use a wyze subscription and also record to the cloud, if the camera is stolen, then so is the SD Card. As such, I doubt the person who stole it is going to try to access the information through my account. They’ll simply access the videos from the SD Card. So theft… really isn’t a contributing factor when considering. Except that HAVING the subscription seems like a good thing in case the camera WAS STOLEN. I should be able to access the video in the cloud and view the recording and possibly see who stole it.
That is exactly what I was getting to. However, if the camera gets setup under different account the cloud recording is not accessible anymore. So, you loose the camera including the SD card as well as the cloud evidence who stole the camera.
Thanks. As I mentioned initially, I’ve been recording (events only) for the years I’ve had the cameras. It’s worked fine as you have said. But I am starting to try and use “Continuous recording” so it’s easier to see the entire event. (Leading up to and after the event). Of course I may now need to get new SD cards. I currently use 64gb cards. For events only, they record A LOT OF VIDEO. But for continuous recording, they can only record about 1 week before recording over the old video.
Seems like the only real advantage of the subscription is if by chance the camera was stolen, you could still access the recorded video from the cloud and most likely see a good CLOSE UP SHOT of the person who stole the camera as they get 6 inches from the camera as they’re stealing it.
IMO, the real advantage of subscription is the Smart Detection for its Person, Vehicle and Pet detection with no cooldown. You get a quick snapshot and a short clip of what is detected when you scroll through “Events”.
I would still run continuous recording even if I subscribed. Just in case I need more context of what is being recorded and I am not entirely reliant on Wyze’s detection algorithm. Sometimes I would like to know what is happening outside my detection zone.
Agree ssummerlin. But without the cloud recording, a stolen camera is 100% non-accessible. Cloud storage does allow a really good chance to view the footage. As for my cameras being stolen, it is pretty slim that it could happen. Like you, 2 of mine are indoors pointing out through the window. The outside ones are located such, that if you didn’t know they were there, you’d neve see them and thus try and steal them. I’m still on the fence, but leaning more towards NOT having a subscription.
The main reason I was considering doing continuous recording is because the even recording is a PITA to see the entire event. At least it’s a pain from my phone app. But as I mentioned, if I decide to stay with continuous recording, I will need newer/bigger SD cards. The 64gb cards are fine for normal day to day recording. (Because I only have the cams on when I leave the house or at night when sleeping). But when away from home for work/leisure, a 64gb card will only last a couple days at HD (a week at SD).
Thanks. I definitely don’t need the smart detection. But I can understand some people may need it. The cool down issue is definitely a plus for getting the subscription. But, the continuous recording takes care of that issue with or without a subscription.
Yeah generally speaking, it is between 5 and 7 days per 64 gigs. Depends somewhat on the complexity of what is being recorded. I use 128G cards as the nearly 2 weeks is more than enough for me, in fact 1 week would be plenty for me.
I honestly wish they would reduce the compression so the cards only held half that much time, I’d gladly lose some history or buy larger cards in exchange for better quality video/zoom.
Dave, unless you were recording in SD, I don’t think a 64gb sd card would make it past say 4 days max. You 128gb sd card, IF you record at SD, would easily last 4 weeks. That’s the problem with my car’s Dash Cam. It records in 2k/4k so you need at least 128gb (With overhead) to manage a long trip. But fortunately, a dash cam is only really for self defense during accidents. Not like I have multiple accidents per day. But I definitely prefer to record at home on the V3 in HD 1080p.
Then again… I haven’t really tried recording in 480p SD to see how clear it is. I might have to move my car in front of one of my cameras; about 10-15 feet away. If I can read the license plate on an SD recording, it might be good enough for security. Not like I’m using cameras to bird watch or some other super high def photo. Just to monitor activity and have a clear view of WHO is there.
I’m not at 100% that I “Don’t need” a subscription. There is still the advantage of the subscription for cloud storage of events. Just in case an issue happens with the camera, SD Card, etc… after an event. But I am definitely leaning more towards not needing a subscription. OR… maybe just 1 subscription for 1 of my cameras. Sort of a compromise.
If you want to record continuous get the correct High Endurance Card that is made for that task, flavor of your choice. All my plug in cameras have been set for continuous recording for years with both 128GB cards in the V3 cams and 256GB cards in the V4 cams. , possum and approved. Get a company you like.
You can’t choose the resolution/quality recorded to the SD card. The cams all record to SD card at their fixed resolution. There is no SD or HD in that scenario.
4-7 days is the range per 64gb of space, as mentioned, it depends on the complexity of what is in the field of view, how much motion, and how much daylight. As of right now, my busier cams that record lots of motion and a fairly complex scene are getting 9 days on 128GB (4.5 per 64gb) and the one in my driveway that is much simpler and less motion is at 11 days (5.5 on 64gb).
Doesn’t matter if it is a 1080P cam or 2.5K cam, they use more compression on the 2.5K ones to make the bitrate about the same.
My 720P dashcam can only get about 1/2 day on a 64G card, it uses far less compression than Wyze does.
The compression is what makes all the difference. Uncompressed 1080P would fill up a 64G card in a matter of minutes.
Dave. Not sure I understand. Please clarify. When I’m looking at the live stream, in the top left corner, it gives me the option of “HD”, “SD”, and “360p”. Is it NOT recording to the SD card in THAT resolution which I choose? If not, then what is the purpose of being able to change the resolution. I know the bandwidth/throughput of the network is definitely less when I switch from HD to SD; so I would think that it’s a matter of garbage in - garbage out; meaning the recording to SD card SHOULD be whatever the resolution is set to. Inquiring minds want to know???
, possum and 
approved. Get a company you like.