Cam-v4 lost my Wi-Fi network after the 4.52.9.1134 firmware "upgrade"

I bought cam4 originally with the 4.52.7.0367 firmware. Tried updating to 4.52.8, the camera completely lost my Wi-Fi network from it’s list of available networks (something that worked perfectly till the update) and I had to manually flash the 4.52.7 firmware. It worked and I lived my life happily till this morning.

Today I was offered to “upgrade” to the latest 4.52.9.1134 firmware version.
I was completely sure that Wyze probably have solved this annoying bug, lost my guard and updated the firmware. Same thing - the camera immediately disconnected from the network and unable to reconnect, since my Wi-Fi network yet again doesn’t appear to be “available” at the list.

So I’ve tried flashing the original firmware again, but this time it’s just being “rejected”. I press the 3-6 seconds on SETUP button, the LED flashes for a brief moment with a purple color and that’s it. The camera just ignores the firmware on the SD Card. And yet, I’ve tried it all - 2GB card, 32 GB card, formatted at FAT32 card, I’ve renamed the file name to recovery_wcv4.bin - everything by the book and still nothing.

I loved the Wyze brand till today, but it became really annoying.
The support was completely useless and had no clue how to help me.
Any ideas?
Anyone else having fun with the new firmware on his Wyze Cam v4?

Welcome @EvgenyZ , this puzzles me a bit as I have many V4’s and other cameras without experiencing any issues.

Have you reached out to Wyze on this issue and obtained a Support Ticket Number?

Also, are you updating the device via the Camera or the Firmware Update Page?

Can you also provide what App Version you are using.

Thanks

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I’ve uploaded the logs from the app and I’ve chatted online with the support.
Last time I’ve obtained a Ticket the support suggested me to flash the working firmware, which I’m struggling to do now.

This morning I’ve updated the firmware through the app to 4.52.9 and since now it’s a “brick”, I’m trying to flash back the 4.52.7 using SDCard.

I’m using the last App Version, 3.2.5

Here is a troubleshooting link which includes Factory Resetting it.

However, I may be the settings on the phone causing the issue. What permissions did you provide? I provide all permissions on the Android Phone for the Wyze App.

In addition, have you tried the basic steps as follows:

  • Go to Account then App Setting and Clear Cache
  • Log out of the App (Make sure you have your password and 2FA)
  • On Android: Long press the App Icon and select App Info
  • Go to Storage and Cache and then Clear the Cache, not the Storage
  • Do a Force Stop
  • Shut Down the App Info Screen
  • Restart your phone or device
  • The logon and see if things start to work again

The thing is that I do see all other Wi-Fi networks around.
And if I set up a new hotspot for example - no problem, the cam will happily connect to it. The only router not to be seen - is the only one I need the cam to connect to.
Which again - worked great for months till every single firmware I’ve applied so far.
All other home devices of course keep using the existing Wi-Fi connection with no issues.

I’m not understanding what you mean by “available” at the list.
The only time you would see a list of WiFi networks is during setup - which you should not need to do after a firmware update. And that list is from your phone, not the camera. So what exactly are you doing and seeing?

FWIW, I have several V4 cameras running 4.52.9.1134 without issue.

Step 1: Usual firmware update to 3.52.9, just like you did.
Step 2: During the process the cam disconnects from the Wi-Fi network, since it doesn’t “see” my particular router anymore. It never goes back, no matter what I do.
Step 3: Factory reset, new setup with the app. Yet again, cannot find my Wi-Fi network at the list you’re referring to.

The only solution for the camera to recognize again my route is to flash back the 4.52.7 firmware - which I did once at the past, but unable to do again, since the camera ignores the firmware file on the SDCard.

I think I remember someone else mentioning this a while back. There is some odd combination of wifi router setting and camera firmware that causes an issue.

Since the v4 supports AX wifi (Wifi6 on 2.4ghz) that’s where I’d focus, if your router has WPA2/3 mixed enabled, try shutting that off (WPA2 only) as a test. You can also try disabling AX mode on 2.4ghz (sending it back to N mode), again, just as a test to narrow it down.

I’m assuming of course you have a Wifi 6 capable router but that’s a safe assumption these days.

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Dave,
You’re a genius and should be crowned as one or something.
I shut down the WPA3 and AX mode - worked like a charm.
I was too eager to try and implemented both of the solutions - so now we don’t know which one is the correct one (or maybe indeed both).
Anyhow, it worked and I Thank You for that.

BTW, after the initial setup I brought all the 2.4Ghz network settings to their previous state (WPA2/3 mixed, AX mode enabled) - the camera didn’t mind.
It’s just something that bothers at the setup stage and, apparently, after a firmware upgrade.

The support really should have known better, they weren’t even close with their “solutions”.

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If I had to place a bet I’d say it is WPA3. They may have broken it in newer firmware, but your router seeing it as an AX compliant device, tries to force WPA3 when it is enabled. Camera doesn’t understand that, so doesn’t list the network.

Once authenticated at WPA2, turning 3 back on in the router shouldn’t change anything for that established device so it keeps working. But to be certain, you can reboot your router and cam just to make sure it comes back online and something wasn’t just “cached”. Assuming it comes back online fine, in theory firmware upgrades should not cause any problems since the camera will remember that it is WPA2. Only re-setting up the camera would reset that.

Until they fix whatever it is, you’ll just have to keep in mind that you need to temporarily disable WPA3 on 2.4ghz when adding/re-adding v4 cams.

The other possibility is that the earlier firmwares did not actually enable AX support and were running N wifi, and the new firmware has added AX support but WPA3 isn’t working. That seems a little more far fetched though.

If for some reason you’re bored and want to try -

I don’t recall if the Wyze app lets you manually enter network details during setup, but if so, you could try leaving WPA3 enabled on the router, and manually putting in your SSID, select mode WPA3, and your password and see if it is able to connect. In that case it would just be some odd bug and not a total lack of WPA3 support.

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Rebooted the router and the cam - all smooth.
I’ve tried manually entering network details during setup - no luck.
It would be nice of them to at least mention that together with no 5Ghz network support there’s also no WPA3 support…

Thank You again.

To meet the AX standard it has to support WPA3 so I suspect this is a bug/issue that will get resolved (you can submit a log and open a ticket so they’re aware and can research it, hopefully fixing it in an upcoming version).

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