Can I record without an internet connection?

Will the Wyze cam 2 work without an internet connection and record to the SC card for later viewing?

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Please click Support at the top of this page, then FAQ, and scroll down to “Can the Wyze Cam record to a microSD card when there is no internet (wi-fi) available?”.

The FAQ isn’t as easy to find as it once was.

For future visitors, this is the answer given in the FAQ:

Yes (partially).

You’ll need a Wi-Fi network connection to set up and configure your Wyze Cam in the Wyze App. Once the camera is configured with a microSD card inserted and Local recording to microSD card turned on, the camera will continue to continuously record to the microSD card, even when it is moved to an area that does not have wi-fi.

However, when your Wyze Cam is in an area that does not have Wi-Fi, you will not be able to connect to the camera via the Wyze App to view the live stream view of the camera or change any of the camera settings. The camera also will not save any alert videos to the cloud, so none of the motion or sound detection features will work.

To view your recorded footage, you can either bring your Wyze Cam back to an area that is covered by the wi-fi network it was set up in and use the Playback feature in the Wyze App, or remove the microSD card from your Wyze Cam to view the raw video files (mp4 format) on a computer. When you return the microSD card to your Wyze Cam, it will resume continuous recording.

This is a useful but disappointing answer.

To view your recorded footage, you can either bring your Wyze Cam back to an area that is covered
by the wi-fi network it was set up in and use the Playback feature in the Wyze App

Does this mean that none of the Wyze cameras supports local hotspot via mobile phone WiFi for viewing stored videos?

The camera also will not save any alert videos to the cloud, so none of the motion or sound
detection features will work.

Motion detection video recording doesn’t work without WiFi? Does this mean that Wyze cameras can only record continuous video when not connected to WiFi?

Non-Internet use of the camera can be challenging, but has evolved recently (there used to be a 90-minute limit). You will need the most recent firmware.

At this time, the cameras WILL work with a hotspot, but working with a hotspot brings on its own set of challenges. For me, I couldn’t get the camera to set up until I activated my travel router in Repeater mode. After that, the travel router was no longer required.

My travel cam connects direct to my phone hotspot without any issues now. Depending on your phone and your service provider, you may experience other hotspot challenges. Searching the articles here may help resolve any issues you encounter.

As long as your cam has been set up to use your hotspot and the hotspot is active, the camera will work as normal.

As soon as you disconnect the hotspot, you lose all live motion alerts. This is expected – the camera has no way to report them. It does not buffer the alerts, they simply will not happen.

However, if you have your camera set up to record ‘events only’ to the SD card, then those motion activated recordings will still be made (the entire minute where motion occurred). When you playback that stream, the app will automatically jump from one motion event to the next.

If you have the camera set up for continuous recording, then the entire stream will be recorded, but there will be no flags as to where motion occurred (other than the usual green box tagging that you can watch the entire stream for).

Right now the biggest off-line limit is if you have no cell signal to activate the hotspot to “prime the pump” and get the camera started, and pointed at what you are interested in recording. There is a workaround for that if you need it (too many words to add here).

I wanted to update this old thread because I had bought this camera because of the reviews saying that you can use the cam without wifi. As of August 5th 2019 this is no longer true. Once it is set up and you unplug your router the camera will try to connect and will stop recording to the Local SD. You will have a few minutes of record time until you get the yellow/blue blinking light of death.

That feature alone made this camera stand out but it is no longer working that way.

Thanks makmak1980.

That was my observation too. This is my one big complaint about the Wyze cameras… they do not provide their own AP. By requiring an active WiFi network, they take themselves out of markets where people need stand-alone security cameras.

There are many use cases, remote homes and cottages, boats, garages too far away from the home, etc.

:frowning: