I’ve tried every possible sequence, except one that works. had my V4 working fine with a new lamp socket, it hasn’t been working for about a month, decided to move the camera a few feet over to get a better angle of my back porch. When I plugged the camera back in and it came back up it suddenly had no idea it was plugged into and installed lamp socket that it had been working with happily for about a month.
I open the ticket and was walk through the steps but no matter what I do it won’t find it. They offered solution was to send me a replacement socket.
I think there’s a better chance that I will win tonight’s lottery then that replacement is going to work since I can’t seem to get this V4 to recognize it’s plugged into a socket
Has anyone had an issue reconnecting a V4 camera to a lamp socket after it has been working perfectly for a while?
I believe there’s some sequence I must go through, turning off the light socket deleting the camera from the app starting from scratch. But every sequence I have tried fails.
This is what I see, and I see it in my dreams at night
Are you using the cable that came with your Lamp Socket to connect it to your Cam v4? My understanding is that other cables are not recommended with Lamp Socket, so if you’re using the Cam v4’s included power cable or a third-party cable that provides power but doesn’t pass data, then that might be the problem.
If that’s the right answer and solves your problem, then what’s my cut of your lottery winnings?
I thought of that, and meant to include that in my original message, thank you for bringing it up. My understanding was the statement to use that particular Cable was simply because of the end of it sealed better and it was a safety issue, I was going to ask if there was different Connection being used in the USB cable that came with the socket that might be causing my problem.
Apparently from what you say, and I agree because I did extend that Cable some and although the extension USB was direct from WYZE it was not specific for the socket.
So… Replacing the socket would not have solved the problem and unfortunately nobody would win the lottery, anyway
But, the original Cable is not long enough to extend my camera to the new location.
I’m trying to get it close to the birdbath so we get better video (attached sample)
,It’s become very popular with wide variety of birds and it was getting frustrating not being able to see them clearly.
It works! Unfortunately it’s too far away to really get any appreciable video of the birds visiting the birdbath or the hummingbird feeder.
Guess I will have to move them.
It’s too bad the five emails an hour on the phone with tech-support wasn’t able to determine the cause of my problem.
This is why I spend (too much) time in the Forum, because Support is often unsatisfactory. In order to solve a problem, it’s important to ask the right questions and exercise some independent thought, and I don’t know if the Wyze Wizards have the freedom to do that. I’ve complained enough recently (and have more to post) in other topics about some Support experiences I’ve had lately, so I’ll spare you that here and just say that I’m glad you found resolution.
I understand what you mean about the cable that ships with Lamp Socket, because the molding around the USB-A connector end is unusual. I think that’s designed to get that connector to blend better with the Lamp Socket’s octagonal shape and to keep that end of the cable tight to the device so it doesn’t stick out as far as some other USB-A connectors likely would (which would prevent its use in some sconces). I’m not sure if it has anything to do with sealing or safety, but that could be part of the thinking, as well. I think the main thing is that it’s capable of carrying data (not just power) whereas some USB cables can’t. In fact, when I needed to replace a cable on another Wyze Cam and was looking around on Amazon, I found that a lot of the third-party cables advertised as working with Wyze specifically say that they don’t work for Cam Pan v3 (because it requires an L-shaped Micro-B connector at the distal end) or for Lamp Socket (and I believe that’s because they’re not passing data).
I’m just speculating about some of this stuff, because I don’t actually own any Lamp Socket v1s, so I’ve never had the opportunity to test the cable, but it’s what makes sense to me.
I also haven’t tried the Wyze Cam USB Extension Cable (which is what I imagine you tried), but if you look at the “Tech specs” section of the product page it specifies “charge only”, meaning that it’s also not capable of passing data. Even if you were using that with your original Lamp Socket cable, I don’t think that would work.
You probably could find a longer third-party cable that would work (I see some listed on Amazon that might do) but you’d want to be sure that it supports “data sync” or something similar in addition to “charging” or that it specifically says it’s compatible with Lamp Socket. When I search wyze lamp socket cable one of the first results is a 2-pack of 20′ cables that say they’re for “Charging and Data Sync”. Please note that I am not personally endorsing those, as I have not used them; however, I think I’ve seen other Forum members mention that brand as a satisfactory replacement. The cables I bought most recently are a nearly perfect connector fit for my Cam and are longer and slightly thicker than the original Wyze cable (so they seem more durable), but they specifically say that they’re a “Charging Charger Cord” and not compatible with Lamp Socket, so I wouldn’t recommend those for your application here (but I’m happy to direct you to them if you just need power and not data).
“get that connector to blend better with the Lamp Socket’s octagonal shape and to keep that end of the cable tight to the device so it doesn’t stick out as far as some other USB-A connectors likely would (which would prevent its use in some sconces).”
I actually had to take the glass out of one of mine because the power supply plugged into the socket extended way too far. Ended up having to tape over the glass and the Cable coming out the back in order to keep it secured from the weather
That was before I knew that Wyse had these lamp sockets, they weren’t widely advertised.
Also, I agree 1000% that most what they call tech support is merely ground level customer support reading are cutting and pasting if you’re in chat prepared responses to the different possible subjects of a call or chat.
It doesn’t take very long to determine that we’ve got someone who’s pretty darn green and has no technical understanding.
The Trouble call that I experienced for this issue ended up resolving it by sending me a replacement lamp socket! Even though I stated over and over again there’s nothing wrong with the Lamb socket it was working just fine until I moved the camera. She insisted on sending me a replacement, I said OK we’ll talk again when it arrives and does not resolve the problem!
Unbelievable!!!
I thank you again for enhancing my understanding of why the instruction State to only use that cable. The way it form fits it looked like it was because it was making a water tight seal.
Perhaps a little more verbose descriptions in the instructions or definitions or descriptions of their products would help us to understand. Like “only use this cable because it requires data connections that other cables may not provide.” Would that be too much to ask?
Anyway, forums like this I have found to be much more helpful than point and click, copy and paste Solutions from entry level customer service representative posing as tech-support.
Yeah, I think that’s correct, because I believe that the attached camera uses the cable to communicate with the socket for binding and for controlling the socket’s internal switch for whatever bulb you’re using. The FAQ on the product page also says this:
Do I need extra cables to connect it to a Wyze Cam?
No, each Wyze Lamp Socket comes with a dedicated cable to connect to a v3/v4. Do not use any other Wyze Cam v3/v4 cable.
I think it’s the data cable along with Cam v3’s and Cam v4’s firmware and app plugins that allow those Cams (and not others) to control Lamp Socket.
I argue frequently that their communication with customers could use constant improvement.
This also makes sense because you cannot find the lamp socket as a device! It only appears as an accessory to the camera. If it was a Wi-Fi device (or even Bluetooth) then it could communicate independently without having to be tethered to the camera by wire!
This would also remove the limitations of how far away the camera is from the light, and it might also remove the limitation of only one accessory can be attached to a camera.
Perhaps somebody has this idea rolling around in their mind for future implementation.
If not, “wish list”!!
This is where the “Tech specs” section of the product page gets muddy, because it says this:
Connectivity
802.11 b/g/n, 2.4GHz, Bluetooth
My understanding is that these actually do use BLE to communicate with one another so that if you have a Cam v4 connected via the proper cable to a Lamp Socket but then also have other Lamp Sockets within range (say lights on either side of a garage door), then all those Lamp Sockets link up to form a group. Then when your Cam v4 triggers the Lamp Socket that it’s wired to, the other Lamp Sockets turn on their lights, as well.
They should remove the reference to “802.11 b/g/n” from the product page. (I’ll add that to my list of things to tell them.) The Quick Start Guide properly (I believe) indicates that Lamp Socket uses BLE.
??? The other lamp sockets do not have to be plugged into anything? Just screwed in for AC power?
I assume this has to be accomplished when you first set them up, because there doesn’t seem to be any way to add more once it’s configured.
But the link to more details just refers back to the original link and it goes on an infinite loop. Wonderful. It also only refers to having to use a V3, I imagine that’s how old these instructions are since they don’t even mention that the V4 can also be used
Turn them all on (up to 5) within 30 seconds and they will find themselves, link, and form a group. Once they form a group, you can control each lamp socket in the group at the same time.
I don’t know what you’re reading. The product page and the About Wyze Lamp Socket article both mention compatibility with Cam v4, as do other articles in the Lamp Socket section of the Help Center.
That’s when you go to the wizard, and ask how to set them up, it takes you off into a tangent somewhere that goes nowhere. If you follow the set up instructions where it says I have more sockets this is where it goes, again really nowhere.
Oh, gotcha. That’s unhelpful and should be reported. That’s something they need to fix in the app if it’s a bad link. I suggest logging it, opening a ticket, and then sending them the Log ID and any relevant screenshots. You can even link to this Forum topic once you have an active ticket, because at least this provides some additional context for the problem. This is something that should be passed along to the developers so they can fix it in the app.
I’ve done this type of thing many times, I guess they don’t have the time to respond back to people when they actually do something about the recommendations or observations that you share. Because I’ve never heard back.
They don’t respond to log submissions, and the automated e-mail response that you receive after submitting a log from the app will tell you this. It also recommends opening a ticket if you require further assistance, and I do that because that allows me to actually describe the problem in detail and link to relevant sources for additional information. That process has changed some over the past year or so.
Yeah I should show you the ticket that I have on this socket problem. I sent the entire instructions with my observations between each one how that menu item doesn’t exist and etc. etc., and the response I got your replacement is on the way. It couldn’t get any more lame than that. So if I’m Discouraged about communicating with their tech-support directly it’s because my experience has been lackluster at Best
I understand that experience. Last year I was having problems with a Video Doorbell v2 and after getting no resolution with the troubleshooting Support suggested they offered to send me a replacement. Then I had another idea and did additional testing and solved the problem myself (I’ve documented this in detail elsewhere in the Forum), so now I have the original product plus a spare/backup.
I like that they’re easy to deal with when a warranty replacement situation is involved, but I also imagine that they could avoid so much replacement if they just trained and empowered their Support agents to use critical thinking and solve problems. Sending replacement products seems like a pathway that’s easy for agents and intended to serve as customer appeasement rather than solving actual problems.
It’s cool that you’ll have a second Lamp Socket to play with, though. Now you’ll have a spare cable in case something happens with the original, plus you get to try linking them with BLE, and some Forum schmuck solved your problem for you! Win-win-win!
Fixed that for ya. 
