I’m having to get rid of my internet and would like to set-up cameras to my phone. I have 2 iPhones and making one a permanent hotspot. I connected my main phone to the one that I will use as the hotspot. I then tried connecting V3 camera to the 2nd phone, not the hotspot…I tried several times and get the message can’t locate network. The network was selected from the one that appeared on the V3 list of available networks to connect to.
What am I doing wrong?
Using a phone as a permanent hotspot can sometimes be problematic. Mine disconnects every 2 hours (haven’t needed it enough to look into an app to force it to reconnect or something like that). Maybe it went down while you were trying to do the setup?
But hotspot can also be a lot more restrictive due to the way cell networks work. It could be blocking the cam from connecting/authenticating too. The “can’t locate network” may mean their server on the internet, and not your wifi network. During the process does it seem like it connects to the wifi ok, then fails later on in the process?
To clarify, both your phone that you’re using for setup and the camera are connected to the hotspot’s wifi network right?
Thanks for the response, I have 4 cameras and dropping my internet. I also have 2 cell iphones. I planned on making one a standalone hotspot that would stay connected to the hotspot with unlimited hotspot data from Visible wireless.
I took the 2nd phone and connected it to the hotspot. I then tried connecting one of the V3 cameras to that phone. It went thru all the connection motions even showing the hotspot I’m trying to connect to. However, after entering the password it comes back and says “can’t locate the network”.
I’ve since did a chat with Wyze support and was told hotspots are not recommended for connecting cameras to because they are too unstable.
So I guess my plan will not work. I’ll look for another camera that might connect to hotspots.
Thanks
Maybe not recommended but should work.
Wifi is wifi.
That statement as written does not make sense - but I suspect that’s not really what you did. You would have to connect to the WiFi from the hotspot as the 2nd phone is not operating as a hotspot. I assume what you really meant is that you attempted to use the 2nd phone to do the setup on the camera with the target network to be the hotspot phone. That should work fine. I have used both multiple iPhones and also dedicated hotspots with various Wyze cameras many times. If you are going to use cellular for your cameras, I would recommend getting a real hotspot rather than using a phone.
Can you clarify? Are you connecting phone 2 to phone 1’s SSID then using hotspot on phone 2 for the cams? That’s probably going to cause problems at least during the setup process. You should be connecting your phone and the cams to the phone 1 hotspot SSID directly. Phone 1 is now your internet router basically.
While it is certainly possible something on your cellular provider’s network is blocking it, Visible uses Verizon and I’m not aware of them having any major issues with stuff being blocked. Their hotspot has throughput throttled but even on the basic plan I think it is 5 megs which is plenty.
Most likely if it is an issue with your hotspot setup or cellular provider, it will be a problem for many devices/cams from many brands, so hopefully that isn’t the case.
I will say while running hotspot seems like a viable solution for home internet, it is not without some pitfalls. And as I mentioned, you have to make sure your phone isn’t shutting off hotspot automatically too.
My phone hotspot is free but is capped; you’re charged at a high rate when the download cap is exceeded. Better check before you proceed.
You can get a cellular modem to get around this hard cap. But then there’s a soft account cap, too. If you exceed this soft cap, they start throttling the connection to a crawl.
Visible is unlimited hotspot (de-prioritized data after a certain amount of gigs) but throttled to 5 or 10 megabits depending on which plan you choose. It is one of the best options for people who want a lot of hotspot (and obviously who can live with 5 or 10 megs, which is sufficient for many).
There used to be hacks to un-throttle it, apps that made them think you were just using your phone as normal with no hotspot, but they’ve plugged those holes, unless someone has found a new one.
Though I’d argue getting a 5G internet service alongside a cheap cell phone plan, using wifi as much as possible, might be the better option, since the two lines of visible probably add up to about the same amount, and then you don’t have to deal with the shortcomings of hotspot. Heck you can get 300 meg FIOS service in many areas for less than a visible plan, but not sure if OP has it available where they are. Many cable companies will give you a decent plan as a new subscriber in the $25 to $30 range too.
Just to clarify:
Phone 1 will be the hotspot
Phone 2 is connected to the hotspot.
I was told I could not connect the cameras directly to the hotspot and had to use another source that is connected to the hotspot to install the camera to, such as a phone or iPad.
When I try to connect cameras to phone 2 the camera finds phone 2 and goes thru the connection procedure. After verifying the password it comes back and says “can’t locate network”
I will try again later today and if not able to connect will just give it up.
Thanks for all the input.
You need to use the Wyze app on phone two to add the device (camera) to your Wyze account. When choosing the WiFi network
during the camera setup that you want the camera to use, select the hot spot information that phone one is broadcasting.
1 Like
That’s exactly how I’m doing it. Might be a Visible wireless thing not sure. Thanks for all the help.
Are their any special characters, things not letters or numbers in the ssid?
Your cameras and Wyze app on Phone 2 should connect to Phone 1, not Phone 2.
1 Like
To be clear, if your phone 1 / hotspot network name is HOTSPOT
Set the authentication to WPA2/AES if it gives you the option
Try a fairly simple password first, capital letters, lowercase letters, numbers only
For the network name also try not to use any special characters, at least during testing
Connect phone 2’s wifi to HOTSPOT, confirm you have internet connectivity
Launch the wyze app on Phone 2
Go through the add device process
During that process, select the wifi network HOTSPOT
Just making sure you’re not trying to use phone 2 as a hotspot also and have the cams connect to that…
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.