Disappointed in duo cam doorbell

Ive been researching and was finally happy to find what i thought would work. The website, and the box, says 24/7 continuous recording with the optional SD card. The box even touts how it’s battery operated. We’ll i purchased it based on this. Got it all up and running, and go to turn. On continuous recording. NOPE. Not available with battery mode. Went advertise it as battery powered and tout 24/7 recording BUT MAKE NO MENTION that it only works hardwired.

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Welcome @seanryanjones

I will pass this on to Wyze for review.

Can you please point me to where you found it talked about Continuous recording?

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Thanks, this helps.

Passing it on

EDIT

I can tell you from experience in using the Battery Cam Pro, that 24x7 recording drains the batteries really fast which poses an issue. So the Duo Doorbell will have the same issues.

Is it feasible to add a transformer and power the doorbell? I did that with mine, but I have a single level home so ran it through the attic to the front door.

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Yeah, I’d imagine it would drain the battery fast. But even if i got 2 weeks out of it, I’d be happy.

I have all the wiring for the doorbell existing, but it stopped working. I was hoping would be a good solution.

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I’m not sure if this would be an option for you, but I thought I would post it just in case.

Plug in transformer 24VAC for doorbell

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I tested with my BCP and it lasted a day. I added a Solar Panel and it lasted a couple of days. 24x7 drains the battery faster than I expected. :slight_smile:

If you know where the wires go, you can test the transformer or put a new one in and connect the wires to it. By pass your in-home chime.

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This raises a question in my mind now: If someone has a Duo Cam Doorbell with the battery installed and also wired to the existing doorbell’s AC power and has a microSD card installed and configured for continuous recording, then what does the Duo Cam Doorbell do if the AC power is lost because of an outage? Does it recognize that it’s now on battery power and switch to events-only recording? What happens when AC power is restored?

Okay, so more than one question, and I hope they’re sufficiently on topic, because I think @seanryanjones (Welcome to the Forum! :wave:) makes a good point, and I appreciate @spamoni’s follow-up with Wyze on this. I was thinking, based on discussion in the product announcement topic, that the battery might just work as a backup power source and allow the cameras to continue to function temporarily as if they were still connected to AC power, but now I’m not so sure…. :thinking:

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I believe it will still work, but not 100% sure. When you set it up, you indicate if it will be hardwired or battery, I think it uses that when providing some settings.

I also think it will function similarly to the BCP. I believe the camera runs from Battery and the Power keeps it charged. I am not sure it will run with the battery out. let me check a few things and get back to you on it

EDIT

@Crease

I appears that if power to the doorbell is lost, it will continue processing and functioning. However, it does seem that the Continuous recording will stop for the period of time it has been off power. When you add the power back, it seems to pick up and start continuous recording again.

But events are recorded to the SD Card, it just wont be continuous

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That’s good information. Did you actually test? By that I mean actually test what the doorbell does if AC power is cut.

I know in the announcement topic @carverofchoice requested clarification about whether Duo Cam Doorbell will work at all if installed without the battery, but that’s a slightly different issue.

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I did actually test it out and see what will happen.

I can remove the battery and see if it still works.
Give me a second

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I figured but didn’t want to assume. That’s excellent! Thanks for doing the science! :+1:

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Ok, mine is hooked up in a temp area until this weekend. I always set things up before I put it out. :slight_smile:

Anyway, it streams fine with the battery and hooked up to power. But as I expected, when you remove the battery, it will not work. The Power is used to charge the battery which actually powers the doorbell.

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That seems like something learned from experience. :wink:

Thanks again for testing that. I quoted you in the announcement topic:

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Also defined in the setup instructions for wired

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Also…

I never saw anything official that said the battery is required for operation, though. I appreciate that we have confirmation via testing now.

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That’s a great idea, just don’t have an outlet nearby.

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I’m curious about this earlier statement:

What stopped working? Where is the source of the problem? If it’s a transformer issue (a wired-in kind, not one that would require an outlet near the location where you want to place the doorbell camera) and you already have doorbell wiring in place, then replacing the transformer should be fairly easy and not terribly expensive.

That’s what I think I’d be looking at, based on the information I have so far, especially if I had an in-house mechanical chime that I wanted to be able to use.

Welcome to the Forum, @seanryanjones! :wave:

Honestly, i bought the house in 2009. There was a hole in the siding with wires where the doorbell should have been. There was a hole in the wall when the chime would have been. I bought a new doorbell and hooked it up and it didn’t work. I didn’t investigate much further.

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