I got my last two replacements just before the V2s were actually available to order (outside of the early release).
I imagine they were just waiting for that point to stop offering replacements. Or it could be that their stock of the v1s has actually depleted at this point.
I wish they would do that replacement as well but I think they’d see it as cost prohibitive, especially since everyone would need the new hub which they’ve so far only made available with the Home Monitoring Service.
I plan to just use these until they’re eventually dead if I can’t catch the battery replacement in time, but I’ve started moving over to Homekit stuff for anything new I buy anyway.
though, if the v1’s are officially unavailable, it seems pretty clear that under their warranty they should be sending out v2’s
or am I somehow misreading “Defective products will be replaced with a new model, a refurbished model of equal value or, if both are unavailable, the model nearest to the original model’s form, functionality, and performance.”
Are yours less than a year after you purchased them new?
I still doubt you’d be able to convince them but you’d perhaps at least have a leg to stand on.
All of mine but those last 2 were bought when they first launched in 2019, or I bought additional sensors used. I’m not pursuing it personally.
The V2 sensors aren’t that much cheaper at this point to other options that integrate much better with other systems than just Wyze. Marry that with the current requirement to subscribe to the monitoring service to get the required hub, and the fact that the Wyze Rules are still quite limited in functionality, and it’s just not all that appealing for home automation.
Ha!
Everyone at Wyze are all breathing a sigh of relief!
They made it past the 1 year warranty on these ticking time bombs, now when they brick, which they all inevitably will…
They can say, “Sorry! Out of warranty!”
I’m going to post a “conspiracy theory” here about the V1 sensors.
Does anyone else think it is suspicious that the V1 sensors were shipped with the batteries installed and active? Did Wyze already know about the problem with the MAC and shipped the sensors this way so they wouldn’t arrive DOA? I just find it puzzling since I can’t remember any other product I received with the battery already active, not even the V2 sensors. Storing them and shipping them that way could potentially deplete the batteries.
Not a bad theory, but I have to give Wyze a pass on this one.
They ship it with the battery installed, but also the magnet attached to the sensor with wrap-around plastic.
This ensures that the sensor will never trigger (it only triggers “on change”), thus the sensor remains in a deep sleep, using extremely little power from the battery.
That being said, it is unconscionable that they continued to sell the v1 sensors even after discovering/finding out about the issue.
And double unconscionable that they are now rejecting RMA’s/replacements for people because they met the “spirit” of the 1 year warranty, even though all these sensors are bricking.
Every other device with a pre-installed battery I’ve received, had a little plastic film so that the battery wouldn’t touch one of the two contacts. You just have to pull out the film to activate the battery and device. Why Wyze would send these sensors without them?
Can you imagine sending out thousands of sensors, with the battery not active, all bricked on arrival!
Not sure I’d buy that. Why activate a battery for a product that could be in a warehouse for an extended period of time. I received a “replacement” door sensor from Wyze as part of a two pack for a warranty issue. One arrived DOA (5 flashes of the red light while trying to pair) the other was still alright. So manufacturing problem or dead battery?
I have to agree. I have a pile of worthless sensors that stopped working after the batteries died (if not before). I would not have purchased these things, no matter how cheap they were, if I would have known they were “disposable” one-time use devices.
Been in contact with support regarding my extra inventory of sensors that have died with battery installed and now show the 5 flashes of death without ever being used in either house. They regretted that they now longer can provide replacements and then ‘invited’ me to purchase the V2 product line…If I could have reached over and slapped him in the face maybe I could have snapped him out his delusion that he was providing any desired appropriate response to a long time customer.
Hmmm… be nice. I appreciate that answer didn’t help you, however I hope you do realise it’s in no way the fault of the person you were in contact with. He or she was most likely just following a predefined script with no freedom to go beyond it. Just saying.
Otherwise have you considered listing your “extra inventory of sensors that have died with battery installed and now show the 5 flashes of death” on a site like ebay, clearly mentioning they’re showing the 5 flashes? Even in this condition you might just be able to recover some of their cost.
So I’ve recently started with Home Assistant and I tried 3 of my “dead” sensors, only 1 of which was recognized by Home Assistant so apparently the sensors can still have some use though without a MAC address, Home Assistant can’t tell which sensor is reporting open.
I want to mount a contact sensor on my mailbox so I can get a notification when the Mail arrives. However mounting a sensor inside the metal mailbox is out because the signal is blocked (despite putting a bridge up against the closest outside window. The only way the signal reaches is to mount the sensor on the bottom of the mailbox.
However, if I mount it on the bottom, there is only a tiny portion of the mailbox door that moves below the mailbox so nowhere to mount the magnet.
Instead, my plan is to open up the sensor, remove the magnetic reed switch and solder in a tilt sensor, then use something to seal the unit (as it would be exposed to the elements under the box). That way I can stick it to the part of the door exposed below the box and I just need the sensor to tilt when the door is opened and no magnet needed. This setup could also be used on a garage door with no special mount.
Suggestions on what to seal it with or other comments?
Last comment is I think the magnetic reed switch is normally closed when the magnet is in place but open when it is not, right?
My box is wood so it works great for me as is. How about a tilt sensor that you attach to the door and run wires to the wyze device and solder the wire to it?
The bottom of my mailbox door extends down about 3/4" below the bottom of the box as the hinge is a rod at the bottom so there is enough room to mount both the contact sensor and the tilt switch, all as one unit.
Tomorrow the tilt switch is supposed to arrive so I hope to get it done shortly. I expect the only issue I will have is the tilt switch will need to be installed at a 90 degree angle to the sensor.
…other comments. Look at Yosmart/Yolink products. Their products have a range of 1,000 feet to 1/4 mile. I had to buy their hub (everybody has a hub these days) $20 or so. And a Yolink contact sensor for $20 or so. Put it in the completely metal mailbox 140 feet away and works GREAT. Worth every penny. And now adding other sensors. Using routines in Alexa, I can trigger Wyze bulbs, announcements, even email to myself.
I’ve heard good things about Yolink but I am not too anxious to get involved in a whole new ecosystem.
I’m still waiting for Amazon to deliver my tilt switch and I was thinking about how I’d install it in a Wyze contact sensor that still has the Mac ID. That is,… how long can a Wyze contact sensor go with no battery in it before it loses the Mac ID? I think I’m going to have to solder in the tilt switch with the battery still in the sensor so as not to take a chance.
Wyze sensors don’t have a MAC ID. They MAC address you see is the address of the Bridge on the camera you are linking to. Look at some of your other sensors and you likely will confirm they have the same address, unless you have more than one bridge. But also check the MAC address of the camera.