This is NOT a problem caused in any way by Wyze. I think I have managed to kill four V3 cameras. Before I get into how I did that, is there any way to bring them back to life?
They are all currently disconnected and easy to work/test with. I have tried 3 different cables, and 3 different power adaptors, and 3 different electrical outlets, in all possible combinations. I get no lights at all on any of the cameras. Other (non Wyze) devices work fine with all the cables, power adaptors, and electrical outlets.
I have held the reset button for 10 second, and for 30 seconds, and for a full minute. Nothing. Not expecting success, I tried to flash the firmware, holding the reset button while plugging the cable in. Nothing.
Does anyone have any ideas for me to try to bring these back to life?
Yes, but the main idea is that he could still open up the V3’s and tinker with it depending on what the issue is. They didn’t give us enough information to know how to answer conclusively.
OK. I didn’t really want to get into how this happened because it will make me look pretty dumb. Anyway, I’ll try to describe what happened. It might not be exact, but it will be as close as I can remember.
I have a camera location (and camera) I call East. Several weeks ago the East camera (V3) showed Offline and wouldn’t come back online. This happened to one of my cameras a year or so ago and I just left it alone and it finally came back online. So I left this one alone. Then I got tired of waiting, so I got out one of my spare V3 cameras and set it up on my desk next to my router. It worked great. I took the East camera down and put Spare #1 in its place. Still Offline. How can that be? I tested the cable and the power supply. Both OK.
I got busy and didn’t get back to this issue for a couple of weeks. Here’s where I should have said whoa – and taken a step back. But no, I got out my second spare V3 and set it up on my desk next to my router. It worked great. I took the Spare #1 camera down and put Spare #2 in its place. Still offline. What the hell?
OK, so being the dummy that I am, I decided to buy a V4 camera, set it up and swap it out for a known working V3 (Driveway camera) to put where the East camera is/was. That’s exactly what I did. And it showed Offline. Crap.
So this is when I started testing the four V3 cameras that had been installed in the East location. All four are dead. Yes, I should have stopped after Spare #1 showed offline. Or maybe when Spare #2 showed offline. But I didn’t.
I have no idea what is killing these V3 cameras. But that obviously needs to be fixed before I try any more cameras in that location. Any thoughts?
So, it is definitely possible that there is some kind of short or power surge in that line that keeps frying the cameras.
For the future, I would consider buying a water proof surge protector to act as a go between for that wiring and any future cameras you might try to set up. This will at least help prevent them from getting fried. You should probably also get that line checked out by an electrician so it doesn’t risk a fire, etc.
As for the cameras, I assume you tried deleting them off the Wyze account and going through setup on a different location now? Did you make sure to use a new power adapter and cord that was never involved in the East location? Because it’s possible that the Adapter and cord were damaged/fried and wouldn’t work anywhere else now.
You tried a factory reset already (holding the button for a while). You can try flashing the firmware:
I know that is unlikely to work if you aren’t seeing any light or hearing anything, but I have actually revived a camera that similarly seemed dead (no lights or clicking to get power) by trying to flash it. I’m not sure why, but it since it worked for me in the past, it can’t hurt to try.
My main hope is that you can use a new power adapter and cord on a new outlet that is confirmed to work with another device and see if that makes a difference.
carverofchoice - yes, I will have that line/wire/circuit checked out by an electrician for sure.
I deleted them from my account and tried to go thru the setup process at a different location, inside at my desk. I didn’t use the same East cable and power adaptor. They are still hooked up outside. And I already tried flashing the firmware. Nada.
My guess is the “wall wart” power supply in that area has gone bad and is feeding way too much power to the cameras, frying each one you plug in. I would definitely replace that power supply before using anything else with it. Cable too, just to be safe (might have gotten pinched or water in it causing a short).
If you smell the speaker holes in the camera, do you smell that telltale burnt electronics smell? It might not be detectable there since the speaker is sealed, might have to open the cam to find out, but unless you’re good at electronics repair and soldering, they are most likely dead.
Never hurts to tinker (if you know what you’re doing) but given the symptoms and the fact that OP alluded to something “unwyze” being done, I was guessing they are toast and not as simple as plugging something in.
OK, I got out an old V2 camera and tested it to make sure it works. I have it hooked into the same outdoor electrical outlet I was using for the dead V3s, and I’m using a new cable and new power adaptor. It came right up and looks good. I will run this test configuration for a week. If it continues to work and does not fry the V2 camera, I will assume (but it’s not guaranteed) that the electrical outlet is OK and either the cable or the power adaptor is bad. Most likely the power adaptor.
That’s definitely the most likely suspect. There are very few instances where an electrical outlet would put out more power than it is supposed to (and the wyze adapter can handle up to 240V) or be surging. But plenty of cases of internal components in a wall wart dying, resulting in it putting out way too much DC voltage. But good idea to play it safe and test.
If you have a multimeter it would be easy enough to check the voltage on the USB-A port on the suspect adapter to confirm. The voltage between the outer two pins (and I believe between one of the two outer pins and the metal shield) should be around 5v DC. Just try not to short the pins to shield with one of the multimeter probes (easy to do with a USB plug), if it is already having issues inside, don’t want to short anything.
Dropping one is also a good way to find bad solder joints.
You never know how unsteady your hands are until you try to solder a surface mount resistor or capacitor under a microscope with fine tipped iron.
I just did 11 tiny capacitors tonight on a subwoofer amp. Need 1 or two more hands.
In the case of your plug popping out, I’m guessing the person assembling it probably didn’t push it in all the way, or maybe the tightness of the cable pulled it out as they were doing the final assembly. Even a far drop like that shouldn’t have pulled that kind of connector apart. But regardless, when I put stuff back together, any non-locking plugs get a dab or two of hot glue on them. They make a thick brush on glue for that purpose but the next time you have to work on the thing, it is a royal pain to cut through and separate.
