I am about to give up on Wyze Home Monitoring and all the devices

Sensors
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I have been a pleased Wyze customer for years. So when the home monitoring was introduced, I ordered it and set it up. It worked well.

Then the Amazon outage happened, and nothing has been the same since then. After the services came back up, I experienced issues with some of the sensors blocking the mode switches.

Eventually, I could not switch the home monitoring mode by my app anymore, failing every time. However, doing it with the keypad still worked. At least - it was arming, and the hub was telling me it successfully did so later on.
A month later, I actually checked it, and in my history, the system told me it had not been armed for over a month.

After the latest App update, things got even worse.
I have removed the hub and re-installed each sensor again by the books. I worked maybe for an hour, and then every sensor went offline. It has become so bad that I cannot even remove the sensors or the hub from the application. When I try to remove the hub, then the app will tell me it failed to do so. When I try to remove each sensor, it tells me it succeeded, but no luck. The sensor still shows up in my devices list.

I donā€™t know what is going on, but I cannot have security be a game of chance. Besides the security and sensor-related issues, my smart plugs drop offline daily as well.
The cameras are still working fine. Although I should say that sometimes they show up offline, I still can use them.

Wyze - please stop making new stuff and ensure your current equipment keeps working. It has become incredibly annoying and unreliable. I went from one of your biggest supporters to someone who recommends that friends and family go somewhere else to get their stuff. If a security system goes offline, and after re-installation on a perfectly clean android phone, it cannot run with your newest equipment? There is no excuse for that.

I am a tech-savvy person in application development and usability design - and I would not dare to ship a product like this. Please start listening to your QA department before shipping things and trying to fix it later on. Your software is not what it used to be.

I will do one more comp[lete reset and re-installation before giving up. Having home security should take away my worries and stress, and instead, it is just adding to it every day.

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Welcome to the community @pzuidema . Note that this is a user to user forum.

However, a number of us have experienced issues with HMS. Here is a link which may help, look at the second paragraph about resetting. They followed the steps I provided and it seemed to help them out as well.

Note: After doing this you may need to wait up to 24 hours for things to stabilize.

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Just an added note. If you are experiencing hub problems it is probably because you updated your firmware to version 4.32.8.213 which initiated the issues being experienced.

If that is the case, rest assured that Wyze IS aware of this, has already pulled the update so there are no more downloads, and is actively working on the next FW update version.

There is light :candle: at the end of the tunnel!

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Alright, let me provide you an update. I mentioned that I would do one total re-install, and it failed again. However, it shed a light on what was going on and I was able to fix it and get everything stable.

I kept getting the removal failed with my sensors. And I could not even remove my hub anymore. I uninstalled the Wyze app completely, reset my phone, and re-installed it. Nothing.

And then I checked my home monitoring once again. And decided on a whim to check the home/away settings. And when I got there, suddenly I get a ā€˜continueā€™ setup. This while initially the entire setup procedure was done. So something got reset there on Wyzeā€™s or Noonlightā€™s side, but without actually ā€˜resettingā€™ our home monitoring.
So I canceled that setup. And suddenly I was able to remove all the sensors and the hub. Did another reset of the app (uninstall, re-install), and from there on I was able to set it up flawlessly.

So, if you get the sensor ā€œremove failedā€ - check your home monitoring pages and check if it has been tagged as ā€˜in processā€™. It seems to be blocking your sensors to be released.

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huh #headscratcher. I havenā€™t had any issues with HMS. I even have 4.32.8.213. Everything is WAD (working-as-designed).

Iā€™m not sure Wyze has a full QA team.

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Youā€™re posting to it!

:upside_down_face:

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I do find it interesting that ā€œDeletion Failedā€ is a real error message within the application, but even if you search for the Wyze error messages (there is a list accessible here - which is only for cameras btw) it is not named there.

And that is why I was absolutely frustrated. If the system would simply be able to tell why an error is happening, or even give a hint to where to look, it will help out the users so much. But ā€˜Deletion Failedā€™ has a ā€˜too bad for you!ā€™ kind of tone. Because it rendered my hundreds of dollars of purchases completely useless without a single hint how to unbrick it.

So, please Wyzeā€¦ add this error also to that document I linked to, and start at least with explaining people to check their HMS settings.

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@pzuidema, glad to hear you are back in business. Great information for a possible wokaround solution. Iā€™m going to link this over to another OP having issues. Click this link to check out the Fix it Friday update and request for logs on Hub Issues:

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@WildBill! The tip of the spear! On point! So right!

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Sadly enough - I am back where it all began. I have to stop recommending the home security solution from Wyze. Everything stopped again - WHILE I WAS ON A TRIP. I just found out that my security has not been able to turn on/switch modes AGAIN without any notification.

So while I was under the impression that our house was secured and monitored, it was not. And this, while also typing the code on the keypad, gives you the correct feedback. But I noticed in my event triggers that it had been offline since.

As you can read in this thread, I have given it a try. After the system seemed to be working again, I even bought more sensors - spent close to $150 additional to expand the security. But it has been a complete waste of money.
Sure, the $5 a month is a steal, but I have paid hundreds of dollars to set up a fine-tuned security for our place. It has been all a waste of money.

It is too bad. I really like the hardware - but a security system that isnā€™t reliable and does not even give notifications that it is not turned on as it is supposed to, only for me to figure out by checking the events - it is a horrible service.

I like the cameras. But that is honestly the only good thing. My plugs, from which I bought another two, keep going offline and have to be deleted and re-installed AGAIN. It is the 7th time I have to do it. What use are ā€˜smartā€™ plugs if they forget that they are connected?

Well, thatā€™s it. This whole WYZE, home monitoring thing has been an excellent advertisement for ADT.

I am a tech-savvy dude. I know how to figure out things to make it work - but I should not lose a weekend per month to reset my security system completely. So I am back at my original statementā€¦

WYZE, please stop making new stuff, and get a grasp on your current, existing hardware and software. I know the market is killing these days and that you have to keep inventing. But losing customers who really try hard to be happy with your product cannot be your end goal. That cannot be a sustainable business plan.

I will keep the cameras and the bulbs. But by the end of this month, I will cancel my subscription, take down all the sensors, and switch to something different. Too bad. I really, really like your hardware. But if you cannot give us software that keeps it together - it is all pretty expensive wall decorations.

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I am back on the WYZE team again as I figured out what was causing the home security issue I described previously. This is a 100% UX issue, that I think WYZE, you should address immediately. Being a UX and ID specialist, it bothers me a lot that in this scenario your technology is not to blame, but simply the UX in the application.

What caused my home security to go offline by itself this time was because my Sense Hub received a newer firmware update, and I did not install that one yet, even though I was on a recent version.

The issue is, when you start the application, you are not made aware of which devices have a firmware update, and most of all, REQUIRE it. You only see it if you go into your account and check for the updates, or that you visit your deviceā€™s page in the app.

But, who ever surfs daily to their sensor pages? A camera page, yep, I understand that. But not the sensor pages, especially not the Sense Hub page.

If there is a critical firmware update available, please notify the user of this. This is different than a ā€˜nice to haveā€™ firmware update. I am not in the application every moment of the day just to make sure I am absolutely aware of all of it.

And I have rules on my home security - so that it turns on automatically and off as well. You can test if these rules can apply - and if not, notify the user.
Users set up these rules to make their life easier, and they want to trust the hard- and software to work as intended. By not letting a user know that a rule cannot work because of a technicality or firmware update - the user will not be aware.

I have mentioned before, I really like the hardware and the promise of the services you have. Please make sure you understand the userā€™s perspective. Not only from a UI point of view, but actually the psychology behind the userā€™s behavior. Once addressed like that, you will avoid these issues - and make it easier to track them in your design and development process.

For the time being, I am back and not planning to switch ā€¦ until next time :smiley:

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Just some useless advice from the peanut galleryā€¦If it ainā€™t brokeā€¦

If it is working do NOT update it. The past updated firmware versions have been VERY problematic and have caused more problems than they have solved. This applies to the hub, cams, locks, app, all Wyze updates.

What I do is to watch the forum. If a FW update comes out available in the accounts tab, I will watch the forum topic announcing the release of that version for positive or adverse feedback before I decide to allow the update. If a Beta is released I read the chatter on that while waiting for the production release topic to kick off.

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At the risk of being banished to the ā€œcornfieldā€ I have a statement and then a few questions. First the statementā€¦I have been dealing with the Low/No siren volume since I originally purchased my HMS. Yes, I was duped into drinking the coolade, I believed supportā€™s promise of a fix within 3 weeks of my purchase date. I have been a Wyze customer since the early days and so based on that early experience, I believed them. Oh how times have changedā€¦Now 10 months later I still have an HMS hub with Low/No siren volume. After police being dispatched multiple times for no real reason, I had to move the pathetic little hub to the bedroom for fear I would miss yet another false alarm. (On a positive note, my heart works very well). Multiple motion sensors have failed. Wyze is begrudgingly willing to replace them but it takes WEEKS for them to arrive. Leaving my property unprotected until they do. Wyze doesnā€™t seem to realize that most consumers purchase a home security system to PROTECT their families and belongings. That system MUST BE RELIABLE, if it isnā€™t then what is the point of having it? I installed the April 2022 firmware and it completely destroyed my original hub. Well, I figured no great loss since that hub never worked correctly anyway, so I installed another hub that I already had from another started kit. Wyze tech held my hand through the entire process. The ā€œNewā€ hub made sounds that I had almost forgotten about. I was almost happy (Still no siren volume but I have almost given up on ever having that). This ā€œNewā€ Hub worked flawlessly and I was almost halfway through happily re-pairing my 28 sensors when it lost its network connection. It took me over 8 hours to get all 28 sensors re-pairedā€¦but I finally got it done. Just in time for it to completely refuse to connect to my network. 8 calls to tech support I would be placed on hold for them to ā€œresearchā€ my issue and sometime during that 20 minute hold the call would mysteriously drop and I would have to start all over. I did have one support person tell me to ā€œslide the switch and turn the hub off and then on againā€ā€¦When I asked where that switch was actually located, they hung up.
Now my questions: When will this insanity end? When will we (Wyze customers) get to the point of doing somethingā€¦anything to collectively get Wyzeā€™s attention? (Support wanted to give me a Gift Card so I could purchase more Wyze product rather than send me a new hub!) If it was not so sad it would be laughable. They have taken my hard earned money and given me nothing but aggravation and disappointment in exchange! Speaking of ā€œexchangeā€ I was told today that even though I had 2 hubs that were both completely disabled by the Wyze update and/or Wyze Tech they will only replace one of them because: ā€œI can only use one at a timeā€ā€¦? Seriously? They break 2 but Iā€™m only entitled to get one back? How is that just or reasonable (or legal)?
If I am completely alone in my frustration, please say soā€¦But if notā€¦
Personally, I have tried being nice and understanding butā€¦It is NOT working. Wyze is far too busy creating NEW products to entice NEW customers - They already have our money,
Thanks for listening.

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@Hoot, I am listening, and I agree. But I donā€™t really matter.

Iā€™m not sure you will find anyone in this forum, to include the Mavens, Mods, and Wyze Staff, who will praise the effectiveness of the outsourced Wyze CS. As I posted elsewhere, I am still searching the forum for the ā€œPhenomenal Customer Serviceā€ thread.

As for the effectiveness of their productsā€¦ Wyze has effectively shot themselves in both feet across the board on the HMS, CamPlus Lite, WCO, VDB, Plugs, Notifications, AIā€¦ Where will the list end.

If my experience were like yours, I would be directly tagging the Wyze Team in DM and topics to request intervention to get your second hub taken care of.

https://forums.wyze.com/u?group=WyzeTeam&order=likes_received

If that proved fruitless, I would tag a Mod in DM. They have the unique ability to activate the bat :bat: signal to Wyze on some special circumstances and they are responsive to posts whereas Wyze only has limited users on the forum.

https://forums.wyze.com/u?group=Mods&order=likes_received

Just to provide you with a small ray of hope :wink:, the beta test of the new Hub Firmware SOFTWARE is proving effective at fixing what was reported by Wyze as a HARDWARE limitation in siren volume. I know, :thinking:. But it has been reported that it is louder so long as they can hammer out the other bugs.

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@Hoot and @SlabSlayer - the points you are raising are exactly why I started the thread. As you have seen, my experiences are similar.

There is just one thing about me - with the work in my 9-5 I have learned over decades: if you want things to work, you have to do it yourself.
That is not an excuse, although this is a DIY system, it should all work as advertised. You should not have to bug-hunt yourself and just figure things out. That is what I frustrated about. But I donā€™t mind trying to find out why things donā€™t work, and if it works, share my findings with others so they can move forward too.

The problem for me is, I WANT Wyze to succeed. The reason is simple - there is proof that it CAN work. And I simply dislike the competitors so much. ADT? Xfinity? No! I have been with these companies, and othersā€¦ I really would not go back unless I had no other choice.

Which it sometimes feels like when the alarm system breaks again. But with Wyze, I had my alarm triggered once because my dog escaped and I opened the door while the alarm was on. I was too late to turn it off. Moonlight contented me right away, but told me because our town works with the state police, they could not deactivate the request for a visit. Within 5 minutes from triggering the alarm, two officers were at the door.

I have seen this system work very effectively. So if it works once, it should be able to work more stable.

At this moment, two things seems to keep it stable for me - explained in the posts above:

  1. I keep the hub hardwired with a cable to my router. I did find out that if you have Xfinity and work with the Wi-Fi setup, you cannot disable the 2.4Ghz band anymore, which seems to have caused issues for others. Zo I have it hardwired and my sensors have not gone offline ever since.

  2. Keep checking daily for firmware. Open the app, click on your hub, and update it, and hope it doesnā€™t destroy this house of cards :smiley:

I have state also in my emails: Wyze - focus on existing services. You provide an app now, so you are not a product company anymore, but also a service company. Focus, and keep it working. Donā€™t push firmware updates out until absolutely necessary. Donā€™t worry with a gun safe if there is a good chance that people in time to defend themselves cannot open the safe as it will be offline.

This is also why I never will dare to buy the Wyze lock.

Get it all running stable. Release firmware updates AT MAX 2 times a year. Not more. Preferably less. Your fixes on firmware should not be there to begin with. It is not meant for features. Only for fixes. Features should be all optional - so donā€™t require people to update for new features.

Keep it working for a longer time, have more technical information on your site. We are all on your team here to make things work. Let us help if you cannot figure things out with the team.

But please, please, please focus on your existing hardware and software first. Make it work and keep it working.

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Bumper sticker please!

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Just finished a 4 hour (not exaggerated or a typo) call with support. My last hub was all paired are working perfectly except since it was running old software it would not run in the app or allow monitoring. Wyze support exhausted all options to get it to work without updating but thanks to the Wyze Brain Trust you must update or your monitoring system is uselessā€¦so i updatedā€¦andā€¦It quit working! They killed my last hub. Now I get to wait approximately 2 weeks for a replacement that may or may not workā€¦I donā€™t know. I have got to get a reliable alarm that will not cost a fortune and will get me off of this merry-go-round. It was funny, this last hub worked perfectly and was actually fun to set upā€¦Until the update.

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What Hoot said! :arrow_up:

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we have a storms and power outage this causes the sysyem to go off line. I am not tec smart neither is the support team. I am off line right, agree with you111

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Welcome to the User Community Forum @wnmm60!

I had concerns about power fluctuations and outages as well when I set up my system.

To remedy this, I purchased and installed a highly reputable UPS (uninterrupted power supply). It is an automatic power backup that immediately switches over to battery backup when the power is out.

I plugged this into a plug on a dedicated main breaker so that it wouldnā€™t be affected if a house breaker tripped.

I have fiber internet, so I plug my Fiber Gateway AP into it along with my WiFi, and HMS Hub. If my power goes out, I still have internet, WiFi, and my HMS remains powered up and on duty connecting to Wyze. Since the sensors are all battery operated and RF, they are not affected by the power outage.

If the power goes out, I get about 8 or 9 hours of battery run time.