So these cameras plug into a wall socket. If an intruder enters the house, all they need to do is unplug the camera and regardless of whether the camera is out of reach, there’s no recording.
Am I missing something or is this really stupid not to have a 15 min battery in the camera? In a house with 8 ft ceilings and most power outlets knee high, what’s the value of a security camera that can be unplugged in a second?
The cameras are intended to be low cost. Adding battery backup would increase the cost for everyone - many of whom have no need for it. If you really need backup power, it’s not hard to accomplish either at the 120V AC point or at the 5V DC point. A bunch of mine are on protected power - one way or another.
Not sure you got my point. I wasn’t talking about power outages, I was talking about their use for basic security. What security value is there in a camera that just gets unplugged? A small lithium battery surely would impact cost significantly?
I fully understood your point. I stand by my statement that many people have no need for backup power for their camera. And adding a battery and the charge management almost certainly would have a significant cost. Don’t believe it, look at the cost difference between the battery operated cameras and the wired cameras from Wyze. And yes, I know that is not a direct comparison because the existing battery cameras are intended for extended battery operating as opposed to short duration as you are talking about.
There are lots of ways to provide backup power - from very small short lived to VERY long duration. I have some cameras on a UPS (normally there for other stuff), I have a couple that have a USB battery bank at or near the camera for backup, and I have some on DC to DC converters that are in turn fed from large battery plants. Several of the latter are fed from a 4,400 Amp Hour 12 volt battery plant (that’s almost two tons of battery). That’s at a two way radio site that has an up to 250 amp load off the battery plant. Under normal operation, the battery is good for 36 - 42 hours…
Security cams are only as good as their placement. If you place them within reach, or the power cords and plugs, then they aren’t good security cams. Security cams are not so much about the hardware used but how they are employed. Install them out of reach and run the power inside thru an inaccessible area.
I have 27 Wyze cams in operation. Only a couple can be reached from the ground but they have another cam out of reach overlapping their position. All of them have the power cord running thru the soffit or siding.
If your cams are inside, they aren’t security cams to begin with. By the time they pick up anything, your perimeter has already been breached. Too late for a security plan at that point when the alarm is already going off.
If you need a Cam with a battery backup, prepare to double the cost or more.
So I think you just made my point. A camera with a short USB cable to a DC plug in the wall isn’t really a security camera. A security camera seems only useful if it and it’s power supply is out of easy reach. That is clearly not a Wyze cam v3pro that operates on a DC plug in. Yes one can extend the DC line, but anyone can unplug it. So it seems practical to me to locate this camera where it is not easily reached, and then provide a battery to allow it to operate long enough to see what is going on, even if the intruder has unplugged it. This product seems like a big fail to me. Tons of security features in a camera not powered for security.
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SlabSlayer’s point needs to be taken very seriously:
And:
Most of my outside cameras would not be reachable (either the camera or the power), and most of those have backup power, so if the bad guy were to kill power to the house, they would still operate so would the Internet and WiFi).
Only for someone who doesn’t know what a security camera is supposed to do.
Correct. So put it out of reach. All mine are. That isn’t a Cam design issue. That is a lazy installer issue.
Not if they can’t reach it.
If they can’t reach it, how are they to unplug it? Again… Out of reach. Both cam and plug. I actually have one indoor cam. It is high enough to be considered out of reach. But I don’t just let the cord drop down the wall and plug in. No. I put the cord thru the wall and ran it up into the attic rafters where it is plugged in. Not going to unplug that are they.
I have 27 plug in AC Powered Wyze cams set up with overlapping fields of view 360° on every approach to my property plus some redundant placements. You can’t step a foot onto the property without me knowing it and setting off the alarm before you make it to a door or window, which are also protected by a hardened Wyze HMS. Security enough for me.
99.9% of security cams are AC powered. They all have power cords. All of them could have external wiring if the installer chose to be that daft. But they aren’t, they harden its position by shielding the power source inside walls and conduits. Those cameras aren’t sold with the walls and conduits in the box.
It isn’t the equipment you have. It’s how you choose to use it.
I have my V3 cameras mounted on the second story of my house… if a thief feels like grabbing a ladder they could unplug them, i suppose…
Hide the camera.
You win. you have convinced all of us. We will throw out our cameras. I think we should all get rid of our $30 cameras and replace them with Arlo or Nest. Though they list for what $100-$150 each.
I wouldn’t want you to do THAT. You are forgetting certain indirect costs however, such as running DC lines beyond recommended functional lengths just reach an attic somewhere and fanboy kneepads to think of just a few. I also wasn’t aware how much $100 factored into your home budget…
If you live in a neighborhood or area where you really have to worry about security issues, you’ll need to purchase a whole solution security system…ADT, Vivint, Xfinity, etc. You’ll get a system where the installer will do their best to hide camera wiring and normally some sort of battery backup.
Wyze cameras and security systems are for people who either aren’t that hard up for actual security or would rather not pay out the wazoo for some form protection. Most break-ins are crimes of opportunity.
Several people here have said how to generally get around the unplugging of the camera issue. This would be the same way to get around someone cutting the cable or vandalizing the cameras. Hiding the camera AND the cabling. You’ve gone around it all. OK, so you don’t particularly want to invest in having to hide wires or the camera - I get it, I really do. Maybe you’re worried about someone in the home itself, not necessarily a burglary etc, again, I get it.
The main issue is that it’s not an “industry thing”. People will simply pick wired for power, battery/solar for power, PoE or hybrid (battery camera + solar or wired) power. Nobody’s out there demanding a mainly wired camera have a battery built in. Maybe one day?
Once you talk about adding a battery to a camera, it increases costs and it also changes the functionality of the camera. They have to think about if the battery should be built in or user-replaceable, etc. You’re generally going from recording 24/7 to recording events. as well. Right now there are very few, if any, cameras that will run 24/7 AND have a battery. All of the ones I can think of are hundreds of dollars.
If you don’t want a scenario where you need to hide cables and don’t need 24/7 footage, you could always just go down the route of buying a battery powered camera and in order to not actually need to change the battery, run a power cable to it. There are quite a few battery powered cameras that support full-time power connections, although they still don’t get you 24/7 recording. If someone comes in and unplugs or cuts that cable, the camera will still work.
You could also go down a DiY route and put a 1a or 2a camera on a power brick with passthrough and put the brick up high where no-one can reach it without a ladder. Plug that in wherever. If they pull the cable or cut it, the camera is still running on the brick, way up yonder.
Granted, if I were serious about breaking into a house, I would simply cut power and internet. Nothing but a cell based camera would get around that. If anyone is that serious, pray you’re not home.
So glad you mentioned that. Buried internet fiber to the house w\ ONT, Router, and HMS Hub on an isolated UPS with whole house generator backup. 
If that fails, I most likely went down with ship because it’s either a Tornado or Hurricane that obliterated everything.
Haha, indeed!
See in that case, as the potential thief, I’d just move on because there’s no way that’s worth the trouble.
They don’t/won’t bury my fiber…it’s a nice thin little wire coming to the same side of my home as power and I live in Florida where they SHOULD bury it all, lest it blow away with a Hurricane (and nearly did with Ian).
My little setup right now is not as bulletproof as that, but close; all my internet stuff and camera hubs are well hidden and behind locked doors on a big UPS (not whole house, but it’s a good 2 hours or so before my router or hubs lose power), my router has cell backup and most of my outdoor cameras are solar + battery, I have a few battery + wired on the inside (for the sake of power loss as well) so if someone really is attempting to break in, I WILL know ASAP and can form an appropriate action/response and the cameras WILL catch them for sure.
The only reason I’m this geared is because I used to work for a security company and geez, heard horror stories…made me paranoid. You think you’re a little nobody and won’t be a target - “that won’t happen to me” but oy. Again, I live in a great area, one of the safest areas in NA, but you know, never say never. You can never be too safe, especially nowadays.