Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions! My response is likely to be long and will mostly involve the Video Doorbell v2, because that’s the only Wyze doorbell model with which I have any experience.
As much as I generally dislike making assumptions, I’m going to start with two:
- Your original “dumb” doorbell button worked. Before you began installing “smart” camera doorbells, you had a simple button wired to your chime box and transformer and mounted outside. It rang the house’s built-in chime when you pressed it.
- You have a mechanical chime mounted in your house. When the old “dumb” doorbell button was hooked up and you pressed it, your chime made a nice ding-dong! sound.
I’m going to begin with those premises and then move through what I would do if I was trying to solve this problem. If I’m wrong about those two things (or anything else along the way), then feel free to let me know, and maybe we’ll have to come up with a different starting point.
Edit: If you have an unsupported or incompatible chime, then that could likely account for your issue. If you haven’t already done so, you may want to familiarize yourself with the Video Doorbell v2 section of the Help Center. The steps below refer to several articles from that section of the Support site.
- I’d begin with the transformer, because if that isn’t meeting the minimum specifications, then the rest of this is going to be irrelevant until that’s resolved. I am not an electrician, and I want to be clear about that, but I do have a multimeter (an inexpensive unit I picked up years ago at Harbor Freight) and have learned how to use it, so I favor testing early in the process, and that’s what I did when I installed my own Video Doorbell v2: I tested the voltage at the doorbell mounting location wires after I removed the original “dumb” doorbell button. I’m recommending that you test here, too, particularly since you said that your transformer is in your attic and difficult to access. More recently, while troubleshooting my own doorbell and assisting another Forum member, I tested again (this time at the transformer) and you can see the photo and read about that in another topic if you’re so inclined. In my testing, I see 18.4-18.5 V at the transformer, which is labeled 10VA 16V, Wyze’s recommended minimum. If everything’s in order with the transformer, then I’d move onto the next step.
- Since you’re currently unable to complete setup, I’d attempt to factory reset the Video Doorbell v2, and, because you mentioned “the stuck setup screen”, I’d probably also be likely to do this:
- Force close the Wyze app (if that’s possible on iOS; I use Android).
- Launch the app and delete the Video Doorbell v2 if it’s still showing up in your list of devices.
- Navigate to Account ➜ App Settings ➜ Cache File Size and tap Clear.
- Navigate back one screen and tap Log Out.
- Reboot your phone.
- Launch the Wyze app and log in. This should pull down a fresh copy of your Wyze app contents and settings from Wyze’s servers.
If all of that works, then you should be back to your starting point, so I’d try setting up the doorbell again as if it’s new.
- Following the Video Doorbell v2 Installation Guide and the Chime Controller Installation Guide, I’d complete the physical installation using the standard wiring instructions for installing the Chime Controller. Since you’ve already installed Video Doorbell v2 once before, presumably the Chime Controller is already in your home’s chime box, so at this point I’d refer to the photograph of the chime box’s setup from before you started (hopefully you did this as advised during the original installation) to make sure the chime box’s wires are in the correct places, and then I’d connect the Chime Controller’s wires as described for the standard wiring scheme in the Chime Controller Installation Guide.
- If at this point you
- have the hardware installed and
- ⤷ flip your breaker on to restore power and
- ⤷ go to test the doorbell and
- ⤷ pressing the button does not make your doorbell’s chime ring, then
- ⤷ make sure the doorbell has been powered on for at least 20-30 minutes. There’s a capacitor inside the doorbell camera unit that needs to charge. Take a break. Fix yourself a
. Read through the rest of the Help Center troubleshooting article you just linked to, because we may need to continue with other steps there. Enjoy a beverage. Do a crossword puzzle.
- If you test again after 20 minutes or so and the chime doesn’t ring, then continue through the steps in the aforementioned troubleshooting article, and especially consider trying Step 6, which advises changing your Doorbell Chime Type to Digital—even if you have a mechanical chime—and setting a Ring Tone Length duration of 2-3s. (It seems weird, but I’ve seen/heard it work. It worked (temporarily) for me even with a 1-second duration.) If that doesn’t resolve the issue, then continue through the remainder of that article’s steps.
- If the chime still isn’t working with a doorbell button press at this point, then I’d consider other wiring schemes for the Chime Controller. You may want to take more pictures and/or notes through these sub-steps just for your own reference in case you need to go back to a previous configuration.
- I’d double-check the standard wiring setup to make sure this does not work before making other changes.
- I’d try the alternate wiring scheme. Pay attention to the pictures and labels as you read this article, because there are horizontal lines that look (to me) like they’re separating the different schemes so that the labels belong with the picture above, but the labels actually go with the picture below, as in beneath the horizontal lines (note the placement of colons [:] as you read). I have asked Wyze to consider changing this, because I think it’s a design choice that can lead to significant reader confusion, but so far they have not.
- If the alternate wiring scheme doesn’t work, then consider reversing the red and white wire connections from the Chime Controller.
- If that doesn’t work, then consider switching the FRONT and TRANS wires in the chime box.
- If that doesn’t work, then try the above (switching the FRONT and TRANS) wires without the Chime Controller. Note that Wyze recommends installing the Chime Controller even if your in-house mechanical chime is broken. I have not attempted an installation without the Chime Controller, but you can find reports in the Forum of users doing this with success.
- If at some point you were able to get the in-house chime working, then I’d stop there and consider the installation complete. I’d also seriously consider buying and installing a microSD card, because I think that’s one of the real benefits of this doorbell model. (That ability to have local storage of my recordings and use the existing mechanical chime were the main selling points for me.) Several Forum users have expressed a strong preference for Samsung PRO Endurance cards. I’ve had good results so far from SanDisk High Endurance 256 GB cards doing continuous recording in my Wyze cameras.
- You may also wish to consider a different mount for the doorbell, perhaps one that covers the microSD card access slot. I wanted to do that and also angle my doorbell downward, so I found a design online that I could modify and then fabricate with additive manufacturing.
- You mentioned that you have a Google Nest, but I’m not sure if you’re talking about a smart speaker (like a Mini) or a smart display (like a Hub). If you have a Wyze Plug or Plug Outdoor, then you can use that as a bridge between the Wyze app and Google Home app to link Automations/Routines and have doorbell button presses trigger announcements in your home. If you have certain other Wyze camera models, then you can set those up as accessory chimes for Video Doorbell v2, though the behavior of that feature can be flaky sometimes.
Once again, I am not an electrician, and you may wish to consult one if you’re unable to get this working yourself. Also, please note that I have not tried every single wiring scheme described in the steps above. Specifically, I have not attempted Steps 6.3-6.5, but I’m sharing them here because other Forum users have reported success with those methods, so I think they seem reasonable to try. Wyze recently replaced my own Video Doorbell v2 because it stopped making my in-house mechanical chime ding-dong! after months of being installed and working with the standard Chime Controller wiring scheme, so it’s possible that you just have something in your setup that has failed. If that’s the case, and if you purchased the doorbell directly from Wyze or a Wyze authorized retailer, then I’d open a ticket with Wyze Support and describe the problem, because you may be eligible for a warranty replacement.
I hope at least some of this helps. Feel free to ask other questions if you have those. Good luck!