In my home WiFi network, the live stream feed is not stable. WiFi signal strength for one camera is 85% and 96% for the other. But when I’m at work and using regular ole LTE, streaming feed is perfectly stable. This makes no sense to me. I have the most recent firmware and my router has the most recent firmware. I’ve restarted both cameras, and the issue persists. I’ve deleted the cache on the app, and the issue persists. I’ve formatted both microSD cards, and the issue persists. I’ve run out of things I could try before asking people smarter than me.
One possible reason could be WiFi congestion. If your home is located in an area with lots of nearby WiFi networks, the real-time live stream might encounter difficulties getting from the camera to your router and then back to your smartphone. You could try changing the WiFi channel on the router to something else (ideally 1, 6 or 11), hoping to choose one with less co-channel interference from your neighbors.
Keep in mind that when accessing the cameras using LTE, WiFi is still in the picture. That’s how the cameras send its stream.
Absolutely the WiFi is still in the picture. The cam sends its live stream to the internet via the radio link from the camera to the AP. But if the OP’s smart phone is farther from the AP, the radio link between it and the AP could be impacted by other WiFi networks on the same channel, nearby microwave ovens, baby monitors, or other sources of RF interference. Just because one WiFi link is robust doesn’t mean that all others in the household are.
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@jfarisho
Any chance your router is an Asus? Some Wyze owners have reported odd connectivity issues that were resolved by turning off Airtime Fairness feature.
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You’re saying that all that WiFi interference affects only the AP to phone leg and not the camera to AP leg? That’s highly unlikely. Something else is more likely in play.
I’d love to know what it is. I can’t for the life of me figure it out.
Nope, Netgear.
It’s entirely possible that local interference or contamination can impact some WiFi links and not others. In my experience, it happens often. An example: one device might be quite close to the AP with nothing but air in-between, while another is on the far side of the residence, down in the basement, up on the second floor, with several walls, floors, or other obstructions between it and the AP. And the second might be close to a source of RF interference. The resultant S/N at the second device could be sufficiently reduced to impact data connectivity over that link, especially real-time streams.
jfarisho,
Have you tried changing the camera’s resolution from HD to SD (or even 360)? That would put less of a demand on the WiFi channel from the router to your phone. If the live feed becomes more stable (though with lower resolution), that could suggest a WiFi issue.
You assume the worst case scenario and eliminate other possibilities early on. Jfarisho never stated his phone is farther away.
Yep, tried SD and 360p and both are unstable.
When I get a “network unstable” on the Wyze App, its coincident with other data upstream activities from non-Wyze devices associated to my home’s network.
Where my home’s Spectrum’s upload is only 21 Mbps as opposed to my 360 Mbps download rate. I’m finding with close to 50 WiFi devices at any point-in-time on my home network, in aggregate, its creating an upload bottle neck.
Another unintended consequence for residential consumer IOT connectivity. The answer is for me to pay for faster upload services from Spectrum. Nah.
I’ve often got a “network unstable” from cameras I try to connect to for the first time, like a new setup. I’ve learned to ignore the message, as it will reconnect and then everything will be fine from then on. Sounds like yours is persistent. It hasn’t been enough of a bother to me to report it, but you probably should.
To submit a log (this has to be done from within the Wyze app within 2 days of the occurrence, on a device that has an active mail app on it):
Press the Account tab, then Help & Feedback, Report an Issue.
The Subject can be “network often unstable” or whatever else you think suits the situation.
Then select the camera in question, and make sure “Send Log Files” is checked.
Have you tried using another WiFi connection, say at a friend’s house?