Losing connectivity on cams and bulbs constantly

Im hoping i can get some help here. I have had Wyze cams v2 for a while as well as the bulbs since they were released. I have a constant problem with all my WYZE devices going offline. They may work for a week at a time and then everything is offline until i unplug each camera and turn on each bulb for them to reconnect. I have a couple of Alexa devices that do not have issues as well as smart plugs that do not lose connectivity. I have troubleshot with Wyze several times with sending the routeit report. I have changed router settings per their suggestions and the devices always work for a few days after contacting support but i dont think i ever get more than 2 weeks of connectivity without issues. I have replaced a camera and recently purchased a new camera to add to my system and everything goes out at once. Yesterday i checked my cams around 10am and they were all offline until i got home. I sent in a trouble ticket lastnight with no response as of yet but im hoping someone on here can help me.

Thanks

That’s unfortunate to hear! The fact that everything went offline would tend to indicate a possible transient power failure? Like you I have a mix of Alexa, Ring, and Wyze devices. I have to say Wyze do seem to be more sensitive to recovering from power loss than others.

That said I have never had all my Wyze devices fail to recover. Usually just one or two devices.

Since you have already been the support route I would start looking at WiFi and power related issues. Are you by chance in a dense residential area with a lot of other WiFi networks?

I don’t know about your Electric provider but mine came out and placed several devices in my house for a week in response to my request for an energy audit. They discovered and identified a number of issues in my wiring that dated from the mid 70’s. I hired an Electrician they recommended who replaced a couple of outlets ALL my circuit breakers ALL my GFCI circuits and outlets and in general tightening connections etc.

The difference was significant in aggregate. No more devices randomly going offline or acting squirrelly. I still get the odd power flicker or cut for all the usual reasons but the power inside the house is much better. I also added a whole house power conditioner and surge suppressor.

Got a break on my Homeowners as well since the changes significantly reduced a fire risk.

If you are in a dense WiFi area getting a site survey done can make a huge difference. In my case I changed the channel my WiFi was using and recently bought a more modern router. Both changes significantly improved my network. I also segregated all my IoT stuff and keep it on its own subnet.

Again you don’t need to do any of this but every little bit helps. Good luck!

Great info, My house is 19years old and i havent had any electrical issues and the tap for my internet provider is literally in my front yard. There may be 11 houses on my street and im running a 2yr old spectrum provided router. I did change the channel from auto to 6 2 weeks ago during another support call. I have 2 Alexa devices and one smart plug that seems to be fine. One camera is in the same room as the router maybe 7ft away from it with no other wifi devices in that room. Im really stumped as i have been waiting for the wyze outdoor cam to buy several but i dont see myself climbing a ladder every week or so to reset the camera when it goes offline as well.

Yowch! Your description of your situation does not seem to indicate you have any of the usual risk factors for Network troubles.

I admit to being fresh out of ideas, other than buying your own router. I am somewhat prejudiced against ISP supplied ones. But I know plenty of folks use their ISP supplied one with no issues.

Hopefully someone will be able to point you towards another avenue for investigation.

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Thanks, i may reach out to see if they can swap out the router but my officemate/coworker that i suggested Wyze to has a similar setup and all of his devices dont drop at the same time. He did say his cameras will go offline but the bulbs do not. Im really stumped as a i have a 3rd camera waiting to install but i dont see a point in at the moment. Bad thing is this is the time of year for porch pirates taking packages and im worried that i may be dead in the water with Wyze.

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I have an outside Pan for anti porch pirate activity myself. Also have a Ring Doorbell plus all the “You are on candid camera” window decals as well. So far so good. I did scare the daylights out of a Door Dasher by opening the door just as he got there. (Saw him on the sidewalk heading towards my door with my Nachos!)

My Wyze window cam gives a perfect view of the walkway, steps, and porch when it works, lol Im really hoping i hear back from Wyze but it’s been over 18hrs and they normally are quick to reply. Ive been looking at Reolink and the Eufy but they are much pricier if i replace all my wyze cams. The Eufy looks really good and has good reviews but $300 for 2 cameras is expensive. Lifehackster on you tube has done some great reviews on them so it may be an option.

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I think Wyze is an excellent value proposition. But you do need to do some work to get them to be stable in your environment. Things like an stable WiFi connection, 2A instead of 1A power wall warts, and use smart plugs for hard to reach cameras. (So you can power cycle them remotely) If you invest a bit of time in the environment it will pay you back.

Im using the power blocks that came with the cameras. I wonder if i try a better block would that make a difference. I guess i could grab a amazon smart plug to connect the blocks into for testing. I may call Spectrum to see if i can get a new router this evening and give it a try. Wyze did finally reach back our a few mins ago so im hoping we can figure something out. Their initial thought was power failure but thats not the cause due to clocks not resetting which normally happens on my microwave and oven. Their other thought was internet outages but i can look at uptime for other devices and they are showing months at a time. The smart plugs are good ideas and i may look into better wall warts than what came with the wyze. i cant imagine each would be bad as one of the camers is the black camera i got on black friday so its pretty new.

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If it were me looking into these issues, my first suspicions would be on the router. Look into “airtime fairness” and also how many devices your router is capable of connecting to at one time.

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i have an Arris modem so i am looking for those settings now.
I have a spectrum tech coming out tomorrow. Hoping they will replace it to see if that makes a difference

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I did make some of the settings suggested in other threads on here such as changed it from 20/40mhz to 20hz. My connections to everything else started to suffer then. I didnt see a setting in my router you menionted above but i do have a Spetrum tech coming out this evening. I do have an extra amazon smart plug, which i will plug one of my cameras in so i can at least reboot one of these from afar. Thanks for the advice. I havent heard back from Wyze again but i will follow up with them after the tech comes. Hopefully they will swap the router out.

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You may be suffering from what I describe here.

i looked for the Airtime Fairness setting but was unable to find it. I’ll report back after a tech comes out.

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I think I’ve run into this situation myself recently … How many devices do you have on your wifi network?

I’ve got Fios internet (1Gig up and down) and a very fast Netgear XR500 router. I have a ton of different SmartHome tech running (lights, switches, sensors, cameras, …) When you have good gear and fantastic internet you don’t stop to think that there is definitely a finite number of wifi devices your router can handle from a pure frequency/radio perspective.

With the re-branding of Wifi 6 do I noticed that vendors are now starting to include SQ FT coverage, and number of WIFI devices supported in the router specs. And I was very surprised how low the WIFI devices number is even with new AC routers.

I was running over 80 devices in the house connecting and I often noticed my Wyzecams were getting knocked offline. I changed my networking strategy to hard wire anything with an RJ45 jack, and to split my frequencies: 2.4 for IOT and HomeAutomation, 5ghz for Computers and Phones. This has definitely stabilized my WIFI devices.

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Great thoughts. Let me see if i can get the count right.
2 Wyze cams and 3 Wyze bulbs.
2 Smart Plugs
1 Cell phone but its on 2.4 due to Wyze being connected to 2.4 to control it.
1 Smart TV on 5g
1Laptop on 5G (rarely used Maybe once a week and always turned off when not being used.
2 Amazon Alexa Device
1 Firestick
1 MyQ wifi garage door sensor

So 12 devices that would be used on a regular

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Spectrum just replaced my ARRIS modem with their new 2 piece unit of a separate modem and router. Hopefully this resolves my issue. I have the default router settings currently so i will see how that plays out.

Please keep us posted! Sounds hopeful however!

I sure will, i will know something within a week or so. Thanks for all the help guys, fingers crossed.

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Your cell phone only needs to be on the same band as the cameras when you are setting the cameras up. After that, you can switch your phone to the faster band.

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