My Wyze Cam V3 died in the rain

I had my Wyze Cam V3 installed on the window sill looking down on the street. After some heavy rainfall water entered the loudspeaker’s opening on the rear of the camera (where else?) and killed the unit. Water dripped out when I removed the unit and when I shake the camera I can hear the water that’s trapped inside the housing. I assume that’s the end of my relationship with Wyze. This camera is supposed to withstand rainfall, right?

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According to the Wyze web site, IP65 weather resistance.
The 5 in IP65 means;
Protection against low-pressure jets (6.3 mm) of directed water from any angle (limited ingress permitted with no harmful effects).
Try a warranty claim. Everyone has a bad one slip through the cracks once in a while.

image

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As soon as I saw the openings on the V3, I knew it can’t really withstand the rain. But it works for me because the ones I installed outside are under the eaves.

I have an unused, real outdoor IP camera from another brand. There are no holes to let water in. I chose the V3 because of its better night vision.

The Wyze outdoor cam isn’t an option because then I have to buy a hub, another point of failure.

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IP65 doesn’t mean no water can enter the case. It means the amount of water that can enter won’t harm the device.

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Apparently, it did, for the OP. I don’t want to get a ladder after each rain and check on the cams.

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Is the Wyze Cam v3 water-resistant? - No, but your Wyze Cam v3 is weather-resistant.

Wyze Cam v3 is IP65 rated as weather-resistant. This means that it is “dust-tight” and protected against water sprays from any angle.

Apparently the V3 cam cannot be left out in the rain… this should be communicated very clearly and it has not.

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As I said above, there are failures in every product. It has rained nearly everywhere since the V3 was released. How many threads have you read about drowned cameras?
If the OP’s camera was in a location that allowed a steady stream of water on it that may also explain it.

What is communicated is Indoor/Outdoor camera. Rain is typically an Outdoor event.
IP65 is considered protected from rain. Most outdoor light fixtures are IP65 rated.
IP67 is protected from submersion in warter up to 1m deep. If the water gets that far over your camera you have other issues to worry about. :slight_smile:

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There was one other thread in the forum. That one was installed at a vertical brick wall.

The main issue is that the holes are at the back of the unit, and not underneath. If you install the camera pointing down as usual, those holes are facing slightly up, and very vulnerable to the rain.

I think that most V3 are bought for indoor use, and those that are outdoors, would likely be under eaves.

I think that the information presented by Wyze is misleading…they have a looped video showing a large amount of water dumped directly onto the camera implying that is waterproof rather than weather resistant. Wyze Cam v3 | Wired Security Camera

@TheRealWolf
You may want to contact Wyze Customer Support about this issue!
By phone: (206) 339-9646 Available Monday - Friday 5 am - 6 pm PT and Saturday 8 am - 4 pm PT
Or online: Wyze.com/support
phone support is typically faster however this isn’t always true due to fluctuation in the amount of calls.

Not too many companies will use the term waterproof. Even IP67 isn’t waterproof.

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The speaker is sealed off from the rest of the device by a gasket, so even if water enters the speaker, it shouldn’t short out the board, unless there is a defect in the gasket. The holes, therefore shouldn’t pose a problem in most cases.

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I was looking for a disassembled pic of the V3. I assumed it was a plastic cone speaker with a gasket.

Hello People.
Seeing the speaker holes in the back of the V3 camera for the first time made me question how water resistant the camera was. But, it was not of much concern to me because I install my outdoor cameras under the eaves. My major concern was reducing blurry images from raindrops on the lens. A solution I have used in the past for older analog cameras was to tape over or shroud over vulnerable parts of the camera. In the case of the V3, I would make a tape or aluminum foil shroud that would keep rain from directly getting into the speaker holes,

Below are two pictures of an aluminum shroud for keeping most raindrops off of the lens.

The picture below shows the back end of the aluminum bonnet. It could be modified to shroud over the speaker holes. Double sticky tape could be used to attach the bonnet to the camera.

The next image is of a bonnet and a helmet that I developed that can be 3D printed.


V3 Helmet-Model

This last link is to an earlier post that provides links to the printable Bonnet 2 and Helmet STL files. There is no charge for these files.
Bonnet for the V3 Camera - Advanced

Victor Maletic

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Did you give it a chance to dry. Ain’t get a v3 wet but literally poured water out of my v2 after a storm. And I didn’t notice for 2 days. Memory card corroded and everything. So after I poured out the water. I blew dried it with a high pressure dryer for my pup. Well it’s still working today perfectly. After that it done fell and was buried in snow and all. Let it dry. Brow dry if you have. I even sat it on the heater till the next day with out giving it power.

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This one is fried chicken…

Interesting. I don’t care about the speaker, so could the bonnet be redesigned to cover it? How about if I just put tape over it? I have two v3s outside that are angled downward, and want to put a third that will be not easily accessible. So far, rain hasn’t been a problem, but why take the chance?

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Hello StuartG.
The easiest way to provide some rain intrusion protection through the back speaker holes is to tape over it as you mentioned in your reply. Another nicer-looking way of providing the speaker holes some rain protection would be to 3D print the Helmet.stl file. After it is printed, tape across the top half of the back flange from the inside of the helmet and the outside. To possibly restoring some of the camera’s speaker function, the helmet could be mounted with a rearward shift. This backward shift of the helmet would create some open space between it and the speaker holes. I like your idea, I will create another helmet.stl file that fills in the upper open space between the back flanges.

Victor Maletic.

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For those who may be interested, below is a picture and a link to a modified Helmet.stl file. The geometry of the back of the helmet has been lengthened (made deeper) to keep rain from directly entering the speaker holes. The back modification stops 2mm above the power cord, well below the speaker holes.

Helmet Deep Back

Here is the link to the Helmet Deep Back file. No charge.

Helmet Deep Back.stl

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Teriffic. Now I need a 3D printer…