I have five WyzeCams (two are turned off), which have performed wonderfully until some time in roughly mid-June, 2020. I assumed that the erratic performance was due to my WiFi network, so I went through days of WiFi remedies before buying a new router (no help) and WiFi extender, which sends my WiFi signal twice the distance at twice the speed. I have an app that tells me the signal strength at each camera is strong (WiFi SweetSpots). Still no help. In early July, I contacted Wyze, and was given a remedy by “Gearard”. It worked immediately, for which I thanked Gearard, not knowing that by the next morning, I’d be back to square zero. That was on July 7th, when I asked him to keep my ticket number (664908) open. Since then (this is now July 17th), I have performed every conceivable remedy at least three times, consuming hours every day. I deleted and reinstalled the cameras; restarted the cameras; changed my networks; deleted and reinstalled the app (and I’m probably forgetting something). At various times, all three cameras will work, but then fail two hours later (I’m aware of the five-minute delay, and give it ten). Sometimes one or two will work, but not hours later. Sometimes, I’ll get a notification on my iPhone 6s, but no event will show. Sometimes an event will appear without a notification, and every conceivable mix of irregular performance. I have emailed Gearard twice as a reply to the correct email message from him, but with NO FURTHER REPLY. I’m using the app titled “Wyze Lifestyle”, app version 2.11.41, which I’ve recited twice in my messages, and by now suspect that the app is the most likely cause of my troubles, since a new app version and the onset of problems seem to have been at about the same time. I’m extremely disappointed in the (lack of) Wyze response, which has always been exemplary in the past. Any ideas, anyone?
Thanks in advance.
Just a shot in the dark - One thing I don’t see mentioned - have you ever manually re-flashed the firmware on any of the cams?
This seemed to improve the stability of a number of my cams after a firmware upgrade that didn’t go well. I just manually flashed the current firmware over whatever was on the cam, even if it was allegedly the same version.
In a non Wyze related forum, I found a post for a similar but different device, where a connectivity issue was cured by changing the network mode. From mixed mode (A,B,G,N,AC) to N only.
One of my 6 wyze cameras once was very temperamental in terms of connectivity. I tried most of the steps that you outlined in your message. I left that camera unplugged for a day and put a different SD card in it and formatted it and it’s worked fine ever since. Go figure.
Rather unrelated, I’ve pursued web database programming for more than 20 years. When I have a project to go to hell for unknown reasons, it usually turns out to be something simple that I overlooked.
Thanks, doug11 -
If Wyze can’t solve this, which I’m hopeful for, I would try just about anything by now. Your possible solution sounds like a logical approach, although if it involves going into the 192.168.01 of the router controls, I may be extremely gun-shy. I also have added a WiFi extender when I theorized that the cameras weren’t picking up a strong enough signal, so now my WiFi can travel an additional 100 feet (so that isn’t it). I HAVE “formatted” all of the SD cards through the camera’s “do you want to format?” (or whatever the language was). If removing the SD cards and reformatting them on my desktop and replacing them might work, I’d be glad to do that, but I don’t sense that it would change the A,B,G,N,AC mode, would it? In any case, thanks for the thoughts.
Cheers,
Jerry
You’ve probably turned off the power to the modem and router for more than 60 seconds at some point. If not then try that. Attempting to change the network mode in the router is probably a long shot. Some, but not all, routers let you export or download the current router configuration, which could be restored if you tinkered with something and failed. you might even find a video on YouTube for your brand and model of router that discusses changing the network mode. I would probably try a different SD card as opposed to formatting cards on a computer. Or possibly switch the cards between cameras and see if that has any impact. Or go through the app to file a new ticket and reference the original ticket number. if you have a bunch of other smart home devices competing for Wi-Fi access maybe you could turn them off when you attempt to get the camera working again, in case there’s some kind of interference.
Thanks again, doug11 -
I happen to have three wireless networks. Number 2 was strictly for the cameras and much closer to them. I had router number 2 connected to a wireless “smart socket”, which obeyed number 1’s signal to turn it on and off. This was specifically in case I wanted to turn off power to the WyzeCam network to reset it. Among my bazillion attempts at a fix, I’ve tried turning that off, but of course, that only got me one trigger of the cams, if that. Network 3 is the WiFi extender, which seems to be a champ. I do like your theory about something else competing for the signal, but cannot make that connection (no pun intended). As a post-mortem, the last two days, the cameras are working about 80% of the time, which is an improvement, though still frustrating. Onward and hopefully, upward.
Kind regards,
Jerry
have you by chance run a wifi analyzer to see if there are a bunch of things in the area competing for signal?
Hi, Bam -
Thanks for the suggestion. I downloaded (on my iPhone 6s) “iNet - Network Scanner”, which seems robust. It identified 14 devices, but did not identify them past “192.168.100 -254” and the ping speed. As I count the devices in my home, there are, in fact, 14 devices. The app shows red dots at five of them (?), which would probably be my five WzyeCams, three computers = 8, VOIP and two routers = 11, smart TV and Google Home = 13, plus my iPhone is 14 (which IS identified as such), and I’m not even counting the WiFi extender. I’m not that well-versed to interpret all that, let alone pay for the app upgrade to get more confused. As of yesterday (7/18), Wyze is assuring me that (after my forwarding them a device log), they’re working on my revitalized ticket number and are working on the next app version, which I’m hoping will be the solution, if nothing sooner.
Thanks again for brain-crunching this problem,
Jerry
Hello!
Sorry for my delay. I just checked that ticket number and I see that there were multiple responses on Saturday. Was that the correct ticket?
Here we are, ten days later (7/28/20), and my notifications come in about thirty percent of the time, with no regular pattern. For example, camera 3 will send notifications and saved events about 60% of the time (I can jump around forever in front of the camera with no result the rest of the time. Cameras 1 and 2 will send notifications about 30 percent of the time, but not with any regularity. And last of all, I was moving in front of camera 3 for about a minute at 9:10am, and got the notification at exactly 9:20am. Was going to buy an additional camera. Guess my ticket number is in the orphan pile. Time to shop? Hrumph!
WHOA! I spoke a day too early. At this moment, all is good. Back to reliable performance. When the WyzeCam rep, Gearard, promised that they were working on a new app version, I didn’t realistically expect it in 11 days, even though I hope it would be this soon. So here’s the message I just sent to Gearard on my service ticket return message:
“Gearard -
On Wednesday evening, 7/29/20, Central Time, I was prompted to update my app and my cameras, which I did. Immediately, I noticed that the audio sync time fell from over a second to a small fraction of a second! I then walked in front of all three (active) cameras twice, and they performed perfectly! I hope I’m not jinxing this blessing and it’s not too early to rave, but my WyzeCams are very important to me. Thank you for extending the excellent WyzeCam record of attention and customer service. After a few days of continued reliability, I plan on buying my sixth WyzeCam.
Cheers,
Jerry”