Sorry if this has been posted a ton of times already. Some of the threads about similar topics seem older.
I have 2 cameras, one cam v3 I haven’t had any issues with yet (knock on wood) and one wired doorbell v1. Originally I had no issues with either, but in September 2024 I realized the app on my phone was so outdated it was causing catastrophic crashes on my phone every time I received a notification from wyze (but they would always record and upload correctly). I updated and that was the last time my doorbell functioned properly. I was several versions behind on the app, so I’m not sure if the delayed update caused this.
The default status of this camera is now ‘offline’. I have factory reset the camera, restarted my router, reset my router, and changed my wifi channel to a less trafficked one. The camera is located about 6 feet away from the Xfinity-compatible router and modem I purchased from Walmart. The only thing that works is to cut the power at the breaker and then turn it back on. The camera will work for 2-8 hours before going back offline. When online, it shows 3 bars of connectivity strength, sends notifications, and loads previews and recordings basically instantaneously.
I already contacted support and they made minimal effort before telling me they couldn’t do anything to help. Once I told them I’d tried all the different resets on their checklist, they referred me to a ‘supervisor with more expertise’, who was in fact the free warranty replacement person. This was a kick in the face
because they wasted a lot of my time coordinating the replacement, before telling me I was about 3 weeks outside the warranty replacement period and that they in fact would be doing nothing.
Someone on Reddit suggested ‘flashing’ a corrected version of software via SD card, but this camera doesn’t have an SD reader. I’ve seen other people say they use a smart outlet to regularly remotely reset cameras that do the same thing, but since mine is hardwired, the best I can do is pray for my power to flicker when I’m away from home. I’ve considered buying another one to see if it works better, but my experience with customer support was so poor I don’t want to spend any more money on their products.
Has anyone found a permanent solution? Please suggest other things I can try!
The upgrade from the 2.5 to 3.x app sometimes causes issues. Have you tried uninstalling the app and reinstalling it. This is assuming your phone can handle the 3.x app, if you still have 2.5.x don’t uninstall it as reinstalling can be difficult.
Barring that, it could just be that the cam is going bad. As older electronics heat up, sometimes small cracks in the solder separate and cause issues. A re-flash of the latest firmware would be a good thing to try but if it has no SD slot, that isn’t possible.
Out of curiosity, which model gateway are you using? ISP gateways (even if you bought it yourself, it runs their firmware) tend to be problematic, however usually it is all or nothing, not intermittent. But they can affect some cams and not others as Wyze has used different protocols over time.
What is in between the doorbell and the router/modem? What’s the construction type and materials used in the wall, exterior? Sometimes materials used can disrupt signals from inside the house so that could be a cause of what happening. Also. How many other wifi devices do you have on this router/modem? Everything, tablets, phones, tv, light bulbs, etc.
There is a partial of an interior wall (drywall and frame) and an exterior wall (frame and brick veneer. I’ve never moved the modem/router from this location since I took them out of the box. I’ve thought about moving them, but they would probably need to go upstairs and would be behind the same if not more walls- but I’m willing to give it a shot. I have the slowest internet offered by Xfinity, but I only use it for my own personal phone, one roku, one laptop, and one other camera. Phone, Roku, and laptop are always connected but usually asleep/off.
I uninstalled and reinstalled the app that evening, and it took an overnight period of the camera flashing yellow and clicking before it reconnected successfully in the morning. It stayed connected for ~36 hours. Now, it mostly remains in this phase of flashing yellow and clicking (different from before, because when it was offline before, it was dead and silent.) It reconnects on its own occasionally (also different from before, when it would rarely if ever reconnect on its own without power cut and reconnect), but the connection is disturbed every time it tries to record an event and it ends up going back to flashing yellow. Every single event it has recorded shows 5 minutes long in the preview, while the actual clip uploaded to cloud is ~4-5 seconds. If you have any more tips, please let me know!
What’s the power situation where the doorbell is located? Is it adequate and reliable? With the behavior you’re describing, I wonder if it’s seeing power fluctuations or if the device itself is flaking out for some other reason.
Yeah I’m leaning toward the transformer at this point (or the doorbell cam itself just dying).
I believe the flashing yellow means it can’t connect to the wifi. I suppose some firmware update or other change to the router could be to blame, or possibly new 2.4ghz interference in the area. But if it is that close to the router it seems unlikely.
That’s where I’m headed, too, or possibly some continuity problem with the wiring or maybe bad/dirty connections on the back of the doorbell unit? Seems like flaky power delivery somewhere or failing unit at this point.
Yeah, it’s trying. Could still be a Wi-Fi issue, maybe, but the additional issue with event recordings makes me suspicious of inconsistent power.