Possible to have a regular doorbell on one door and Doorbell v2 on the other?

Cameras
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I’ve gotten conflicting answers from the AI chatbot, phone customer service, and relayed from technical support, and I can’t actually find it in the basic documentation, so just want to see if anyone else has run down this particular road already:

Can the Wyze Doorbell v2/Wyze Chime Controller be used on one door that shares a two-door single chime with another door using a regular doorbell?

Details:

I have one digital chime with three terminals for a separate chime pattern for front and back door. I want to keep my regular doorbell to trigger the back door chime, but switch the front door chime to work with a Wyze Doorbell v2. After many hours of finagling and upgrading my transformer, I was able to get the front door (Wyze) to work, but throughout the back door (regular doorbell) has been partially non-functional. Where it used to trigger the chime with a quick press, it now needs to be held down, because the moment you let go, the chime stops and peters out with heavy distortion.

Things I tried:

Before upgrading the transformer, the recommended wiring didn’t work for either doorbell – the regular doorbell had the problem as described above, and the Wyze doorbell either wouldn’t trigger the chime at all, or would after a significant delay ONCE, and then never again until next power cycle, even after a half hour wait for the chime controller to calibrate.

The Alternative Wiring spec didn’t really work: both doorbells triggered the same chime, and both played with distortion, and after a few minutes, the Wyze doorbell would power down, never to return. The back door at least didn’t need to be held down.

I tried the community recommendation of swapping the red and white wires from basic installation, but this caused the chime to trigger repeatedly and again distorted.

I tried reversing front and back door wiring positions, but this just meant I got the front door chime sound when I held down the regular button.

I tried removing the chime controller entirely, but this also triggered a repeating distorted chime.

I tried replacing the diode from my original physical doorbell onto the Wyze v2, which fixed the back doorbell sound and timing, but caused the Wyze to not power on at all. I also tried the diode on the back doorbell, and I don’t remember exactly what went wrong, but it didn’t work – I think it may have triggered the repeated chime.

After upgrading the transformer to 24/20, I had all the same problems when re-attempting all of these, except the Alternative Wiring now also triggered the repeated distorted chime.

I returned it to default wiring and went off to do something else, and a few hours later, the front door was miraculously behaving perfectly with the Wyze. Backdoor, no change then or now after a few days.

I’d prefer not to have a camera at the backdoor as it will stare directly at my neighbor’s window, but Wyze support seemed to agree at least that the setup DOES work with two Doorbell v2 cameras. Any hope? Or clarity at least?

No chime inside for Wyze Doorbell v2
Wyze Duo Cam - Hum/Buzzing
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Welcome to the Forum, @TheRobot! :wave:

I’ll start with this: :warning::high_voltage:  I am not an electrician.  :high_voltage::warning:

I wish I had a definitive answer for you. I don’t. I do have extensive personal experience troubleshooting Video Doorbell v2 problems (and discovering in the process that my chime had been wired incorrectly before I moved into this house), but that’s with a single button actuating a mechanical chime.

Having said that, it’s my understanding that you should be able to run two doorbells (Video Doorbell v2 and a “dumb” doorbell button) off the same transformer and connected to the same chime, and some Help Center articles came to mind while I was reading your post:

  • You’ve probably already read “Wyze Video Doorbell v2 Chime Compatibility Check”, and if you’ve been able to get your Video Doorbell v2 with Chime Controller installed to function correctly (at least at some point during what all you’ve been through so far), then I imagine it’s compatible with the Wyze device.
  • Step 6 in “My existing chime won’t ring.” describes different settings for the Doorbell Chime Type, and I haven’t seen an indication of how you have this set.
  • I don’t know if you’ve read “Should I install a diode on my Wyze Video Doorbell v2?”, and I don’t have any personal experience trying to install a smart video doorbell into a system with a digital chime, but if you need a diode in this system at all then I imagine it’d be on the circuit segment for your rear doorbell button.

Based on what I’ve read and looking at installation instructions for systems with two doorbell buttons, it appears that even in those systems only a single diode is usually installed—typically at the front doorbell button—and that’s sufficient to energize the chime to play the expected digital tones without holding down a doorbell button. I think the Chime Controller is supposed to obviate the need for a diode when Video Doorbell v2 is installed, so the diode should probably be left out of the system entirely, and this doesn’t surprise me:

I believe that’s because the diode in that situation would’ve acted like a shunt or bypass so that sufficient current in that loop wouldn’t actually reach the Video Doorbell v2.

I’m curious about several things:

  1. What was happening with the front doorbell when you had this (the diode) installed for the rear doorbell? (Did you have the Video Doorbell v2 and Chime Controller wired in the standard fashion, and did that function as expected?)
  2. Is the chime compatible with your new transformer? (I’m trying to get a better understanding of what you mean when describing “distortion” from the chime.)
  3. Is the new transformer rated for 24 V AC and 20 VA? (I want to make sure I understand what you wrote because you didn’t include units.)
  4. What was the rated output for your original transformer? (I’m curious if replacement was necessary.)
  5. What voltage are you measuring with your new transformer? (I’d probably want to measure at various points, like at the transformer’s terminals, at the wiring into the chime, and at the wiring for both doorbell button locations.)
  6. Were both original doorbell buttons and the chime working as expected before you started with the Video Doorbell v2 installation?
  7. What other details can you share about your particular chime? A photo might be helpful.

Like I said, I believe that you should be able to run two doorbells in this setup, and I don’t think they both have to be “smart” doorbells, so I think this much is correct:

I believe that community member @fmills1d used to run two Video Doorbell v2s and now runs two Duo Cam Doorbells to a single chime off one transformer, and I believe that installation also involves two Chime Controllers. The question I would have at this point for Wyze Support is whether or not your “dumb” doorbell button requires a Chime Controller in order to keep the chime energized to play its entire tone sequence with a single button press. I wouldn’t think that would be necessary, but I don’t know for sure, especially with a digital chime.

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Hello @Crease ! Okay, in sequence:

I have seen all three articles you referenced at the top – and to be clear, with the camera and chime controller wired as initially indicated to the front door AND with the upgraded transformer, the front door bell works perfectly. Incidentally, I started with chime set to a 9s digital, and it still seemed to work when set to 4s – but upon checking it just now, it was set to 9s again, so not sure if it ever stuck.

Incidentally, the way I read the articles made it sound like the chime controller doesn’t replace the diode, the doorbell itself does by regulating power flow and AC/DC switching internally. The chime appears to be a combo between a surge protector for the doorbell and a capacitor to store up enough energy to operate the chime.

Didn’t get that far – the moment I flipped power back on, it was clear this was wrong, so I never even got to checking out the Wyze bell. Since upgrading the transformer, every wiring except for the initial recommended wiring has resulted either in the chime repeatedly ringing and with distortion, or back door working, front door not powered on at all.

Yeah, it plays great with the Wyze doorbell, and played great with the back doorbell when the Wyze doorbell was disabled. The distortion triggered when the button is released sounds like digital breakup – the audio stutters and pitches down and is buried in digital noise in the brief moment before it drops back down to silence.

Correct, 24 VAC/20 VA.

Wish I knew – not written on it anywhere I can see. While still on the old transformer, I had more configurations that almost worked, but none that fully worked. At first it seemed like the new transformer would be no improvement, but then a few hours later, out of nowhere the default configuration I’d earlier reverted to started working. The old transformer was left in this same configuration for a full day and never worked right.

Yyyyyeeeeeaaaahhhh I don’t have a voltmeter. I suppose I should at least try to get my hands on one, but I suspect the voltage is not the problem.

On the original transformer, yes, everything worked great before introducing the Wyze. Since upgrading the transformer, I haven’t tried reinstalling the original doorbell, but when the Wyze is disabled with a diode, the back door immediately starts working again.

It’s a 2016 Defiant Wired Doorbell Chime, standard Home Depot issue.

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I didn’t think to ask if a second chime controller WITHOUT a second Wyze Doorbell v2 would do anything, but they also didn’t volunteer that as a solution – they just said that one chime with three terminals shared between a Wyze Doorbell v2 and a regular “dumb” doorbell is not supported. Support seemed to indicate that it’s the controller itself that is hijacking the power flow for the back door button, and that’s why it’s not supported – I doubt adding a second one would solve it.

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My interpretation is the opposite, but maybe I’m misunderstanding. (Wyze isn’t always super clear in their communication, and that’s something I’ve commented on many times.)

My understanding is that the Chime Controller is also involved in regulating power flow (as well as acting as a potential fuse or surge protector), but this is based somewhat on a teardown video I’ve watched. I’m not an electrical engineer, and I’m totally impressed by one who was able to make Video Doorbell v2 and Chime Controller (plus some extra equipment) work with an “incompatible” digital chime system.

Is it like the chime is losing power during this? Like if a battery or capacitor was discharging and giving up the last bit of current?

I think you’re probably right about voltage, and I imagine the wiring is intact. With my own Video Doorbell v2 issues, I grabbed my multimeter pre-installation to make sure there was enough juice at the doorbell button location because my transformer is rated 16 V AC, 10 VA—so it’s at the minimum of what Wyze recommends, though I’ve consistently measured in excess of 18 V from it.

A multimeter[1] can be helpful for other troubleshooting, as well. When my Video Doorbell v2 stopped actuating my mechanical chime months after installation, I did a bunch of troubleshooting with Wyze Support, including trying the alternate wiring, but what eventually fixed my issue was using my multimeter to trace continuity and check voltage. Doing that, I was able to determine that my chime had been installed with the wire from the transformer connected to the FRONT terminal and the wire from the doorbell button connected to the chime’s TRANS terminal. Apparently having things connected that way doesn’t cause problems with a mechanical chime and a single “dumb” doorbell button. Since I corrected that and connected the Chime Controller in the standard fashion, it has functioned much more reliably and as expected.

I don’t think something like this would be your issue, but, like I said, I don’t have direct experience with electronic chimes, so I don’t know if incorrect wiring would allow one of those to function at all (I imagine they’re probably less forgiving than the older mechanical chimes). A multimeter could certainly help you to ensure that each wire at your chime’s location connects to what you think is connected at the other end, though.

That and the photo are helpful. :+1:

The photo shows what I would expect to see for a correct Chime Controller installation if each of the red wires coming in from the wall is what they’re believed to be (and that’s something you could test with a multimeter). It looks like a Smart Hero 3209, and what I was able to find for the Home Depot product (if I found the right thing) indicates that it’s Model #216590. If the manual I found is correct, then the rear doorbell button should produce only a single note when pressed:

To select a tune for a front door push button, flip the switch on the base to the left position for 2-note tune or right position for 8-note tune. The back door push button tune will be 1-note.

I don’t know if that response from Support is accurate, and I think you’re probably right about not needing to add a second Chime Controller. If I was dealing with this myself, then I’d want to test and confirm that each red wire coming through the wall is connected to the proper thing at the other end (i.e., the wire connected to the TRANS terminal actually leads back to the transformer, etc.). That would be my starting point just because of what I’ve experienced with my own Video Doorbell v2. If that’s already wired correctly (and it may be), then I’m stumped with this and hope someone with digital chime experience can provide a better answer.

  1. For years I’ve used an inexpensive model from Harbor Freight (The specific SKU I have no longer seems to be available, but another SKU appears to be nearly identical.), but I recently got a different model because I wanted to be able to measure capacitance. ↩︎

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If the main unit didn’t simulate the diode, then the chime would not work without the chime controller, and it does for many people. (Unfortunately, not me – that would likely have solved my whole problem.) I also am not an electrician and many years away from my extremely introductory electrical engineering courses, but the controller seems to involve some switches which may also in-effect constitute a diode, which may be part of the problem, as the chime expects only the front door portion of the circuit to have a diode. Not sure how the chime is wired internally, though, of course.

The chime distortion sound could very well be due to insufficient power, like an LED flickering on a dimmer. It is indeed a single tone, but it’s long enough that a normal doorbell press is still not long enough to play the whole tone. When I briefly rewired the doors in reverse, the distortion symptom persisted on the dumb doorbell, but if I held it long enough, I got two tones, as expected. When I attempted the alternate wiring on the old transformer, both front and back played the front door’s two-tone chime in full, regardless of length of press, but distorted throughout the playback. If I scrounge up a voltmeter I’ll confirm my wiring, but I have a feeling it’s correct as switching the front/back wires switched the tones properly.

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I think that’s a fair point, and I think Wyze’s Help Center article cautioning against separate diode use backs that up. :+1:

I haven’t seen this particular problem with Video Doorbell v2, but a lot of Duo Cam Doorbell[1] users have reported phantom rings and other unwanted sounds from their chimes when wiring those in without Chime Controllers. I’ve experienced that with Battery Video Doorbell, as well (and installing Chime Controller solved that problem with that doorbell and my mechanical chime), so maybe that’s particular to wired doorbells with batteries. That’s why I tend to recommend installing Chime Controller as a general rule.

Yeah, it’s got that relay in it, and I imagine that’s supposed to keep the circuit energized for the chime (for however long that’s supposed to be active, like for whatever Ring Tone Length you set), and, like I said, it apparently attenuates the power blips from the battery-powered doorbells that can make use of it.

I don’t know, either, and I didn’t find a lot of information about that particular chime online. :man_shrugging:

Funky stuff happens even with a mechanichal chime and only a single doorbell button (Video Doorbell v2) with Chime Controller installed using the alternate wiring method. Wyze Support told me that the extraneous buzzing and humming was normal when I tried that (and it didn’t really solve my chime problem that I described before), so I try to avoid using or recommending that if possible.

I think you’re probably right about the wiring, and I’m still confused about why this isn’t working for you, because it seems like there should be a relatively straightforward answer to your original question, and I feel like I’m not being helpful at all. I’m not sure who is the PM for Video Doorbell v2, so I don’t know whom to ask directly about this, but I’m gonna ask some fellow volunteers if anyone has a better answer since no one else has contributed to this discussion.

  1. This can be installed in an AC-wired configuration but still requires its rechargeable battery pack to be installed. ↩︎