I got my first 6 Wyze V3 cameras for $20 each. They’re OK. I’d prefer a better mechanism to view them than only using a phone app. At least my Amcrest cameras could be viewed on my PC and would record to the hard drive.
Now it seems the V3 is $29. Was there an update to these cameras worthy of the $9 extra per camera that I missed?
You also have to pay an annual fee for the PLUS feature for them to be worth a damn. Maybe I should have stuck with my Amcrest cameras.
but they have free shipping now . . . that plus chip shortages, general inflation, etc.
If you have “high endurance” microSD cards, and, are comfortable with tech, then, you can live w/o the CAM PLUS.
What’s worse than the price increase, is the lack of support for the product. Apparently besides a chip shortage there is a shortage of qualified people.
What is the method you are using to contact tech support when you need help?
If you are about to say, “this forum” - then that’s the problem. They don’t visit this forum looking for people needing help. This is a customer/user to customer/user forum where generally knowledge and conversation occur.
I should have clarified what I meant. Every time I’ve contacted Wyze customer support it takes a week or more for them to contact me back. And then they have me do things I’ve already done prior to contacting them. Their support staff just suggest pre-made instructions and they aren’t really tech support people. I spent an hour once doing the things they suggested (that I didn’t before contacting them), and it was clear to me they really didn’t know the product and were just reading from a script. And ultimately they always want to replace the device, when the issue really was a software issue. This is what happens when a company devotes too many resources towards new product development instead of tech support and fixing issues with their current product line.
I have no expectation that Wyze will respond to my inquiry. I honestly don’t care. I figure this is a place where we owners of these cameras can speak freely. If the Wyze team is wise enough to listen to us, that would be wise of them. If not, screw them. I don’t care. I’ll spend my money elsewhere.
I merely made an observation about my cameras and my purchase. The original W3 cameras I purchased went from $20 to $29 and I see no improvement in the quality/function of the camera to justify such a large cost increase. No way in hell will I spend $29 for a W3 camera given the crappy interface with my PC. Actually, there is NO interface with my PC that I’m aware of without going out of my way to create one.
I’ve never been a fan of the Wyze interface. They’ve priced themselves out of the market at $30. It’s a decent camera with a crappy interface. Perhaps they’ll do better for the future.
I dropped $20/ W3 as a test. I currently have 6 of the Wyze W3 cameras. I still prefer my Amcrest cameras and their interface over the Wyze cameras.
I like to see my cameras on my PC vs the phone. I can only do that with the Amcrest. Perhaps one of you could teach me how to do so with the Wyze. It’s certainly not something Wyze makes readily available. Unless I’ve missed it and will apologize, if so.
I think Amcrest is the way to go…and I’m not a huge fan of them.
I have only one question. Did they promise you at purchase time of your Version 3 cameras that they had a PC interface?
Didn’t you pay the same price before? Yes, inflation is up after the pandemic, and there is a chip shortage affecting production, but they mainly rolled shipping into the price.
It’s up to $32.98 now if you buy it thru the app
I’m a Wyze long-hauler myself… I think I once had 3 V1s. Their camera software is getting incrementally better and better.
At the $20 price point, I wouldn’t expect any more than what they provided. Perhaps, they are geniuses. They bait everybody in with low prices. Eventually, they need to improve the cams, and, add more capabilities. Now, they can raise the price when their products get better.