Mods: Welcome to move this to a more fitting category. I looked and could not find one category for HMS, so here goes.
This is such a simply idea, I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me before. So, for you, in case you too didn’t think of it, I offer this idea.
Place some Wyze cameras new or old version inside your home in each room. BUT add a WiFi plug to each setup. Add a Wyze Rule or Alexa Routine to turn them on with a voice command when you leave the house. I don’t want them on all the time, so that’s why I didn’t do it before.
If you use geo-fencing processes or a manual trigger to turn you camera on, that good too. If you are using HMS, you can use that to trigger the “on” too (I think). I think most of us are adding cameras outside to see coming and going, but what about inside? Why not? I would bet too, that most of us have a spare Wyze cam sitting idle as a backup. Put it to work in a lesser necessary capacity until you need it elsewhere.
(I am a bit over cautious (borderline paranoid). I believe the police will violate our rights and enter without justifiable cause (warrant). 99.9% unlikely to happen, but I will throw out that it could happen.) So, that voice command could be handy to activate all cameras to record the events.
OMGitsWifey never really wanted cameras inside our house, but when she realized that the cameras can also allow us to watch our cats when we are not home, she wants more cameras than me around the house! I have used them more than once to find where I left my car keys, or if i wore a hat or sunglasses when I left for work etc.
I was thinking about this, and another reason I might use the plugs instead of just camera on/off rules could be if I was sharing the indoor cameras with anyone. For example, while I’m on vacation or any other time I am away from home, even if it is extended family. Then I can share the cameras with them, and not the plugs. Now, I would be the only one with permission to turn the cameras on and I can keep them off when I am home and don’t want people seeing or listening in to me at home. When I’m home I can have the plugs kill the power to the camera and nobody can watch or listen in. and when I am away from home, it can turn on the cameras for myself and any house sitters to see what’s going on.
This could be particularly useful if you have pets to watch. Then both me, and my house-sitters can get alerts if my pets start making noise or going into places they shouldn’t be, or got trapped in some room they can’t get out of. Things like that. But they wouldn’t have the permission/ability to turn the cameras on while I am home.
That would be extremely useful for pet owners, providing safety and care for your pets, while still maintaining privacy while you are actually home since shared users (or hackers) can’t possibly turn the camera on while you’re there because a separate unshared device controls all that.
Yes, excellent points you made here. Control, control when someone can see or not see is important particularly when sharing.
And I am sure we all know already, but I failed to say it again, for those times, rare as they may be, when the camera drops offline, using the WiFi plug to remove power and turn it back on, will most of the time bring it back online.
Another reason for the WiFi plugs.
Yes, this was something I once had to do a lot in early 2020 with V2’s and sometimes when V3’s first came out, and I used plugs to do this.
I haven’t had to restart cameras very often at all in the last couple/few years though. I suspect part of it has to do with the improvement of a better ISP and router. I even have some cameras that have never been power cycled (restarted) in 1-2 years except for when my whole house loses power (which is rare).
But for those who do have this problem, whether it be memory leak related or any other reason, the plugs are excellent for ensuring the cameras are always running with a fresh restart. Definitely a common preference.
I have some cameras in the animal areas and the entry room but none in the living areas. They are linked to my non-Whyze security system to only be ON when Armed Away using Z-Wave sockets.
