This is a bit of a warning to anyone considering buying into the Wyze Cam ecosystem. I have been an avid supporter/watcher of Wyze products for over a year and have 5 Wyze cams currently.
I just recently noticed though that 2 of my cameras have begun to malfunction when pointed near any bright light. They have a very obvious hardware flaw and unfortunately as the 2 cameras that have started doing this are just over a year old they will not replace them as they are out of warranty.
From the email I received from customer support: âBased on the information you provided, we do believe that the device is experiencing a malfunction with itsâ image sensor and would like to see if you fall within warranty.â
So obviously an issue with the image sensor, but:
*"Sadly, no this is not a software issue but a hardware issue from the bright light affecting the image sensor within the lens of the camera. * Again, so sorry for any inconvenience this might cause as we are unable to honor a replacement for this unit. "
I inquired if this should be expected of all my cameras: "No this is not something you should expect from all of your cameras as we found this typically only happens when the bright light affects the lens of your camera. I would recommend moving your cameras away from any bright light source to avoid this from happening. "
So, they will not replace the cameras and even if they did they are saying not to point them at âbright lightâ. I have many windows in my house so I could basically only point them at the ceiling or the floor. So⊠they know this is an issue and if you have a bright light source ever shining on your camera only expect it to last a year or so⊠to me that is not acceptable. You can decide that for yourself of course. It does make me sad because, aside from this issue, I really liked these cameras.
One of my cameras has this issue. At first I thought it was the IR filter, but then I noticed it only happens when there is a bright source of light, in my case, light reflection coming from a setting sun.
The pink color is a clear indication of a stuck or torn IR filter. If you search the forums you will find other similar posts. While VERY bright lights will damage a CMOS sensor they do not result in the pink tinge. Short of a very powerful spot light or pointing your camera directly at the sun I rather doubt bright sunlight alone would cause the issue.
That said leaving the night vision set to on during a bright day could result in adverse affects.
Same issue with me. Of 20 cameras, I have already sent back 4, and now I have 2 more. All of them always had the day/night vision set to automatic and none of them faced any windows.
Yeah, mine are all set to auto night mode (except the one facing outside I have the IR off). One was facing outside and my Pan one is in the house not facing any direct sunlight whatsoever. There are windows in the room but thatâs normal use case I would say and not abnormal amounts of light hitting it.
The affected camera is inside a garage, and the sun doesnât shine on it directly. The bright haze coming through the open garage door is what causes the problem. When the garage is closed the problem disappears. IR light is also set to Auto, so I donât think itâs a stuck/torn or the IR filter.
And also, the pink color is very light unlike the pictures here, which are darker in tone.
Anythingâs possible. But I have cameras outside that are in direct sun for part of the day. One is just about a year old the other is older but it has only been outside about 6 months, never have I seen a pink color. Other than my neighbor who apparently loves pink clothes.
My brother has 3 V2âs outside in Florida, 2 of them are over a year old and no issues. I donât know where you live but I doubt itâs any brighter than Florida. So if bright light was damaging the sensors as you say I would think we would be hearing about it more often.
Now you could very well be correct. Itâs actually very easy to find out. Since Wyze has said itâs not covered under warranty then you have nothing to loose. Take the housing off and cycle the IR on and off and observe the filter.
Thereâs another thread here that discusses opening the camera. I tried, but I canât seem to open it up. It seems that you have to pull the sides really hard to do it, and Iâm a bit hesitant. Iâm used to working with desktops where the components slide out easily.
It is not âas I sayâ Wyze customer support are the ones who said it was bright light affecting the sensorâŠ
"Sadly, no this is not a software issue but a hardware issue from the bright light affecting the image sensor within the lens of the camera. " â Customer support person
So, they are aware it is an issue and you can see in the forum many people have this same issue.
The IR filter is enclosed in the lense housing a few mm above the sensor which is on the PCB. Here is a detailed photo. The filters are little glass squares. The camera switches between the two depending upon overall brightness. At night the clear one is in the optical path. The only way to to âcycleâ it is to energize the tiny solenoid with a ( I can guess 1 Volt ) source connected to the 2-pin JST connector. Note the position of the filters you see in the photo is the device turned off state with a return spring. The camera has to energize the solenoid to flip the IR cut filter into place. I can guess that the way a camera gets damaged is not being plugged into power while staring for a long time at daylight which then damages the sensor. Maybe the better design would have been to have the IR cut filter be the powered off default instead of the clear glass as the powered off default.
No offense to Wyze support they are usually very nice and responsive folk. But there are a bunch of threads on here that illustrate that Wyze support is indeed not manned by Wonder Woman and Superman . Occasionally they get it very wrong. So like most things your mileage may vary.
But if you are happy with the answer you received thatâs all that counts. Feel free to ignore myself and anyone else. Like I said, I freely admit I could very well be wrong. Would not be the first time and probably wonât be the last time.
Thatâs it exactly. I was just about to take some pictures of mine. You can actually power the camera up with the housing off. Not everything lines up but you can see what happens. You can also easily inspect the filters if as you are showing you remove the filter module. A slight tear is all it takes in the red filter to show up as pink (Varying shades depending on size and shape of tear or location of filters when they jam).
Lol, yeah. I get they are just people. I donât blame them but they do speak for the company and I imagine have a bit of knowledge as to what they are talking about. (at least I hope)
I feel for you, luckily for me all the cameras I have encountered or assisted others with had a defect in the filter and were covered by Wyze under warranty (or simply because they are a user friendly company).
I also had two cameras get âsun burnedâ. As the earth rotated around the sun, the position of the rising and setting sun changed so that it hit directly in lens of two cameras pointing outside. I repurposed one in the basement so it is mostly on IR and the image isnât effected too much. The damage part (becomes pixelated) is pointing to area I donât care much about. The second I put a sunglasses lens in front to see if it would limit further damage, waiting for results.
I hope you can also find a way to use your âbrokenâ cams.
I have two WYZE cams and one of them has also started to have the pink/pixelated images. I thought it may be a reflection but now I see others are also having that problem. Hmm thanks.
. Occasionally they get it very wrong. So like most things your mileage may vary.
