I think they could. But when they add a way for us to access the SD card they also add a new path for hackers to attack.
And I know from our own audits in a voluntary system less than 20% of users actually use a strong or even unique password. And less than 5% actually use 2FA.
So if they expose the video files to the app or an api they are creating a juicy target for hackers. The first time someone’s inadvertent sex tape gets published on a porn site and Wyze has new owners.
It can be done safely but it’s going to be non trivial.
How about the option to view the video files from a PC, through the cloud, without needing to get a ladder, remove the camera SD card, and then plug it into the computer?
I use the free version of the BlueStacks app to view my cameras live and to check playback. I have 4 cameras currently set up, and have them set up as a group so all 4 are visible, or I can view them independently.
I can’t say what @anthonychiappone is most concerned about, but myself and others are primarily concerned about getting high speed direct remote access to the original one minute MP4 files stored on the SD card in the camera during “Continuous Recording” without having to climb ladders…
Yes, currently the video files on the SD card can to be played back in real time and re-recorded in the Wyze app - whether on a phone/tablet/android TV or a PC running an emulator. These can then be saved, renamed, manipulated, etc.
Which is fine for short clips, but not for long ones - like when needing to examine many hours or several days worth of footage to find a happening which did not trigger a Wyze app event. (too far away, 5 min cool down, internet was offline but cam was still recording, etc) This happens with annoying frequency at some of my remote sites.
(yes, I could use more expensive “real security” hardware, but the information I need is usually perfectly captured and preserved by the Wyze cams - I just can’t get to it without a ladder &/or a car trip)
Anyhow, several issues will usually quickly appear when doing extensive real time recording within the app
it’s tedious as heck to record hours of footage in real time
if anything glitches in the WiFi or internet connection between the cam and the recording device during this re-recording, the process aborts and you have to start all over
the quality does not appear to be as good as in the original files
Could not agree more! There are many ways to securely transfer files and I do not pine for the days of sneakernet!
I was wondering if you could use a micro sd to regular sd converter then insert a wifi sd card? I never used this stuff so I don’t know. Perhaps it would draw too much power from the cam if it worked at all.
You should try it and let us know.
I don’t think power would be a problem. The cameras are meant to power daisy chained cameras. You could always bump up to a 2A power supply.
I really like the idea, but be sure to read the customer reviews on that particular WiFi enabled SD card - a) it may or may not be supported any longer, and b) it creates its own WiFi SSID that you have to connect to - it does not connect to your WiFi router as a NAS device. Not ideal, but still a great improvement over a ladder if it works!
On the ribbon cable, I believe at least one person here uses that approach just to make it easier to manually swap the microSD cards without having to re-aim the cam.
