# View Cameras live when internet is down **URL:** \ **Category:** Cameras\ **Tags:** cam-v3-spotlight, android\ **Created:** [May 27, 2025, 1:18pm UTC](https://forums.wyze.com/t/view-cameras-live-when-internet-is-down/330829 "2025-05-27T13:18:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chw777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cab0a1/32.png) [@chw777](https://forums.wyze.com/u/chw777)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 1:18pm UTC](https://forums.wyze.com/t/view-cameras-live-when-internet-is-down/330829/1 "2025-05-27T13:18:03Z")
I have a generator and was wondering if, during a hurricane or disaster, the power is out for the area, but my generator kicks on. Can I view the live feed on the cameras locally? thanks ---
**Author:** ![dave27](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dave27](https://forums.wyze.com/u/dave27)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 1:35pm UTC](https://forums.wyze.com/t/view-cameras-live-when-internet-is-down/330829/2 "2025-05-27T13:35:48Z")
If your internet is down, the cam cannot authenticate, so no. However if you were to enable hotspot on your phone, set it to the same network name and password, the cams should automatically connect to that and be able to authenticate. Of course, you need to keep an eye on your data usage if you’re watching the stream a lot as it will probably go through your internet connection, depending how your phone handles hotspot connections. You can also get a 5G backup for your router (some routers will even let you tether a phone to use as 5G backup) in which case everything would essentially work as it does now, the authentication would go over the internet, but the stream would stay on your local wifi. Once the cam is authenticated, you can keep the live stream up and shut down the hotspot/5G backup, it will continue working for a certain amount of time, I don’t recall how long but I think it is hours. ---
**Author:** ![WildBill](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/wyze/user_avatar/forums.wyze.com/wildbill/32/41408_2.png) [@WildBill](https://forums.wyze.com/u/WildBill)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 1:50pm UTC](https://forums.wyze.com/t/view-cameras-live-when-internet-is-down/330829/3 "2025-05-27T13:50:05Z")
Assuming cell service is available. It might be down as well in a hurricane. ---
**Author:** ![bryonhu](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/wyze/user_avatar/forums.wyze.com/bryonhu/32/122736_2.png) [@bryonhu](https://forums.wyze.com/u/bryonhu)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 1:57pm UTC](https://forums.wyze.com/t/view-cameras-live-when-internet-is-down/330829/4 "2025-05-27T13:57:57Z")
My Wyze cams will not work without Internet on the cams and phone. My Reolink cams work with or without Internet 😁 However if the Internet is down access is only on local network, but cams continues to record as usual. ---
**Author:** ![dave27](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dave27](https://forums.wyze.com/u/dave27)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 2:11pm UTC](https://forums.wyze.com/t/view-cameras-live-when-internet-is-down/330829/5 "2025-05-27T14:11:05Z")
> [@bryonhu](#): > > but cams continues to record as usual. So do the wyze ones if there is an SD card. Internet not required for that. ---
**Author:** ![bryonhu](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/wyze/user_avatar/forums.wyze.com/bryonhu/32/122736_2.png) [@bryonhu](https://forums.wyze.com/u/bryonhu)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 2:20pm UTC](https://forums.wyze.com/t/view-cameras-live-when-internet-is-down/330829/6 "2025-05-27T14:20:04Z")
> [@dave27](#): > > So do the wyze ones if there is an SD card. Yes, maybe in some cases but date time won’t usually be correct and no local access while Internet is down. ---
**Author:** ![habib](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/wyze/user_avatar/forums.wyze.com/habib/32/110070_2.png) [@habib](https://forums.wyze.com/u/habib)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 2:49pm UTC](https://forums.wyze.com/t/view-cameras-live-when-internet-is-down/330829/7 "2025-05-27T14:49:27Z")
> [@bryonhu](#): > > no local access while Internet is down. I beg to differ, as long as the cameras are on the same subnet as the viewing device they’ll work without internet. Give it a try, unplug the WAN cable from your router but leave the router powered on and the stream will keep on going. ---
**Author:** ![bryonhu](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/wyze/user_avatar/forums.wyze.com/bryonhu/32/122736_2.png) [@bryonhu](https://forums.wyze.com/u/bryonhu)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 2:59pm UTC](https://forums.wyze.com/t/view-cameras-live-when-internet-is-down/330829/8 "2025-05-27T14:59:21Z")
Throw a power failure and restore in the mix with Internet still down and that won’t work. You can’t connect to the cams if they can’t check in with the Wyze servers after power loss ---
**Author:** ![habib](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/wyze/user_avatar/forums.wyze.com/habib/32/110070_2.png) [@habib](https://forums.wyze.com/u/habib)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 3:03pm UTC](https://forums.wyze.com/t/view-cameras-live-when-internet-is-down/330829/9 "2025-05-27T15:03:47Z")
That is given, but we were talking establishing the handshake via hotspot, then shutting the hotspot down and keeping the live stream alive. ---
**Author:** ![bryonhu](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/wyze/user_avatar/forums.wyze.com/bryonhu/32/122736_2.png) [@bryonhu](https://forums.wyze.com/u/bryonhu)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 3:16pm UTC](https://forums.wyze.com/t/view-cameras-live-when-internet-is-down/330829/10 "2025-05-27T15:16:57Z")
Yes a hotspot would work if configured with same WiFi credentials as original router, that’s if they have one. ---
**Author:** ![habib](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/wyze/user_avatar/forums.wyze.com/habib/32/110070_2.png) [@habib](https://forums.wyze.com/u/habib)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 3:37pm UTC](https://forums.wyze.com/t/view-cameras-live-when-internet-is-down/330829/11 "2025-05-27T15:37:33Z")
That is exactly what @dave27 recommended to the OP’s question how to view cameras when internet goes down. ---
**Author:** ![habib](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/wyze/user_avatar/forums.wyze.com/habib/32/110070_2.png) [@habib](https://forums.wyze.com/u/habib)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 3:41pm UTC](https://forums.wyze.com/t/view-cameras-live-when-internet-is-down/330829/12 "2025-05-27T15:41:18Z")
I think you are blinded by despise towards Wyze that you can’t keep up with the flow of the thread 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![bryonhu](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/wyze/user_avatar/forums.wyze.com/bryonhu/32/122736_2.png) [@bryonhu](https://forums.wyze.com/u/bryonhu)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 5:05pm UTC](https://forums.wyze.com/t/view-cameras-live-when-internet-is-down/330829/13 "2025-05-27T17:05:08Z")
You know me, eh? 😜 ---
**Author:** ![JoeRt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e47774/32.png) [@JoeRt](https://forums.wyze.com/u/JoeRt)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 9:08pm UTC](https://forums.wyze.com/t/view-cameras-live-when-internet-is-down/330829/14 "2025-06-02T21:08:02Z")
There is alot they don’t tell you about in the sales pitch. But you find out later you have little control over these cameras. You buy them with your hard earned money and wyze holds all the cards all based on a payoff. That is the definition of a scam. No honesty at the point of sale. ---
**Author:** ![dave27](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dave27](https://forums.wyze.com/u/dave27)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2025, 3:22am UTC](https://forums.wyze.com/t/view-cameras-live-when-internet-is-down/330829/15 "2025-06-03T03:22:24Z")
There is no scam involved. These are cloud (internet based) cameras that require internet to function. The 30 minute reboot after connection loss was in response to some users whose cams would not reconnect to wifi after a signal loss/interruption, to help try and get them back online and working again. There is no conspiracy or scam here. If you want to suggest that they make this feature optional (via a toggle in settings) I’d recommend adding a topic to the wishlist. _MOD NOTE: Post edited to conform to the [Community Guidelines](https://forums.wyze.com/t/wyze-community-guidelines/)._ ---
**Author:** ![JoeRt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e47774/32.png) [@JoeRt](https://forums.wyze.com/u/JoeRt)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2025, 3:50am UTC](https://forums.wyze.com/t/view-cameras-live-when-internet-is-down/330829/16 "2025-06-03T03:50:22Z")
Really? Then why is this not mentioned at the point of sale? It’s misleading to get you to buy. Scam. In fact they state you can use and sd card. But after you buy them you find out the sd card is useless without the cloud. Even with the cloud they miss quite a bit of movement. Oh yeah, then there are the videos that can not be retrieved from their server. I am not suggesting anything. I am saying flat out these are a scam. They do not function as advertised. That is a scam. not a conspiracy - a scam. ---
**Author:** ![dave27](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dave27](https://forums.wyze.com/u/dave27)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2025, 4:34am UTC](https://forums.wyze.com/t/view-cameras-live-when-internet-is-down/330829/17 "2025-06-03T04:34:52Z")
It is not a scam by any definition. But you’re obviously welcome to your opinion. The SD card isn’t useless, I have no subscription and have 11 days of historical video on mine that I can view any time. What “point of sale” are you referring to, and why would you expect any employee to explain to you that a wifi cloud cam requires internet to work properly? Even without internet, it technically still does record to the SD card, just won’t have the correct date and time since the internet is required to set the time. ---
**Author:** ![JoeRt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e47774/32.png) [@JoeRt](https://forums.wyze.com/u/JoeRt)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2025, 1:15am UTC](https://forums.wyze.com/t/view-cameras-live-when-internet-is-down/330829/18 "2025-06-04T01:15:14Z")
[Mod Edit] Computer(devises)have been timestamping [mod edit]. You don’t need internet to do that and the internet does not do that. scam /skăm/ noun A fraudulent business scheme; a swindle. Fraudulent deal. [Mod Edit] Go to amazon and read the OG cam description. This is the point of sale (ah…something new…point of sale). Wyze says… "Two Recording Options - Enjoy secure cloud recording with Cam Plus or Cam Unlimited (subscription required) for detecting people, packages, pets, and vehicles. Then they say… “Alternatively, you can insert a microSD card (sold separately) for local video storage.” This leads one to believe cam+ is not needed for the sdcard(Alternatively as an alternate). What they don’t tell you is the camera goes to sleep for 5 minutes after each recording. So yes the sd card is useless since it will not record all events. However the timestamps on the few events I did get was correct. So now one is “swindled” into cam+ to get rid of the 5 minute sleep period. But wait - it still doesn’t capture all events. It still takes a break and this is easily demonstrated. Often using 2 cams covering a side by side area only one cam will record the event. There are times when they don’t record an event. So the 24/7 is total BS. In fact, the the app does not recognize the sdcard without cam+. These cams are within 20 feet of the router. These cams never record an entire event if it is longer than a minute unless you step up to cam monitoring. The the max is 5 minutes. They don’t tell you that either. Na that can’t be a misrepresentation can it? The other point there is no 2-way communication as claimed. You can key something in the app and have it repeated. You can get a parrot to do that. But that is not 2-way communication. Again misleading. They have poor wifi connectivity compared to other devices limiting placement thus usability. They don’t tell you that either. So instant motion and alert claim is pushing it. These are not reliable security cams. If you don’t represent something honestly it’s fraud - aka a scam. Plain English fact - not opinion. PS: Technically it’s a scam. _MOD NOTE: Post edited to conform to the [Community Guidelines](https://forums.wyze.com/t/wyze-community-guidelines/)._ ---
**Author:** ![spamoni](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/wyze/user_avatar/forums.wyze.com/spamoni/32/34695_2.png) [@spamoni](https://forums.wyze.com/u/spamoni)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2025, 11:07am UTC](https://forums.wyze.com/t/view-cameras-live-when-internet-is-down/330829/20 "2025-06-04T11:07:10Z")
All, Please adhere to the [community guidelines](https://forums.wyze.com/faq) when posting. Especially this topic area: [Sometimes We Disagree And That’s Okay](https://forums.wyze.com/faq#heading--agreeable) ---
**Author:** ![spkc](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/wyze/user_avatar/forums.wyze.com/spkc/32/112807_2.png) [@spkc](https://forums.wyze.com/u/spkc)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2025, 3:17pm UTC](https://forums.wyze.com/t/view-cameras-live-when-internet-is-down/330829/21 "2025-06-04T15:17:41Z")
When something is explained in FAQs and product documentation, I don’t think it is a scam. When hundreds of thousands of other customers buy the product and don’t feel scammed, that’s also a great sign. You might be aware that companies are allowed to offer various products and services, and they can change them as often as they want. In situations like you find yourself in posting so furiously that a mod on a camera forum has to edit it, @JoeRt, I always ask myself: do I wanna be this upset over something that costs $19.99 on sale? Maybe your go-to power move would be to return these products in the return window next time, and do more pre-purchase research on your next $20 purchase [Next page](https://forums.wyze.com/t/view-cameras-live-when-internet-is-down/330829.md?page=2)