Is there any way to set an alert on the WYZE App so that it will raise an alert if it loses contact with the WYZE sense hub (i.e. potential Wi-Fi/RF jamming condition)?
You don’t have to set anything. It does this automatically. If the Wyze sense hub loses connection to the internet, you will get a push notification on your phone. I got one just yesterday.
The notifications look like this:
To help prevent WiFi jamming, you can actually just connect the Wyze Sense Hub to your router through an Ethernet cord instead of by WiFi. Then WiFi jamming doesn’t do anything to the hub.
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pitty wyze cams do not do this, i get no notification when wyze people put my cams offline or disable continous recording to sd card.
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The problem is that if your WiFi is being jammed then there is no way to get a push notification to your iPhone or iPad. Unless you are saying that the wyze app on your iPhone generates the alert locally.
Richard (via iPhone)
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Wyze said they were working on this, and even testing it (I assume internally?), but they want to make sure the connectivity reporting is a lot more stable for the cameras first. Some people have reported cameras showing offline in the app, even though the cameras were actually working and not really offline. I suspect that part of this may have to do with some people’s firewalls blocking the IP addresses they might be using as an online ping. There are probably other things related to why the cams may sometimes say they are offline when they aren’t. Wyze said they wanted to resolve those situations first though. It is showing as something in development though:
The way it works is that when the Wyze servers do not hear back from the device after a certain period of time, they will send a push notification to the app that the device is offline. If you have a phone or iPad that has mobile data that is still functioning, then you will still get that push notification. Say you’re at work and someone jams your home WiFi, you’ll still get notified that your cameras went offline because the Wyze server will recognize that the Camera didn’t check in when it should have. Even at home, if someone just deauth’s your WiFi, your mobile data will still send you a notification. In theory, someone could try to jam your mobile data too, but if this is a concern for you, then it makes sense to share your cameras to a loved one who is outside your home, and those people will be notified when your cams (or sense hub) go offline. They can then contact you, and if they can’t get ahold of you, they can take proper action, including contacting law enforcement if they believe it is warranted or that is something you have discussed and asked them to do in these situations. That’s between you and your emergency contacts. The point is that there are or will be ways for people to know when this happens and they can then decide how that is handled.
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I was testing some issues with the behavior of offline cams on my network recently.
I have my HMS Sense Hub connected to my router by Ethernet with WiFi as fallback.
In my test, I unplugged the Ethernet cable between the Modem and the Root WiFi Router so that it severed all internet with my devices. My phone, recognizing that the active WiFi connection has lost internet, immediately switched to Mobile Data. Within a minute, I got the Push Notification from the Wyze server that the Hub had lost connectivity.
Here is a Tom’s Hardware story on WiFi Jamming.
For anyone seriously concerned about Wi-Fi/RF Jamming going on in you area, I suggest looking into getting a Wireless Intrusion Detection Systems (WIDS) that also alerts to jamming detections. Since they connect through an ethernet cord and can’t be “jammed” with a signal, they can still get an alert out in various ways to another device off-premises or also wired (computer, etc), or trigger a siren that is connected by ethernet.
You can also build a custom solution using Wi-Fi monitoring tools and microcontrollers (such as Raspberry Pi or Arduino).
- Set up a dedicated device with Wi-Fi monitoring capabilities to continuously scan for interference.
- When interference (jamming) is detected, the device can send an alert through an Ethernet connection to your router to someone like a family member or neighbor or other trusted contact, or have it set off an alarm in your house that is also connected to your network through an ethernet connection.
If being alerted to WiFi jamming is critical for you (such as if you live in one of these areas in Minnesota where these active burglaries are going on), this is the solution.
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What WIDS system on the budget do you recommend?
To be honest, while it is effective, I personally think WIDS is overkill (and expensive) for an average residential network. I mostly listed to help concerned people see that there are other options if it will really give them the peace of mind they need. What I would be more likely personally recommend if someone is moderately concerned but has no known immediate threat they’re aware of would be some of the following:
- Wi-Fi Monitoring Tools:
- You can use free or low-cost Wi-Fi monitoring tools to keep an eye on your network to alert you to any unusual activity.
- Fing: A mobile app that scans your network and identifies connected devices. It can notify you when new devices join your network.
- Wireshark: A powerful network protocol analyzer that can help detect anomalies in Wi-Fi traffic.
- Intrusion Detection System (IDS):
- While a full-fledged WIDS may be overkill for a residential home, consider setting up a basic IDS.
- Snort is a popular open-source IDS that can monitor network traffic and alert you to suspicious patterns.
- Configure Snort to focus on Wi-Fi-related events, such as deauthentication attacks or unauthorized access attempts.
- Wi-Fi Signal Strength Monitoring:
- Keep an eye on your Wi-Fi signal strength. Sudden drops in signal quality could indicate interference or jamming.
- Use tools like inSSIDer or NetSpot to visualize Wi-Fi signal strength and identify potential issues.
- Alerts and Notifications:
- Set up alerts and notifications on your smartphone or email. For example:
- Receive an alert when a new device connects to your network.
- Get notified if the Wi-Fi signal strength drops significantly.
- Configure Snort to send alerts for specific events.
- Set up alerts and notifications on your smartphone or email. For example:
- Physical Security Measures:
- Secure your router physically. Place it in a central location away from windows and doors.
- Consider using a lockable enclosure to prevent unauthorized access to the router.
- Wired Computer for on-site alerts too. To make sure these alerts get through to you while you’re at home, make sure you have a separate computer that is wired by an ethernet cord, preferably one going through the walls or floor or in a way that isn’t easily seen and cut. Have speakers on the computer, and have it make loud announcements when any of those things occur. That way, if the jamming happens while you’re at your home, and just in case your phone is also blocked from getting messages, the wired computer will still get the message from the router and loudly alert you to the problem(s).
If someone wants to go a step further then look into the commercial WIDS solutions. They’re just more expensive, but could give someone the peace of mind they need, so they are an option.
Also, there are plenty of alternatives to the above suggestions. Just trying to give some ideas of things that could be considered.
One thing that can help prevent deauth attacks is to use WPA3. It eliminates spoofing and forgery interference. It won’t 100% prevent all kinds of jamming, but it will overcome the majority of interference techniques most people are currently employing lately. So that would be good to use for your phone, computers, and any devices you have that currently support WPA3. Wyze’s roadmap/wishlist has indicated that they have been working on supporting WPA3, but it’s my understanding that most of them aren’t yet compliant with it at this time. Hopefully we’ll see some more updates for this in the future.
Hope the above is helpful. I know some of these things can be complicated for people who haven’t training with network security though.
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