I have my Wyze duo cam hardwired. But, I’m constantly having issues with continuous SD card recording. I get a low voltage warning popup when viewing the cam, even though I get about 18V across the leads when the camera is running. My cam always shows 100% battery, but I assume I would see a plug or different icon since it is hardwired.
How can I tell if my cam recognizes it is hardwired?
What doorbell transformer do people recommend?
Welcome to the Forums @Matt93094
I use the following Transformer without issues with my Doorbell Duo:
This is what the Duo Doorbell Tech Specs says:
AC (10-24V AC, 60 HZ)
and this is the SD Card sizing:
Local Storage: Supports up to 256 GB microSD in exFAT format
EDIT
To answer your other questions, you know if it is hardwired by a plug symbol over the battery. This is what mine looks like:
I’ve actually been trying to troubleshoot mine, it’ll run for a few days and then lose its connection completely I think my transformer’s going bad. I am going to look into upgrading to this one and see how it goes 
originally I bought that transformer for the original doorbell and I think it’s under powered. I don’t remember its specs
I’ve seen several video doorbells that claim to work down to 10v but they go to black and white and drain the battery if much below 16 (especially if there is a mechanical chime being used, a button push can even reboot the doorbell and you can’t see who is there). Not sure if this model is one that can run a mechanical chime or not,
Transformers assume a 10 to 20% loss (a 16v one will usually put out 18 to 20 at the terminals) because they’re usually feeding a long run of thin wire. But I’ve seen plenty of houses where even that isn’t enough, the wire is very old, often split off to multiple doors, and the chime draws a lot when pushed. And of course the transformer degrades over time. So I usually say to go with the 20v one - even on a short run it will be under the 24v max, and on a long run it gives you more “wiggle room”. If you use a mechanical chime, it will make it a bit louder, which usually people like too. Or of course if you measure the voltage and find that it is a really big drop, you can go to the 24v, but those tend to burn things out when there isn’t a long run of wire, since they’re probably putting out more like 28.
@Bam if you’re going to replace yours I’d recommend giving a 20v a try, less current draw and less voltage drop prolongs both the transformer and the doorbell.
I agree. I was going to get a 24v, if I remember correctly. :). However, I decided to go with this one first. It has worked on all doorbells so far.
Before I bought my house they decided to just use the 24v transformer from the furnace to run the doorbells, I couldn’t figure out why the lights on the buttons only lasted like 6 months until I measured it once. Mine is a pretty short run, it was like 26 or 27V for buttons rated at 20. The chimes were also deafening. I can’t remember if the one I had laying around was 16 or 20 but the lights have lasted 5 years so far and the chimes are more reasonable sounding.
Thank you @spamoni and everyone for the recommendations. I may try the 16V transformer first recommended. Another user has the 24V one linked below, but I’m worried that might be too much.
There is also a 20V version available if you want to split the difference but either should work if you don’t have really long doorbell wires.
Do you have a link to the 20v transformer? I’m only seeing 16 or 24v.
Hm, it seems to have disappeared. It was one of the brands with the red face on it, possibly the same brand you have linked there. There’s probably another brand out there, but since the 16v will put out somewhere in the 18-20v range and it has a good strong 30VA current backing it up, as long as your doorbell wire isn’t too long, it should work fine. I’d be concerned with the 24 volt (more like 28+) with shorter doorbell wiring feeding a device that specifies 24 max.
Thank you all for the help. Unfortunately, I’m still having issues. I replaced my 16V transformer with this 24 V 40VA one. As you can see in my photos, I’m reading about 27V. I removed the duo cam from Wyze, removed the battery, and started the whole process over with a 5 second reset. Shortly after install, I got the attached low voltage warning. What am I doing wrong? I may see if Wyze can replace my duo cam because I feel like I have tried everything to get a powered duo cam. It is causing issues with recording (cloud, and SD).
27 is too high, it supports 10 through 24. Perhaps it doesn’t have a “high voltage warning”? That’s why I wouldn’t suggest 24 volt unless you have a lot of wiring.
I can’t say for sure that’s the problem with your unit (or that the high voltage hasn’t caused a permanent issue with it) but I’d say if you’re going to get a replacement, find a transformer that puts out voltage in the required range. If the 20V one can’t be found, the 16 should be fine in your case as your wiring obviously is a short run of clean wire, you’ll probably see around 18v with that.
Thank you, Dave. The transformer I tried before this 24V 40VA one is this 16V 30VA one. I read about 18V at the duo cam leads with that transformer. It always says 100%, and shows a battery icon. I have yet to see the plugged in (charging) icon. I’ll try the transformer @spamoni suggested in the first reply, even though it is the same rating as I what I originally had.
I don’t think there is any point in trying another one of the same rating. If you tried the 16V, saw 18V at the doorbell and still had issues, I’d get the doorbell replaced under warranty. Is there any mechanical chime connected in the path anywhere etc? Or just straight wiring to the doorbell?
If it is 100% it won’t show the charging/plug icon, so that’s fine. Turn the transformer off until the battery runs down, and you should see the charging icon when you turn it back on. Of course sometimes you won’t see it when viewing the live stream as that’s consuming all the power and it doesn’t have enough to start charging. But it should charge back to 100% when you’re not watching and there aren’t lots of events going on.
I have now tried 3 different transformers, and still see low voltage warnings. I believe it is leading to inconsistent event recording (cloud), and continuous recording (SD card). Wyze Support offered to replace it, but they don’t have any duo cams in stock so I’m currently stuck. As @dave27 suggested, I let the battery drain to about 87% , and periodically see a lightning bolt charging symbol when checking. I’m just going to try to be patient, and wait for the cams to come back in stock.
In case this helps anyone else, here are the transformers I tried, and the voltage I saw across the leads on the back of the duo cam. I removed the chime, so the cam is directly connected to the transformer.
Defiant 16V 30VA transformer - measured 18V at cam
Maxdot 16V 30VA transformer - measured 20V at cam. This is the same one that works for @spamoni . I’m still using this one.
Newhouse 24V 40VA transformer - measured 27V at cam
@Matt93094 - I am operating 2 db duos hardwired, I had installed a 24/40 transformer with my previous db v2’s. That transformer is operating flawlessly for my duos. Mechanical chimes with the dbv2 controllers. Sandisk 256gb high endurance cards. Cam+ unlimited and Alexa routines and notifications. TP Link XE75 3 node mesh wifi. All notifications are very timely, even the echo show 8 displays, push notifications and verbal announcements on my echo dot 5’s. I’ve been very lucky with my Wyze installations. I will admit to a couple hiccups when first installed.
