I have 4 devices.
2 Android phones running android version 8..0.0
1 Android phone running android 9.0.0
1 Tablet running android 14.
For various reasons, I’ve left the doorbell unconnected (flashing orange light) for a long while. Decided to sort it out today, and spent 30-40minutes trying to troubleshoot using devices that I have now realised can’t run the app correctly.
The tablet works fine. The 3 phones can see events, and get notifications from the v2 doorbell camera, but cannot properly access settings, and they aren’t able to load the live stream. The live stream gets stuck on step 1 of connecting, then tells me to restart the app and/or camera. Trying to access settings like “record to SD card”, the app says the camera isn’t connected…even though the tablet with android 14 works just fine.
Apparently this seems to be a common problem with newer versions of the wyze app running on older devices. Where can I get older versions of the app to restore functionality for the older devices?
Additionally, and this is a bit of venting I suppose, I would appreciate it if software updates don’t brick device functionality without a warning.
apkmirror as @StevenA mentioned is a good source, I’ve never found any malicious versions of stuff on there (not to say it can’t happen).
Couple notes - look for a version that doesn’t require you to install apkmirror’s special installer. I think the second to last 2.5 version has a raw APK available. Then after installing, just go to play store and update it, and you’ll have the latest 2.5 (32 bit) app without needing their bloat.
Newer firmware will not work with the older app on many models of cam, so you may need to downgrade to older firmware and turn off updates. Not all models support manual firmware downgrade, so keep that in mind. My Panv3 and Camv4 no longer work with the old app, but my OGs still do.
At some point Wyze will begin enforcing the newer security protocols introduced in the newer app and firmwares, at which point the old app will be useless. Not sure when that will be, but just another thing to keep in mind.
The two guys above nailed it. My vote is for APKmirror. I use it all the time.
dave27 is right about the potential issues of using an older app version. Some of the recent firmware security updates are incompatible with older versions of the app, so if you are using a newer version of the app on some devices, they may have forced an update to newer firmware, and that may mean the older versions of the app won’t work at all for some of the cameras.
You would have to flash the camera firmware back to an older version, but then it’s also possible the newer app versions could have some weird issues. So if you notice these kind of struggles, that is why.
Having said that, I cloned the old v2.5 app so that I could run it at the same time as the newest 3.x app version and most of my cameras still work fine on the old app version, but some don’t show the livestream. However, I can view recorded events for basically all of them I have checked, so I can see everything that happened at least 5 minutes ago and earlier, but might have to wait until the current event ends to see what happened right now (up to 5 minute delay max). So it’s still usable, just keep in mind there can be conflicts for some of them, but the workaround is to view the event recordings even if the livestream is inaccessible. So my suggestion is to still keep the newest firmware and just deal with it. It’s not really worth flashing the firmware when most camera models work and the ones that don’t have a workaround to still view the events.
Yeah that’s a caveat I missed. My Panv3 for example, on the older firmware (without Verified View) trying to use both apps means the “waypoints” only work in one or the other, whichever app created them. The other one, they do nothing. With the newest firmware it does not work in the 2.5 app at all.
Wasn’t thinking OP was looking to use both versions but yes that presents even more complications. I guess you sort of have to decide if you want to go 100% old or 100% new. And at some point, you won’t have that choice.
In the meantime someone should upload the latest 2.5 APK in raw format to APKmirror. Not sure why they sometimes force their installer and sometimes offer the raw file. Maybe the latest of each major version they always want you to use their installer (for advertising revenue or something).
Despite the suggestions others have offered here, I don’t think the answer to the question you asked…
…will result in a meaningful solution to your problem. I think the real question is something like this: “What can I do to use my Video Doorbell v2?” I believe the answer to that question is that you’re left using only your Android 14 tablet unless/until you replace your older phones.
I think multiple things are in play here:
The 3 phones you describe are using Android 9 and older, which is likely 32-bit only (meaning the OS is 32-bit Android even if the hardware is capable of supporting a 64-bit instruction set). Since the release of the v3x Wyze app two years ago, the Android app has required a 64-bit OS. That’s likely why your Android 14 tablet is still working for your doorbell access and control. If you’ve allowed your phones to update the Wyze app in the past whenever updates have become available, then I imagine those phones are already running the latest v2.50x app, and trying to install something older than that is unlikely to solve your problem. In addition to the issue of Wyze app use, it’s important to be aware that these phones are missing important OS security updates and patches that have been released for Android over the past several years. That’s an additional reason to retire them entirely or relegate them to other uses.
The older app version(s) that you’re probably already using are likely having issues connecting to your Video Doorbell v2 because of the VerifiedView security enhancements that were described a year ago. VerifiedView (when it was still referred to as “SightSafe”) was incorporated into the Video Doorbell v2 firmware in May of last year, and I think that’s probably the main reason I can’t view my own Video Doorbell v2’s live stream or cloud events[1] on my 32-bit Android 13 (Go edition) tablet, but I have full control of the Video Doorbell v2 with phones running 64-bit Android 10 and 16 and the current Wyze app. Wyze noted when VerifiedView was announced that mobile devices running older versions of the app would experience problems and that the older app would stop working at some point, but they did not establish a definite cut-off date at that time. That’s probably what you’re experiencing now.
I’ve never seen Wyze make downloadable firmware available for any Video Doorbell v2 firmware versions, and their Help Center article for flashing firmware doesn’t include instructions for Video Doorbell v2 like it does for other camera models, so I don’t know if something like that is even supported for this device. Because of that, I think suggestions to attempt a firmware downgrade are unhelpful in this case.
They often do post information to this effect when they create announcements in Wyze News about new app and firmware versions, but I realize that all users don’t read those. Like a lot of users, though, I disable automatic app and firmware updates for the Wyze app and my Wyze devices so that I can watch for reports of potential issues before doing any updates myself, and this allows me to control when any updates are applied. I also understand that not every user wants to do this—it takes time and isn’t the proverbial easy button—but it’s what works for me and seems to be the practice of a number of other community members.
Incidentally, I started doing that—holding off on updates—when a Video Doorbell v2 firmware update a few years ago hosed notifications for people who installed it, so I definitely understand how “improvements” can break things, especially when a company like Wyze seems to be trying so hard to innovate.
I also agree that they have a lot of room for improvement when it comes to communicating details about what’s included in app and firmware updates. I think they’re already using a number of channels to announce these kinds of things, but, again, this requires users to take the steps to inform themselves about updates instead of blindly applying them.
Again, I really think your ultimate solution here is going to be phasing out your old phones or using them for something else—just not the Wyze app. I think we’d be able to provide a better answer if we knew what app version(s) and firmware you were using, but that’s how I see your situation with the information I have available.
I get “Error (code 09): Video Player Error.” when I try viewing cloud events using Wyze Android app v2.50.9.512 from my Video Doorbell v2 using firmware 4.51.3.6791. ↩︎
What happened Is that the Google Play store mandated the use of a new developer format called Android App Bundle (.aab) Which only installs the specific files the user needs instead of downloading everything, including things not relevant to the current user or device. So it splits everything up instead of having a global APK now.
Android’s built-in package installer cannot open or parse raw multi-APK bundles directly from our file manager. So to let users sideload these modern apps, APKMirror had to create a new installer in order to make side loading possible with these new kind of files, and in order for their installer to be able to harvest all the necessary device-specific “splits” and package them into a single file container, their installer needs to gather device specific information in order to properly convert the split APK file into the necessary files that you need for your device. The same way the Google Play store executes them since the Google Play store installer won’t cooperate or help you to side load something that didn’t come from them. So there really was no other choice for APK mirror except to create their own installer Because .aab is strictly a developer-to-Google publishing format.
So the .apkm file format from APK mirror holds the base APK alongside the split asset and architecture files. But you can still sometimes get regular APK files for older app versions and sometimes for community uploads from alternative locations. But I think the last APK file for Wyze was for the second to last 2.5 app version. That is the one that I downloaded and cloned and changed the package name for so that I could run it in parallel to the official public app. I personally didn’t care that it was the second to last 2.5 version instead of the last 2.5 version because the only thing that the final update did was add some kind of support for their marketing or ads. We didn’t actually lose any functionality or features between the 2nd to last 2.5 update and the final 2.5 update before they switched to app version 3.x. so there really is no loss. If you want a copy of the 2.5 app Just use the second to last 2.5 app update which has an apk file on apk mirror. If you want to run it in parallel with the newest app version like I do, then you just have to use an APK editor tool and change the package name and preferably the title as well. Then install it and everything works well.
But yeah, if you want anything newer, you have to use their proprietary installer because they were forced to create a proprietary installer to support the new weird bundle version apps that Google forced all developers to switch to. The other mirror sites all did the same thing because they were all so all forced to do the same thing. Though, I think they all should have worked together to create a single open source option that converts the Google version of apps into an open source version which can all use and open source installer. But as it stands, all of the mirror sites all have their own special file format and special installer right now. Kind of annoying, but in a way it’s it’s more Google’s fault than theirs.
Interesting, I don’t really pay that much attention to the android software world. So basically just coincidence that this change started happening right before the final 2.5 app update.
I know they did major changes to the Chrome plugin architecture/requirements last year. It mostly seemed to be a way to prevent ad blockers and the like, but they claim it was for security and privacy. Wonder if this is in any way related to that.
That is correct. Google forced the change at this exact time.
I didn’t pay much attention to the ad-blocking efforts. I heard a lot of people constantly complaining about it. I looked into it a little before deciding I couldn’t risk Google banning my Google accounts by breaking their TOS, so it was never a consideration for me. I know it’s in fashion to hate on Google, but I really like Google in general.
At first the new version of Ublock (Lite) was pretty useless, but it has matured to be almost as good as the original now. Really the only side effect is that Youtube will delay some videos from playing for 5 seconds if you block the ads (with a message about “why am I experiencing delays”).
I use ublock more for privacy and security than ad blocking, but it is a nice side effect. I totally forget about it until I watch something on my phone, where I’ve never bothered to install it, and see the ads.
