Why I'm replacing my WYZE home security cameras

Cameras
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As a disabled person I, and my family, depend on my home security cameras to keep track of what’s going on in and around my house. My family can use them through their normal smart phone interface to check on me when they’re not home, but this isn’t really useful to me at all since my “too dumb” smart phone is unable to run the newest versions of the WYZE Android app. (Funny though, it runs your competitor’s app just fine). Even the Nox Android emulator that I’ve used for years on my PC system to set up, configure, and operate my cameras will no longer work with the newest WYZE app versions.

The other thing I do with my camera’s output here in my house is to display their live output on two security camera monitors using a couple of Raspberry-Pi’s (just running a web browser) and the open source, freeware iSpy security camera hub software that runs on my home server PC. That requires that I first install WYZE’s custom but “unsupported” RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol) enabling firmware on each camera - which at a minimum is a rather awkward and complex process all by itself (And once it’s installed, no automatic firmware updates can ever be done again cause it’ll clobber the whole thing). I’ve been using this set up for the best part of the last 10 years, but recently have lost the ability to control these WYZE cameras at all because the newest versions of the WYZE Android app won’t work with any device or PC emulator that I own. WTF? The old app worked fine, but recently somebody decided to disable it - so now I’ve got no way to control anything.

I found a competitor’s product that natively and fully supports an RTSP interface in their camera’s normal firmware and provides not only an Android app that works on all my devices, but also a native PC client that makes them much easier to configure and control. (Frankly the PC client is so much easier to use to configure and set things up)!

So, I’m in the process of decommissioning all my WYZE cameras, to replace them with your competitor’s products - basically because of lacking software support to: 1) easily configuring each camera to support an RTSP interface to a third party security camera hub - reliably, without having to physically visit each camera every time the firmware may be upgraded (as a disabled person, that’s basically impossible for me, once I’ve set it up once), 2) to run client apps on all my Android smart phones and PC system, and 3) to have the camera firmware work much more reliably than the historic, “provided but unsupported” WYZE firmware has ever worked (which commonly locks up randomly taking either a random automatic camera reboot or manual reboot to correct).

I’d like to end by encouraging WYZE to generally improve the software and firmware support for their cameras, for improved reliability and to address requirements beyond the simplest and most common “Oh, just look at it on your smart phone” user interface. Any industrial or advanced home security system probably needs much more than that!
Protocols like RTSP are open standards, they’ve been around for many years, and clearly your software support knows how to implement them in your products - just not very well as for the reliability, so why not simply support them as built-in, standard features like at least some of your direct competitors already do?

Thanks for listening and good luck with all your products and company in the future!

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From your description, Wyze definitely is not the right product for you.

You need more of a closed circuit system with some remote access and also some more tweakability and feature set, not a cheap cloud cam system where you’re having to use hacks to get it to work like a closed circuit system.

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Seeing as you tagged the Pan V2 and Cam V2, you might be interested in converting your Wyze cams to run exclusively on your closed circuit RTSP system with the Thingino project:

  • Thingino project:
    • https://thingino.com/
    • Open-source Firmware for Ingenic SoC IP Cameras, which includes Wyze Cam Pan 1, Wyze Cam 2, Wyze Cam Pan 2, Wyze Cam 3, Wyze Video Doorbell 1, Wyze Cam Pan 3 (conditionally supported and has Secure Boot which could render your camera unusable). Make sure you download the firmware that matches the camera model, SoC, image sensor, Wi-Fi module, and flash chip size.

Then you can save money from having to buy cameras from other companies when you would otherwise have perfectly functioning RTSP cameras working how you want.

Otherwise, might I suggest either selling your cameras (Wyze cams hold their value really well on resale because they’re sold with low profit margins), or donating them to some non-profit organization or education.

I hope your new stuff works out the way you intend. :+1: Different things are certainly better suited for different peoples’ needs.

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@netsufr, I really like this topic, and I appreciate the time you took to put your thoughts together and compose this. I’ve seen a lot of “I’m done with Wyze!” posts that seem to be little more than venting and ranting, but yours actually carries some reason, and I think you’ve rationalized your decision well. I certainly don’t blame you for making other choices in the market, and, as a fellow user (who happens to like Wyze products but also uses other IoT brands), I have no personal stake in getting you to reconsider; however, I’d like to add a little context to the discussion, at least as I understand it.

I would speculate that the phone in question is running a 32-bit version of Android, and I learned only recently that the new app supports only 64-bit Android versions.

That’s the first (and so far only) official mention of this particular requirement that I’ve seen from Wyze.

I’m not familiar with that product, but briefly skimming their support documentation indicates that it can run 32-bit or 64-bit emulators. Your capabilities there might depend on the host (PC) hardware, but if I was in your situation I think I’d at least consider trying a 64-bit emulator, if possible, to see if that would allow me to run the Wyze app, at least until you can replace the cameras, because the way you describe that makes it seem like quite a chore.

So have I, and I like it, but as far as I know this one doesn’t offer a native PC client. (Ideally it would have clients for multiple platforms, including Linux, but I think that’s asking a lot.)

I think this is an excellent question, and I sincerely hope that someone from Wyze takes the time to read your post and respond, particularly because I think you ended on two high notes:

…and because of this…

…I’d add—as I’ve said elsewhere, so I’m probably sounding like a broken record at this point—that Wyze seems to need more encouragement to improve the accessibility features of their products for all users in order to refocus on an important part of their mission statement:

To make great technology accessible to everyone.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

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Only thing I can add is that the 2.5 app is available on apkmirror and can be loaded relatively easily onto 32 bit devices and emulators (I loaded it up on my old “extra” phone that I keep around for fiddling with stuff the other night). Android makes this much easier to do than Apple.

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Thanks everyone for your well thought out replies!

One thing I didn’t mention in my original post as another reason for changing out my older cameras were the improved hardware features like improved resolution, optical zooming, brighter IR lighting sources, and color IR vision that my old V2 WYZE cameras simply could not provide. Yeah, I know the newer generations of WYZE cameras probably can provide such features too, but then finding new “unsupported” or third party firmware that would actually work (and not brick the device?) for my RTSP use case along with the difficulty of installing and configuring them to use it is probably a bridge too far given my significant mobility issues. Getting something that comes out of the box, working as I need it to in a supported and sustainable way is priceless!

My particular Android smart phone, the CAT S22, super tough flip phone (don’t laugh please!) only supports a watered down version of the OS that I’d guess is 32-bit only. (It runs the new camera’s app just fine though). Likewise the Nox PC emulator that I use to control my smart thermostat as well as my WYZE cameras historically only provides several different 32-bit versions of the OS as you speculated (even though the underlying PC architecture is of course a full 64-bit architecture). I’ve tried other PC emulators in the past, but never had any luck with most of them for the two Android apps (the old WYZE app and the thermostat control app) that I needed them to run. (Cortana used to be able to interface with the smart thermostat too, before Microsoft got rid of her). As mentioned the new cameras I’m installing have a native PC client interface that’s much easier to use than the Android one for configuring and controlling them.

Thanks again for all your responses and assistance, take care!

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S22 runs Android Go, a 32-bit stripped down version of Android 11.

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Since you mentioned Microsoft, I wonder if Windows Subsystem for Android would be an option, but I don’t have any experience with that and don’t know if it supports 64-bit Android apps.

I think I saw the same thing @Seapup did, and I have that issue on my Android (Go edition) tablet: Google Play Store won’t even offer it the new app because it’s a 32-bit OS, so it’ll be running the last v2.5x Wyze app indefinitely.

In any case, I’m glad you found a solution that works for your use case, and I hope the transition works well for your family, too. :slightly_smiling_face:

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How did that happen? :thinking: I have a Samsung S21 with Android 14 and 64-bit as my second phone.

Good to know about the CAT22. I was interested at one tmie.

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WSA is a great option, unfortunately MS has announced they’re going to stop supporting it in March '25, so anyone that wants to use it has to install it by then (and unclear when they’ll totally disable it for even existing users). They want people to use Phone Link which is really just mirroring of sorts…

Sad, as it blew all emulators away, it used Hyper-V virtualization to actually run android on your PC. As far as I know it supports 64 bit android and apps natively.

They do have another app for developers to be able to run android on your PC but it is a much more cumbersome process not really designed for average users.

Much like their touted and very good “sandboxing” solution they released but have been only semi-supporting and seems like it may be on the chopping block too.

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My old 32 bit phone (total POS at this point but actually runs Wyze 2.5 better than my new phone runs Wyze 3.0) is in this boat too. However I’m curious how long “indefinitely” will be. At some point they will update the security between cameras and software (or software and their server) and I’m guessing only 3.x will get that update.

I suppose given how cheap many basic android tablets are, might be something to consider, though since I use that phone for google voice and put that number in when I get insurance quotes, use it for texting people on craigslist, etc, I’d look a bit silly trying to make a phone call on a tablet :rofl: Guess that’s what the bluetooth headset is for.

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Yeah, I was aware of that when I wrote it and suggested it only as a temporizing measure because I don’t know how far along @netsufr is with the transition.

That’s actually pretty cool. Thanks for adding that!

With the way the app behaves based on what I can only speculate are ongoing backend changes, that would be my supposition, as well. The Wyze app isn’t my primary use of that tablet, but I like having another device with a larger screen available that’s capable of accessing the cameras if it’s what I happen to have handy, so I’ll continue to use it as long as it works.

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I am highly considering the same - I have 100’s of emails and messages asking Wyze to fix and update certain modules within their Software.
My settings are being reset and disabled on a daily basis and the complete system of 9 cams indoor&outdoor + Doorbells are becoming useless. Furthermore the active live status team support and response services has all been withdrawn from my area so having this system has become absolute and completely useless. 4 years ago this was great and I was eager to grow this modular system as my finances and needs allowed for it… now I regret giving them a chance from the start.
#NoBottomLine for the Bottom Feeder.

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Good morning netsufr. So, who is the competitor you’re going with?

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…I’d add—as I’ve said elsewhere, so I’m probably sounding like a broken record at this point—that Wyze seems to need more encouragement to improve the accessibility features of their products for all users in order to refocus on [an important part of their mission statement

To make great technology accessible to everyone.

It’s an entire different topic, but when taken in context of the page, accessible=affordable. It’s a totally valid definition of the word, though maybe misleading in this context or a bad word choice.
In the world of software development, especially where your target is both web, mobile web, and mobile apps, the cost of doing so can be substantial and you’re battling producing features that the 90%+ of users that don’t require assistive tech want to have in the apps. Difficult balancing act.

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I get it, and I appreciate that perspective. When I see the word “accessible” in the context of Wyze’s use on that page, at first blush it does read like a financial consideration; however, I’m consciously choosing to use a broader definition of the word when I bring up that point on the Forum because I believe there’s a real market segment that Wyze could be more active in serving, and I think that doing so would speak directly to one of their other stated core values. Often it seems that their decisions have drifted away from the principles they profess to espouse, so I’m just using this forum as a means to remind anyone who might be reading.

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Sounds like good enough cause.

I only bought the cams and they work fine for me. The more advanced the gadget I think I would see issues.

I never had any changes occur without my knowledge. That is interesting.

Luckily there are other choices, as you probably know from other unhappy campers posts.

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Reolink works well for me, my wyze cams are now backup cams that usually have issues when needed :grin:

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That’s who I’m moving to too. I did contacted their customer support with a question and was surprised how fast they got back to me, and how much the person writing the support e-mail actually seemed to know. Very professional and well done all around.

As the old non-pan WYZE cameras have a smaller footprint and the nice feature of the magnetic base, I’ve had a couple of them set up on my interior window latch bars to look outside, even though the cameras aren’t all weather. The new cameras are all slightly larger “pan” versions and have a bigger base which I don’t think is magnetic, so in those locations (which aren’t as hard for me to get to, to reboot them as others) I may just keep the WYZE cams in service. One problem with looking them out the window like that is it totally screws up the IR light, blinding the camera if it is on at night.

One of the new cameras is an outdoor model, which will replace my ancient, pre-WYZE (SMC) IP camera on my front porch. That cam was never rated for outdoors at all, but was shielded enough to still work anyway - but an upgrade, with better IR lighting and much better resolution in color will be a big improvement! Now I just need to reconnect with my handy man to have him install it, cause I sadly can’t do it myself anymore… -:slight_smile:

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Great news.