I think what you are witnessing is the noble beginnings of a company focused on turning the surveillance cam industry upside down with value, becoming one that is now focused on revenue.
I don’t know who Wyze might be in debt to, but if you consider that people who make up the company aren’t doing it as a hobby and need to make a living, you can understand the effort to “make money”.
It may be that the time of value has passed. That value has an expiration date that has likely already been realized for many. (V2 - the end of an era)
Unfortunately, some of us who are used to the value, perhaps thought it was going to last forever (through every app update). The reality is if you got years of satisfactory use out of ~$25 cams, you got value. Now, especially for new users, they get to decide how much of a value it is compared to the competition. They can decide that the other mentioned brand that is more expensive, but no pushy ads, is a better value. Either way, nothing lasts forever as the world keeps moving & people always want more $$. Hence, the means to an end. For those of us who invested in the ecosystem system with so many cams, let’s hope we got enough value from the investment. Maybe our strategy should have been to decline app updates until forced - to maximize value
I just wish they would fix the connectivity issue to ensure quick reliable connections to cams via the app … Never connects when you most need it to .
I have a friend 3 houses down the street with some WYZE Pan and V3 cams and the original Video Doorbel v1 that I purchased and gave to him in 2020 because I like my original 1978 push button Ding-Dong doorbell.
He never updates firmware and all his stuff still works, even the doorbell that I pushed the button on the other day.
When I installed the Duo, I left the old-fashioned doorbell intact and mounted the Duo on the peephole; in part because I’m worried about the Duo’s reliability. And also to accommodate the few who might be technophobes.
Given the 2 choices, people still knock on the door.
More than likely State Farm is paying you to access your data with some sort of discount. At least that is what some insurance companies are doing. It is so they can track your driving habits like speed and destinations. Trust me you will pay for the discount/benefits they are giving you. It is all about big brother. Wyze just sells cheap cameras, and other menial products that work a good part of the time. I would not trust my life or property with them. They are like the police in most cases, there after the fact and if you are fortunate you might get a video of what went wrong usually too late to do anything about. And for that service you have to pay extra, cam plus. All in all they are cheap enough that if they worked as promise 70% of the time I will live with that but I am in no way for insurance companies spying on my driving.
Yes. A discount for using a “Safe Driving” app. I had hoped that if the app had the ability to monitor speed, it would also have the ability to announce the speed limit (which I believe a Garmin device I once owned did). I don’t know about you but something that has always annoyed me is that after turning onto a new road I may have to drive for several miles before seeing a speed limit sign. It doesn’t. I had also hope it might have a “google maps” function. It doesn’t. Another shortfall, in my opinion, is that the monitoring only happens when I’m in the car with my phone so it would be useless for tracking the car if stolen. I could go on about what I think a safe driving app should offer beyond a fairly dumb monitoring of speed and hard braking. It assumes that if I have braked hard, I must have been following a car too close and not that I avoided hitting a kid on a scooter who came flying out of his driveway right in front of me. Since I have always been highly motivated to drive the speed limit and such, it makes no difference to me that some app knows this, too. But as for the Wyze app and other interfaces I’ve used with devices, they often fall fall short of the actual device’s function. There are so many different operating systems for a developer to consider and what may work well in one environment can fail or fall short in another. I go back to the dark ages when I worked on a Vax Mini computer which was a new and improved system that replaced the IBM mainframe. When PC’s came along and doctors got PC’s to replace their secretaries IBM Selectric typewriters, people who knew that I existed down in my windowless office where I ran networks and such, came running to me for help. Of course, I knew zip about PC’s but was capable of reading manuals and talking with tech support. In those days the manuals were detailed and, best of all, when one talked with tech support, the person on the other end was likely involved in the actual development of the hardware or software! What I would give to have human to human contact with the person who has developed this web page and the app! For me with subpar vision I need bolder text and images, of course! I believe many of the other maddening aspects have been addressed by others and I share their pain. As for the OP of this thread, the announcement about Wyze accessing the photo library came about as a result of an update of the ios on his phone. Apps that are interfaces between a device and a wireless network have to “talk” to each other.
This happened in downtown Portland, Oregon. The story ends with the suspect being arrested. I believe a follow up story might reveal the thief was released from jail and told to try not to steal anymore.
All the ins companies have those driving monitors now. Of course they offer you a big discount but then once it starts uploading data, it goes to nearly nothing or even raises your rates. Around here in Mass if you aren’t slamming on the brakes and swerving, you’re having an accident every day. Even just the horrible potholes (impossible to avoid them all) will set it off as a “hard braking”.
So it’s a no from me. Of course I also don’t want them knowing about those times when I decide a quick sprint into mid triple digits would be fun. 0 accidents, 0 claims, 0 tickets in 30 years is all they need to know.
I got my first wyZe cam in 2018. When the last update happened, I lost my 12 second vids (free when I purchased the cams). WyZe wanted $3/cam/month for the same service.
I have moved to Eufy.
PS. The 14Dec24 terms of service are completely one sided, giving the user zip.
