Wyze app 3.x - Additions and changes

[bejl]

So … It appears there is a new beta out already. How many of these items are included in it? Anyone know ?

[carverofchoice]

It isn’t showing up in Google Play quite yet, so I haven’t been able to test it myself, however, I suspect that they are currently prioritizing the bugs and functionality issues first. For example, there are a lot of people who can’t get their cameras to live stream well, especially on iOS. I suspect some bugs and critical functionality improvements like that will take priority over some of our feature requests.

I’ll try to remember to look through some of this list whenever Google Play finally approves the update to go out.

[Crease]

“Smart” Settings for Device Groups

The app should be smart enough to recognize when all the Devices in a Device Group share common settings and allow users to configure features for every Device in the Group at once (if desired). Examples:

• A Device Group has three Cam v4s, and the user wants each camera set up the same way. Instead of going into each camera’s individual settings and selecting the desired options (for instance, Record to MicroSD Card set to Continuous and Night Vision Mode set to Off), the user should be able to adjust these settings for all cameras within the group at once.
• A Device Group has two Cam v4s and a Cam OG, and the user wants each camera’s status light to be on and the view to be upside-down (because of how the cameras are mounted). The app should recognize that Camera Status Light and Rotate Image 180° are common settings for both cameras in the Group and allow the settings to be made within the Device Group and applied to all designated cameras.

I suggested something similar for Automations (formerly Rules) Actions back when the Ring Action still existed for some camera models:

@Crease

I’d like to add to this idea: Rules Actions should be smart enough to know the capabilities of every device in a group. What I mean by this is that every capability that is shared by all devices in a group should be available in the list of Actions for that group.

For example, if I have a camera group that contains only Cam Pan v3s and/or Cam OGs, then I should be able to select Ring as an Action for that group, because both of these camera types can act as accessory chimes and “ring” on a doorbell button press. As it is now, if I want to set a Rule that makes every one of those cameras Ring, then I have to do it per camera, because I can’t do it per group.

[Omgitstony]

I love the new contrast and indicators when a bulb or bulb group is on, when they are off and when they are off line. Please translate some of those indicators to camera groups, and sensor device groups.

RED CIRCLE: When a sensor in the group is open, then there is no change in the font or color used in the sensor group tile. improvements could be to make the “# Open” be bold and the same green color of the border of the on bulb group. That and/or make a small icon or something appear on the right side of the tile. The more green dots or icons then the more sensors are open.

PURPLE CIRCLE: Make the group “on” icon more pronounced compared to the group “off” icon. Increase the pixel width of the border or something to contrast it more compaired to hte “Off” one. That and/or make the “On” label bold and green. Not saying to make the border and bacground as pronounced as the bulb group “on”, just would like a more contrast between on and off indications.

[Crease]

@Omgitstony

I love the new contrast and indicators

This is the kind of thing I mentioned before…

@Crease

improving and increasing the use of contrasting color cues

…and I appreciate the additional detail from @Omgitstony. I’d like to see it extended to the Devices tab, because some users have expressed a clear preference for controlling their Wyze environment from that tab.

On the Devices tab currently, if a Device is offline, then it gets an “Offline” label in red. If Wyze is committed to sticking with red as the “offline” color (maybe not the choice I would’ve made, but I’m not a designer, and I understand why that would be the choice), then I think it would make sense to have appropriate “On” labels in green (as on the Favorites tab) and “Off” labels in a darker grey (or whatever would make sense as a non-highlighted contrasting color depending on the user’s chosen theme, particularly as Wyze—hopefully!—is progressing toward a true dark mode throughout the entire app).

Likewise, I’m totally on board with @Omgitstony’s suggestion to make the “On” label green to provide more color contrast for devices on the Favorites tab.

On the Automations tab, those items that are not currently enabled could have the “Disabled” label appear in red.

I think this would help to unify the “feel” of the app and make it a little more consistent as well as being easier to interpret at a glance.

[Deeje]

Add option to toggle off auto livestream while on cellular

After 3.05 update, using app on cellular is almost unusable and painfully slow due to App struggling to constantly update livestream. It is much worse if cell signal is poor. App struggling to update is affecting phone battery and using unnecessary bandwidth. When away from home wi-fi is when I use the app the most. Adding the option to turn off auto livestream would fix this issue. This was not an issue with the app before 3.05.

[Loki]

A workaround for now is to put your cameras in groups. Then they won’t try to livestream until you tap on the group.

[Deeje]

Loki, I have 4 cameras, and do have them in a group. Whether I open it through favorites (where I have put the group), or open the group through devices, they still auto livestream.

[Loki]

I misunderstood your issue. I thought the problem was that it live-streamed when you opened the app without tapping anything. Yes, when you tap a camera group, it does start the group-view livestream. It’s been that way for a long time.

[Deeje]

I leave my app on favorites, so it does live-stream when I open the app - that is what is different. Before the update, I could open the app and only tap on a specific camera to live-stream. Now, I open the app, and (especially on cellular), the app struggles to live-stream all of the cameras at once. Last week I was traveling, and literally just gave up, because it could not open all of the cameras on the available cellular signal. Unless I remember to change my app to the devices tab before I leave home, it’s a problem.

[Loki]

If instead of putting individual cameras on the Favorites page, you put only camera groups then it won’t be trying to livestream when you open the app on Favorites.

[Crease]

Fix Widgets

This part of the app still needs a major overhaul, as suggested in a couple of other Wishlist topics:

Android widgets enhancements

I’d like to make a widget request for Android. I like that they are an option but if they’re just linking to a device, they’re much too large. Also, it would be nice for things that are able to be toggled to have a widget do that. For example, lights or lock. It would be convenient to be able to tap the widget and toggle that device. [Mod Edit]: Title modified to enhance search clarity.

Android widgets enhancements

1x1 widget should be a default. Surprised to find the strangely proportioned 2x3 to access my camera doorbell.

Android widgets are also currently mislabeled according to the updated app terminology:

@Crease

Given that Wyze seemed to make a big deal about “Rules” now being called “Automations” in their marketing e-mail messages, on their Web site, and in a relevant Help Center article, why do the Android widgets in the new app still show options for “Rule 3 × 3”, “Rule 5 × 2”, and “Rule 5 × 5”?

Some things are just currently broken:

• If I place a “Favorite Devices 5 × 3” widget, then I get a list of devices that I have no apparent way of rearranging or editing to show the actual Favorites that I want displayed in the widget view.
• In that same widget, the first thing at the top of the list is my doorbell, and to the right side is a label that says Off. This is wrong because
  • The doorbell is on and recording
  • The grey Off label looks like it could be a toggle switch (other devices in the widget’s list have green On labels), but tapping it doesn’t change its status
  • Tapping this label actually takes me to the last camera device I had open in the app, which is not the Video Doorbell v2 but a Cam v4 I was viewing before
• Even the “Favorite Device 3 × 3” widget I place and select the doorbell is taking me to that same Cam v4 when I tap it.

This is just a mess and not working as expected at all. Wyze should clean this up and start with a new “Favorite Device/Group 1 × 1” widget that can act like a single icon launcher/deep link into a specific chosen Device’s and/or Group’s main screen within the app.

[Crease]

Deep Link to Device-Specific Release Notes

When a new firmware version for a device has been released…

• If I navigate to Account ⇒ Firmware Update ⇒ [device] ⇒ What’s new, then the app navigates to the Release Notes & Firmware page on a screen with an appropriate title (e.g., “Wyze Cam v4 Firmware”) but doesn’t actually connect directly to the relevant “new” content.
• If I navigate to [device] ⇒ Settings ⇒ Device Info ⇒ Firmware Version ⇒ What’s new?, then the app navigates to the Release Notes & Firmware page on a screen with the generic title (i.e., “Release Notes & Firmware”) but doesn’t actually connect directly to the relevant “new” content.

It’s just like loading the main Release Notes & Firmware page from the Help Center site without the accordion expansion to the relevant content. It requires the user to do additional work to get to the content.

The program should be doing the work for the user and should provide a consistent endpoint:

1. Show the same product-specific screen title/header regardless of how the user navigated there.
2. Link directly to the actual “new” information about the firmware update.