I’ve got one Cam 4 that has gone offline. When compared to the others that draw .3 amps (or .45 with the spotlight on), it’s pulling 1.23 amps by itself.
Am I safe in assuming this camera is dead because of some internal failure causing it to pull excessive current? It’s not in an easy place to access so testing was done at the USB port and compared to others of the same version.
I use third party 5V-2A power adapters on all five of my V4 cams and none of them have gone off line in the last 1.5- 2 Years. Most of my other plug in cams have other than WYZE power adapters just because. 
Me too.
I’m using 2 amp power supplies too, but this one camera is the only one pulling more than .5 amps
Considering they come with 1A power supplies then yeah something is definitely wrong with that cam. It shouldn’t be more than like 0.5.
The exception being if you have a really long run of USB cable (which would also explain your offline issues), it could be trying to pull excess current to make up for the voltage drop, but even then, that seems very high.
Yeah, I have three cameras that have 15 ft cords on them, but this is the only one pulling more than .5 amp I suspect the camera has an issue. I need to get the ladder and climb up there and check it out.
15 feet is fine, tiny bit of voltage drop but in spec (even if really thin USB cable, the drop won’t be that bad). I’d keep it unplugged at this point. The fact that they shipped 1A adapters with it means they expect it to draw about 0.5 normal and never more than about 0.75.
Probably an internal short, if I had to guess, maybe some water got in, but could just be some chip fried and is now shorted.
Test the cam with a regular short cable that is known good, to rule out a possible short in the cable or connector. Obviously test a different adapter too if you haven’t already. Look inside the female connector on the cam to see if maybe some water got in there.
One thing I’ve noticed with my OGs and v4 (which both use the “pigtail”) is that where the pigtail enters the camera, the rubber boot is molded to it, but not totally sealed since they’re two different pieces. So make sure you have a drip loop in them, have the wire immediately go downward when it leaves the back of the cam, the notch in the mount helps with this. Then have it go back upward so water doesn’t flow into the USB connection.
I would try using the original adapter/cord and see if that changes things. Or plug it into the cord/adapter from one working fine to rule out whether the issue is the camera or the adapter or cord.
15ft can work okay, but not always. Cord quality can vary, among other things.
Power draw can be due to various factors too, including the amount of activity, using the spotlight, mic and speaker settings, if it’s using the internal edge AI for something and the others aren’t, maybe it’s getting a weaker Wi-Fi signal and struggling harder. Different SD card. Probably a ton of other things.
@Ggimlick,
This conversation on these issues re-surface about every 6 months. Its almost as if previous threads with replies - smart replies with the folks here that know what they are talking about, get pushed down into the archives and a new thread gets started.
I see you have two-three ways to “experiment” to learn more of Wyze cam behavior. Are you trying to just fix it or are you trying to learn more in case you have to deal with it again? Do you have the time to “test”?
A) Like says, put the factory shipped cord on it and see if the problem is arrested. But what do you do if it does? I don’t know, you would not be using a 15’ unless you needed it.
B) Do like most of us that no longer have the problem do. Replace the Wyze adapters. The ones that seem to work best are 2.1+ amp multi-port version. Usually those with 2-3 USB-A ports. BUT use only 1 port. Some of us distrust the Wyze adapters. I’ve done no testing, but I believe they ship the cheapest marginally working adapter they can find, so if you are not using in a “perfect” Wyze environment, its flaky. I replaced all mine years ago. 2.1+ amp 2-3 port, use one 1 port.
C) The last suggestion is, (admittedly, may not be practical but if it is do-able, may reveal your problem is the long cable. If I noticed correctly, you are using a 15’ USB micro to get power. Replace the power with a 15’ 2-prong cheap extension cord. Down at the female end, plug your power adapter (sure, if you wish, try the Wyze adapter), in and use the factory 3-6 foot cord. You’re still gettting power down there, but moved the adapter closer.
Here’s what I do. I have 6 cameras in for my garage. Four are on the outside, in project boxes. two are inside the garage and face each other from corners. In the center of the garage, using the GDO outlet, I use a WiFi plug to turn on/off every 24 hours. A power strip is plugged into WiFi plug. One 15-foot cheap two-prong extension cord runs from the power strip to each corner of the garage. At each end a 2.1 amp adapter is pluged in. Two cords have Two 2.1 adapters. Then 1 of each of the 6 cameras is plugged into one 2.1 amp adapter. Using 18"-36" cords, everything is powered. The WiFi plug turns all 6 off at 03:00 and leaves them off for 15 minutes. Then as 03:15 turns back on. Every camera gets a fresh Internet connection every 24 hours. I can adjust it to 12 hours with an app, if needed. But since I have done this, I almost NEVER had a camera offline.
The biggest issue we all had was about 18 months ago, the V4’s started making a loud buzzing sound coming from the speaker. With the WiFi plug, it took me 20 second to turn all of them off.
The camera is mounted high outside over a patio so it’s a process to get to the camera. I’ve tried different power adapters with the same results. I’m not using any Wyze adapters on any of the 15 cameras around the house. This one has been flawless since first installed when the V4 cam came out. It just recently went offline.
When it’s not 110 outside later this week I’ll scale the ladder and try a different cord and see what happens. It may be the case water has found its way inside and shorted the camera. I’ve had one V4 camera do that and I completely sealed the replacement. This is original and I suspect weather related issues.
I like the idea of cycling them every day, but with 15 at various places around the house it would take a lot of WIFI plugs to do them all. Only two are on a power strip.
Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll get on them later this week. It’s just too hot for this old man to be up on ladders right now.
Suggest you get WiFi plugs and do at least a couple. Maybe put them on your most “problem”
cameras. (Keep a record for a short time.) Let’s not forget, though the Wyze camera reconnects to WiFi, ‘there ain’t nuthin’ better than getting a fresh connection as it boots up’.
Though I have extra WiFi plugs, I rewired my garage so all 6 gets power from a central point, not only to reduce the number of WiFi plugs needed, but easier to spot a single pattern if there’s an issue. I.E., one went off line, hmm, did any others on the same power strip?
We’d all be interested in your progress. What we learn here gets recycled to help the next person.