Wyze cam PAN lifespan

I just purchased a Wyze cam PAN and am very curious as to long the camera (mainly motor) could be expected to last when using continuously. Also, would environment (heat cold etc) have a big impact on lifespan ?
Does anyone have knowledge of this ?
Thanks, tlhutch4

Ambient Temperature can affect the lifespan of anything with a motor. The Wyze Pan V3 says it is rated to work between -4 and 122 degrees, so it should be relatively fine in that range. It also has a reasonable IPxx range, so the motor should be fairly well protected from moisture, corrosion, dust, dirt, etc.

Having said that, continual exposure to temperature extremes (especially heat) will always negatively impact electronics in general. Heat in particular causes what they call “Thermal degradation” which damages the materials and components of electronic devices. The higher the heat, and the longer it is exposed to that condition, the more severely it will impact a device’s performance, efficiency and reliability. Heat can also cause a positive feedback loop of what is called Thermal runaway where heat increases the electrical resistance and power consumption, which generates more heat, which causes more resistance and power consumption in a cycle that sometimes ends in a bad thermal event. It also causes Thermal stress which is where heat causes different parts of electronics to expand and contract at different rates, which also causes mechanical stress and strain.

I know Wyze addresses some of those issues by incorporating Heat sinks, and there are other solutions too. This is also one of the big reasons Wyze likes to use WHITE casings for their devices, so that less heat is absorbed by it.

Cold has it’s own problems too, including bringing issues related to condensation, battery degradation (not applicable with the Pan cams), LCD freezing (not applicable with the Wyze cams), and component failure like affecting resistors, capacitors, transistors, etc by changing their electrical properties and behavior.

Either way, you are certainly right to wonder whether the ambient temperature can impact the lifespan. It most certainly can and does, especially the more extreme and longer it is exposed to said environment. But in general, you shouldn’t notice too much impact. They’ve been reasonably tested in conditions between -4 to 122 degrees and been fine with sustained exposure. If you get concerned, you could turn it off, keep it somewhat sheltered (ie: under an a eave or awning).

For what it is worth, I had my Pan V3 sitting straight in the open. It got nailed hard by sun and snow. A sensor said the pounding sun got the ledge it was sitting on up to over 120 degrees multiple times, and it got totally buried in snow and was just fine. Once in a big storm it got knocked down (I didn’t have it mounted), and it got BURIED deep in snow (like well over a foot of snow for several days) and then mud when it melted for a while (days or weeks at least), and that finally took it offline. I brought it in, dried it off, cleaned it off, let it dry again, then tried to go through setup again and it’s back to normal.That thing withstood an amazing beating. I just barely lent it to my brother to try out to see if he wants one, and he really likes it so far and told me to tell him as soon as I see any of them go on sale. I told him I want mine back though! :rofl:

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@carverofchoice
Thank you very much for your well thought out and presented discussion on Wyze Pan Cam response to weather conditions. You certainly know your stuff. Very helpful !

Do you have knowledge of typical lifespan of the cam Pan. In particular one that is used in continuous mode ?

Unfortunately, the pan V3 hasn’t been out long enough to give a good idea of the actual avg lifespan. It’s too new. Wyze rarely says much about the testing, and the FCC docs mostly focus on the radio signal testing. So we’d all just be making up guesses TBH.

Having said that, all their past devices have lasted a long time. I have a Pan V1 that’s been running continuously since Spring of 2020 and it is still going. I would assume that most Pan V3’s will last a long time too.

But just as with most of Wyze’s devices, the limited warranty itself is only 1yr (there are some products that are different such as the Bulb White v2 having a 3yr warranty).

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