Thank you for your input here. This is the reason we do this research survey, to learn how much value the extra USB port brings to our current floodlight users.
This is to gauge what the users want. We are trying to see if users are utilizing that port or if they would rather pay less for one without it. We honestly do not know how many people actually use it so the only way to find out is by doing a survey. The cost was mentioned to give the user an idea of what would be saved by removing it.
What if the camera has a super wide field of view? Will that be better than the two-camera configuration?
Exactly
How big of a “super wide field of view” are we talking about ?!
Their will be a limitation to the FOV, having 2 cameras would be more ideal to be able to cover 2 areas at once.
This is how I use the cameras .
One is covering the entrance of my driveway
And the second v3 that’s being powered up by the back usb port is covering the area where I park my car
Reducing it to only 1 camera would not suffice . I need 2 separate cameras that cover 2 areas and also the v3’s allow for 24/7 recording with a micro sd card . Having only 1 camera with “ a super wide FOV” would be pointless bc you may still miss events
I’m just putting my input here bc I believe Wyze has the BEST floodlight camera on the market here and it’s a hidden gem!!
A 2600 lumen floodlight , v3 , and the back usb port to power an additional v3 for more coverage , and the v3’s allow you to record locally . All for $100 or $135 if you get the additional v3.
I bought the floodlight back in December of 2021 and the floodlight cameras is what originally got me into Wyze as I needed to replace my old dumb motion sensing floodlight that was giving out and wasn’t as bright and I was also getting into the camera thing and needed a floodlight camera combo to both replace my old floodlight and have cameras covering my driveway .
I have been disappointed in the floodlights performance since day one , the bug affecting the device when you opened the live view and the floodlights automatically turned on every time lastedfor around 4-5 months, the LED’s washing out faces and people , the pir sensors performance is dreadful , cars triggering on the floodlight even when set to turn on by pir sensor detection only, and so much more but I have stuck with it since day one bc I believe in Wyze and have expanded more into the ecosystem
But when I see the survey about offering a floodlight with no back usb port that concerned me
Yes I understand you all are just taking surveys and asking if users actually use the back usb port but to me that raises some flags and critiques .
As we all know more companies are going the minimalistic route and offering less and less for the same price as before .
The back usb port is very important to me and other users and I don’t wanna see future versions of the floodlight cameras be reduced to only 1 camera.
Maybe wyze could figure out how to add another stand for a 2nd v3 in leu of getting rid of the back usb port but it’s just my 2¢
Thanks for listening to us @WyzeHongfei
Have a good evening and Happy Thanksgiving
Boom. You just knocked it out of park especially showing exactly what your setup is like. I definitely see your point now. Somehow in my ideas of what else could possibly be used in lieu of two cameras I didn’t really think of how wide views on cameras could possibly be these days.
I do see what you mean now. And your pictures paint a darn good picture of exactly how you use it. No doubt invaluable to everyone that reads this.
I just want to be upfront that the correct answer to this question is not available to me…so I just said to power another Wyze cam…
The correct answer is that I use a splitter to power another Wyze camera AND another Eufy camera. and there was no option to say “Both Wyze and another device too”
I have also considered doing the same thing in another locations and using the USB port to power a non-camera device. But again, it was not possible to clarify all of that, so I just said another Wyze cam, which is also accurate, but missing context.
If the above didn’t make it obvious I do LOVE having an extra USB port on the Floodlight. I definitely use it to the max for sure. It is worth the $5 to me, but I am sure a lot of people would prefer to have it $5 cheaper.
This is a great question. If a floodlight had something similar to a fish-eye lens that basically covered every direction well, maybe a USB port wouldn’t be needed for an extra camera for most people, since I’m sure most people use the USB port to have another camera cover recording in another direction. The main reason I could see it still being beneficial is for a situation like it is advertised for if you check out this picture, the secondary camera can look at things on the other side of the wall:
So even if the floodlight has a super wide field of view to cover a full 180 degrees or used a pan cam or something to see in every direction, it still can’t see anything around the corner like the extra USB port allows in the above picture. That is where another USB port is still really beneficial.
Also, I don’t want to dissuade you from including USB ports…but I believe in redundancy…Wyze is my absolute primary ecosystem hands down…but lets face it, sometimes there are some AWS outages outside of your control, or there could be a server issue, or whatever. I’m not complaining, that’s life, it happens. BUT I like to have a back-up system ready in the most important areas for those rare situations. So, in the rare instances where my Wyze cams are down due to Amazon’s fault, it is nice to have an Eufy cam, or another brand not using the same AWS servers to back you up when critically needed. That is what I use the USB Port for…redundancy and protection for the rare occasions it’s needed. That is why I appreciate having it, even IF the floodlight could see everything I need it to all on it’s own.
Don’t worry about this too much. There would be no point in disabling existing USB ports, so the floodlight(s) you have would continue working as you like them already. You’re totally safe from that with your existing device(s) buddy.
But I am on your side about future devices…I love having an extra USB port as I just said above. It’s worth the $5 to me, but I can understand trying to keep things as affordable as possible.
I’m not worried about “disabling existing back usb ports” but what caused me to get concerned was Wyze asking users if the back usb port on the floodlight was to any use for us…
So it made me question if future floodlight units would have the back usb port
Do you have a link for this splitter ?
I’m sure you could use it to power two wyze cameras ?
Unfortunately, not this time because for this one I used a splitter that I’ve had for a long time and don’t even remember where I got it from.
The problem to keep in mind is that a lot of splitters have a big plug, and the Floodlight USB needs a smaller plug to go inside of it, so a lot of them won’t work natively. What I ended up doing was plugging in a short micro-USB cable into the floodlight, then using a “Coupler” to connect from the micro-USB cord to give me a new female USB-A port that I could then plug the splitter into, then plugged both cameras into the splitter.
Also keep in mind that the USB port is only intended for a single camera, not 2, so it probably won’t be giving a ton of power, and might not be ideal for using a V3Pro with a splitter since the V3Pro needs more power.
Don’t judge my terrible wiring/mounting in this case I “Intend” to make it look more nicely and permanent eventually, and it’s always been protected from weather…but I do need to go out and finish it up like this weekend or something
But here is an example of my backyard floodlight running 2 EXTRA cams in addition to the Floodlight:
I should mention that I DID try swapping out the V2 cam with a V3Pro, and the V3Pro did NOT get enough power with that setup (using a splitter and running 2 cams)…but it does work fine with an indoor eufy cam and an indoor V2 running off that single USB port.
just my two cents, if the floodlight did not have the second port, I would not have bought it even for $5 less. if it was $10 less, I might consider it lol
I hope a spare USB can be provided. This is a little write up I did for the way I use to USB-A.
Spare USB-A use:
I installed a camera next to my office window and the USB-A sitting there vacant got me wondering. I had to find some use for it. I decided the best defense is a good offense!
Step 1
Jumbo Red & Blue LED Emergency Flasher - Solder Kit (Jameco Electronics) Part no.: 2246645. The kit requires some tools and soldering skills and is rated easy to build.
Step 2
USB-A 90° male female adaptor pointing upward (Amazon)
Step 3
The factory Wyze USB cable was a perfect power source for the PCB. Since it only has 2 power conductors, I sacrificed it to power Step 1. Polarity must be maintained. So, I stripped the wires back and used my DVM to confirm polarity and marked the cable with a sharpie before soldering to the PCB. I replaced the Wyze USB cables with Monoprice cables with an LED power indicator.
The result is these lights that I wouldn’t consider to be ultra-bright, but can be seen from at least 100 yards away, and I think it’s enough to make people wonder what it is and stay away.
I was surprised to see the spare USB go away on the newer camera models.
PLEAZE KEEP THE SPARE USB PORT!!!
I have not been able to purchase my floodlights yet but this design is EXACTLY what I have been looking for. I will have some renavations done the beginning of next year and plan to use at least 2 Wyze floodlights + extra WYZE cam v3s. These wlll be used to cover opposite sides of corners with each camera and light facing a different direction similar to other posts. A wider POV angle or single pan camera will not work for me.
This design is perfect for my needs and at the correct price point. WYZE’s efforts to provide rich features st reasonable prices is what attracted me with the first color bulbs. I have continued to expand my ecosystem with switches, video doorbell pro, and other devices like vacuums and nightlights. When you released the spotlight with a 2nd camera option it seemed like the Dev team was reading my mind. As my other smart devices, like my thermostat and robot vacuum, need to be updated I will buy WYZE and get to 1 happy ecosystem.
Whenever I am in Home Depot I swing by the smart home area to see how much the WYZE section is expanding (even though I buy directly from WYZE using my Cam Plus discounts). On at least 2 occasions I promoted WYZE’s value versus options instead of higher priced choices to couples.
They were about to buy one of the ‘other’ choices just beacuse they knew the brand. I even showed them a live demo from my cell phone. I guess i am a WYZE ambassador since I want more people to use the products: 1) to help WYZE stick around and provide me more products for a long time, and 2) because it frustrates me when people pay more for product they can get at half the cost with comparable if not better features. Both times they walked to the register with WYZE product cards instead of the other guys.
A big selling point I shared was WYZE’s willingness to listen to their users wth things like the Wish list and the In Development feature system. I really think WYZE will continue to grow if they stay focused on reasonable pricing AND hearing their users.
So Please KEEP the USB port so it is there for me!!!
Please add 2 usb ports to the Wyze floodlight
If you have a product suggestion please post it on the Wishlist to let Wyze know you are interested.
You can use a splitter. I did. I ran 3 cameras off the Wyze Floodlight: the v3 that controls the lights, a Wyze cam V2, and an Eufy indoor Cam, all at the same time, using a splitter cable.
Note: the floodlight USB port only puts out like 2.1 Amps iirc, so you have to use something like 2 OG cams or cams that use 1 amp each. You can’t use 2 pan cam v3’s because they require too much power.
Or, you can do what I did with the Floodlight Pro and just wire your own solution. I bought a waterproof surge protector, cut off the plug and tied in the wires to the floodlight wiring. Now I have 4 weatherproof USB ports and 4 plug outlets in that location that I can use.
Wow! That sounds very interesting! do you have a picture or video of installing the waterproof surge protector? The floodlight is flushed against the wall so how do you get the usb plug outlets wired in the box?
I made a whole new post on it with a walkthrough of what I did for anyone interested. I included pictures, etc too. You can review it here:
Wow! Thanks!