I’ve been trying to update a Wyze Cam Pan V3 firmware and I’m at a loss. It will not update via the app, crashes every time. I’ve got a clean MicroSD card, so I followed the instructions to load the most recent firmware on it to update manually.
However, there is never a point where the light is anything but red. The instructions say:
" 1. Hold the setup button, plug in your USB cable, keep holding the setup button for 3-6 seconds until the light is solid purple, then release the button.
Note: For “Solid Purple” both the blue and red LEDs will be on at once, making it appear to be a solid purple."
It’s a reset button, not a setup button, and no matter the process the light is red. It never even throws blue. It just goes to “ready to connect” if you hold it long enough. I cannot get it to boot off the MicroSD in order to update.
Any ideas? It’s been down for weeks now and I’m at a loss on what to do at this point. We did contact support, and they offered to replace it with the order info, but we did not purchase the camera and therefore do not have the information to request replacement.
The camera does connect to the app, but the app will not allow it to be used because the firmware is so old. It forces the upgrade, which just throws us into a loop with this camera, since the upgrade never loads.
It is a setup button because it is the button that initiates the setup.
I have had other cams that also refuse to flash for many different reasons, mostly the SD Card.
Make sure it is a 32GB microSD.
Make sure it has been freshly formatted - Full Reformat in a computer to FAT32… NOT a quick format that just wipes the data.
Make sure the .bin file copied to the SD Root has been renamed appropriately if needed. In this case recovery_wyzepan3.bin
Insert the card and use a blunt object that won’t pierce the weather boot to hold down on the setup button while the cam is plugged in. I found that occasionally I didn’t have it pressed all the way in or I let off of it while plugging it in.
Sometimes Wyze cares with regards to terms, that’s why I mentioned the instructions. The button cover says Reset.
1 - it is a Wyze branded 32GB microSD. I actually have two to try.
2 - I have done so.
3 - Triple checked the naming, as I hoped I’d either downloaded or named it wrong.
4 - I have verified it’s going in.
I wonder if it makes any difference that I’m moving the bin and unzipping it from Mac?
We did try redoing the process from a Windows based computer - formatting the card and going through the flash process. We still never get the “purple” or red/blue light to show it’s going into the right mode. It’s red or “Ready to Connect”. It does not flash the update from the microSD.
Any other ideas? This camera is effectively bricked at this point, since the app won’t allow it to function without an update.
If you can’t get it to accept a flash update from the SD Card after a factory reset and repower, I would recommend contacting Customer Support and getting a ticket started by requesting a Warranty Replacement.
Just adding my experience for anyone else in this situation:
My Wyze Cam Pan v3 bricked as a result of a failed over-the-air firmware update.
Power-cycling and a factory reset had no effect. The camera powers on with a solid red LED, but pressing the Setup button has no effect.
I tried different power adapters as recommended by Wyze, but that isn’t the issue.
Finally, I downloaded the firmware (recovery_wyzepan3.bin) to an SD card (formatted FAT32).
Powering the camera on with the Setup button pressed got the camera to enter firmware flashing mode (solid purple LED). And that’s the end of the story; it never got past that point even after leaving it overnight.
I tried a few different firmware files and various file names, but nothing worked.
I filed a support ticket and they gave me a gift card for the cost of the camera.
I’ll hang onto it in the hope that someone eventually figures out how to resurrect a bricked camera. I can’t believe that Wyze engineered the camera without a failsafe image to boot from. That’s worrying for future firmware updates.
Welcome to the Wyze User Community Forum @nigels! Thanks for sharing your experience.
Did you attempt a factory reset without an SD Card and then flash to one of the older versions available for download or just the most current version?
Double check the SD Card to be sure you’re getting the bin file, without extraneous file extensions. Also make sure it is the BIN file and not the ZIP file. Also make sure there is NOTHING else on the card.
Double-checked the extension, but I did notice that macOS had added some dot files and there was a dot subdirectory with the name of the firmware file. I removed all the extraneous files, checked and double-checked. Yup, exactly the same behavior: purple light forever. If I had to guess I’d say that the firmware file is getting expanded, hence the subdirectory, but then the next step is hanging.
Good suggestion. I haven’t tried an older firmware version, but I’ll give it a try and report back. The factory reset has never worked for me with this device. The LED stays red and nothing else happens, including the setup button.
Today, I installed the oldest firmware available (4.50.1.3603). Unfortunately, the firmware update fails in the same way: purple LEDs during the update and it never completes.
I think it’s time to contact Customer Support, run thru their obligatory troubleshooting attempts, and request a Warranty Replacement and RMA. The cam was only released in Q4 last year, so it is still under its 12mo warranty.
Thanks for sharing your experience.