My understanding is that for some, RTSP and the ability to do edge computing (all local processing) is the primary factor. I’m interested, too, but if that means running a full-pledged server at home (I don’t think a raspberry pi would do), then it’s not for me.
Yes they default to Wi-Fi. But they do need initial set-up, and I can’t remember if they need TAPO app support to do so. There are well-known ways to introduce a foreign object to a network through a web-based DHCP and “Who am I now?” GUI interface, but some vendors felt threatened by California Law which suggests no device shall be accessible via default IP address and default password. There is a proviso allowing for default passwords and DHCP… upon initial installation of the device… but this presents challenges to programmers and manufacturers to determine what is an initial installation. Given the fact that manufactures (Wyze, for example, and tapo as well I assume) generally have an interest in locking or at least onboarding customers from an open to a closed experience, it seems most manufacturers have used California legislation as an excuse to on-ramp consumers into a closed environment…this time because “California law gave us no alternative to protecting you from yourself.”
@trekgod3
Primarily due to reliability as previously stated, I’m just tired of things not working, firmware regressions, and required reboots.
Secondarily, because WYZE has a history of broken promises and feature downgrades as new models are released, requiring subscriptions to get the original features back. Does WYZE as a company have cause to do this - probably, but as a consumer I have the choice to not deal with it and move to a more mature company.
e.g.#1 RSTP which I initially used, but was never developed past Beta, so had issues and only worked with earlier models. RSTP allows you to do local “cloud” a.k.a. NAS which can be accessed from the Internet and is a backup to SD Card. It was promised as a feature when buying into WYZE but only a token release was dangled then dropped.
e.g. #2 There have been requests for Ethernet, which most people wouldn’t regularly use, but it’s a valuable option. A wired connection allows you to setup a wireless connection in advance of connecting and/or change its SSID without a complete wipe like WYZE requires. I’ve used Ethernet many times with Panasonic Cameras.
e.g. #3 Matter compatibility has been dangled but stalled. Do most people need it, probably not immediately but it seems to be the future. Why not just buy another manufacturer’s camera at the same price point with all the features and not have to worry about chasing broken promises and buggy firmware?
TAPO forums suggest that TAPO cameras have a default 192.168.0.X address if they can’t negotiate with a DHCP server but I don’t have TAPO camera on-hand to test.
By the way no, whereas Ethernet may provide unique opportunities to configure some latter devices, my Tapo came waterproof-ethernet-data ready but with no Ethernet cable: because If you go through the Machiavellian QR code cell-phone check-your-router hamster dance like the instructions suggest, you don’t need a cable.
Here is a CA Law firm’s take on the law… https://www.arnoldporter.com/en/perspectives/advisories/2018/10/ca-gov-signs-into-law-bill-requiring-iot
I believe it can have a default IP address under that CA law - it just can’t have a common default password so must be unique and probably on an attached sticker like many routers have.
Even the law office states that it’s so broad and open to interpretation that nobody really knows. Nothing in CA makes sense anymore - just watch the local news,
Sorry for the delay and thank you for the followup reminder. I’m sick at the moment, so my thinking and memory are a little fuzzy. I got recommended to bring it up with someone specific, and your post just reminded me to reach out to them, so I have now. Mostly I was looking to get some clarification on the policy because your situation doesn’t sound right to me. If I hear back anything that will help, I will definitely move forward in that direction, possibly submitting your situation as an official escalation, which I haven’t done yet because I have not yet confirmed the prerequisites I need to do properly do that yet. My apologies it’s taking so long. I won’t be offended if you followup with me again later. As I said, I’m not at full cognitive capacity at just this minute. 
No worries at all. I appreciate the fact that you are looking into it. I’m in absolutely no rush either. I mean ultimately were talking about $6 here. I was just interested in seeing what explanation they would give you that’s all.
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Tapos look like crap, funny to buy cams only because they are smaller and have nicer design, who cares they work only sometimes 
can you use the cam v4 , or any of the wyze cams for that matter , without access to the internet , just on a local wifi ?
Speaking of which, is there a collar cam in the works?
Maybe even with an offline mode in case felines stray outside of Wi-Fi
coverage… 
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I wish, but I doubt it.
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Lip balm form factor akin to boroscope… 
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Nope, all Wyze cameras need access to internet for initial handshake.
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Does Edge AI Person Detection on Cam v4 actually work without a subscription? I’m considering some of these since they’re currently on sale and I have a potential application for them, but I haven’t found a consistent answer here in the Forum or on the Support site.
The Introducing Wyze Cam v4 article seems to indicate that on-camera Person Detection is included, as it says this:
- Edge AI. Faster notifications, more accurate detections, while supporting Smart Focus.
* Edge AI Person Detection is included with Wyze Cam v4 and Wyze Cam v3 Pro, powered by the cameras’ on-board chip, rather than relying on the cloud. It is not as powerful as Wyze AI Person Detection, included with Cam Plus and Cam Protect, and does not include any other smart features.
Another article, Is Wyze Cam v4 compatible with Cam Plus Lite?, seems to confirm this:
Due to its on-board Edge AI, which includes Person Detection, it is only compatible with Cam Plus and Cam Unlimited.
Another article, What’s the difference between Wyze AI and Edge AI?, however, seems to imply that a subscription is necessary in order to enjoy that feature on Cam v4:
On Wyze Cam v4 with a paid subscription, you get the features of Edge AI and Fast Notifications.
Which is it? What’s the correct message here?
This third article is the only place I’ve seen so far in official Wyze communication that indicates a subscription is required for what is otherwise described as a feature built into the camera, so I hope someone else can appreciate my confusion. I’m also aware that Wyze Support articles often contain inaccurate information, and I have submitted to Support requests for clarification in the past (and am currently trying to get them to fix other things on the Support site that are broken and out of date).
I haven’t yet seen a direct and satisfactory answer to this question on the Forum, and I have read several topics in their entirety while trying to find such an answer (including watching a linked video review that says more than once that the Cam v4 does NOT have on-board person detection, but this seems suspect because the video has other inaccurate information and it isn’t Wyze’s official messaging).
What say ye, subscriptionless Cam v4 users?
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I haven’t thoroughly tested the Edge AI stuff on the V4 without cam plus yet, so I am not totally sure off-hand. If nobody else answers definitely soon, I will figure out how to remove cam plus and test it out sometime this week. I’m a little bit behind on work…we’ve had family over all weekend because of a funeral tomorrow, so I am a little pressed on time at the moment, but I am willing to test it out if one of the other @Mavens or forum members don’t beat me to it.
Crticism re: V3Pro Implementation: I can say that on the V3Pro, the Edge AI is Free and it will label videos as person detected, but last I personally checked, it had a highly CRITICAL flaw of not allowing you to get NOTIFICATIONS for person detection, just be able to sort for them after the fact. 
Something I think was a horrible decision I have been very critical of. Hopefully they fixed that and didn’t do the same thing with the V4 because that is a no-bueno move IMO to give person detections but not allow notifications for only person detections (notifications are 95% of the point) which I have highly opposed and ardently criticized. I do not know how the V4 is implemented though as I did not check/verify myself yet.
See? I do criticize Wyze honestly when/where I believe they deserve it…I think they generally do an AWESOME job, so most of what I say about Wyze is positive and VERY supportive and I love Wyze, but they are not completely free from mistakes, and often they eventually fix most of them)
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I’m well aware of your criticism of Wyze, and that’s one of the things I appreciate about your commentary. I criticize them, too, especially in areas where I think (hope) that criticism could lead to improvement, and I still enjoy using their products and trying to help others do so when I can. Despite some product issues and the company’s apparent focus being different than what I would choose, I still think they represent a good value for a lot of applications.
A Wyze Team member sort of answered that in another topic, but reading through that thread again I felt like I still didn’t have a explicit answers to my direct questions. (I find his marketing e-mail messages—what he’s actually paid to do—much better written than his responses on the Forum, which seem rather terse and seem incomplete to me…but I also have a tendency to be verbose, because I do try to be precise and explicit.)
This is a low-priority question. Absolutely your family and other commitments are much more important. Push comes to shove, I might just order a couple, do my own testing, and report back on my own results here. For what I have in mind, I could just get a couple of Cam OGs, and that’s what I was contemplating before, but at present the Cam v4s are roughly the same price, so…. 
(See? Wyze value! 
)
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I bought V4 thinking it was an upgrade from the 4 V3’s that I own. I was SHOCKED to discover that CAM Plus Lite is NOT available for this version! WTF? This is definitely a downgrade from V3. CAM Lite is the BEST thing Wyze has and now they want your $$$ instead of offering this service which is included with V3.
There is no discernable difference in the picture quality between this and V3 cams that I have. Not really happy with this new version.
This horse has been beaten to death way too many times. Cam Plus Lite is not available for new cameras as it is stated on the Wyze web site: What cameras are currently compatible with Cam Plus Lite?
You can always use an SD card and record either continuous or events only.
You are kidding, right? The picture quality of the v4 is superior to v3 by leaps and bounds.
Feel free to return them and get the v3 instead, then you can have your cake and eat it too.
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In my limited experience with my first new Cam v4 so far today, the answer is “no”.
I’m getting neither notifications nor “person detected” tagging in the timeline on the Cam v4 (at least so far), so that part of the experience is getting a from me, too.
@carverofchoice, is there some kind of setting for the Cam v3 Pro that a user needs to enable in order to get this feature to work, even if it’s just the correct event tagging? I’m not seeing anything like that in the settings for the Cam v4, and if I try to 
“TAG” or “NOTIFY” on the Customize Detections screen for “Person”, then the app prompts me to get Cam Plus. That’s perfectly reasonable if the individual detection-type settings on that screen are all tied to Wyze’s Cloud AI, and it makes me suspect that the Edge AI is supposed to be enabled automagically. Is that the correct expectation?
I also see this when I navigate to the Events tab and filter to just the Cam v4:
If I tap on Person, I get another prompt to subscribe to Cam Plus. So far the message I’m getting seems to be that Person Detection isn’t actually “free” with Cam v4, and that message seems to contradict what Wyze says in various Support articles (as noted above) as well as what a Wyze employee indicated in another topic.[1][2] (I guess I’ll be going back to that topic to request clarification…again. 
)
So far I’ve set up the camera in several different places (thinking maybe it was a lighting or distance-to-camera issue) that have allowed me to walk toward the camera or laterally, but it’s still generating only generic motion notifications and events. The firmware is updated, I’ve restarted the camera several times, and “Reset Services” has no apparent effect.
Is it possible that I’m not actually a person?
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