Wyze Doorbell v2 Chime Issues

That seems like a separate issue entirely. I don’t think it’s a matter of power in your townhouse, because the Cam Floodlight v2 would be wired to the home’s ~110-120 V AC power, not the low-power output from your doorbell transformer. If you have devices going offline, then that may be more indicative of a Wi-Fi signal or other Internet connectivity problem (if we assume that the Cam Floodlight v2 was installed/wired correctly and in a place where your previous Cam Floodlight wasn’t having issues). The connectivity problem might be in the Cam Floodlight v2 itself, so one of the first things I’d do for that (which is a separate issue) is to check/update the firmware, because of this:

4.53.3.9759 (June 10, 2024)

  • Fixed intermittent device offline issues

No. Those wires are for the higher-voltage side of the transformer that wires into your junction box if/when you remove your existing transformer. Installing this should be relatively similar to installing your Cam Floodlight: Once inside the junction box, you’ll connect black-to-black, white-to-white, and green-to-ground. When electricity is applied, the device then transforms the current to the lower-voltage side that your doorbell can handle, and it will use the existing 2-conductor wire (no real “ground” carried with this) to power the doorbell and chime.

The two wires you see currently (at least what you’ve showed in a photo) are from the low-voltage side of the transformer, unless you’ve taken your current transformer off the wall to look inside the junction box.

If you’ve installed your Cam Floodlights into junction boxes, then you should be able to do this, as well. :+1:

If you’ve flipped a breaker and lost power to your doorbell, then that sounds like you’ve found the right circuit. If you don’t have a multimeter to test (and I use a cheap-o Harbor Freight model that has served me well) and/or don’t want to procure one, then I’d suggest using (or obtaining) one of those non-contact voltage testers. That’s an easy and safe way to test and ensure that you’re not working inside a hot junction box.

No apology is necessary! When you ask questions, it demonstrates that you have the desire to learn, and we all have to start somewhere. Ask away!

That’s probably true, but I don’t have the knowledge or experience to make that kind of judgement, so I tend to be cautious. :man_shrugging:

Same. :grin:

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@WildPyro - There are most likely 3 wires on the back side of the existing transformer that you don’t see. The new transformer will have those 3 wires and they get connected inside the fuse/breaker panel, unless the connection is at a junction box. This is where some knowledge is necessary because you have to know where to connect the wires inside the electrical panel and it’s not quite the same as making a connection in a junction box. Higher risk in my opinion working in the electrical panel. Electrician if you have never installed a breaker/fuse and connected wires to it.

You have the hot wire connection at the breaker, the neutral wire connection at a separate location and the ground wire at a 3rd location. The ground wire isn’t as important as the hot and neutral wires since they complete the AC current flow. New transformer will have black (hot), white (neutral) and green (ground) wires, the common standard. Although I have seen red (hot), white (neutral) and green (ground) wiring in some electrical configurations.

Basically, you installed the floodlight to an outdoor junction box and used wire nuts to connect to existing wiring. Not the same in the electrical panel. I hope you can do it, but be aware of the risk.

Continue posting your progress.

This appears to be what a previous photo showed, so installing a new transformer should be fairly straightforward and shouldn’t involve getting into the panel aside from flipping breakers before and after the installation/swap. That’s my read, anyway.

Good observation. When @WildPyro stated it was located on the left side of the panel, I interpreted the photo as an outlet box the transformer was mounted in with wires going into the panel. As opposed to wires coming from inside the panel and connecting with the transformer in the outlet box. Your interpretation is much more plausible and would indeed make the exchange a more viable DIY installation.

Interesting how without seeing the box itself and it’s placement in or on the wall, we came to different observation conclusions. Hopefully yours is the more correct one. Appears to be recessed in the wall upon closer observation.

How about it, ball in your court @WildPyro.

Thank you guys so much for the input. I did a bit of research for myself and settled on the following product:

It does state that it’s a 16V 30VA transformer, but it has tons of positive reviews. Some of which include Wyze doorbells specifically. Additionally, I watched a few videos about how to replace your transformer and I stubbled upon this video:

At around 2:52 in, you can see him removing the whole chime assembly to access the transformer behind the unit. Could this be the case for me as well? I know I said I have one downstairs, but I’m not sure what that one is used for. Could it be used for multiple things? Is it possible that is it used for the doorbell only? If that’s the case, why is it so far away from the chime box? Maybe I have multiple transformers, do I need to purchase/install multiple units?

Keep in mind, I still have to get confirmation from my landlord today. She was OK with me rewiring the doorbell with the v1 version because it didn’t involve adding anything to the wiring except a redirect to the plug-in chime that the v1 came with. I haven’t told her I added the v2 yet. She might be OK with me replacing the transformer, but I just have to be sure.

Just wanted to thank you guys again for all the time and effort you both put in to my issues, I really appreciate it!

-Pyro

P.S. - I’ll get a picture of the whole transformer/fuse box assembly when I get home from work today.

I think the product you linked looks just fine for the job. :+1: I think I may have previously watched the video you linked. :grin: I’m not sure why he says that “the most common place” for a transformer location is going to be right behind the door chime, because that hasn’t been my experience. Typically I’ve seen them in a mechanical room (like near a furnace) or closer to an electrical breaker panel, though other Forum users have reported them in attics and closets. Locating it can often be the most challenging part of troubleshooting doorbell problems.

It could, but I think it’s unlikely. I think you already located your doorbell transformer. You could confirm with some testing, though, depending on the tools you have and what you’re comfortable doing.

Again, it’s possible, but what you showed previously has such a low power output that I think it’s most likely that it’s just powering your doorbell and not something else.

I think that’s the most likely explanation, yes.

My doorbell transformer is in the basement mechanical room, near the furnace, while my chime box is in an upstairs hallway. Even the dude in the video mentioned several places where transformers might be located in a home. As to the why…. :man_shrugging: I’m not a home builder or electrician, so I can only speculate about convenience at the time of installation or forethought to convenient access/replacement later. Those are just guesses, though.

I think that’s unlikely. Based on what you’ve shared so far, the low-output transformer you’ve showed us seems to explain the chime performance you described in your initial post, so I think you’ve found the pieces you need to solve the puzzle.

It’s an upgrade. Hopefully she’ll be okay with it, and you can always hang onto the stuff you’re taking down and offer to put it back in place if/when you move at some point.

I mentioned testing and tools earlier, so I want to make a few comments about that.

  1. The guy in the video mentioned and demonstrated the use of a non-contact voltage tester, and I think these are helpful, especially if you’re aware of their limits. Many seem to be specified to detect the range 50-600 V AC, so sticking the probe against a terminal of a doorbell chime or transformer that’s rated for 10 V isn’t going to tell you much. They’re good to have, though, for confirming that the junction box you’re working in is “cold” and for things like replacing switches and outlets where you might need to determine which black wire is LINE and which is LOAD.
  2. I still get a lot of use out of my inexpensive multimeter[1], which has helped me troubleshoot issues with my Video Doorbell v2 and other things. In fact, before I ever installed the doorbell, I tested the voltage at the original “dumb” button’s location to ensure that I was going to have adequate power to run the new device. You could use something like this to measure the voltage at your current transformer, at the chime box, and at the doorbell button location to compare the values and feel more confident about the transformer you’re replacing. If so inclined and/or curious, you could also do more extensive testing like I mentioned (linking out to a different topic) in a previous post.
  3. I also like having a set of test leads[2] available just to make using the multimeter easier. Using these allows you to attach the meter to other terminals or wires so you don’t need a third or fourth hand for some tests. :grin:

Thanks for sharing your progress!


  1. The specific SKU I have no longer seems to be available, but another SKU appears to be nearly identical. ↩︎

  2. These or something similar are handy for clipping to wires, terminals, and multimeter probes while testing and troubleshooting. ↩︎

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Picture promised:

If you look at the label “Doorbell”, underneath it seems like someone wrote “TRANZ” with a permanent marker further proving that the one at the top let is for the doorbell. I’ll have to get a multimeter and check to see if I get any power to it once I flip the switch. I’ll let you guys know how I turn out! Stay tuned…

-Pyro

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Once you perform that task and with the power off, unscrew the transformer, pull out and determine if wires are connected in the outlet box with wire nuts or maybe even black electrical tape. Or they pass thru the outlet box and go directly into the panel breaker and the outlet box just facilitates mounting the transformer. Hopefully not and they are connected behind the transformer in the outlet box. Transformer wires aren’t that long that they would extend that far to the breaker on the right side of the panel from where it is mounted, frankly neither the left side. Take a picture, please.