That’s sort of true. I don’t have any Lamp Socket v1s, but my understanding with those is that they require a camera to be physically tethered via its USB data cable in order to control at least one socket (like if you have several sockets in a group linked with Bluetooth). With Lamp Socket v2, no physical cable connection is required, but a compatible Cam has to be linked to it for setup and control. Once Lamp Socket v2 has been added, each socket has its own Wi-Fi connection to your home network. In my current use, I have two Lamp Socket v2s controlling lighting when triggered by a Cam v4 in the same room, and a third Lamp Socket v2 in another room also activates when those lights turn on.
I believe that this also means Lamp Socket v2 should be available to control with Automations, meaning that a user should be able to activate lights with that version independent of what its paired Cam is doing, and that’s something I’ve mentioned to Wyze, because it appears that they’ve built an incomplete Automations implementation for Lamp Socket v2.
What was your (and your dad’s) expectation for either of the Lamp Socket models? I’m not seeing any mentions of use for Lamp Socket v1 without an attached Wyze Cam on its product page, and Lamp Socket v2’s product page says in the FAQ section that a compatible Cam is required:
Wyze can always do a better job with the clarity of their messaging, though. I don’t know how many times I’ve said that in this Forum.