$25 cloud security cameras -- Wyze camera
Jan 23, 2018, 1:27 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Somewhere in Florida
Posts: 2,622
$25 cloud security cameras -- Wyze camera
I didn't see anyone mention these on here yet, so I figured I would! I ordered a Wyze camera on Amazon for $25 and after being on backorder for a few weeks, it finally arrived. I was so impressed by it that after having one for 24 hours, I immediately went to the Wyze manufacturer's site and bought three more.
The Wyze camera is a small (50mm x 50mm x 55mm / 2"x2"x2") WiFi enabled security camera. It functions like many of the cloud cameras out there in that it can sense motion and/or sound and will record a 12 second clip, upload it to Amazon's AWS cloud and notify your phone. UNlike most of the cloud products out there, they don't charge for the use of cloud services.
You can (and should!) put a micro-SD card in the unit and it can then record continuously to the SD card and even record time lapse videos to the SD card. You can also view the SD card recordings on your phone remotely. It doesn't require an internet connection nor WiFi if you just want it to record to the SD card. Continuous video is recorded as 1 minute long MP4 files, sorted in folders by hour. If you put a 64GB card in, you'll have ~7 days of continuous HD recordings, ~19? days of continuous SD recording. When the card's full it just overwrites the oldest clips first. It'll take smaller cards if desired, but at the sacrifice of shorter history.
It has a respectable night vision w/IR illuminators and 2-way intercom mode. Time lapse is in H.264 format, but I believe the app will convert it to MP4 for you. Two other things which make it interesting: 1) it has a magnetic base, 2) it's powered by micro-USB, so you can power it off your existing chargers AND even a power bank if you so desire. 2a) It has a pass-through USB port so you can stack and power multiple cameras from one USB cable.
I wasn't sure what I was going to use it for when I ordered it but figured at $25 if it just even powered up I'd be happy. It's much better than that! Video quality's excellent, sound is passable and useful. It's small enough to fit in my carry-on without issue and cheap enough that it's practically disposable. I've already taken mine to hotel rooms. I'm planning on using them at work for various tasks as well.
I've had Canary cameras at my homes for almost a year now -- These Wyze cameras will NOT be replacing those, despite the monitoring costs associated with those. Both have cameras, but are designed for completely different functions. The Canary was designed to be a camera-based security system, with automatic arming/disarming based on mobile phone proximity to the camera's location. The Canary has no on-board storage and instead uploads all motion up to cloud, not just 12 seconds. If someone steals a Canary or the Canary gets destroyed, the video evidence lives on in the cloud. Additionally, the Canary has environmental monitoring (temperature / humidity / air quality), which is vital to me -- it's already alerted me to a failed air con and was immensely helpful during Hurricane Irma, where it indicated I was getting severe water intrusion in one of my homes. Out of the year, I haven't had to reboot them, which is vital considering it can be months before I'm able to get to each of my homes.
On the other hand, the Wyze camera is a WiFi, cloud-enabled security camera. Yes, it has a crude form of motion detection, but it's not really set up to be an alarm system replacement. There's no automatic arm/disarm, and certainly no easy arm/disarm feature. You have to manually change the record & motion notification settings if you want that. There have been reports of them disconnecting from WiFi, although it was with older firmware. The longest I've had mine in one place was about 56 hours, and it stayed connected the whole time there.
There is a true Chinese variant of the camera which appears to use the same hardware -- the XiaoFang camera. It's definitely not meant for export and uses a different phone app than the Wyze. BUT for the hacker types, there are already hacks available for that camera to make it support standard RTSP, FTP, etc. Wyze keeps pushing out new firmware with fixes and new features, so for now I'm sticking with Wyze and hoping someone ports the hacks over to that platform. Wyze also is very responsive to input reddit.com/r/wyzecam/.
The Wyze camera is a small (50mm x 50mm x 55mm / 2"x2"x2") WiFi enabled security camera. It functions like many of the cloud cameras out there in that it can sense motion and/or sound and will record a 12 second clip, upload it to Amazon's AWS cloud and notify your phone. UNlike most of the cloud products out there, they don't charge for the use of cloud services.
You can (and should!) put a micro-SD card in the unit and it can then record continuously to the SD card and even record time lapse videos to the SD card. You can also view the SD card recordings on your phone remotely. It doesn't require an internet connection nor WiFi if you just want it to record to the SD card. Continuous video is recorded as 1 minute long MP4 files, sorted in folders by hour. If you put a 64GB card in, you'll have ~7 days of continuous HD recordings, ~19? days of continuous SD recording. When the card's full it just overwrites the oldest clips first. It'll take smaller cards if desired, but at the sacrifice of shorter history.
It has a respectable night vision w/IR illuminators and 2-way intercom mode. Time lapse is in H.264 format, but I believe the app will convert it to MP4 for you. Two other things which make it interesting: 1) it has a magnetic base, 2) it's powered by micro-USB, so you can power it off your existing chargers AND even a power bank if you so desire. 2a) It has a pass-through USB port so you can stack and power multiple cameras from one USB cable.
I wasn't sure what I was going to use it for when I ordered it but figured at $25 if it just even powered up I'd be happy. It's much better than that! Video quality's excellent, sound is passable and useful. It's small enough to fit in my carry-on without issue and cheap enough that it's practically disposable. I've already taken mine to hotel rooms. I'm planning on using them at work for various tasks as well.
I've had Canary cameras at my homes for almost a year now -- These Wyze cameras will NOT be replacing those, despite the monitoring costs associated with those. Both have cameras, but are designed for completely different functions. The Canary was designed to be a camera-based security system, with automatic arming/disarming based on mobile phone proximity to the camera's location. The Canary has no on-board storage and instead uploads all motion up to cloud, not just 12 seconds. If someone steals a Canary or the Canary gets destroyed, the video evidence lives on in the cloud. Additionally, the Canary has environmental monitoring (temperature / humidity / air quality), which is vital to me -- it's already alerted me to a failed air con and was immensely helpful during Hurricane Irma, where it indicated I was getting severe water intrusion in one of my homes. Out of the year, I haven't had to reboot them, which is vital considering it can be months before I'm able to get to each of my homes.
On the other hand, the Wyze camera is a WiFi, cloud-enabled security camera. Yes, it has a crude form of motion detection, but it's not really set up to be an alarm system replacement. There's no automatic arm/disarm, and certainly no easy arm/disarm feature. You have to manually change the record & motion notification settings if you want that. There have been reports of them disconnecting from WiFi, although it was with older firmware. The longest I've had mine in one place was about 56 hours, and it stayed connected the whole time there.
There is a true Chinese variant of the camera which appears to use the same hardware -- the XiaoFang camera. It's definitely not meant for export and uses a different phone app than the Wyze. BUT for the hacker types, there are already hacks available for that camera to make it support standard RTSP, FTP, etc. Wyze keeps pushing out new firmware with fixes and new features, so for now I'm sticking with Wyze and hoping someone ports the hacks over to that platform. Wyze also is very responsive to input reddit.com/r/wyzecam/.
Jan 24, 2018, 9:35 am
#2
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 611
The problem with this camera is that it has been caught sending data to undisclosed international servers. The company has no good excuse. Nobody knows what is happening with that data. It makes you wonder why it's so cheap for the specs.
Jan 24, 2018, 10:17 am
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Denver, CO
Programs: UA Silver, Bonvoy Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 21,546
I really want an inexpensive camera to put in my hedgehog's cage (they are nocturnal). I was tempted with the OP, but this gives me pause.
Jan 24, 2018, 2:33 pm
#4
Join Date: May 2006
Location: IAD
Programs: UA 1MM *G (recovered GS), SPG Nothing, Hilton Nothing, AA Nothing
Posts: 895
I have a bunch of them - only $20 (plus a little shipping $ but still less than Amazon even with Prime) if you buy them direct from WyzeCam.
Not entirely accurate - see this thread:
https://www.reddit.com/r/wyzecam/com...ther_than_aws/
I had not heard about this issue, but if you read the thread this seems like something they are working on and not all that concerning to my limited understanding.
More importantly, what a great deal these cameras are! I am replacing older Foscam units that were a bit flaky to configure and often had to be power cycled.
Pros:
Great picture
Wide angle - for most of my placements it obviates the need for pan/tilt.
So cheap!
Reasonable configuration - easier than Foscam
Lots of mounting / placement options
Cons:
No IR through glass so they can't see the yard through a window at night.
Not weather proof - indoor only
No single view of all cams in app (one at a time)
The company has no good excuse. Nobody knows what is happening with that data.
https://www.reddit.com/r/wyzecam/com...ther_than_aws/
I had not heard about this issue, but if you read the thread this seems like something they are working on and not all that concerning to my limited understanding.
More importantly, what a great deal these cameras are! I am replacing older Foscam units that were a bit flaky to configure and often had to be power cycled.
Pros:
Great picture
Wide angle - for most of my placements it obviates the need for pan/tilt.
So cheap!
Reasonable configuration - easier than Foscam
Lots of mounting / placement options
Cons:
No IR through glass so they can't see the yard through a window at night.
Not weather proof - indoor only
No single view of all cams in app (one at a time)
Jan 27, 2018, 10:32 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Somewhere in Florida
Posts: 2,622
The company I work for (I don't work for Wyze) intentionally doesn't use US-based servers for some of our data due to the NSA's interest in recording everything (they may not be 'listening' to your phone calls, but they sure are recording them).
Jan 29, 2018, 11:07 pm
#7
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Colorado
Programs: UA Gold (.85 MM), HH Diamond, SPG Platinum (LT Gold), Hertz PC, National EE
Posts: 5,656
Any cloud-based device is going to "undisclosed international servers." For fun, do a netstat on someone's iPhone sometime and see how chatty one of those is. As far as "international servers", perhaps they might use servers which aren't subject to NSA/CIA intrusions.
The company I work for (I don't work for Wyze) intentionally doesn't use US-based servers for some of our data due to the NSA's interest in recording everything (they may not be 'listening' to your phone calls, but they sure are recording them).
The company I work for (I don't work for Wyze) intentionally doesn't use US-based servers for some of our data due to the NSA's interest in recording everything (they may not be 'listening' to your phone calls, but they sure are recording them).
Feb 1, 2018, 11:51 am
#8
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Cleveland, OH
Programs: UA-GS 1MM), Hertz Pres Circle, Starriott Titanium)
Posts: 1,966
Just ordered two of these to try out for monitoring the outside of my house. Since they won't be pointed inside the house, I'm not too concerned from a privacy standpoint. I'll connect them to a "guest" network to keep them isolated. For the price they seem to be a great deal.
I've had $200+ cameras like the FLIR cameras that died within 2 months, so if these last for a while I'll be thrilled. Plus, at this price, I can afford to blanket the garage, outside etc and not care too much if one dies.
I've had $200+ cameras like the FLIR cameras that died within 2 months, so if these last for a while I'll be thrilled. Plus, at this price, I can afford to blanket the garage, outside etc and not care too much if one dies.
Feb 1, 2018, 12:34 pm
#9
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Upper Sternistan
Posts: 10,041
Just ordered two of these to try out for monitoring the outside of my house. Since they won't be pointed inside the house, I'm not too concerned from a privacy standpoint. I'll connect them to a "guest" network to keep them isolated. For the price they seem to be a great deal.
I've had $200+ cameras like the FLIR cameras that died within 2 months, so if these last for a while I'll be thrilled. Plus, at this price, I can afford to blanket the garage, outside etc and not care too much if one dies.
I've had $200+ cameras like the FLIR cameras that died within 2 months, so if these last for a while I'll be thrilled. Plus, at this price, I can afford to blanket the garage, outside etc and not care too much if one dies.
Feb 1, 2018, 3:42 pm
#10
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Cleveland, OH
Programs: UA-GS 1MM), Hertz Pres Circle, Starriott Titanium)
Posts: 1,966