Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

My rating is a compromise between value for money (hands down a 5+) and its usability (a three). First and foremost, this is NOT a security camera. In fact, Wyze states this clearly in their terms of service: “The products and services are not intended for use as security or life safety devices or services (such as a burglar alarm or monitoring system). Please do not rely on the products and services for any such critical uses.” So that said, adjust your expectations to conform. But for the price, it’s a really nifty monitoring system for non-critical applications, and a lot of thought and design have gone into the product (again, considering the price). Given that you have the correct wi-fi system, the setup is easy and straightforward. The camera is as described with good color and reasonable resolution. On a smart phone, the image looks crystal clear. However, on closer zoom examination, the transmitted image is noticeably degraded with compression artifacts, and thus the ability to recognize faces, license numbers, and the like will be somewhat limited to subjects within 10 or 15 feet of the camera. The night vision works well (black and white), and the built-in infrared lights nicely illuminate a typical room (of course, getting darker with distance). Note that you can’t point the camera through a window at night and use the built-in infrared lights – they reflect horribly on the glass. But the app allows you to turn them off. The microphone and speaker provide intelligible audio within a reasonably sized room. It’s not high quality, but it’s usable. The free cloud file service is a good idea, but for any reasonable use, you will want to get the optional on-board micro-SD card. The cloud storage drawback becomes very apparent due to the 12-second limit on uploaded files coupled with what they call the five-minute cooling off period between uploads. Thus, when some event triggers an upload, such as a person breaking in to your house, the recording ends before the real event occurs (such as that person rifling through all your belongings). I suspect the ‘cooling off period’ is really just a euphemism for data throttling to keep on-line storage to a manageable size. But with the on-board micro-SD card, that problem is solved – it’ll keep recording as long as it sees something happening. (But pay attention to the specs for the card – I bought the Wyze card just to be safe since they guarantee it.) The camera is also capable of time lapse video via an easily configurable app interface. However, I find that it’s buggy and unreliable since the resulting videos are often not accessible via the app. I’ve seen other on-line complaints about this, and the most common fix is to reformat the SD card. Unfortunately, that fix isn’t permanent (in my experience), and the problem isn’t apparent until after you’ve spent hours or days hoping to capture some one-of-a-kind event. The camera is designed to be used indoors. Some users, me included, use it outdoors. I purchased a tight-fitting enclosure to mount up under an eave, which ought to protect them from direct rain and snow, but I don’t have the expectation that they will last for years in that configuration. I had one encounter with their support team. I submitted a request to their on-line customer service system, and a knowledgeable and friendly tech responded within a day. The whole issue was settled with a couple of guided troubleshooting exchanges, and I received a new camera in less than a week from the first contact. In summary, it’s a very cost-effective and useful system for non-critical applications. The system and app seem to be a work in progress, and occasional problems elicit the wrath of users, but the company is generally responsive to problems. So for watching the dogs at home, documenting a storm, etc., it’s a good product. The Wyze development team has done a good job given the cost limitations, and I have subsequently bought three more.