Review on 📷 WYZE Cam Outdoor Add-on Camera: 1080p HD Indoor/Outdoor Wire-Free Smart Home Camera with Night Vision, 2-Way Audio - Alexa & Google Assistant Compatible (Base Station Required) by Anthony Cayton

By that I mean this is the right tool for the job if your main goal is to know things e.g. B. when packages arrive, when mail falls in your mailbox, whether the salespeople are knocking on the door again, or you have blind spots around your house that you just can't otherwise see and deserve a certain level of visibility. If you live in a crime-ridden area, have more fear than safety in your life, and only the highest quality gear will do, then this particular Wyze camera model probably isn't the right tool. For a device that costs just under $50, the dollar value spent is pretty good. For some notes on why, for (1) the video quality (at 1920 x 1080) is pretty good. If the device is installed in an enclosed area (e.g. an awning), the darker area may not contrast well with the brighter ambient light. however, this does not prevent the device from having good control over the target area. (2) The device is weatherproof according to IP65, so it does not have to be built into an enclosure. IP65 means the highest degree of protection against solid particles (ingress of dust, dirt, etc.) and against ingress of water, low-pressure water jets, rain-like drops and other light splashes. (3) The device's sound quality, while a double-edged sword, is exceptional and poor at the same time; By that I mean that the sensitivity of the camera microphone is pretty good if you hear any sounds in the controlled area in the application. For example, one of our cameras is installed indoors. This space essentially acts as a tunnel for sounds coming from different directions, so even a relatively quiet conversation will sound as clear as if I heard it with my own ear (i.e. a whisper will still sound like a whisper, but the camera can pick it up). ) . . On the other hand (4) I would expect that due to the inherently small size of the outgoing speaker on any device, the quality would be unimportant when trying to talk through an app (i.e. if you want to talk to the person ringing). at your front door, this device is not very easy to use). (5) Installation is incredibly easy. So far I have installed 5 units and the total time was maybe only 30 minutes. I've installed in brick/mortar outdoors, but it doesn't take long to drill, and since the unit is held in place with a powerful magnet, installation is a do-it-yourself task that even a child can handle . (6) However, simply removing the device may take even less time, so people living in areas where crime is a major problem should be warned. In these cases, the device can be mounted at any height. I assume that such cheap devices mounted at 10ft height are not worth the time of attempting theft. Even if stolen, the cameras will only work under the Wyze account they are listed on (as long as a stolen camera remains on your account, it's just a building block for everyone else). (7) Camera pairing and rule programming is also easy and can be completed in minutes. Likewise, newly purchased cameras are likely to get a firmware update prompt, which takes a little longer than pairing cameras, but not much longer. So what are the flaws I found? First of all, it's not the camera itself but the application that I think needs improvement the most. (1) There may be some delay on the order of seconds or minutes before the application provides an event notification. I've also noticed a few instances where the notification hasn't been received. This doesn't detract from near-real-time viewing, but anyone who relies heavily on notifications should be aware of the possibility of some of them not being received. (2) There is some delay between a "live" capture and the app showing that capture (usually on the order of a few seconds), but my more expensive "Nest" cameras behave similarly. While I can't know the actual network path these video packets take, I'm assuming the path through the Wi-Fi network, LAN, to the cloud (recording), etc. has some overhead, so a few seconds is in Okay (3 ) Although quoted battery life is on the order of months, it is likely to be longer on the order of weeks or days for cameras installed in high traffic areas. One might expect devices aimed at the back and sides of the house to run on a full charge for quite a while, but for devices aimed at streets, footpaths, etc., continuous monitoring will likely decrease battery life. However, charging the device takes a maximum of 4 hours. In my case, I set some camera rules to only be active during the 'most dangerous' hours of the night and set an overlapping camera (so that when one is off, the other is on, etc.); This goes a long way towards not having to worry about charging as often. (5) It could be my old phone or it could be an app, but whatever it is, toggling the app view to "rotate" the live stream sometimes causes the app to back off, then I have to return to her. If this is a Wyze app I would recommend again that it needs some improvement in this area. With all that said, I'd say these cameras represent pretty good value for money (and especially for those who want to monitor their entire surroundings quickly and cheaply). Those cameras are definitely not for Detective Joe, but they work if you're just a John Doe. Wyze still needs a bit of work to make the app a bit more robust, and it will take some effort to make the detection technology a bit more AI-friendly (but compared to the Nest cameras I've had for a while, the detection control from Wyze is many times better I think due to IR); and although detection almost always works, it can happen (though rarely) that a plant blowing in the wind will set off an alarm. The user has some control over this by setting the appropriate detection parameters (not overly sensitive, but just right) and establishing an 'effective' zone (simple enough) as soon as the device is installed. Wyze AI and PIR sensors can do the rest. I really wanted to give Wyze credit for including handy live feed options that make it easy to quickly take a picture, record, listen, or speak (no matter the sound quality). I used the "record" function several times when we knocked on the door unexpectedly late. The app makes it easy to download clips and save them permanently to your phone's gallery (note that cloud clips are only saved for 14 days; however, this storage time is free, so I can't complain and you can't get 12- second clip at any time until Cloud deletes it). Incidentally, the 12 second video (free) doesn't matter to me, but for those with a longer stream it's available either through the use of a local SD card or through a subscription to Wyze for the Cloud. save longer stop. Users should also be aware that after a recording, a configurable 1, 3, or 5 minute cooldown pause will prevent any further recording of a recording before this time has elapsed (and the longer the cooldown, the better for the user) . . battery life if that particular device is tracking an area of high activity). I hope Wyze keeps it up. For your health.