Does Wyze Camera Need Wi-Fi? We Did the Research

Wyze Cams with their bells and whistles are an extremely affordable range of home security devices that can compete with products that are five-fold more expensive.

This article pivots around the question that many of us want to know, Does Wyze Camera need Wi-Fi to operate?

Wyze cameras do not need wifi after the initial setup. However, if you want to view the live stream, make changes using the Wyze app, or receive notifications, you need to connect the camera to the internet.

Setting up your Wyze Cam without Wi-Fi might seem like a daunting task but simply follow the instructions in this article and your Wyze Cam will be set to go without the need for a Wi-Fi network.

How to Use Wyze Cam Without Wi-Fi

As mentioned above, Wyze Cams are capable of being operated without the use of a Wi-Fi network. However, you need to connect to a network when you set up your Wyze Cam for the first time.

You probably intend to use your Wyze Cam offsite where there is no active Wi-Fi network.

Remember that if you intend to view the feed on your Wyze app or any other connected device, you will have to return the device to a place with an active network to sync the backup.

Following the backup, you will be able to access the feeds on your Wyze App.

A popular error that occurs during this process is an inability to re-establish a connection to the Wi-Fi network on bringing the device back from an offsite.

To fix this issue, simply power cycle your Wyze Cam. To power cycle, unplug your Wyze Cam for at least 5 mins before trying to reconnect it.

To initially set up your Wyze Cam do the following steps:

1. Download the Wyze App and create an account.

2. Connect your Wyze Cam to a power source and wait at least 20 seconds till the LED indicator starts to flash yellow.

3. Press and hold the 'Setup' button till you hear a voice prompt from your Wyze Cam.

4. Simply follow the steps in the Wyze App to finish setting up your Wyze Cam.

Your Wyze Cam needs to store the recordings somewhere. Since you intend to use it without the internet, it cannot store the recording on the free cloud storage offered by Wyze.

Therefore, you need to insert a microSD card to store recordings. Follow the instructions below to insert the SD card:

• The SD card slot is located on the bottom of most Wyze Cams.
• Unplug your Wyze Cam before inserting your SD card to prevent the corruption of any recordings if an SD card is already in the camera.
• There is an outline next to the SD slot to show you the way to insert the card. Follow the outline and insert the SD card.
• Plug your Wyze Cam into the Power supply. If you have correctly inserted the microSD, your Wyze Cam will respond with a 'ding' sound.
• If you don't hear the sound, unplug your Wyze Cam and reinsert the SD card.

The next step is to change the setting on the Wyze App to store recordings locally to the SD card. To do the same, follow the instructions below:

1. In the Wyze App, tap into your camera's Live Stream.

2. Navigate to 'Settings' and then 'Advanced'.

3. Here, there is a togglable option 'Record to MicroSD card'. Set it to 'On'.

Activating this option of recording locally allows for storing event videos or continuous videos directly to the SD card bypassing the cloud.

You also have the Playback option which lets you view events on the SD card from your Wyze App. To view the event recordings on the SD card, do the following:

• Go to the events tab on the Wyze App.
• Select the event you want to view.
• Tap on Playback to view the recording from your SD card.

Continuous Recording on Wyze Camera: How To

If you want your Wyze Cam to record continuously, you can set this up by changing the settings on the Wyze App. Note that the continuous recording feature is not available on Wyze Cam outdoor.

This lets you have access to recordings available for playback without any subscriptions.

The length of the recordings will depend on the size of the SD card and the recording settings.

Note that the quality of the feed will be HD or 1080p if you have set the recording to directly save to the SD card. Even if the live stream is set to 360p or SD, it will record to the SD card in HD.

To set up continuous recording, make the following changes in the Wyze App:

• In the Wyze app, tap into your camera's Livestream.
• Go to 'Settings' and then 'Advanced'.
• Choose between Continuous recording or Events Only recording.

Since the feed stored in the microSD card is always HD, there is a high probability that your card runs out of space. When the SD card is full, it will overwrite the oldest footage and move forward.

How to Format SD Cards for Wyze

The format, class, and size of the SD card used in Wyze Cams are important. Wyze Cams are compatible with SD cards carrying class 10 in FAT32 or exFAT format.

However, Wyze recommends using the Wyze 32GB MicroSDHC card available in the Wyze store for its cameras.

In the FAT32 format, Wyze Cam V3 supports 8GB, 16 GB, and 32GB microSD cards.

In the exFAT format, Wyze Cam V3 supports 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB microSD cards.

To format your SD card for Wyze Cams, do the following:

1. Insert the microSD card into the SD slot as instructed above.

2. On the Wyze App, tap into the camera's Livestream.

3. Tap on 'Settings' and then 'Advanced Settings'.

4. Tap on 'Manage MicroSD Card'.

5. Select 'Format'.

Remember that formatting your SD card erases all the content on it. If there is any files on your SD card that you need, consider backing them up before formatting.

How to Update Wyze Externally with SD Cards

You can update your Wyze Cam without connecting to your Wyze App or a network. This requires that you download the required software depending on your Wyze Cam version.

Keep these points in mind before you manually update your Wyze cam:

• This process requires that you download a specific software version made for your particular device. Find your device on the website and download the software, here.
• The recommended requirement for an external update is a 32GB microSD card in the FAT32 format.
• Format your SD Card.

To manually update your Wyze Cam without using the Wyze app, do the following:

1. On Windows 10, you can right-click the downloaded file and extract all. On Mac iOS, drag and drop the downloaded file to the root directory of your microSD card.

2. Depending on your Wyze Cam version, you need to rename the file as the following:

• Wyze Cam V2: recovery_wcpv2.bin
• Wyze Cam V3: demo_wcv3.bin
• Wyze Cam Pan: demo.bin
• Wyze Cam: FIRMWARE_660R_F.BIN

• Turn the Wyze Cam off and insert the SD card into the SD slot.
• Using the USB cable, plug your Cam into a power source.
• Press and hold the setup button for 3-6 seconds or until the LED indicator starts to show solid blue. Once solid blue is shown, release the setup button.
• Remember that this 'solid blue' is not the same as the normal blue shown by the LED indicator. The solid blue is a result of simultaneous lighting up of both blue and yellow light which makes it appear like a lighter tint of blue.
• The update process takes 4-5 mins to complete. Once complete, the Cam will reboot and the light status will change indicating the corresponding status of the Cam.

Cons of Using Wyze Camera Without Internet

Wyze Cams are designed to be used with Wi-Fi and as a result, using these Cams in the absence of WiFi will result in you missing out on some features.

Livestream

You will not be able to view the live feed of what is going on. Instead, you can view the feed only upon syncing to a Wi-Fi network and subsequently viewing the feed through the Wyze app.

You can also view the feed by manually removing the SD card from the camera and inserting it into another device or laptop.

Notifications

Wyze Cams are set up with features like motion detection and event recording which look out for triggers in their detection zone.

When such a trigger is detected, along with the initiation of recording, a notification is sent to the user to alert them that such a trigger has occurred.

If you are using the Wyze Cam offline, you will not receive this notification.

In contrast, if your device is connected to a Wi-Fi network, along with the notification, you have the option of viewing the recording that was followed by the trigger in real time.

Settings

Another cool aspect of using Wyze Cams connected to a network is the real-time changes you can make in the settings.

Since, the cameras are connected to the Wyze App, making changes in the settings in the app is reflected in the camera functionality in real time.

Voice assistants

Wyze Cams are designed to integrate with virtual assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant.

So when operating these devices offline, your virtual assistants will not be able to show you the feed or turn your Wyze Cam on or off.

Motion and Sound detection

The motion and sound detection features require an active network connection to execute and record. Alert videos will not be saved to the cloud either.

So using your Wyze Cam offline will result in missing out on these awesome features as well.

Storage

Using your Wyze Cam offline means that you are recording the feed directly to your MicroSD card. The video quality of this feed will be HD/1080p.

For a 32GB SD card, this means around 2-3 days of recording. After being maxed out on space, the device will choose to overwrite the older feed with the newer ones.

Using your Wyze Cam with an active connection lets you change the video quality and select quality lesser than 1080p which will result in the ability to use your SD card for longer without filling up.

Final Thoughts

Wyze Cams are durable and flexible products with utility that far exceeds their price tag. The ability to use these cameras with or without an active network further pushes the capabilities of these devices.

Wyze has also incorporated many features for their products for such a low price such as sound and motion detection, 1080p full HD live stream with color night vision, and integration with virtual assistants.

Hope this article has provided you with all the information required for you to operate your Wyze Cam under your desired conditions.

Good Day!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can Wyze Cams be used without a subscription?

There are no mandatory subscriptions or monthly fees for using Wyze Cams. The cost of Wyze Cams is only the upfront price of these devices. However, you can subscribe to Cam Plus for $1.99 per month or $14.99 per year for one camera which grants access to features like person detection and unlimited clip length.

Does Wyze Cams have cloud storage?

Wyze offers free cloud storage for 14 days along with limited motion detection features for free.

What does the blue light on Wyze Cams mean?

Blue light is indicative of a Wyze Cam that is connected, powered, and working properly.

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