Wyze Cam Not Recording to SD Card: How to Fix [2023]

Wyze cam's distinguished continuous recording through SD cards feature has put them ahead of other similar smart security gadgets. But what will you do when this feature seizes to work?

When my Wyze cam failed to record to the SD card, I went online and came across a few fixes. I made this troubleshooting guide so that you can fix your Wyze cam if it is not recording to the SD card.

Wyze cam not recording to SD card issue mostly arises due to improper formatting of the SD card or bugs and errors on the device.

If your Wyze cam is not recording to the SD card, refresh the Wyze cam first. Then, check and update the Cam and app. Check and format the SD cards to the recommended settings before installing them. If the issue persists, factory reset the Wyze cam.

I have mentioned a couple of other fixes in this article to make your Wyze cam record events to SD card.

Refresh Your Wyze Cam

Wyze Cam unpowered

To kick off the troubleshooting procedure, try refreshing your Wyze device. A refresh can get rid of any latent bugs and errors that may have taken refuge in your device.

These interlopers can cause a plethora of other issues if left unattended.

Even if there exist quite a few methods to get rid of bugs and errors in your device, a system reboot remains the quickest yet efficient enough among all the other fixes.

A power cycle test should suffice for the time being.

With a power cycle test, you also get the added advantage of depleting any static charges that may have piled up on your system over time.

Doing so will unequivocally increase the system's efficiency and make it even faster. Here's how to do so:

Wyze Cam unplugged
  1. Start the process by unmounting the cam from the holder and unplugging the power cable and the SD card from the ports.
  2. Leave the device untouched for a few seconds.
  3. Then, press and hold the setup/power button for a few seconds. Perform this step a couple of times. Doing so takes care of the static charge depletion step.
  4. Plug back in the power supply and the SD card, and turn ON the device. Check for the issue now.

You could also reboot the device through the Wyze app. Before doing so, make sure to unmount the SD card.

Follow these steps to refresh your Wyze Cam through the Wyze app:

1. Open the app and navigate to the Livestream tab of your device.

2. Tap on the Restart option towards the bottom.

Plug back in the SD after the restart completes.

Update Wyze Cam and App

The next step towards thwarting bugs and errors from further ruining your Wyze Cams' operations is to update them to the latest firmware versions.

This very notion also applies to the governing Wyze app too.

Outdated firmware pretty much lays the path for all the bugs and errors popping up by the hour on the internet.

However, a device running on up-to-date firmware can hoist a more competent security firewall and hinder all these miscreants from penetrating your system.

And so, it's of absolute essence to keep all your devices up-to-date.

Follow these steps to update the firmware version of your Wyze device:

Wyze Account icon

1. Open the app and tap open the Account icon.

Wyze Firmware update tab

2. Navigate and open the Firmware Update tab.

Wyze Update tab

3. Scroll to your Wyze Cam tile and tap on the Update (clickable only when an update is available) option.

4. Complete the update and restart your Wyze cam.

If you can't find an update option next to your Wyze cam tile, your device might not have an update available at the moment.

Updating the Wyze app should also be taken care of since leaving it outdated can also lead to issues.

Open the appropriate application store on your Host device and check for updates for the Wyze app.

Wyze app update

Make sure to maintain a regular check for updates.

Check SD Card Configuration

SD card

While bugs and errors can cause a whole host of issues and make SD cards unresponsive, the blame cannot entirely rest on them.

Installing an SD card into your Wyze cam without knowing the appropriate requirements can also render the card useless.

Wyze recommends adhering to a few requirements to get the most out of your local recording solutions.

First, the SD cards you intend to use with Wyze Cams should be configured in the FAT32/exFAT formats.

All other formats like FAT 12 or FAT 16 may be useless for our purpose.

Next, the size and the type of SD cards also matter.

Wyze recommends using CLASS 10 SDHC cards for optimal recording. Sizes of about 8/16/32/64/128 should do just fine. (Use FAT 32 for sizes 32 GB and below)

If you're using an SD card above these recommended limits, you may face recording issues.

Downgrade to a lower storage option and then try recording continuously.

As for formatting the SD card to the appropriate configuration, you can do it right from the Wyze cam itself.

Refer to the next section for formatting the SD.

Wyze recommends using their proprietary SD cards for local recording purposes on their Cams.

You can find Wyze SD cards on their website wyze.com.

How to Format SD Cards Through Wyze

Wyze has provided its users with a pretty little nifty feature that allows you to reformat the SD card right from the device itself.

You should also know that formatting an SD card will cause all the resident files to get deleted. So, you might want to back up the content of your SD card before formatting it.

Reformatting the card also erases any malicious or corrupted files too.

Follow these steps on the Wyze app to format your SD after inserting it into the Wyze Cam:

1. Open the Livestream tab of the Wyze Cam with the SD card.

Wyze settings icon

2. Tap open the Settings icon and choose Advanced Settings.

Wyze Advanced Settings

3. Select Manage Micro SD card.

Wyze Manage SD card

4. Tap on the Format option and confirm the selection.

Wyze SD card format option

Check for the issue now.

You could also format the SD card from your PC. You may require a Card Reader to do so, though.

Follow these steps once you insert the card into your PC:

1. Open your computer's file browser and right-click on the SD card icon.

2. Click on the Format option.

3. Select the Format type - FAT 32/exFAT.

Click Start to initialize the format.

Check Wyze Settings

Once you've formatted the SD with the appropriate configurations, let's now check and modify the required Wyze settings to facilitate local recording.

Continuous recording, or recording to SD cards, as a matter of fact, is disabled by default on Wyze Cams.

Also, disabling certain features like the Motion Detection feature can have dire consequences.

Here are the many checks to be made on the Wyze app:

Check and Enable Continuous Recording on Wyze Cam

One distinguishing feature of Wyze Cams is its inherent ability to continuously record the happenings of its surroundings with the help of an SD card.

As you may already know, Wyze Cams do not offer continuous recording over cloud storage.

But if you so desire to record continuously, you could always enable the Continuos Recording option from the Wyze app, provided you have an SD card installed on your Cam.

Follow these steps on the Wyze app to enable continuous recording:

1. Open the Livestream tab of your Wyze cam and tap open the Settings icon.

Wyze Advanced Settings

2. Tap on the Advanced Settings menu and toggle ON the Record to Micro SD card option.

Wyze Record to SD card settings

3. Choose the Continuous option.

Exit the menu and restart your Wyze Cam. Check for the issue now.

If you've already enabled this feature, try toggling the feature OFF and then back ON again so as to refresh this feature.

You could also choose not to record continuously on your Wyze Cam. Instead, you can record only triggered events to your SD card rather than record them to cloud storage.

To do so, choose the Events Only option on the Record to Micro SD card menu.

Check the Motion Detection Settings on Wyze App

Motion detection plays a crucial role in triggering and recording events on Wyze cams.

Make a wrong move in this regard and you may very well have a dysfunctional Wyze Cam on your hand.

This results in the Wyze cam simply refusing to record events.

Hence, it's prudent to take a good look at this feature if and when the Wyze cam starts acting up.

Follow these steps to check and enable Motion Detection on your Wyze cam:

1. On the Wyze app, click and open the Settings icon towards the top right.

Wyze Event Recording Settings

2. Tap open the Event Recording tile.

Wyze Record Motion events

3. Check and make sure that the Record Motion events tile is toggled ON.

Exit the menu and restart your Wyze Cam. Check for the issue now.

While in the Event Recording menu tab, you might as well take a look at the Schedule tab. Make sure that recording is set to 'All Day' to record continuously.

Factory Reset Wyze Cam

Instead of going through with a system refresh or updating your Wyze Cam, you could always opt to hard reset the Cam.

But there is a huge caveat with this method.

The issue with factory resetting is that, even if it gets rid of all the bugs, errors, and stale files residing in your device, you'll have to reconfigure it once more like new.

A factory reset, as you may know, will delete all your personal preferences and reset all the system settings to their factory defaults. Gone are the AI detection preferences and schedules.

Nonetheless, a factory reset is one of, if not the most, effective fix for all the more bugs and errors infecting your system.

The process is a bit time-consuming, so do proceed with patience.

Follow these steps to Factory Reset a Wyze Cam:

Delete Wyze Cam confirm

1. Delete your Wyze Cam from the Wyze App. (Wyze app>Livestream>Settings>Device Settings>Delete Device>Yes)

2. Remove the SD card from the card slot.

Wyze Setup button

3. Press and hold the Setup button for about 15-20 seconds.

4. In about 20-40 seconds, the device will sound a voice message indicating the start of the reset.

5. When the LEDs on the Cam turn from Yellow to Blue (red on Wyze Cam v3), it indicates the end of the reset.

Wyze Cam LED blinking RED

Proceed to reconfigure your device like new. Reinstall the SD card and check for the issue now.

On Wyze Cam V3s, the LEDs turn from Yellow to Red to indicate the end of the reset.

Final Thoughts

Issues with SD cards on Wyze cams can easily be avoided by following the recommended configurations by Wyze.

Bugs and errors resulting from a recent update can also spiral things out of control on Wyze Cams. The fix, ironically enough, is to check and install a patch update addressing this very issue.

Check and ensure that you have enabled all the necessary settings on the Wyze app to facilitate continuous recording.

If you still experience the issue even after trying all of these fixes, better contact the customer services of Wyze for further assistance.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Does Wyze automatically record to an SD card?

Wyze Cams do not record automatically to SD cards unless you've enabled the continuous recording feature on your Wyze device. If you've enabled the said feature beforehand, you can record events and footage automatically to the SD card. Control the resolution of your footage from the Livestream tab.

Can I use a 64GB SD card in Wyze Cam?

Yes, you can use a 64 GB SD card on Wyze Cams. Make sure to use a Class 10 SDHC card formatted in the exFAT format to get the most out of your card.

How long can Wyze Cam record on an SD card?

The exact amount of footage recorded depends on the size of the card and the resolution of the footage hence recorded. For example, with a 32 GB card, you get about 2 days' worth of HD footage or 7 days' worth of SD footage.

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About Doug Stevenson

Hey! I'm Doug, My passion for tech started by fixing phones and computers for my friends and family.

I started Blinqblinq to give reliable tech advice to anyone who needs it, for free! If you have questions on anything tech-related, feel free to contact me.

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Doug Stevenson

Hey! I'm Doug, My passion for tech started by fixing phones and computers for my friends and family.

I started Blinqblinq to give reliable tech advice to anyone who needs it, for free! If you have questions on anything tech-related, feel free to contact me.

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