Wyze v3 Get RTSP: How-To Guide [2023]

RTSP is a crucial component required for monitoring captured footage and fortunately, Wyze has worked on it and pushed out updates to enable it across their v3 cameras.

Unfortunately, the rollout has not been as effective and many users are still to get their hands on a working RTSP model.

So I decided to make this in-depth troubleshooting guide on how to properly set up RTSP on your Wyze v3.

To get RTSP on your Wyze v3 cam, flash the beta firmware provided by Wyze onto the Wyze v3 using a microSD card. Note that it comes at the expense of regular software updates and unstable Wyze app features.

How to Add RTSP to Wyze v3?

Unfortunately, for Wyze v3, RTSP can't be natively supported due to hardware limitations. But due to popular demand, Wyze has released a beta firmware that adds RTSP for Wyze v3.

But there are caveats associated with it, in that, you'll lose select features of the Wyze app that can hinder your experience and even sometimes be a deal-breaker.

But if you are okay with the drawbacks, then it is a matter of flashing the new beta firmware, which you can do yourself with the following step-by-step guide.

Prerequisites

For updating the stock firmware to the beta firmware on the Wyze v3, the following things need to be kept ready:

• The Wyze v3 camera, of course.

• A computer with an unzip program like WinRar or NanaZip, for unzipping and file transfer. Using a phone or tablet may not work as intended.

• The beta firmware file can download from here.

• A FAT32 formatted microSD card to flash the firmware onto the Wyze v3. Make sure it is formatted to FAT32 and not exFAT and exclusively used for this purpose.

• MicroSD card adapter to attach the microSD card onto the computer.

Installation Process

Simply follow the following steps precisely to properly flash the beta firmware onto the Wyze v3:

• Pair the Wyze v3 camera with the Wyze account on the Wyze app.

• Unzip and extract the downloaded beta firmware file by right-clicking on the zip file and selecting extract all. You can choose the extract location at your convenience.

• Rename the extracted file as demo_wcv3.bin

• Copy this demo_wcv3.bin firmware file onto the root directory of the microSD card. Make sure the microSD exclusively only contains the demo_wcv3.bin firmware file on it.

• Insert the microSD card onto the Wyze v3 camera after unplugging it.

• Locate the Setup button, which is the line strip button on the top parallel to the microSD card.

• While plugging in the USB cable, hold the Select button till the lights turn purple.

• Release the setup button and wait 3 to 5 minutes while plugging in for the Wyze camera to initiate flashing the new firmware and reboot safely.

If done correctly, the Wyze app will detect the Wyze v3 as normal and you have successfully installed the beta firmware with RTSP support onto the Wyze v3.

Enabling RTSP

Now that the beta firmware has been successfully flashed onto the Wyze v3, simply follow the following steps to enable RTSP:

• Open the Wyze app and make sure the Wyze v3 camera is connected.

• Open Settings and tap on Advanced Settings.

• Select RTSP and let the app detect the RTSP beta firmware on the Wyze v3 camera.

• Turn on the RTSP toggle to enable RTSP.

• Set up credentials for the camera. These are specific to the Wyze v3 camera, so make sure the credentials are safely backed up.

• After logging in, click on Generate URL.

Using the RTSP link, one can freely stream through any RTSP-compatible media player, like Quicktime and VLC.

What is RTSP?

RTSP (Real-Time Streaming Protocol) is a protocol introduced for Internet Protocol(IP) cameras indenting to serve as a standard set of rules for monitoring real-time video streams.

Although they are old technology, they are still one of the most relevant Streaming Protocols used in CCTV cameras and home security solutions.

RTSP basically introduces an application layer that communicates with the media server to send commands such as play and pause in real-time, instead of downloading the footage.

This makes sure the actions are much faster, less data is used during the process and ultimately, RTSP acts as a network remote control for the media servers.

I have made this chart to further elaborate upon the different supported technical specifications the RTSP protocol brings to the table:

Compatibility	Specifications
Audio Codecs	AAC, AAC-LC, HE-AAC+ v1, HE-AAC+ v2, MP3, Speex, Opus, Vorbis
Video Codecs	H.265, H.264, VP8, VP9
Playback	Only RTSP-compatible video players like Quicktime and VLC are compatible
Latency	2 seconds

Having RTSP support can bring forward a lot of benefits for the system, such as much lower latency and much less data used during the process whilst having greater control.

All this translates to better detection capabilities and communication.

But it does have its drawbacks in that quality is not considered a priority, and the experience is rather shoddy compared to other streaming protocols.

And so features like Vehicle detection on Wyze Cam can take a hit if RTSP is not configured properly.

Although there are newer and better streaming protocols available, the inclusion of RTSP still makes a lot of sense in traditional CCTV and Wyze cameras like v3.

Drawbacks of Beta Firmware

Although the beta firmware enables RTSP support for Wyze v3 users, it does come with quite a few drawbacks that can be a deal-breaker for many Wyze v3 users:

1. Aside from select security patches, the beta firmware is not intended to be updated according to Wyze. Hence it is bound to forever stay beta and for Wyze enthusiasts only.
2. A great chunk of AI and Cam-Plus features introduced by the Wyze app will be unstable or inaccessible to all Wyze v3 users running the beta firmware.
3. Although the Cam Plus premium monthly subscription of Wyze for cloud storage works fine, there can be video lag issues if both functions are streaming at the same time.

Disable RTSP and go Back to Stock Firmware

If the drawbacks are too hard to ignore and if you want to reset the Wyze v3 back to its factory settings, it is possible to do so.

To disable the RTSP function after setting it up, follow the following steps:

• Open the Wyze app and make sure the Wyze v3 camera is connected.

• Open Settings and tap on Advanced Settings.

• Select RTSP and let the app detect the RTSP beta firmware on the Wyze v3 camera.

• Turn off the RTSP toggle to disable RTSP.

To flash the stock firmware back on the Wyze v3, simply follow the following steps:

• Pair the Wyze v3 camera with the Wyze account on the Wyze app.

• Download the latest stock firmware onto the computer from here.

• Unzip and extract the downloaded stock firmware file by right-clicking on the zip file and selecting extract all. You can choose the extract location at your convenience.

• Rename the extracted file as demo_wcv3.bin

• Copy this demo_wcv3.bin firmware file onto the root directory of the microSD card. Make sure the microSD exclusively only contains the demo_wcv3.bin firmware file on it.

• Insert the microSD card onto the Wyze v3 camera after unplugging it.
• Locate the Select button, which is the line strip button on the top parallel to the microSD card.

• While plugging in the USB cable, hold the Select button till the lights turn purple.

• Release the setup button and wait 3 to 5 minutes while plugging in for the Wyze camera to initiate flashing the new firmware and reboot safely.

This resets the firmware back to its stock firmware settings, disabling RTSP mode but instead enabling all the latest and greatest features Wyze has to offer for the v3 camera.

Final Thoughts

Although Wyze claims that RTSP is not natively supported for their v3 cameras due to hardware limitations, the fact that they worked on the firmware to enable it is commendable.

A Cam Plus subscription does provide more features than what RTSP promises, so do check it out.

The user community surrounding Wyze is the main advantage Wyze has over its competitors and as long as they have a good reputation amongst its user base, it will stay on top.

I hope my article on enabling RTSP on the Wyze v3 IP cameras has been a knowledgeable read and helped solve your RTSP issues.

Have a great day!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Does the Wyze v3 camera support ONVIF?

The Wyze v3 is unfortunately not compatible with the ONVIF protocol yet, but it is possible to implement the same using third-party software.

Does the Wyze v3 camera support 5GHz WiFi?

Since it prioritizes network range over bandwidth, the Wyze v3 does not support a 5GHz band and needs a traditional 2.4GHz WiFi with WPA/WPA2.

How to reset the Wyze v3 camera?

To reset the Wyze v3, plug in the camera to power. Then press and hold the setup button for 10 seconds till the lights flash to initiate the reset process.

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