Wyze wifi smart security cameras?

[CraftyChops]

I'm looking at getting Wyze wifi smart cameras? Anyone had experience with them? I want something that I can use with Google Home or Samsung SmartThings. Google Nest is waaay over my budget. Geewiz seems to have good prices.
Any other wifi smart cams you can recommend?

 

[spiff]

I'm looking at getting Wyze wifi smart cameras? Anyone had experience with them? I want something that I can use with Google Home or Samsung SmartThings. Google Nest is waaay over my budget. Geewiz seems to have good prices.
Any other wifi smart cams you can recommend?

I had the camera, motion sensor and a few door sensors, bought in 2019 through geewiz cost about R2500. I was lecturing at our sister college in Pretoria at the time and needed something to monitor my house while away.

All worked great untill the sensors batteries started dying.

The first sensor battery I replaced, the sensor never worked. Would not pair with the wyze usb hub at the back of camera.

After another sensor battery replacement resulted in the sensor not pairing I looked online for answers.

Turns out the sensors get bricked after a battery replacement. I logged a complaint with wyze but they first denied the issue, then after I sent them the link to the wyze forum and all the complaints regarding the battery issue they offered me a complete free replacement of all the wyze units I bought but when I gave my South Africa address they declined to send me the free replacements.

Eventually the motion sensor battery died. Replaced battery and that was the last time that motion sensor worked. Would not pair to my network.

The camera still worked as it mains powered however everytime there's a firmware update the camera looses the network and must be manually unplugged and rebooted and network details entered.

Not very helpful when I'm in Pretoria


I'm sure they've fixed the battery and camera issue since then, but I won't buy wyze stuff again.

 

[Sensorei]

I've been using Wyze cams for over 5 years, and upgraded to the v3 end of 2020. They aren't perfect, but they do what they're supposed to, are easy to use and none of them have died on me yet. Cheap and effective. You can hook them up with IFTTT for custom notifications like have Alexa tell anyone in the yard to f*k off if there's a person detected in the early hours of the morning.

I can confirm that I've also noticed this issue with requiring a reboot after a firmware update, so I just don't agree to a firmware update the firmware when I'm away. It's not like the camera will randomly stop working because there's an update available.

I have't tried the motion sensors but I did get some door sensors. Unfortunately they won't tell you if the door is in open or closed state, so I still have to check the camera to see if we've forgotten the garage door open. They are just contact sensors, but they work and battery life is decent.