How to Keep Your Cloud Video Recordings Free with Cam Plus Lite

You will see one long video under ā€œview playbackā€ at the bottom while viewing a live stream of the camera. You can switch back and forth from live stream to view playback.

My Wyze SD card video never worked anyway. Iā€™m going to try yet again with some new cards.

That is a brilliant idea and would have made things so much clearer. (Iā€™d throw in the word ā€œcardā€ to distinguish from Standard Definition quality.). I am not ashamed to admit that I also didnā€™t understand the difference between where SD video and Event videos were kept until I read it here a few years ago.

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I had to ask about how to view the sd card early on as well. I thought the playback was just an event timeline since I didnā€™t notice there were segments over 12 sec.

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This is not the the case. I have used my cameras for several years. I know where to view playback. On all of my cameras, when I clicked on playback button, I received a pop up that said ā€œadd an SD card or upgradeā€ window. And before the challenged folks comment returns. All 12 of my cameras have SD cards. I was only stating what I had experienced. Possible this changed in one of the firmware updates?

It would be strange if all your SD cards failed. I only got 2 v2, SD recording only failed when a very old sd card crapped out just recently. I have a less old card in my other v2 that has been fine since the beginning in ā€˜19 when I started using it. The older was not a class 10 but did work for quite a while. The less older one is a sandisk class10 that was previously in a gopro. But then, Iā€™ve never been without cloud video or PD, I was in the original trial for the PD ai change over from the xnor.ai and even now with my account screwed up, PD and video remain functional, so I can only relay my personal experience of no issues with sd recording.

Did someone say SD Card?? :wink:

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Thatā€™s not going to happen. Subscription services are pure profits!

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Explain pure profit when it comes to cloud storage.

Wyze has to pay for that. Itā€™s ridiculous to think theyā€™d continue to give that away for free when it costs them just to provide that service.

Also: there is a free option for cam plus lite, you arenā€™t required to pay for it.

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I agree 100% on let ME store MY video with what I thought were MY cameras. I have been waiting since day one for something like that through Wyze, but not in there marketing plans, like a windows program/app.

I stopped buying from them a long time ago over this. I am mud with friends, family and the boss for recommending Wyse. I get lots of calls about Wyze for ā€œmyā€ GOOD deed that I made nothing on, trusted Wyze and get cut off myself. Great. Good news, I never got rid of my old system. But MANY other did not have that option and I spread the word on Wyze.

Better motion detections, a small loop on the recorded video (to over write the old) would help I would think for the issue. My other system allows masks and sensitivity settings to stop recording junk. People will use it after they wade through junk to find a real event. I knew it was odd I buy an item, great price but can not store my own personal video, should have known.

If Wyze saw all this unused space they pay for, why did they not mail, warn, remove it (if never used/seen)??

If I had time, I know there are hacks. But, like Wyze, I am a small person (like company; short of time, knowledge, etc.) and work hard to pay my bills. Not everyone can do this. I can and will not, no time. I feel ripped off.

I feel this is a bait and switch plan to increase revenues down the road, And if required to give a CC number to get ā€œfree serviceā€, I see that a lot. That is a scam to me as well. Why would I want my personal information on the web with a company (for no charges) that had more debugs, updates, issues, etc. I do not need to worry about that. The video made it look like not credit card is needed. I will maybe check it out. WHEN I HAVE TIME. Disappointing to me and many people I told about Wyze.

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When developing, manufacturing and advertising the rollout of WYZE cameras and features, the WYZE business model had to figure in the cost of 12 second storage. One of the reasons itā€™s only 12 seconds. Any subscription fees for the original 12 second storage are pure profit!

After the successful launch of Cam1, Cam2 and PanScan WYZE started subscription services. WYZE modified the original business model for increased profits.

Granted, anything over the 12 second recording time causes more cloud storage business cost, the original 12 second cloud storage was known and a built in cost to the development and initial offering of camera and features to customers.

WYZE attempts to increase profits from the original camera roll out plan are obvious to the majority of customers. Many are dumping the product due to the constant firmware and application software problems that removed the original features which were included when the cameras were purchased.

Many customers have pointed out the problems on social media.

WYZE customers are moving stay from WYZE due to original feature failures and purchasing cameras that back up full motion to home router storage and NAS.

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FWIW, if Wyze set themselves up for a recurring charge on your cc acct, you can go into your cc acct and have them remove it. Ya, I know, one more hassle!

Iā€™ve suggested this many times to Wyze, but they ignore it - the simplest solution would be more like cloud storage providers, google drive for example, a set limit of free GB of storage. They can offer UP TO 14 days free but LIMITED to the number of GB that they used for their analysis. Letā€™s say 10Gb. You decide then if you want 10sec videos up to x sec videos, maybe 90 sec max, you decide if you want 1 min of cooldown up to 5 min of cooldown, and we can chose all motion or just person events, they can show us an estimator for the time of stg for hd video as we adjust our settings so we can make a reasonable estimation of what is best for each cam. Then if reality shows we fill up our stg in 2 days, we can either adjust our settings or subscribe for additional stg (cam lite plus). Of course they can still offer camplus (premium) with the enhanced AI and less limitations and the pro with facial recognition, etc. This just makes much more sense to me. I donā€™t see any more difficulty in coding and it doesnā€™t eliminate subscriptions for those that need it. But this levels the playing field for the free users. Now, letā€™s hear why itā€™s fraught with problems?

Since I started, I asked Wyze why is it that those with frequent motion events get 14 days worth of storage capacity that is probably 10x what someone like me uses, who has minimal motion events but gets the same 14 days, meanwhile I could have little to no cooldown and all motion and still be well under the high capacity user and Iā€™d use even less if I could select only save person events. No one from @WyzeTeam ever replied and I got tired of mentioning the idea. Plus itā€™s hard to believe no one at Wyze has considered thisā€¦ you can bet when Wyze finds that a majority of the current free users have not contributed due to feeling like theyā€™ve been victimized, and they are still going in the red on server stg due to the unlimited 14 days of stg, then maybe weā€™ll see a more rational approach.

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And the cost of cloud storage hasnā€™t increased in 10 years?

And itā€™s not like theyā€™re forcing everyone to subscribe for a cost. There is still a free option.

Not to mention Wyze still allows people to use their SD cards for event and continuous recordings.

So again, there are plenty of ways to keep this a free service, no one is forced to pay.

Do I think Wyze needs to do a better job of explaining the events tab? Absolutely.

But itā€™s quite frankly silly to think theyā€™d be able to continue to give everything away for free when the costs of cloud storage continue to rise. No one can predict the future or how much something will cost in the future.

These cameras are some of the least expensive in the market. Sure, they could just charge more for the cameras up front, but as weā€™ve seen with the continued increase in the costs of cloud storage for people whoā€™ve had these cameras for YEARS, itā€™s not a sustainable model. Economics 101. They need to adapt or theyā€™ll go out of business. Going out of business will make a lot more people angry than asking people to pay what they think itā€™s worth (even if itā€™s free).

Personally, Iā€™d rather see Wyze continue to grow as a company and in their offerings rather than go bankrupt over a bunch of people whining about being asked to subscribe to a service they can STILL get for free.

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  1. WYZE hasnā€™t been around for 10 years. They started July 2017

  2. WYZE had full knowledge of cloud services cost when they advertised and released the low cost cameras.

  3. Outdoor cameras now fail to backup to the base station. Several iOS updates have failed to restore the advertised feature. If the outdoor camera is stolen the recorded video and microSD is lost! So the advertised features at time of purchase are not available!

  4. The firmware changes stopped the 12 second cloud storage for many customers. Many wondering why, they were not aware of the change.

Many purchased cameras for security. Now they are overloaded with product advertising in the application software that has nothing to do with security!

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I didnā€™t say theyā€™ve been around for 10 years, I was just giving an example that prices increase for cloud storage over time and thereā€™s no tried and true way to know what those costs will raise to over time. Wyze said themselves that not charging for some of these services is making this unsustainable to continue. The cameras cost no longer covers the charge for cloud storage per device anymore since some people have had their cameras for years. And again, they are not forcing anyone to pay. There is still a free option.

Wyze made several attempts to notify customers though all the means they had available: in app notifications, emails, social media, and forums. I received at least 6 notices in app and via email. Wyze canā€™t control whether people read those notifications, but Wyze did their due diligence.

Iā€™ve not had issues with base station backup, I was not aware anyone was having that issue. This is the first Iā€™ve heard of that particular issue.

I donā€™t see advertisements in the app, but I have that turned off. I only get notified of important changes.

  • I would guess no more than 10% who choose Cam Plus Lite will opt to pay $0. My first thought was 20% but I think thatā€™s too high.

  • I would guess Wyze would prefer no more than 5% ā€˜freeloaders.ā€™

  • I was surprised how many objected to the ā€˜guiltingā€™ one is required to endure to opt $0.

  • I wish I had screenshots of the exact sequence and phrasing.

  • Iā€™m guessing theyā€™re ā€˜guiltingā€™ because itā€™s effective, ie, it worked in the Legacy PD Pilot.

 
Hereā€™s a sequence from the big Cam Plus Lite announcement thread I think is worth highlighting.

Click to expand

That was THEIR original business plan and how they made a name for themselves! Itā€™s on them, not the customer.

Before WYZE came along, Ring, Nest, and pretty much every other cloud based camera system charged a hefty price for the camera and then another $2 per device or $120 a year for ā€œunlimitedā€ devices. Then the scrappy startup from the Seattle area came along and said they were there to disrupt the market and show the world how overpriced those other guys were and how they were super smart and could not only sell a cheaper camera but also give away 12 seconds of free storage (5 min cool-down). There wasnā€™t even a paid storage option then!

Those of us who follow tech media were super skeptical from the start. It doesnā€™t take a fancy big city MBA to figure out that in order for a company to offer a $25 camera and lifetime free storage and not go bankrupt, at least one the following had to be true:

  • The whole thing is a Ponzi scheme and the company would just go out of business in a year or two or however long it would take for people to catch on that the new cameras are paying for the old cameras and theyā€™d take the investor money and run.

  • The cameras are poorly built and would need replacing after a few months

  • Itā€™s a bait and switch- entice people to come over, keep buying and being invested in the system, and then change the terms. Thatā€™s kind of what happened here.

  • The customer is the actual product- all the footage that is captured will be used to improve AI and they make their money off the knowledge they gained by that. I would respect that actually if they came out and said it.

  • They know that this business model is completely unsustainable and they are just trying to get a big enough userbase of cheapskates so that a Google, Amazon, or Apple just buys them out and then with the millions of dollars in their pockets, they can go around bragging about how they once had a startup that ā€œchanged the security camera marketā€ā€¦

  • They are completely incompetent in business and couldnā€™t build a simple graph that showed that at some point, the storage money overtakes the $25 people paid for the camera.

At any rate, none of that is the customerā€™s problem. The customer only has one job: Read the terms of the product they are purchasing and if they agree with it, pay the money for that. The customers did their part, already but now WYZE has come to change the terms and put the guilt trip on them while their fanboys come and call them freeloaders if they donā€™t pay. Thatā€™s the issue here.

From my point of view, I paid for a camera system that advertised 12 second recordings with built in person detection. I bought into that and paid for the cameras and even when person detection was taken away (details of why XNOR ended their agreement is irrelevant to the end user), bit my lip and didnā€™t sign up for free person detection online, but now with them coming out and making it seem like Iā€™m getting something for nothing if I donā€™t pay is where I have the issue. And yes, I am labeled ā€œfreeloaderā€ now, but from my point of view, I am not getting anything that they didnā€™t offer when I bought my first camera from them. I am a man of my words and am honoring what I signed up for.

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I follow tech news as well, have for years. I was skeptical of Wyze, but in my opinion, they havenā€™t changed anything. They recognized their mistake in not taking into account increases in cloud storage cost and made a claim that ended up not being sustainable. They STILL offered those plans for free. And they are now still allowing people to not pay for these things. Thereā€™s no bait and switch there.

Yes, they made a switch in how those free services are offered, and gave people the option to pay whatever price they want - including free- but to do that they went to a subscription model. It literally took me 5 minutes max to go through the steps to enable the free option on cam plus lite. It ainā€™t that deep, to be honest.

And letā€™s be honest here, Wyze services, even the paid model, is cheaper than any other system Iā€™ve come across from Ring and other competitors. I have ring products as well, Iā€™m well aware of what competitors charge.

If you want to complain about having to take a little bit of time to switch to the subscription model and get the service for free, go right ahead. But you cannot say itā€™s a bait and switch when theyā€™re still honoring free services.

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This is all a shame to me, and I bought other items outside of the electronics as well.

But I also sold many of the cameras for Wyze, when they worked. Now fees. Most of the I things I bought I no longer use because of either battery life, disconnected when I really need them, or the worse, going to show someone or use them myself and I need to update (I know I can skip it, did it for years, but annoying to me and the person Iā€™m showing). Fix the bugsā€¦

The cloud was never my choice. I wanted MY CAMERAS to save to MY PERSONAL VIDEO to MY whatever (network drive or local drive). Now I have camera I can no longer use because of this cloud/marketing issue. Well maybe I can again, for now? If I did this over I would have never bought. My old system is still in place, many years, recording local, many software features. I am lucky there, I thought Wyze was bring it to the world.

The cloud was not a big deal 10 years ago either, and I will no longer go back to the days of rental software of the 90ā€™s (subscriptions on something that is not reliable no less). Too many free or ā€œopenlyā€ donatable programs. I am almost retired, I do not look to spend my last days handing out cash.

I feel I was cheated on a product. I misled family, friends and others. I bought because ā€œit sounded too good to be trueā€.

Now I have to jump through hoops to get back what I thought I bought. Great. Maybe. Walk family and friends that call though it as well. How long this time. How much trouble next time. And if I am asked for a Credit card, DONE.

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While itā€™s obviously not 100% profit, itā€™s obviously some profit. Consider the millions of cams out there, say only 10MM, then say only 10% of those have a subscription, so 1MM. Now letā€™s guesstimate the average cam subscription brings in only $1/mo, so thatā€™s $12MM per year in revenue that Wyze has structured to return a minimum profit. Multiply that by the actual number of subscriptions and you can see why itā€™s a priority for Wyze. Plus itā€™s a regular cash flow that they can rely on for paying the bills. Itā€™s their cash cow

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