Installing WYZE Cam outside - one approach

But will they help the camera work in sub zero temps like we have up here in Canada?!

I don’t recall one thread where someone has said their camera quit because of the cold. There are plenty of threads about them working in subzero temps.

Apparently I’m the only one.
I have 2 that despite being inside the typical enclosures and up under soffits, repeatedly get “feeble” after a couple days of below freezing temperatures.
If anyone has ideas of what I may be doing wrong, I’m all ears.

That’s the first I’ve heard of it. Maybe some of the many people that get below zero can chime in. They would probably want to know what “feeble” is as far as symptoms. First thing I’d check is my connections for the power cable which may experience contraction and expansion and subsequent contact issues. You might also want to ask in one of the following threads.

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Hi Overwatch,

Those are very sound suggestions, But I’m doubtful since I’m using the power block and cable supplied with the cameras.

To bring you up to date, from a previous post:

“I’ve had slightly different results. I’ve used the Frienda iSmart cases mounted up under my eaves as close to the wall as possible, they worked flawlessly until the outside air temperature dropped below (approximately) freezing
for a few straight days, at which time performance dropped dramatically - intermittent communication, unreliable local recordings. As a result I’ve moved them all inside, looking through windows. I disassembled the cameras and covered the LEDs completely to
get around them “blinding” the cameras from the reflections, and use separate outside LED spotlights for illumination. I still have minor/medium reflection issues due to visible light, but will be experimenting with polarizing filters.”

Mark Brown

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I should have read your previous posts. That looks like a good sturdy mount. I went with the bird house style in black.
Are you using continuous recording or Event only recording? unreliable local recordings:

Intermittent communications? Is that watching live streaming, Playback or are you talking about Events not being in cloud? I’ve had issues with Events failing to upload and only recently seem to have resolved it.

I’m using separate IR sources as light myself and am greatly disappointed that IR control might have been removed from the latest beta version. Here’s my link on separate IR sources if you’re interested in non-visible floodlighting.

Event recording only.

Mark Brown

Sorry about all the edits to my previous post, I just wanted to point out the issues you are experiencing may be unrelated to the cold.

Very coincidental then, but I’m open to all ideas.

Mark Brown

Mine are outside, in the amazon cases with a little bit of overkill waterproofing (see previous post) and I’ve had zero issues with cold causing issues with operation. The cameras have been pelted with rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow… anything winter related and have had no issues. Getting hurricane force winds here in western NY later this weekend mixed with some snow so will see how that goes… as long as the power stays on!

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Maybe. Many factors to consider, like was the outdoor distance just far enough or just enough interference to cause problems. I went with continuous recording when I discovered the events only recording (V2) wasn’t tied to my sensitivity settings. My Events in the cloud worked great and then all of a sudden became intermittent. Re-adding the camera while next to the router and formatting the SD card in a Windows machine seemed to finally solve that. At least for now.

Did you see this? Looks like the IR control might be pulled from the next release.

I know. That’s what everyone else experiences too. I love these cameras and would really like to figure out what is causing my problem. If it was just one I’d chalk it up to something else, but I have 4, have rotated them around
indoor/outdoor locations, with repeatable results.

Even if I can’t resolve this, I’m still a huge fan and looking forward to NAS support and whatever other cool stuff happens.

Mark Brown

Yeah, I’d be rather upset if ir toggle was removed as it is the only way I have quality night vision with any of my cams. I have mine set for continuous record btw, alert zone is set for “important” areas however I wanted the capability of reviewing footage from everything in view if I noticed something out of place, not right or damaged.

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Just a thought… have you tried rebooting your wireless router? I had some strange buggy operation issues a while back and a quick hard router reboot (unplugged for a min and restore power) and all was good again.

LOL, I was waiting for that😉

Mark Brown

Unfortunately, power cycling the equipment does solve many issues. Especially those with extenders, routers and separate modems. :+1:

Sure does, My career involves traffic monitoring devices, cameras, electronics, routers, switches and modems… typically 9 out of 10 times a hard reset will bring everything back up to operational status. Crazy to think that with all the tech out there today someone would have to physically go out and reset something like that but I’m not complaining. That’s job security at its finest!

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Speaking of traffic monitoring devices, should I put this in as a #roadmap?

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Weird. My outdoor camera has survived -60 F windchill (-40 actual temp) this winter, and it’s just in one of those silicone sleeve things, completely exposed to the elements, bolted to a wall 2 stories in the air. Of course, it’s also only about 15 feet from the router, through the outside wall. Maybe the camera has a capacitor inside that looses some capacity when it’s frozen causing the wifi range to lower?

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