I have been able to get the new AP up and running (needed to secure the network to get the camera to fully install).
I could then remove the Internet and the camera would still stream. The Android Wyze app would not restart without the Internet, it would only show the first green screen.
From streaming I could go to the home screen and restart streaming and likely switch cameras, but I only have one camera on this test network. I could take pictures saving them to the album, but could not switch the camera off (I receive a network error).
I have 2 V2 cameras that are running without internet - the app *whether Wyze or TinyCam) does require internet.
My config is that I have a dedicated router for the cameras. AFTER registering and confirming camera operation I assign static IPâs to each camera and block their MAC addresses from the internet.
I then use my Fire Tablet (or cell phone if I set it to Wifi only on the same router) and can access the cameras via TinyCam or the Wyze app without a problem. I donât record locally and have motion tracking/event reporting off.
Have been running this way for several weeks now. The last time I restarted my tablet was some 9,000 minutes ago and it is still recording live from both cameras using TinyCamâŚwhich I use for watching and recording.
Now if I need to re-register a camera (like when I was playing around with different SSIDs) I do need to unblock their internet access until they are re-registered.
@sjgschwend
It sure sounds like the Android version of the app different than the iOS version. Your experience (and that described by @IdahoSpud) is unlike mine. I can put the Wyze app into the background, return to it later, and still connect to the camera. This on a dedicated AP that does not have internet access.
Oddly, whatâs described by @nowheelstoday is different from yours. He/she is using a Fire tablet (ie., Android), and camera access seems to work fine despite the fact that the cameras allegedly have no internet access. I say allegedly because the method described to prevent the cameras from accessing the internet is to use MAC filtering to prevent them connecting to the WAN. There were reports published on Reddit last year that some Wyze cameras were dynamically reprogramming their MAC to something different if/when they discovered that they couldnât âphone homeâ. I mention that here as hearsay evidence - Iâve never replicated that particular scenario. It would be quite underhanded for an ethernet device to dynamically reprogram its MAC to avoid MAC-based blocking, but it is technically possible.
I learned the WYZE system would not work when we lost power a few weeks ago for several hours. A truck took down several power poles which also took out the cable service,
I got the generator online which powered up the wireless router, cable modem, and hardwired cameras. In other words, the WYZE system was back online like before the power outage other than no cable internet service. I learned the WYZE system is useless without internet service. I can understand not being able to remotely view cameras when not connected to my home network. I get that the Cam Plus AI would not work without being able to go to the WYZE servers. It appears the loss of internet connection is the Achilles heel of the WYZE systems. Shame on me for not realizing this when I started building my WYZE monitoring systems years ago. I would have thought at a minimum I would be able to locally view my cameras even without an internet connection, as long as the wireless router and cameras had power. Guess I should have invested in a hardwired CCTV system. Oh well, that is what I get for taking the lazy way out. Did not want to have to run coax throughout the house. Would appreciate any suggestions on how to at least be able to view the cameras locally.
