We have cameras in our house, living room and kitchen, that we prefer to turn off during the times we’re in those areas during the day. We use the On/Off button in the app for each individual camera. I like to be able to turn them on at night if I hear a noise downstairs or to see what the cats are destroying.
The problem is, the “Off” setting does not seem to truly turn the camera off. While I understand the need for the camera to remain connected to the wireless network to allow control of the On/Off function I don’t understand why I have heard the kitchen camera clicking (not the IR sensor) and the living room one spontaneously rebooting
So why are they doing this?
It’s actually a bit worse than that.
Only way to truly turn them off is to cut power. I have mine connected to Wyze plugs so that I can turn the cameras on and off.
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It’s more like “Standby” than “Off”. Same as all TVs and other smart devices. Maybe they should rename it to Standby 
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That’s a good suggestion, but again it’s even worse than “standby” since the camera is still both capturing and transmitting images (I think). Wyze is not the only brand that does this. Maybe “hide from this app” would be more accurate.
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Thank you all for responding. I’d also like to hear from Wyze with their explanation for this and what their resolution would be. I feel this is a very real security issue and it does not appear they are being particularly transparent. Is it a bug? Is it a back door? Is there a solution to truly turn off the camera through the app or what?
Failing a response from Wyze, it would appear my best bet would be to use smart plugs, (preferably from another vendor) to truly disable the cameras. However that introduces another layer of complexity and the security issues that come with it.
That said, does anyone have any recommendation for a smart plug that does not require the use of Alexa, Echo or other smart home device? Strictly app centric, no hub?
Thanks
You don’t need a hub or an Echo device to use the Alexa app to control devices. Also, all WiFi smart switches and cameras and plugs come with their own app that is not dependent on a hub.
Of course they all DO depend on remote Internet servers to work.
Not entirely true… The Kasa smart plugs can be turned on/off using command line scripts. I have mine operating with Domoticz using a python script. I think that there is one written in PERL as well. The script works with the wall switches as well, just not the double wall outlet. No internet required for operation, all though you do need to set them up with the app initially.
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I assume this doesn’t apply if you are using the sunrise/sunset function? I have several Kasa smart plugs and smart wall switches, good solid products and an app that works. After this last Wyze firmware update, motion detection is hosed on all my cams so I need to decide on a different line of cams to replace Wyze. Appreciate the info, gives me something new to play with. Thanks!
Domoticz has a sunrise/sunset function plus a feature to randomize within a period of time before and after sunrise to make it less predictable and more like someone is home. I hardly use the Kasa app.
Interesting, thanks. Do you assign them static IP addresses? (Not directly related to the Internet being down.)
I’m somewhat anal when it comes to IP addresses. I worked in IT for many, many years. All of my devices have reserved IPs assigned by my dnsmasq server running on a Raspberry Pi. Most of my devices need fixed IP and this way I can also control, to some extent, what gets on my network, along with strong passwords on my router.
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I came here to post about this very same issue and noticed this thread.
Would love any of the Wyze folks to answer what the camera is able to do when it is “off” is video still streaming to the cloud?
I find it concerning that my IR kicks on when I turn off the lights even though I have the camera “turned off”