Outdoor camera found full of water

do i need to say more. the second outdoor camera has been functioning fine for the most part. but this one has had battery trouble runs down in 3 -4 weeks. now doesnt work at all. all the ports were fully sealed anf full of water.

I dont mind products that break, things happen, but to be ignored from this company is unacceptable to me. while i have been submitting requests to get a replacement, I recieved two replys back basically just giving me trouble shooting direction, which i have become a pro at after owning these.

These are really throw aways at this point. if one can’t get support to respond in a resaonable amount of time to correct the problem then this company is being run badly.

Welcome to the forums! How and where did you have it mounted?

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This is mounted in the front yard and has the same exposer to snow and rain as the other. this camera has had issues from the start.

also, thgank you for the welcome.

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Thanks for the photo! The brick chimney and the chimney innards may play games and not help your base station connection.is that just the mount? How was the wco connected to the mount? (Kinda blurry and hard to tell). Any possibility to mount the camera under the eve to the right there to help protect it?

the signal was full bars, it has a direct line of sight with the base unit through the window. the base for the outdoor camera is magnetic, hence anyone can just pluck it off, so i mounted high enough to make it difficult to reach without a stool or chair. under the eve… anyone could just reach up and take it. thanks for the suggestions, but for me if its made for outdoor, then i should not have to play games with location to protect the untit. dont you agree? also the outdoor camera i have mounted in the back yeard has similar exposer to the weather.

While i cant comment on the V3 as im still waiting for mine while its lost in USPS hell… i do have 3 V2s with outdoor enclosures. You could create a small cover above the camera to give it a small amount of added protection, you shouldnt have to i agree, but it is helpful in the long term. Ive done this with one of my cams and it does help.

Another thing to do is adding a small amount of dielectric grease to the port of any camera being powered by USB or to the ports in general to be safe.

You also have the option of making your own enclosure as a fun little project. Even if its just the top of the cam that has extra protection it can go a long way, as i mentioned above.

With that said, i agree u shouldnt have to fiddle around with putting cams that are supposed to be weather protected in better protected locations, but it is better for them as a whole, weather protected cams or not theres always a chance of failure.

I doubt ud be willing to try any of these, but they are merely options to consider.

I totally agree, it should withstand the weather. But if in that location the camera still gets full of water, and if I can make a slight adjustment to it’s location to improve or make the camera safer, I would.

Have you watched that.location during rain? How much water runs down the wall along the brick? Like I said it should stay sealed and be safe, I just wonder how the water got in your camera.

i agree with everything you wrote, and you are right, i wont waste my time with this product to “protect it better” but what i will do is call this an experiment and start over with and proven product even though i know ill spend more money to do so. thank you for your support and ideas , J

yes it gets pelted with rain and snow depending on the wind. i also wonder about how the water was able to penetrate, either the riubber seals for the ports (which were both closed accordingly or a seal somewhere else. thank you for your comment and your efforts to help, j

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How water got in is something that would take some investigating. Since it’s a WCO, and angled down I’m going to have to guess it must have been the ports on the back. USB is only protected by the rubber covers you press back in place after charging, if it’s loose, or works loose in wind, temp changes, and water hitting it, that would be the entry point. The V3 camera needs external power, and they added a pigtail which makes this less likely of a problem. I can’t see that being used on WCO. the only “better” option I can think of would be to move the ports to the bottom of the camera.
As far as protection, most will try to get them out of the direct impact of rain, roof runoff, and full on lens side sun. For one, it means less cleaning needed, and for another, no matter how weatherproof it is, it’s made of plastic, and those things age it. A little protection could extend the life of any camera.
When people on these forums seem worried about the cameras being stolen, I find myself a little puzzled. For someone to steal, they probably have to walk right up to the camera, and look right in the lens to take it. To start, the camera just being there and visible stops most just as a deterrent to any kind of thieves even entering the yard. Then 99% aren’t going to have any idea that it is magnetically mounted, and won’t want to walk up and be filmed pulling on it to check.

your comments are apprecaited. but to be fair, they are either outdoor or not. while i suspect short term they will hold up, i do not have confidence thet these outdoor cams in the currrent configuration are a long term answer. and while i waited for delivery for months, i find i can just buy them in home depot. so i will throw this one away, and buy another. once this happens a second time, they all get tossed.

Great idea, they just need to perform as promised.

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