UPDATE:
Wyze offered to replace my camera and SD card - for which I am grateful. I found it interesting that they didn’t want me to overnight the damaged camera back to them for inspection. They’re processing the new camera through normal channels (new one ships in 1-3 business days, via UPS (4-7 days))… then I’m supposed to put the old camera in the box and mail it back to them (ground). Doesn’t seem like there’s a real sense of urgency, so they must not think it’s a big problem.
To answer some of the previous questions: My camera was purchased February 18th, from Amazon. I hadn’t previously used the SD card until the night that the “thermal event” took place.
FIRE OR NO FIRE: I can attest to the fact that the camera casing contained the “thermal event” largely, even though it was hot enough to melt the plastic to the SD card, and leave brown “burn signatures” around the slot. At the time, the camera was sitting on my console table, less than an inch away from a paperback book on one side and a candle on the other. I have reason to believe based on the heat, smoke, smell and the scouring on the unit, that if it had been close enough to a flammable source, it could have caught something on fire. Regardless, the fact that this device doesn’t have or isn’t functioning with an adequate thermal fuse, is scary.
SERIAL NUMBERS: There are no date codes on the exterior of these devices, but WYZE should be able to determine the lot, and mfg period either by opening the case or by cross referencing the MAC ID to a presumed production calendar. Once they identify the root cause, they should recall any potentially affected devices proactively. The AC adapter is supply is UL listed (Product iQ | UL Solutions), though it doesn’t appear the camera itself is - which wouldn’t necessarily be required if it’s low voltage (though recommended). Hopefully their manufacturing facilities are running a tight ship and can track affected units adequately.
PATTERN OF OCCURRENCE: Even if the root cause is limited to a small manufacturing batch, my guess is there are many more “potentially hazardous” cameras out there that either won’t present an issue or will present an issue much later in time – largely because I’m guessing most people will not initially or ever use their cameras with SD cards.
AMAZON REVIEWS: There is at least one other photo on Amazon of a Camera SD slot having a thermal event – back in January… I’m curious what efforts were made by Wyze to recover that product, and what root cause analysis has been done in the past 4 months to ensure that others were not affected.
I’m far from a lawyer, but I’m confident any further responses from Wyze will cautiously avoid the term “fire” and avoid other sensitive implications – for legal reasons. I’m also guessing their product, engineering managers and legal team will soon takeover these messages – so don’t expect much in terms of updates shortly after this… though I hope they choose a path of transparency and proactivity. We shall see.
I’m not trying to attack Wyze in the court of public opinion – in fact, I’m looking forward to getting my replacement camera and using it. However, I can also tell you that waking up the smell of electrical fire at 2am, scrambling for a fire extinguisher (not knowing yet where the smell was coming from) and worrying about whether the fire was in the walls, behind an appliance, etc… is not something anyone should have to do. Luckily, my situation was not worse than it was. My hope is they address this proactively and transparently and remove any additional defective products that could be in households so that no one else has to experience what I did (or worse).
Offer stands - let me know if you want this camera expedited back to you -