I’ve really wanted to like the motion and contact sensors. I was an early access member and received two contact sensors and a motion sensor. After several weeks of inconsistencies (randomly would go offline), Wyze customer support (which is great!) sent me a new box. Unfortunately, these were also working less than half of the time. I went through all the forums and Tips/Tricks posted, bought a new router (!), varied the sensor hub, and placed the sensors at various distances from the hub–they are just not reliable.
This really makes me question what is the primary use of this product? They can not be used as security devices where 100% reliability is needed, and my current use as triggers for lights are now an annoyance (e.g., I find my garage lights left on overnight) rather than any “value add” to my smart home setup. The cameras have been great, but a product failure this significant for a new company really makes me question the long term viability and has certainly given me pause when considering any future purchases from Wyze…
I don’t believe it is a complete product failure because I have not experienced any of those issues, I believe you and I know others have had issues also, I think with it still being a new product there are still things to figure out
Very strange. 
All my sensors have worked perfectly from day one.
I truly am glad to hear of some folks having success. Given some of the feedback on a few of the other threads, I do wonder what is the actual failure rate of this product line. It would be nice if Wyze would at least acknowledge what appears to be a substantial number of folks with unusable sensors.
I would also like to know failure rates, but I don’t think there is a company out there that really gives out that info and even if they do you have to question it.
That is a good point for sure. However, any failure with a sensor in particular calls into question its viability for use as a security device.
That is why they don’t sell them as security. People just use them as that.
What should they be used for? They may not advertise them as security cut they advertise as a working device. However the 20+ sensors I have only half work most of the time the other half go offline 2 to 3 times a day until I reset the cameras. I want to get the lights but if my sensors don’t work consistently than it’s pointless. I also use mine to chime a door open chime and record events. Both of witch don’t work when my sensors go down constantly
You can use them however you like, they are just not sold as security. Yes I agree they should work, but it is not that they are garbage because there are many people who have had no issues. I also have bulbs and have had zero issues. There are posts here where people have had issues setting them up and keeping them connected. Are there issues, yes, are they working to fix them, yes. This company is in its infancy and the products are even newer. There are growing pains you can’t catch every issue before release.
I saw a long thread on Reddit about this. The conclusion was the sensors use a very low power signal, as most such sensors do, that is very susceptible to interference.
A common source of interference is electrical motors believe it or not. Harmonics cause issues. Ceiling Fans, Box or Desk fans, Air Handlers, Refrigerator compressor motors etc. Also common is crosstalk issues with other wireless devices etc. Lastly certain types of drywall and framing can cause signal degradation etc. So it’s hard to be sure but it could be an noisy environment causing issues or bad gear.
It’s frustrating to not know that’s for sure.
If the sensors are susceptible to nearly any kind of interference, then how do security companies (SimpliSafe) or tech companies trying to masquerade as such (Ring) promote use of contact sensors? Or are the Wyze sensors uniquely low quality? Any failure rate of 2% or more would suggest this tech should not be used for security. I am having much less reliability (less than 50%) with my sensors that make even using them as triggers for light bulbs worthless. They are also scattered around the house and connected to different hubs at various distances, yet nearly all regularly fail. This would lead me to believe that these sensors are uniquely poor (maybe reflecting the low price?).
Oh don’t get me wrong, yes they are susceptible but that can be countered with repeaters and other means. And it’s obviously not an issue with most folks. I have cameras and sensors and other devices from Wyze and other vendors and I don’t suffer personally any of the issues some do.
And to be honest the transmitters in some true security rated contact sensors are much stronger. And of course for true high security applications wired, not wireless sensors are often used. Remember Wyze is very clear that their products are NOT security products. Rings sensor is much larger physically, has a much stronger radio and a much larger capacity battery.
FWIW I was seeing some sensors go offline periodically as well, with 3 in particular having frequent issues. I had two bridges already because I needed coverage for front and back yards, with sensors paired to the nearest bridge. After adding a third bridge and re-pairing the nearest sensors to that one I no longer have offline sensors.
Could be a coincidence, but at the moment I have no sensors that are more than 20ft from the bridge through walls, or more than 40ft line of sight. As a bonus if one WyzeCam is down I don’t lose all my sensors.
I use the sensors on my front and rear doors and have had no problems yet. P.S., since they first came out…
I also use one on my mailbox door so i know when I receive mail.
I have one on my washer knob so I know when I can move my wash to the dryer… My washer is in my lower level in a small room and usually I don’t hear the washer end it’s cycle. Fixed that problem.
So far I am enjoying them fully…
I will admit the double-sided tape is not the best but a small package of 3M tape cut to fit the switch or magnet works on any that come loose. A small problem easily eliminated…
I am sorry for those with problems but I am happy with all the Wyze products I am using… Cameras, switches, bulbs. I have had no need for the motion detector yet…
one of my sensor fails majority of the time but that one is the farthest from my hub. i kinda gave up playing with it though and moving the hub closer.
as for the motion detector. it triggers for every thing and i think if i remember correctly its either on of off. i don’t think i can set when i want the motion detection to happen (like when i am not at home). i have to manually turn it off when i am at home or else receive alerts all the time. then manually turn it on when i leave. unless there’s an IFTTT geofence trigger now?
My sensor failure rate is very high. I have two starter kits. One contact sensor didn’t work or power up right out of the box even with a tested good battery and Wyze replaced it. Another needed a new battery after less than a week. Beside that, although it has improved a good bit after the last firmware update, I get disconnects of the bridge from the camera. Rebooting through the app doesn’t always get the bridge to reconnect, but physically unplugging/replugging the power to reboot does reconnect the bridge.
I had trouble earlier making the contact sensor work on my garage door. I was able to fix this by adding another hub nearby and attaching the sensor piece (not the magnet) away from metal. Before when I had the sensor piece attached to the metal garage door, it will not work at all. It seems that it cannot transmit at all when attached to metal. After I mounted it away it started working.
My impression about these sensor devices are that they have limited range but still workable if you take time to tune it. Still worth it to me since they are low cost. If you have no patience to troubleshoot then you might just have to switch to more expensive devices. Wyze still has to improve range and reliability of these devices and I’m willing to be patient and work with it.
I also have problems with contact sensors and the motion sensor being reliable - was away from home recently, for less than a week. All was well for a few days; then, the motion sensor went off-line and would not reset remotely. Them each door contact sensor (2 - part of a Wyze sense package) went off-line, and would not reset. This has occurred before, and opening a door, with an offline sensor, would reactivate the contact sensors, but not this time. The motion sensor would never reset until deleted and re-added. I don’t feel that the system will be effective for security when I go away for 2 weeks.
I’ve been using the sensors from the starting kit. One set I put in my mailbox a month ago - so far it has worked pretty well, I get notification that mailbox has been opened / closed and it turns on Wyze bulb in one room. No issues, except when mail person stuffs the box and sometimes the sensor is moved enough that it stays Open. Saves me a trip down to the mailbox when they haven’t come yet or don’t have mail for the day. I just setup on my front door this week and it works well also. I just wish that the software would enable time and event programming for the motion detector so I could shut it off in the daytime.
Failure rate, I just came back from Indy after installing 14 sensors… 2 motion and the rest contact. It’s been about 7 days and now that I am remote I am on my third failure. One keeps going offline the other two are closed and Report open even though Sensor Lights flash properly. Similar experience with other people, opening and closing the sensor several times seems to jar it awake to report correct status. Unfortunately the robbery and burglary won’t think to do that. All attempts of removing and re-adding, distance and any other possible variable has been visited in debugging attempts. Do you have any update on this I would love to hear it after reading your report.