I agree that it isn’t just the splitter. Or the cable.
I’ve taken the same good Spotlight and made it work with a different cable (and then splitter) that failed with another Spotlight kit. And then took that bad Spotlight and it still failed when replacing it with the good splitter and cable (and Cam) that just worked.
The overall product and design are flawed.
I returned 5 of 7 of my kits, and we will see if the last two also end up getting returned.
Just to add, I did come across some name brand USB chargers that said they were 2 amps or 3 amps but that still didn’t work for me. They worked as far as powering the camera but the spotlight still wasn’t found. I think these were pre-Power Delivery Fast Charge chargers that required some sort of negotiation with the phone/tablet for the higher amps and the v3 isn’t a phone so falls back to the “regular” 5 volt 1 amp USB specification.
The v3 is advertised as using 2-4 watts. I’m assuming this is variable depending on what the camera is doing. If the spotlight is even 1 watt (just 0.2 amps), you’re already in trouble with a 5 watt power supply. Anything else (long cable, poor quality cable, poor quality splitter, etc) will likely cause the wattage to fall short under whatever conditions cause the v3 to draw closer to 4 watts.
Just unboxed a brand new v3. Connected a brand new spotlight with a brand new cable using the cable and power adapter that came with the v3 and the splitter cable that came with the spotlight. Everything worked as designed. I disconnected the new splitter cable and connected the defective splitter cable and the spotlight was not recognized. Put the new splitter cable back on and the spotlight was recognized. This clearly shows, in my case, the splitter cable is defective.
One cable or splitter having more voltage drop than another doesn’t necessarily mean it’s defective. In fact, it’s to be expected. It’s defective for your purpose but I suspect that with a USB power supply with higher amperage, either splitter would work. All I’m saying is that supplying a 5-watt power supply with a device that can use up to 4 watts and then shipping an accessory to be powered off of that same power supply is pretty suspect when problems start popping up.
Using a power supply that can supply more power will not help if there is too much resistance in the splitter cable. Jacking up the voltage could overcome the resistance to a certain degree but that would destroy the camera and spotlight.
They should be using USB-C connections for all of this. Better design.
The Anker 40 watt charger made no difference. Simply swapping the splitter cable brought the spotlight back online. I went as far as cobbling a splitter cable together using what I had to prove my theory. There is something in the Wyze splitter cable that goes open circuit and causes the spotlight issue.
BTW, I am increasing the available amps by using the Anker charger, not volts.
Not surprised I think there are two related issues, both related to the splitter. I experienced the issue where I had to use a shorter cable to power the combo otherwise the spotlight would become unresponsive within a few hours to a day or so. Switching splitters made no difference.
How the two tie in is that the splitters are poor quality and are causing too much of a voltage drop. A shorter power cable will have less of a voltage drop before it gets to the splitter. Something to increase the voltage a little would help, but not worth the expense or time to find something that would do that. Wyze needs to come up with some better cable splitters or more likely some will come up with some aftermarket ones that work better.
USB extension cords are not the sole issue, if they are at all. I’ve burned through two spotlights using the short cords supplied with the camera. Both spotlights died within 3 days. One of them showed moisture behind the lens.
I bought 3 spotlights an tool them came with damaged USB splitters. But what I found out was that the. Problem was the actual connector was broken inside the actual tips that connect, you know. The USB to the other USB. What I did was use. The only one that was working correctly on the other two. And they worked just fine. So it has to be the cable. The where I see it broken inside. I looked with a magnifier. Big one. I need replacements. How do we get them.?
Just got off the phone with Wyze. (only 35 minutes from start to end).
Told tech support this is a common complaint on the Wyze forums. Fortunately she did not make me do any testing. Told her I had 4 bad splitter cables and also told her when a bad splitter was swapped with a new splitter, the spotlight worked. The end result of the conversation is they are sending 4 new spotlights. Who knows how long these will last?
One of the twists was they do not have splitter cable alone. The girl suggested that I ask on the Wyze forum where people were buying the splitter cables. ARRRGGGHHH. Had to clearly tell her the spotlight kits are warrantied, so any part of the spotlight kit is covered under that warranty. If you don’t have the splitter cable separately then send the whole kit. She had to ask a superior about that.
Wyze sent an email requesting :
Date I purchased the product (they know this from the order number)
I got a replacement once already. The replacement one lasted a week and died the same way the first one did. The first spotlight worked again with the replacements cable but that cable died again. This was just a horrible setup from the start.
I agree. The company that makes the spotlight and cable need to warranty this junk and issue updated splitter cables. The 4 spotlights Wyze is sending me will unfortunately fail in a short period of time, requiring me to start the process over again.
Just received 4 replacement spotlights. Wyze wants the defects back.
Unknown how long these will last.
Edit . Not very long. Turned one of the new spotlights on with the app but was unable turn it off. The spotlight was pulsing. App said no spotlight. Had to disconnect from power to turn the spotlight off. This is a new spotlight and splitter.
I have had my spotlight for five months on V3 camera working fine. Then about a week ago notice the spotlight was on all the time (set for dusk to dawn triggered by motion) and had to power cycle the camera to get it to work again. Two day later spotlight would not come on, tried power cycle again with no luck and app won’t recognize the spotlight being connected to camera. When I unplugged the spotlight from the camera and plugged it back in the spotlight comes on then fades off then on again then off but still won’t work and app not seeing it. Had the fun experience of trying to do a warranty support ticket and that was fun but did get Wyze to send a new spotlight just have to wait for seven to ten day for it to get here.