I only have the one V3 with the spotlight on it. Lasted five months before failure. I figured buying a splitter cable would not work as it would have to be configured properly to work with the camera. If it is just the cable Wyze is wasting a lot of money replacing the whole spotlight. They don’t want the old light sent back so it looks like they don’t really care to investigate the issue. When I get my replacement I’ll try the cable on the old light first to see if that is the issue.
As an old with a capital O auto tech, my job was to diagnose. When the spotlight issue was first mentioned all of my spotlights worked. Then they started failing one by one. I have 8 and 4 failed with a week. I just took a cable from a new in the box spotlight and swapped it out and the spotlight was recognized with nothing else being changed. If Wyze didn’t want my 4 defective spotlights back I was going to isolate the fault with a USB tester. It is probably in the branch going to the spotlight since the camera still works fine. An easy way to tell if the spotlight is working is to look for the spotlight icon on the screen for the camera. No icon = no spotlight.
Just saw one spotlight isn’t recognized and this is one of the four I just got from Wyze.
This is another product from Wyze that was not fully vetted before it was sold - they are absolute junk. I have 3 outside and all have extensions. Where do they think we are using these things - they aren’t baby-cams, they were designed for outside! We don’t have electrical sockets conveniently located within a few feet of the device. All worked for some time, then one went out and I was able to “fix it” by resetting the power. One of the others, wouldn’t come on at night. Now that I reset it, it won’t turn off. All the cables are tight. The last spotlight is still working for now. It’s just a matter of time before I’ll have to trash them all. These things are poorly designed if they can’t handle power through the extension - LED is supposed to be low power. They need shields for the lights so that when they do work that the light it puts out doesn’t reflect off of everything close to the lens (house, downspouts, etc.)
By the way, I hate the comments that say, well they work for me. Well, good for you. Just wait, they will fail. Also, don’t tell me you get what you pay for. I paid for a product that is supposed to work regardless of of its price. I’m also not in the beta-test business. I’m constantly tinkering with one of their devices to get them to work. It’s never their product that’s bad. My wifi / internet is great and all the other products from other companies are working with no issues - no tinkering. Wyze really needs to get their act together.
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I got my under warranty replacement for my failed spotlight and first just tried the cable that so many people have found goes bad and sure enough it’s just the cable. Wake up Wyze and admit to bad quality and fix the real problem instead of making people have to go thru hoops to get your products to work. If what everyone has found I’ll be back to a failed spotlight in just a matter of time.
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Yea, I bought 4 spotlights. All worked for about a few days and then fails. Even opened a ticket with support for one. After an hour on the phone, they sent me a new one. I swapped the new cable with one of the lights and it worked for a about a week and a half. I’m pretty much done with the lights Wyze needs to improve the design. The V3 cameras are great but dont get lights.
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Just had one of the replacement spotlights fail. This time the light just stays on.
Another 2 spotlights failed. Both of them stay on 24/7. That makes 6 of the original 8 that failed.
Edit. Replaced the spotlight and cable yesterday because the spotlight was staying on. That splitter and spotlight were only up for a week or two. Came home just now and saw the spotlight was on. The previous set was only on for a day then the spotlight stayed on today. It couldn’t have failed that quickly. Had a new 20’ microUSB cable in my box of spare stuff. Amazingly, now the spotlight stayed off and is recognized by the Wyze app, just by swapping the power cable. Not sure this is the answer for everyone, but the next time a spotlight isn’t recognized, swapping the power cable will be my first step.
I guess if the spotlight is that unreliable I can do without it. But I don’t like having the cable from the camera to the cord unprotected, not having the rubber cover. May have to use electrical tape.
Hello fellow V3 Cam users. I have read all of the comments here and I wanted to share my journey. I hope it will help someone.
I have four V3’s with spotlights, and I have experienced something similar during instillation. Out of the box, they work as indicated. After using them for three weeks indoors, I later decided to use them outside for security purpose, with the CamPlus package, and purchased longer USB cables to connect directly to the outlet.
The cable of choice for two of the Cam’s were the FASTSNAIL 2 Pack 26FT Flat Power Extension Cable. One of the 26’ wasn’t long enough so I attached a 5’ extension cord. The one without the cord worked without any issues. The other with the extension appeared to be working at first, as the lights did come on and the App showed the spotlight icon. I went to test it that night and noticed that the Cam attached to the extension was having issues with the spotlight. It wound not turn off and I had to toggle it in the App, but noticed that it didn’t respond correctly when I changed the beam from low to high and back. I removed the extension and appeared to resolve the issue.
Unfortunately, the outlet was much further from the other two cameras so I purchase two MOYEEL 42.5Ft(13M) Power Extension Cable. They worked with the camera alone, but I noticed the Cam’s Spotlights were behaving similar to the one in the example I gave earlier with the extension cord. Also, the lights just kept flashing. I tried a 12v outlet and other troubleshoots to no avail. However, once I used the 26’ cables without extension cord they seem to work without any issues.
Also, I had success using the 6’ proprietary cable with multiple extension cords. I used one 15’ extension cord that I plugged directly into the wall outlet, a 10’ extension cord that I plugged into the 15’ extension cord, a 2’ extension cord that I plugged into the 10’ cord, and two V3’s and spotlights worked. Go figure :slight_smile. See an imagine showing them working with proprietary 6’ cable using multiple extension cords:
Here are some info. about my situation that you may find helpful:
- I live in tropical region (temperature between 75 - 95 degrees F)
- I have four V3’s with spotlight
- The wires are running through my roof (which is usually about 105 degrees F)
- I have had the cameras for about a month and they were purchased in June 2021.
I hope this information is able to help someone. Have a great day and please keep posting.
I have 4 v3’s with the Spotlights attached. 2 of the 4 have not worked for months. I emailed Wyze and asked how I could procure (as in I WILL pay) for 2 new USB Splitter cables. Want to guess what Rodrigo told me? They don’t sell the splitter cables and I should try a third party cable (which I’ve already tried). Then, he asks me where I acquired the 2 spotlights without any cables. Friggin ridiculous. I offer to buy the cables and they basically tell me “no”. No offer to even replace the 2 spotlights that are not working. It also feels like they’ve stopped replacing defective lights under “warranty”. Probably started to eat into profits to replace all the [Mod Edit] spotlights and cables they sold everyone.
MOD NOTE: Post edited to conform to the Community Guidelines.
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Well, the dealer where I bought my car doesn’t stock some of the accessories I want, either. Can you harass them for me, too?
To Ipil60R34s
I think your response was uncalled for,. esanger went out of his way to work with Wyze. I have dealt with their support a few times myself and I think I even traded emails with Rodrigo and they were clueless. The spotlights for the V3’s are junk and should not be sold. The quality of their products is way down. I have two of their outdoor cameras that will only hold a charge for a day. The Android app crashes constantly. I had been a purchaser of Wyze products since they first released the V1 camera. I can forgive some of this with the products being cheap, but it has become too difficult to keep using them.
As far as the Y-cable. They are defective and Wyze should stock replacements. Does your car dealer have a parts department??/
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Reread my post. I didn’t address Wyze’s awful customer service. I commented on the OP’s unreasonable demand for a company to stock any and all items he wants.
Wyze does not and never sold Y-cables. And no, my car dealer does not stock performance chips. Does yours?
The Y-cable comes with the spotlight so it would be a replacement part
But Y-cable isn’t listed in their product listing and was never offered separately.
The power cable on my high-end, expensive, imported vacuum broke and the company didn’t have a replacement part, either. I had to settle for a 3rd party supplier. The vaporizer component of my cheap humidifier isn’t stocked, either. Wyze isn’t the only company that does that.
Sure it’s frustrating but there must be a valid business reason. Complain if you must, but to be obnoxious about is, now that’s uncalled for.
I am of the opinion that you have been the one to be obnoxious.to the original post. I was only stating that the Y cable the comes with the spotlight fails at least 80% of the time when exposed to rain, which it should be able to handle. Defective product and unresponsive company. I work in technology myself for the past ~35 years in Quality Assurance. I know the difference. If someone wants to navigate the increasing obtuse support system Wyze has put in place, they can get another spotlight sent out. I am assuming most people decide it is not worth the effort. I ended up going to another company for spotlights. Not as integrated as a Wyze solution would be nor as advanced as a Arlo spotlight, but sometimes a simple solution is the best.
I am done here and will not respond to anymore of this. Wasting my time.
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Quote the obnoxious part, you’re seeing something that isn’t there.
I checked, my post wasn’t moderated, his was.
Again, I wasn’t commenting on what Wyze should or shouldn’t do; only on his insistence that Wyze should stock a part he wants. That’s not his call.
As an automobile mechanic, I come across parts that are not available unless the component it is attached to is replaced. Just because I can hold the part in my hand does not mean it is available for purchase.
A good example is the flow sensor on a Toyota air conditioner compressor. It is held on with one bolt, but the only way to get this sensor is to buy a compressor. There is a company in the aftermarket that just started offering this part, but their quality isn’t what we could warranty.
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I will try that but the light was more useful outside. I’m going to give up on the spotlight as a failed product. Won’t spend hours trying things and working on another which would also be the same outcome. It was clever while it worked.
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