Wyze Cam Battery Backup and Anker Powercore Fusion 5000

I just wanted to note my experience using an Anker PowerCore Fusion 5000 pluggable USB Battery Pack from Amazon with a Wyze Cam (Indoor).

Plus I am looking for any better similar options that may function better (i.e. more like a UPS without a power down cycle).

I was looking for a simple temporary battery backup for my Wyze cam should the power go out, and none of the descriptions I could find on this forum fully described the functionality of the PowerCore Fusion 5000 (although from a form factor it is one of the more suitable units since it is small and has a built-in 120/110v plug.

So this battery power pack from Anker DOES work, except that it will power cycle / reboot the camera both when the power goes out (and it switches to battery) and when the power comes back on (when it switches to feeding mains 5v USB to the camera).

So while it does work adequately in this role (I haven’t tested the battery power time, but I have heard a couple hours at least from other reviewers), it would be better if there wasn’t a power cycle so that recording was continuous when the power was cut.

Given the price and form factor of this unit, it is perhaps a good compromise. It is inexpensive, seems well built and is certainly small enough and plugs directly into the wall outlet and so takes up very little room and only the USB cable is required.

Does anyone have similar experience with this unit to add? And has anyone found a similar battery pack that works better or functions as a truer UPS without needing to be McGyvered or electronics experience? (I have that, but was really hoping for a cheap, simple battery backup solution).

Thank you!

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Something like this is exactly what I’m looking for after my power was knocked out earlier this week for over 12 hours during a recent Santa Ana wind event here in So Cal. I think I knew that these existed, but never gave it much thought. Now I see that they are all over the marketplace being sold online. I checked out the Anker one (being a long time Anker customer, I highly trust their products). It’s a bit pricey compared to the camera itself, but that’s irrelevant to how valuable it is in keeping your camera running, even if your internet is knocked out. I use a Netgear LB1120 4G cellular modem for my internet, so if I can find a way to keep that powered when the power goes out, then I’ll be set! That all said, I came across this unit and should have it delivered today from Amazon: POWERADD EnergyCell AC 5000 2-in-1 Compact Portable Charger 5000mAh Fast Wall Charger with Dual USB Output and Foldable Plug Battery Pack It looks very similar to the Anker unit, but for almost half the price. Same capacity though which should last around 5 hours or so I’ve read… While it does have pass through power of course, I’m not sure if it suffers the same issue that the Anker does of the power cutting out for a moment when it switches from plug-in to battery power. I will definitely report back on my findings though. I did see some other options with claimed larger capacities (10k and 15k mAh), so those may be the real ticket to this quandary. Thank you again to the OP here for pointing out this type of solution.

It looks like a very similar unit, so I would be interested in the results. You can simulate a power outage simply by unplugging it from the wall. I suspect that all of these that don’t say “uninterruptible” will suffer the same temporary power switch effect. It does mean you lose video for a few seconds while the unit re-boots, but so far it hasn’t been a “huge” deal breaker for my purposes.

I don’t know how DIY you want to get, but something billed as a raspberry pi UPS might do the trick.

Something like this, 5V in 5V out, runs on battery automatically when input is removed:
https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Battery-Charging-Protection-Output/dp/B07DB78PGJ

There are others with micro usb in and usb out so it’s more turnkey but they’re also more expensive.

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That look great, thanks. A version with case and battery would be more convenient of course.

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I’ve received the battery pack and tested it using a USB LED light (haven’t plugged my Wyze cam into it yet) but on a switchable outlet, when I flip the switch off the LED light will blip for about a half second… I’m hopeful it’s not long enough to shut down the camera and force a reboot. When power is restored, there is NO inturruption or flicker. That said and given your experience with the Anker pack, I’d say this one might be a better choice. Once I get my Wyze cam plugged into it and can test, I’ll report back again.

Frankly I’d think you’d want a longer “blip” that ensured a somewhat orderly reboot rather than a subsecond blip that is more likely to leave the camera frozen. Don’t know.

I suspect that the effect will be the same as the Anker, but I hope it works a bit better. I will test the Anker to see about it, but essentially in electronic terms, if you notice a power change in an led, that would be a complete disconnect for long enough to shut down and cause a reboot.

You’re right, you wouldn’t want a small blip that could have unintended results.

The other option is a filter capacitor. A simple circuit with a capacitor should absorb momentary power loss when the power bank switches over.

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Apologies for getting back to this so delayed. The PowerADD plug-in charger does indeed seem to do what the Anker Powercore does when you drop the 110v power out from it, it blips the power enough to cause the camera to reboot itself, thus you’ll lose 20 seconds of time at the least before the camera has rebooted itself back to recording. For most such in a power outage situation, this probably won’t be much issue. For some this could be an issue if your camera is actively catching something in its range of view and/or sound when the camera reboots itself.

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