Wyze Cam: A $20 home-surveillance camera

NAME Wyze Cam

WHAT IT IS This pint-size camera can be used as an indoor home surveillance system.

COST $19.99

AVAILABLE FROM wyze.com

WHAT’S HOT Home surveillance doesn’t get any easier or cheaper than the Wyze Cam. The 2-inch-tall, white boxy camera connects to Wi-Fi and uses an electrical outlet, so you don’t have to deal with wires or data storage machines. MicroSD cards up to 32 gigabytes can be inserted into the camera and record up to seven days. Data also is stored in the company’s cloud for free. Pictures and video are in high definition, and the camera switches to night vision when surroundings are dark.

The user-friendly phone app is where the easy-to-navigate master controls reside. The app shows livestream video and photos taken by the camera, which serves as a microphone and a speaker. You can talk through it or listen via smartphone. The camera also contains a motion detector and a sound detector.

The biggest surprise is that it has a carbon monoxide detector. A unique sound pattern is emitted by a carbon monoxide monitoring device when it detects that poison in the air. Wyze Cam can then send a phone alert.

Setup is easy as long as you have a 2.4 GHz router. Wyze tech support can help if you know your router’s manufacturer and model number. 

The camera and app were easy to learn. The company website gives plenty of instruction (although not on the router issue). Wyze also produces weekly instructional videos on YouTube to explain the different functions.

If you’re wondering why the Wyze Cam is so inexpensive, company founder Yun Zhang has said he wants Wyze to develop a following before introducing new products.

WHAT’S NOT Because it uses an outlet rather than a battery, the Wyze Cam won’t work during a power failure. It also doesn’t work at night through window glass because of light reflection.

Some Amazon reviewers have posted that the privacy controls are weak. On its website, Wyze promises, “Each camera has its own secret key and certificate so that we can validate its identity. . . . Even if a hacker intercepts the data package, the data cannot be decrypted.”

— The Dallas Morning News