How long does Wyze Cam record?

How long does Wyze Cam record? This is a common question, let's talk about it.

The Wyze Cam uses micro a SD card or the cloud to store the videos.

How long the camera can record depends on the type of recording, SD card size and also on the setup such as resolution and continuous or motion detection.

The quick answer to that is that the Wyze Camera can record from a few hours to weeks, depending on different options, factors, and configuration. 

Let's talk first about how the Wyze Cloud recording works...

How does Wyze Cloud work?

Your Wyze camera can record for up to 14 days using the cloud recording.

At first the Wyze Cam records videos on the cloud every time there's an event such as motion or sound detection. The service is free but there's a catch...

It's possible to enable the Wyze Cloud recording even without a subscription. 

No credit card is required and a 14-day Free recording is offered as part of the plan that allows you to record a 12-seconds video every 5 minutes.

The problem with the Wyze Cloud recording

The problem with this approach is that most of the time the 12-seconds video is not enough to catch somebody doing something wrong in front of the camera.

Just imagine somebody coming close to the camera with bad intentions such as steal something... The camera won't capture the act, because usually, it takes more than 12 seconds to break into a place or carry some object and run away.

To make things worst, there's a so-called "5-minutes cooldown" period where the camera doesn't record at all even if somebody is carrying your entire house 🙁

So, in my opinion, the 14-day Free recording is not useful at all !

But there's a way you can overcome that annoying limitation...

How to make Wyze Cam record longer

People realize that the original plan of using the Free cloud recording is a bad joke and start looking for a better alternative. A paid subscription is one of them.

For just $1.49 it possible to record on the cloud for 14 days with no limitation.

I must say that this is very inexpensive and worth the price.

So, if you want to have your Wyze Cam recording longer, just consider subscribing to this service. You can try it out for Free before opening your wallet 😉

How do I use Wyze Cam with an SD card?

OK, let's talk about the other option to have your Wyze Cam recording longer.

The Wyze Cam has the option of using a micro SD card to record the footage continuously or based on events that trigger the recording.

If somebody (or something) passes in front of the camera the movement triggers the recording process. You can also use audio as the trigger. 

How long does the SD card last for the Wyze Cam?

It depends on the Wyze Cam SD card size and type, the resolution and the type of recording (continuous or by event). Let's take a look at different options.

Continuous recording

If the camera is using the continuous recording, everything is recorded all the time, no matter if there's an event or not. This certainly fills the micro SD card quickly.

Use the table below as a reference on how long the SD card can record.

Perhaps you are wondering "If the camera is recording continuously, shouldn't the time be always fixed? Why this variation occurs?"

The estimation on the tables is based on the technology that is used to compress the video before storing it into the SD card.

There is some variation on the compression depending on how much movement is in front of the camera and also other factors such as colors, video noise, etc.

Don't worry too much about that, just follow the table as a guideline.

Even if you use the micro SD card to record the footage, the camera still can record on the cloud for 14 days which is awesome just in case you need a backup.

How to choose Wyze Cam recording resolution

You can set up the camera record resolution on the home menu.

Just open the Wyze Cam app and choose the one that works for you:

I suggest you test it out the recording for some days to make sure it meets your needs and expectations. If you need to record for less than 1 week choose HD.

The oldest footage is overwritten by the new ones, so don't worry if the card is about to be full, you will always be able to access the recordings from the last days.

How to enable Wyze Cam event recording

To enable the Wyze Cam event recording, just click the gear button at the top.

Choose which event you want to use, Motion or Sound.

And it's done. Now you have your Wyze Camera recording in the SD card and into the cloud at the same time when something happens. Cool huh?

How to playback the videos on Wyze Cam card

Now that the footage is recorded into the SD card you can just play it back.

The next screen shows the menu to show the date and control the playback based on the hours of the day. As you can see, there's an indication of event recording.

Conclusion

The answer to the question "How long does Wyze Cam record?" can vary depending on some factors but in general it can be resumed to about 14 days. 

By using SD card and cloud recording (with subscription) together, your videos will be safer so I highly recommend going  for such an option.

Extra information

Here are some extra information that could be useful.