How long can you record on Wyze Cam?

How long can you record on Wyze Cam? That's a common question on forums.

That depends on the type of recording, but usually, it's possible to record from a few days to two weeks using a micro SD card or a cloud service to store the videos based on events such as motion or sound detection.

Wyze Cam recording on SD cards

It's possible to record for up to 8 days into a micro SD card, but that depends on the card size and camera set up for continuous or motion/audio detection, These factors drastically can change the number of days the  camera stores the video.

 Wyze Cam cloud recording

The camera can also record for 14-days on the Wyze cloud either using the free service offered by the company or using the paid subscription. 

 Using a PC for the Wyze Cam recording

Alternatively, you can use a PC to record the Wyze camera for months.

So, although you can consider from 1 to 2 weeks as an average using the most common ways (SD card or cloud), keep in mind that using a PC or a server can extend the recording for months as long as you have the necessary storage.

Let's talk first about the different solutions for Wyze camera recording ...

Wyze Cam Cloud Recording

The video stream leaves the Wyze Camera and goes to the Internet to be recorded on a server for 14 days. That's the way it works. 

Every time there's an event such as motion detection, a 12-seconds video clip is created and stored on this server and the process repeats continuously but with a huge limitation... there's a 5 minutes cooldown period.

The Free Wyze Cloud recording sucks

So, the camera needs to wait so start recording again even if something happens just in front of the cameras is not possible to record if the 5 minutes is not passed.

OK, the service is for Free and you can have 14 days of videos recorded on the cloud but at the end of the day, the way it works is not useful at all.

If somebody breaks into your home the only thing the camera records is a door or window opening or something related to the thief's first actions. 

This is terrible because five minutes later when the camera is ready to record again, guess what? There's nothing left in your home because the thief is gone.

This 5-minutes cooldown period sucks even more than the 12-seconds recording time. The limitation is so bad that I don't know why this option is offered. 

Anyway, you can change the game by just subscribing to the paid version.

The Wyze Cloud Paid subscription

To be honest, I believe the extra storage space available in the cloud is very cheap. 

With the paid subscription your camera can have all the evidence of somebody breaking into your home no matter how long it takes.

So, why not pay for such a service?

I guess so, I also think it's better to have the micro SD card into the camera.

Recording into a micro SD card

Just install a micro SD card into your Wyze Camera to start recording locally.

It's possible to choose continuous or event recording, which is a smarter option because you can have more evidence for a long time.

The idea is to let the camera detect any movement (or sound) and trigger the recording thus saving space when nothing is happening.

So, make sure to select "event recording" during the camera setup.

Continuous recording table

With continuous recording, the micro SD card runs out of space quickly.

The Wyze Lab created a table as a reference for how many days it is possible to record using different card sizes and video resolution.

As you can see there's a 1 to 2 days variation in the number of days the camera records in the micro  SD card. Even with continuous recording, the number is based on an average, so consider the lower number as a safer estimation.

Make sure you choose a good micro SD card so it doesn't fail during recording.

You can buy the Wyze micro SD card to reduce the chances of writing errors.

How to set up the Wyze Cam for SD recording

Open the Wyze Cam app and click on the resolution you want to record the videos.

To  have the camera recording longer choose the SD (Standard Definition) resolution, but if you prefer better quality choose HD (High Resolution).

If your camera is recording into the SD card and on the cloud at the same time, I suggest you choose High-Resolution recording since you are going to have the best of both worlds.

When the card gets full the camera erases the oldest footage to make room for the new videos, that's the way the cycle repeats indefinitely.

Enable the event recording

On the Wyze App, click the gear button on the top right side.

Click on the Event Recording button.

Select which event you want to use.

It's simple like that, it's not a big deal.

Playback the videos on the micro SD card

To playback the video, just click the button Video Playback on the Home Screen.

You can use the standard playback buttons to navigate the videos.

Conclusion

And that's the way you can have your Wyze Cam recording into an SD card or on the cloud. I think it's a good deal paying for the cloud subscription, it worth the price.

I hope this article can help you, please share it with your friends.