Wyze Cam Outdoor Review

Whether you have a Wyze security system and want to add an outdoor camera or just want to watch a certain area of your yard, the Wyze Cam Outdoor v2 has the features you need. From internet-free Travel Mode to smoke and CO alerts, this tiny camera goes beyond the norm. It’s not perfect, though. You’ll see why in this Wyze Cam Outdoor review.

Wyze has a unique way of pricing its subscription plans. For the lowest tier plan, you don’t have to pay anything at all. With the next tier, Cam Plus Lite, you can decide how much you want to pay. (Yeah, we know everyone is going to choose to pay $0.) And then for the top tier, you pay the tiny amount of just under $2 per camera.

We recommend opting for the top tier. You get cool features like person, pet, vehicle, and package detection, plus unlimited video storage and back-to-back recordings.

Under $2 is one of the cheapest security camera subscription plans we’ve seen. Arlo, one of Wyze’s biggest competitors, charges $14.99 per month for its top-tier plan.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel and learn how to protect your home, loved ones and, belongings.

• Wyze Cam Outdoor v2
• Wyze base station
• Ethernet cable and power adapter for base station
• USB camera charging cable
• Quick Start Guide
• Screws

Wyze went above and beyond with features you don’t typically see on more affordable cameras.

The biggest feature surprise was smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) detection. We could only think of two (Arlo and Nest Cam) top-rated cameras that offer this feature (and we’ve probably tested hundreds). 

Another feature you don’t see on many outdoor security cameras is local storage. You can store 28 days of continuous with a Wyze microSD Card. Unfortunately, the card is sold separately. You can get the 32GB microSDHC card for $8.99 or the 128GB microSDXC card for $16.99. If you don’t want your personal footage stored in the cloud for security or privacy reasons, springing for the SD card is a smart idea.

The Wyze Cam Outdoor v2 also has a handy feature called Travel Mode. It’s called “Travel Mode” because Wyze envisioned people taking their little v2 with them camping or hiking, far from internet service. 

Travel Mode lets you record videos to the microSD card without being connected to the internet. So even during internet outages, your outdoor cam is still working. The only downside is that you have to buy that darn SD card.

This Wyze outdoor camera has a bunch of other nifty features too:

• Two-way talk
• Color night vision
• IP65 Rating/weather-resistant (-4° up to 122°F)
• Motion and sound detection
• Wire-free, thanks to the included battery, or you can purchase the solar charging accessory ($24.99)
• Built-in siren
• Works with Alexa, Google, and IFTTT
• Person, vehicle, pet, and package detection
• Continuous recording
• Motion detection zones
• Time-lapse video

Like its major competitor Reolink Argus 3 Pro and its sibling camera Wyze Cam v3, v2 stuck with the same 1080p HD video instead of upgrading to 2K. But it does have improvements compared to the Wyze Cam v1. The video is clearer and brighter than its previous version, thanks to the new Starlight Sensor and ISP and the new ƒ/1.6 aperture. These let in more light and increase clarity.

Despite better clarity, its video has its problems. We couldn’t get the camera to take one video that wasn’t choppy. We tried different locations and getting it closer to its base to increase the Wi-Fi strength, but nothing seemed to help.

The camera also seemed to have problems with recording faces. Even when standing still, the faces were still pixelated, almost like they were censored for witness protection.

We haven’t had this problem with other cameras we’ve tried in the same locations. In fact, we were testing another camera right next to the v2 and didn’t have any problems—which rules out connection issues.

Unfortunately, there’s more. The battery wouldn’t hold a charge for more than a week or two, even though the package says it should last around six months. We tried to adjust the setting and moving the camera to help make the battery last longer, but it didn’t seem to help. Other customers have reported problems with the battery as well.

Plus, the color night vision wouldn’t work some of the time. When the color night vision did work, the footage was so grainy you usually couldn’t tell who the person was on my porch.

Even more frustrating, the camera often didn’t detect packages, pets, or humans. Sometimes it wouldn’t even detect motion at all.

We’ve contacted Wyze customer service about the issues. We’ll update our review if we are able to fix the problems.

While we like that the Wyze Cam Outdoor v2 has an array of features that are usually reserved for pricier cameras, this Wyze device annoyed us to no end. With slow video loading times, videos not saving, pixelated video, and other problems, we’re hesitant to recommend this Wyze camera.

You can read about security cameras we do recomend (like the beloved Wyze Cam Pan v2) in our best home security camera round-up.

• Wyze Security Cameras Review
• Wyze Cam Pan Review
• Wyze Doorbell Review
• Best Cheap Security Cameras under $50
• Best Home Security Cameras