Wyze Outdoor Cam Without Base Station (Can It Work?)

Having a smart security camera is an important step if you want to deter potential intruders and keep your home safe while you’re away because with these cams you can monitor your house from any place you’re on the planet directly from your smartphone or tablets.

The smart security cameras market is booming and a lot of companies are sharing it such as Wyze, Ring, Eufy, and many more.

The Wyze Outdoor Cam is one of these devices that help you get peace of mind it’s a battery-powered gadget that helps you track every movement around your property, also get notifications if a suspicious person is there.

This camera provides a 1080P full HD with night vision to be protected 24 hours a day, and it’s built to resist any weather condition so it will not get damaged when the weather is bad.

Same as The “Eufy Outdoor Cam” the Wyze outdoor require a Base Station, so many people are asking what is the point of adding a Base Station?

Is it an essential piece or if they can run the camera without this additional device? In this article, we’re going to answer all these questions?

What is a Base Station and how does it work?

The Wyze Hub or Base Station is a well-designed device that looks like a router but it’s quite smaller, this base station allows the camera to connect to the internet and store recorded video on the cloud.

According to Wyze, a single Base Station connects up to 4 cameras (this number may grow in the future), this gadget comes with a 12V charger and has two antennas to connect wirelessly to the router and cameras.

It also has an Ethernet port to connect it to your router (it is required to be wired during the setup phase), and a USB port used for charging the camera.

It has a micro SD card slot that supports up to 32GB SD card this feature may be useful as it allows you to continue to store recorded video locally when the internet or the power goes down.

Should I use the Wyze Outdoor Cam without the Base Station?

Maybe you’re asking this question to avoid setting up the Base Station or even avoid potential issues with it, but sadly the Wyze Outdoor Cam is not like the rest of the Wyze cam.

Wyze Outdoor Cam requires a Base Station to operate and potentially all the features that this cam offers work when the camera is linked to this hub.

The Wyze Cam Outdoor can’t access the internet without it, so it will be limited only to Offline video recording this option is possible when you plug an SD card into the camera and it’s useful for “Travel mode” (Travel Mode records motion & time-lapse videos locally to a MicroSD card for when you’re without an internet connection or Base Station).

Getting access to your Wyze Outdoor Cam remotely when you’re in the office or on holidays stays impossible because the cam can not share the recorded video on the cloud.

We understand that the Wyze company is making this additional gadget an essential piece that you have to buy in order to get the maximum features from your cam.

Pros of using the Wyze Base Station.

The Wyze didn’t add you an extra device just to increase the price, of course, this gadget has extra benefits so let’s explore what the Base Station can provide.

• More reliable range: An outdoor camera is generally placed so far from the router so it will weak Wifi signals.
  
  So the Wyze Base Station will extend the Wifi signals and allow you to place the cam where you want.
  
  The max range between the camera and this device varies depending on the number of physical barriers (Up to 300 feet in an open field).
  
• Troubleshooting info: When you have the Base Station working with your cam it can give you information about network status and signal strength.
  
  This may be so useful when you face some connection issues, so you can see if your cam is online and if the signal coming from the router or the base station is weak or strong.
  
• Travel mode: as we said before the “Travel mode” can work without the internet connection or a Base Station the only thing you need is an SD card in your cam.
  
  But when you add this hub you can access the camera and view live stream without having internet connection.
  
• Backs up local recordings: It also support an SD card up to 32GB which allows the outdoor camera to back up local recording.
  
  That means all recorded video will be kept inside the SD card, you can keep the video of someone stealing your cam or when your camera ruin.
  
• Link you Wyze outdoor cam: Having your camera outside makes it more vulnerable to theft, and this is what may happen to every camera.
  
  The difference with the Wyze cam is that it is linked with a Base Station with a single user account and no one can use the cam untill the owner delete his account, which means that the thief will never be able to use it.
  
  And if someone tries to set them up on a different account, you’ll receive an email notification letting you know.

Other outdoor cameras that don’t need a Base Station.

Even though the Wyze is cheaper than other cameras on the market but some people don’t want the idea of having a Base Station.

So we are going to show you some alternative brands that offer outdoor cams without a base station.

• Arlo Pro 4 Spotlight Camera: This Arlo cam can be a great alternative for the Wyze cam, it works with a battery that can lasts up to six months and offer 2K video and color night Vision.
  
  It allows you to record video locally and much more other features, this device doesn’t requires no hub to operate.
  
  
  
  
  
• Ring Spotlight Cam: The Ring company is owned by Amazon and it offers different smart security devices such as cameras, doorbells and much more.
  
  The “Ring Spotlight Cam” is one of their products you can use this cam instead of Wyze, it offers many features you may like such as infrared night vision, 1080HD video same as Wyze, motion activated alerts and much more.
  
  The camera is battery powered and has a subscription plan that start from 3$ per month and you can access the cam from anywhere through your smartphone, computer or tablet.
  
  The only thing I hate with this cam is that doesn’t support an Sd card which make the locall storage impossible but it doesn’t need a Base Station to work.
  
  
  
  
  
• Blink Outdoor: Blink is another amazon’s company working in the smart home industry, their “Blink wirless outdoor cam” is a great alternative if you don’t want to have an additional hub.
  
  This cam has a powerful 2 AA lithium batteries that can last up to two years.
  
  The Blink cam is weather resistant and you can put it inside or outside the house, and has 1080p HD video an infrared night vision.
  
  The cam connect to your phone to sends you notifications if something happens.
  
  This device cost around 100 dollars which make it cheaper than Ring and Arlo.
  
  
  
  
  
• Nest outdoor cam: The Nest cam is another smart cam that doesn’t require a hub to operate.
  
  Nest is owned by Google and they are well-know for their high-quality products.
  
  Nest Outdoor camera cost around 180 dollars, it’s battery-powered and can differentiate between familiar faces and unknown people.
  
  It can also detect if the origin of the motion if it comes from an animal, human or an a car so it will avoid sending unnecessary alerts.
  
  Same as other outdoor cams Nest is weather-resisstant and it’s easy to install, it has night vision and 1080p HD video quality.
  
  Also 2-way talk option that allows you to use the microphone to speak with people in front of your house.
  
  
  
  
  

These are smart cameras that you can use in place of the Wyze outdoor camera if you don’t want the Base Station.

There are other products we haven’t mentioned such as the Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight camera and much more.

Conclusion.

Finally, the Wyze Base Station is not really a good reason to not buy the Wyze cam because it has a lot of advantages to users and its price is much cheaper than other cams and this hub is a small and beautiful device so it will not distort the inside decor of your home.