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There are a lot of good reasons to invest in a pet camera, from interacting with your pet while they’re away to peeking in on them while they’re snoozing. Emotional bonding with our pets means that many parents experience anxiety when leaving pets alone, even just to run errands.
On top of separation anxiety—whether human’s or dog’s—there are health reasons to keep an eye on your pet while you’re away. My dog, Enzo, developed epilepsy a few years ago, and I wanted a way to check in on him I was while away from the house in case he had a seizure.
For our monitoring needs, we chose the popular and budget-friendly Wyze Pet Camera. Enzo and I review the pros and cons, plus what to know about setup and key features.
How Does the Wyze v3 Pet Camera Work?
The Wyze Cam v3 is a security camera that can be used for indoor or outdoor home monitoring. It’s not always marketed as a pet cam, though it has many of the same features as other pet-specific cameras (more on that below).
At 2 inches square, it’s quite a bit smaller than most pet cameras on the market, with relatively crisp 1080p HD video and impressively clear (color!) night vision for dim light conditions.
The camera is powered by a 6ft USB cable (included) and comes with the hardware needed for wall mounting. It connects to 2.4GHz Wifi (note that it will not connect to 5G networks) and is compatible with both Android and iOS.
The Wyze stores video in the cloud for a small additional fee, or you can opt for local storage by plugging in your own MicroSD.
When the camera detects motion or sound, the Wyze3 will record and store 12 seconds of “event” footage. If you want unlimited footage recorded and stored in the cloud, you can upgrade to Wyze’s Cam Plus).
Pet parents can set up motion or audio-triggered events, which send a push notification if your pet is moving around or your dog walker has arrived, for instance. I found these notifications to be extremely accurate and timely. With the Cam Plus subscription, Wyze even tags the videos with “People” or “Pet” depending on what is detected in the frame.
How Does the Wyze Security Camera Differ from a Pet-Specific Camera?
Pet parents looking for all the bells and whistles in a pet cam like the Furbo may be disappointed by the lack of “pet-specific” features offered by the Wyze v3 Cam. While there is two-way audio for you to talk to your pet, there is no treat tossing or laser pointer with this camera.
That said, not all dogs want or benefit from interactive features. Enzo is absolutely terrified by disembodied voices (and is even terrified of treat tossing, despite his love of food). Even saying his name through the speaker seemed to cause him an immense amount of anxiety—and we know quite a few pups who feel similarly.
Other pet cameras offer features like “auto dog tracking” to follow your dog’s movement, or a barking alert. The Wyze3 has an alert system for when it detects sounds, which we found to be handy for detecting barking, but it can’t pan or tilt to follow your pet around the room, and nor can it be controlled remotely for a rotating view.
Pet parents with large spaces or particularly active dogs may miss this feature, though the Wyze3 is low cost enough that you could purchase two for the price of a single pet camera in many cases.
What does the Wyze Cam Plus Subscription include?
The basic features that come for free with all devices are likely more than adequate for most pet parents. Already included are:
- Event videos
- Motion-triggered alerts
- Sound-triggered alerts
- Emergency smoke + CO sound-triggered alerts
Most users will be satisfied with this free offering, but there is the option to upgrade for ~$2/month with their “Cam Plus” subscription. Here are the most important components for pet parents:
Unlimited event video length. With the basic plan (or Cam Plus Lite, which is a “name your price” model), Wyze will record up to 12 seconds if it detects movement. The delay between these recordings is 5 minutes. With the Cam Plus subscription, they’ll record for an unlimited amount of time until the motion stops. Recordings can be back-to-back and are stored for two weeks.
Pet Detection. All Wyze cameras come with motion detection alerts, but they don’t distinguish between your pet, a person, or a tree swaying in the wind. With the subscription, your phone will give more specific notifications around the type of motion detected—whether it’s a person, car, package being dropped off, or your furry friend.
Testing the Wyze Camera
We put the Wyze camera to the test in our living room over a period of a couple weeks, and we tried Wyze Cam Plus over a 14-day free trial.
The setup was incredibly easy. I unpackaged the camera and plugged it into the wall, opting to place it on a bookshelf rather than mounting it.
I downloaded the Wyze app on my iPhone, and the app directed me through the rest of the setup. This involved naming the camera, adding shared users via email, and scanning an app-displayed QR code with the camera to pair it to the app (which will automatically connect it to your WiFi network).
I first tested the EnzoCam (as we named it) while working at a coffee shop for a few hours. I was surprised by how much joy it brought me to be able to check on my dog while I was gone, even though he spends 95% of his time sleeping or staring into space. If Enzo did move—even just to plod to the other side of the couch—I received a “motion detection” notification on my phone.
We also tested the camera when we were pet sitting a friend’s dog. It was fun and reassuring to be able to observe the dogs while we were away. While my dog spent most of his time snoozing, the guest dog wandered around the living room and stared out the window.
I didn’t love the idea of the camera being on while I was home, so I was pleased that it’s easy to set up one-click shortcuts on the app for “Home” or “Away.” You can customize these shortcuts with your own specifications; my “Home” mode automatically ceases all recording and notifications. The trick is to remember to turn “Away” mode back on when you leave, which can be done remotely via phone if you forget.
I also found the camera handy beyond its pet-monitoring capabilities. One night I was woken by the sound of chattering in the kitchen. In my half-awake state, I was momentarily fearful there was someone in the house. I checked the Wyze3 app from bed and was relieved to discover that it was just the Roomba.
What we liked about the camera:
- Auto-recording based on movement and sound.
- Ultra affordable and small. Can be placed easily on a shelf, or mounted via sticker or magnet.
- Easy-to-navigate app and simple setup.
- The HD has great definition and it’s easy to pick out our dog on the stream. It also has a 130 degree range of view.
- Clear, colorful night vision.
Some considerations:
- No treat tossing or laser pointer.
- While the speaker option would be helpful for some pet parents, our dog was terrified by any noise coming from the camera.
- Cloud recording costs a fee, but you can use your own micro SD card (purchased separately) to store recordings for free. Recording is not enabled by default.
- Videos are only saved for 14 days, unless you opt into the Wyze Cam Plus service.
- No remote control movement, so if your dog is out of frame, then you’re out of luck. Given the layout of our house, there were some blind spots.
Final Verdict: The Wyze3 is an Affordable, Extremely Effective Pet Camera
Our experience with the Wyze3 camera was very positive, and its features were more than adequate for keeping an eye on our pet (and home) while we were away. It gave us peace of mind without breaking the bank and required extremely minimal effort to set up.
Who would like the Wyze3 Camera?
- Pet parents looking for a compact, budget friendly option.
- Renters who don’t want to mount a camera onto the wall.
- People with multiple rooms in their home they’d like to monitor. The Wyze3 is cheap enough that you could purchase multiple cameras for the same price as one competitor camera.
- Tech-savvy users who want a camera that will integrate with their existing smart devices (Alexa, Google Home).
Who should try a different option?
- Pet parents hoping for pet-specific or interactive features, like treat tossing or laser pointers.
- Particularly active dogs, or pet parents with large spaces or blind spots who would benefit from a 360° view or panning.
- People who are extra concerned about security. Wyze has had data breaches in the past, though these issues have been fixed with firmware updates to the Wyze2 and Wyze3.