Completely Unreliable Connectivity Lately

Community Support
#1

We have 17 YI Home cameras in our home and out buildings. We’ve had them for several years. Since the first week in February of this year, they have become COMPLETELY UNRELIABLE for no apparent reasons. I am wondering if others are experiencing this, and if so, what are you doing to resolve the issue?

Most of our cameras are the YI Home Dome X cameras, but we do still have a few of the YI Home 1080 2 cameras.

We’ve done NOTHING DIFFERENT to our home network, internet connection, or camera setups. We have 1 gig fiber optic to the home and it is completely reliable. We also have an ASUS Zen WiFi AX Mesh system. None of these things have changed.

The cameras are now CONSTANTLY timing out and displaying the 3003 or 3006 errors. Sometimes, I can unplug and replug the cameras and this resolves the issue - for a short time. Then they time out again.

We’ve done nothing different to the camera settings. This issue is beyond frustrating!!!

When we are not home, most of the time now, we cannot view the cameras on our phones because of this issue, and because you cannot reset a camera remotely. When we are at home, we unplug/replug the cameras MANY times a day, only to have them crap out again and again and again.

There must have been some kind of change recently to the YI Home systems - something beyond our control. We have invested a lot of money in these cameras, and now to have them completely unreliable is unfortunate.

Does anyone - either other users, or YI Home Tech Support - have ANY ideas on what is going on and how this can be resolved? I feel like it might be time to jump ship and find another brand of cameras that ARE reliable.

I appreciate ANY help, insight, suggestions. Thank you!

2 Likes
#2

Hello. I am having no issues with the cameras I have had for years. I will tag in @Steven_Kami to see if he has any ideas. Given that you have rebooted your cameras and nothing you have no changes in your environment which you indicate in your post.

Do you have another device you could try the app on? How does the app work on a different wifi network / data service ?

It is unusual for multiple cameras to all have the same issue so it’s something unique to them all.

Have you checked with your iso to see if they have made any changes to their service you might not be aware of?

#3

Thank you for your comment @YorkshireUser.

We view our cameras on our iPhones or laptops (Windows PCs) when we are away, and on our desktop computers while at home (also Windows PCs). The cameras time out and cannot be viewed in any of these apps.

The cameras are timing out about every 5-10 minutes now. Sometimes a few cameras remain on, while the others time out - and it’s always different cameras.

I’ve rebooted our router and modem many times. This occasionally helps bring cameras back online, but again, only for a short time. Therefore, rebooting router and modem is really similar to just unplugging and replugging the cameras (same affect).

I’ve checked every router and modem setting - nothing has changed there.

Our ISP states nothing has changed on their end. And since these time-outs occur on both our home cameras AND on the cameras at our lake home (which uses a completely different ISP/network, etc.), it just seems like this is a camera issue - and not specific to just one or two cameras - it’s all of them. This is what leads me to wonder if there’s been a change to the YI Home servers somehow (and that portion is beyond my experience level).

I work from home and rely on the cameras to alert me to when someone is here. Since most of the cameras no longer work more than a few minutes at a time now, they are useless.

I also know there has been no other devices added to our home or lake home that would interfere somehow with the wifi, wifi channels, cameras, etc. It is baffling to me and is something I really need to get resolved - but have run out of solutions to try.

Any further ideas, tips, suggestions are greatly appreciated!

#4

I should clarify…
When I stated the cameras ‘Time out’, that means the cameras display a 3003 or 3006 error in the viewing apps (whether the viewing app is on our iPhones or Windows PCs).

Basically the cameras just disconnect randomly and cannot be viewed, recovered, or reset from the apps. The ONLY way to get cameras working again is to physically unplug/replug or reboot the router (which is pretty much the same as unplugging/replugging cameras).

1 Like
#5

@Steven_Kami hopefully may have some more ideas. It just seems strange multiple cameras in multiple locations are having this issue.

1 Like
#6

Hey @jdm That is really unfortunate. I would like to apologize for any issues you’ve experienced. Can you confirm that it’s happening across all 17 cameras? that’s unacceptable. We gotta get to the bottom of this one. Having to power cycle each camera by unplugging and replugging is not something anyone would want to have to do. 3003 - 3006 messages usually imply local network issues. Just a few questions to help us understand and get you back on track one way or another.

When did you purchase the Dome X cameras?
When did you purchase the Yi Home 1080 cameras? Are they AI+ cams or the version before?
May I ask where you are located? We have different servers for different regions of the world
What version of the app do you have?
What are the firmware versions?
I know you’re ISP said no changes, but have any other devices seen inconsistent connection?
Do you subscribe to the cloud?

I’m gonna send you a message to collect your email. We can communicate that way until we get this resolved. Thanks for your patience on this one.We will get it resolved.

#7

Thank you for help @YorkshireUser always appreciate your assistance

1 Like
#8

Not had this issues but I have noticed the App itself is lagging to pick up live feeds and cameras are often not allowing to view SD card recordings.
Same as you, I have not changed anything and the WiFi is no change with speeds and other apps working fine.
I sense YI engineers up to their usual trick of tampering and not checking before release again!

#9

@jdm @Steven_Kami I also have several Yi Home cameras (8 working - 5 not working) and have sent emails to tech support. They keep asking the same questions over and over but the bottom line is I have a hand full of cameras that I can reset, go into setup on the phone app, connect to wifi, which it does perfect but it never finishes up and registers the cameras and eventually fails. I’ve tried this on android phones and iphones, sitting right next to the wifi router(s) as I have tested these on 4 different networks. I generally like the yi home cameras but I am thinking it is time for me to move on and I’d like to find something I can set up to view with blue iris. Any suggestions? Is there somewhere I can send these in? How do you know the firmware if they dont come online?

#10

Thank you for your assistance. I really DO hope to get this issue resolved!

Here are the answers to your questions.

PURCHASE DATES / TYPES OF CAMERAS:

Here is a list of all the YI Home Cameras I’ve purchased:

-July 6, 2017 - YI Home Camera 2 1080p
-July 11, 2018 - YI Home Camera 2 1080p
-September 4, 2017 - YI Home Camera 2 1080p
-September 6, 2017 - YI Home Camera 2 1080p
-September 15, 2017 - YI Home Camera 2 1080p
-October 10, 2017 - YI Dome Camera 1080p
-January 15, 2018 - YI Dome Camera 1080p
-July 16, 2018 - YI Dome Camera 1080p (quantity 3 cameras)
-July 16, 2018 - YI Dome Camera 1080p Black (quantity 3 cameras)
-June 11, 2019 - YI Smart Dome Camera X AI-Powered 1080p
-September 3,. 2019 - YI Smart Dome Camera X AI Powered 1080p (quantity 2 cameras)
-December 3, 2019 - YI Smart Dome Camera X AI-Powered 1080p
-July 17, 2020 - YI Smart Dome Camera X AI-Powered 1080p (quantity 2 cameras)
-December 17, 2020 - YI Smart Dome Camera X AI-Powered 1080p (quantity 5 cameras)
-January 21, 2022 - YI Camera Dome 2K Black (didn’t work out of the box, returned it for a working camera)
-January 25, 2022 - YI Camera Dome 2K Black (replacement for above camera)

This is a total of 25 cameras:

  • 17 cameras we use at home on the same network (1 gig fiber optic directly to our home)
  • 5 cameras at our lake home on it’s own network, different ISP (100 Mbps DSL)
  • 3 cameras at our second residential property on their own network, different ISP (40 Mbps DSL)

CAMERA LOCATION:

All cameras are located in Minnesota.

APP VERSIONS:

The YI Home App for Windows is the latest version on all our computers. Each computer is also up-to-date with the latest Windows updates.

The YI Home App we use on our iPhones and iPad is also the latest version - updated every time there is an update released. Our iPhones and iPad is also updated to the latest iOS.

FIRMWARE VERSIONS:

Current version: 4.0.0.0F_201909251646
Current version: 1.9.2.0I_201812141405
Current version: 2.1.1_20171024151200

OTHER DEVICES:

None of our other network devices, in any location, are having issues. All are working as they should.

We have wi-fi smart plugs in two of our locations, they work just fine. The cameras are NOT plugged into these smart plugs - cameras are plugged directly into standard electrical outlets that are always on.

We have hard-wired and wireless computers throughout the house, as well as other locations, and they all work perfectly - no connectivity issues.

CLOUD SUBSCRIPTION:

We have 5 cameras subscribed to the YI Home Cloud Subscription.

Most cameras also have an SD card. The cameras are VERY INTERMITTENT as to when they record to the YI Cloud or to the SD cards. Sometimes there are large gaps where nothing is recorded, even when there has been activity.

OTHER MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:

All cameras are set up with basically the same configuration - which is really just basic settings out-of-the-box.

  • Cameras each have a custom name
  • Camera Status Lights, Image Rotation, Night Vision IR Light, and Motion Tracking are all OFF
  • Camera Microphones are all ON
  • We do NOT use the Auto-Cruise function on any of the cameras
  • Call Mode is set to Intercom for all cameras
  • Scheduling is NOT turned on for any camera
  • For the cameras that do have SD Cards, they are all “in good condition”
  • Smart Detection is used on the cameras - Motion Detection, Person Detection, Sound Detection are all ON and the Alert Schedule is the default 24/7
  • All cameras at all locations are running on 2.4Ghz. (Just a note, our home network also runs on 5Ghz, but the cameras are FOR SURE connected to 2.4Ghz. Our computers can use either the 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz band, and our iPhones and iPad typically use the 2.4Ghz band. I tried turning off the 5Ghz band to see if that had any affect on the camera reliability, and it did not seem to make any difference).

We have different modem brands and router brands or models at our three locations. The cameras stop working periodically at all three locations, so the issue doesn’t seem to be a modem issue or a router issue.

Sometimes random cameras stop working and display a 3013 error, a 3003 error, or a 3006 errors. Right at this moment, I am looking at a grid of 9 cameras on my desktop computer and only 4 of the cameras are working. 1 camera shows a 3013 error, and 4 cameras show a 3003 error. When I click the refresh circle arrow on the screen, 1 camera just came back online and the other 3 that were showing a 3003 error, now show a 3006 error. The camera displaying a 3013 error won’t come back online when clicking this refresh circle arrow. Of these 9 cameras I am looking at, 1 camera is at our second residential location (and is currently working), 2 are at our lake home (and are currently working), and the other 6 are on our home network (only 2 are currently working). I have screenshots of the camera display from right now. I’d rather not share the screenshots here in this forum due to privacy issues, but can supply you with the screenshots in a private message or email.

I hope this information provides some insight as to why these cameras quit working all the time.

Please let me know what we can do from here. Thank you.

EDITED TO ADD: The note about is just about the 9 cameras I can see at one time in the grid on the computer. There are also other cameras on our system that are currently not working - when I use my iPhone to view each camera - some are working right now, others are not. It’s always random as to which ones will work and which ones won’t.

1 Like
#11

Thanks for the detailed feedback @jdm Let me send this over to our support team and have them take a deep dive.

#12

Thank you @Steven_Kami

1 Like
#13

My pleasure @jdm Let me check on this

#14

I am having some of the same intermittent problems. One camera displays poor connectivity and won’t display Live at first but eventually comes up after several tries. Others just won’t work for a period of time and at other times they come up so fast I can hardly believe it. It seems like, when I complain, Yi somehow goes in there to check out their system and suddenly everything works great for a while. I have 10 Yi cameras and just purchased 2 new updated ones now in transit to me from Amazon. When they work they work great and when they don’t it is baffling. I suspect that after they investigate your system it will work great for a while and then go back to having problems once in a while. Just my observations with my own. Every time I go to show someone the capabilities of my system some of the cameras won’t come up. At least they are still recording on the SD card and I don’t lose anything. I have 10 cameras on their cloud system. I have tried clearing the cache under the account icon, app settings and then clear cache. I think this helps temporarily a little but not sure. Good luck on figuring this out. Oh, when you clear the Cache it appears you only lose the still picture of the view the cameras give when you bring up the app.

#15

Hello All - Thank you for your incredible patience. Our team is working to resolve this and a new release will be out shortly. Within the next 24-48hrs. I will let all know when the release is live.

If you have any questions, please dont hesitate to reach out. I will do anything I can to help

1 Like
#16

I’m looking forward to some resolution, thank you.

I have so much invested in these cameras I don’t want to make a switch to another company, but I need the cameras to be consistently reliable. Hoping this new release can make a difference.

#17

Hello All - We released an update for android that should resolve this issue. Please make sure your app is up to date. If this continues, please let me know.

1 Like
#18

I am having some of the same problems with my Yi outdoor camera and I have complained about it previously. My Driveway camera is right next to another identical camera named, “front yard.” The front yard camera works great but the identical driveway camera is real flaky. It often comes up and says, “poor network conditions, check your network settings.” It is on the same very strong Mesh network running at at least 200 mbps with mostly a full fan on my phone at that location. It takes quite a while for the camera to display live. It always comes up 10%, then 90 % for up to 30 seconds or more than I get the live view. Then poor connectivity message, that disappears and the view is back. Sometimes I get no SD card Icon and when I do and scroll back it goes to the 10%, then 30 %, back to 10% and than then the 90% message all over again many times and won’t display that time period at all. Then it says the camera appears to be offline. It gives a 90008 code. When I do get it up it locks up on that time period or that second in time and won’t go forward. I think I need to replace this camera. It is on the cloud but right now it is a piece of junk. It also won’t show the extended cloud clip, just says it wasn’t uploaded to the cloud. Is it time to take it down and run over it with the car? It is firmware 9.0.2607_202104231123. I have an IPhone 12 mini running IOS 15.4.1

#19

I do not use anything Android.
As stated in my original message, I am using a Windows desktop and laptop, as well as the app on iPhones and an iPad.

Can you please tell me if there has been any fix/update for my issue?

#20

@jdm Thanks for the reminder. iOS takes a little longer to approve the new release than android does. It’s in the queue and should be released very soon.

Categories