Completely Unreliable Connectivity Lately

Community Support
#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.

#21

Thank you for the update.
We mostly view our cameras on the Windows app. Will this be updated soon as well?

#22

Let me check on this one. What Windows app are you using? Yi or Kami Home?

#23

YI Home app on Windows computers

#24

Our cameras are STILL not working reliably.

While I appreciate the comments here, I’ve not heard anything from YI Home Tech personally via email or direct contact.

Our cameras are NOT consistently recording to the YI Cloud - that we pay for. Nor do they consistently record to the SD cards (which are in good condition).

As of 5pm today (May 1), NONE of our cameras show anything recorded to the cloud or to the SD card. It’s 5pm! Why does most the day go by without recording anything?

We weren’t home today. Two people came to our home at two different times and neither activity was recorded. There is NO RECORD of them being here or taking anything from our front steps, other than me knowing they were going to be here today. What if this had been something I didn’t arrange? Our cameras missed this! And we wouldn’t have known anyone had been here.

This is just unacceptable. I have spent several thousand dollars on these cameras. And they DO NOT WORK reliably! And, there seems to be NO SOLUTION or fix.

I have taken screenshot after screenshot of the 9 cameras displayed on my Windows computer to show the irregularity of how these cameras work - and how often they are down with errors. I’ve offered to send these screenshots to YI Home. At this point, I have no confidence in these cameras whatsoever, nor in this company. I am beyond frustrated.

We have used these cameras for years, and I have recommended them in the past to MANY people. They USED to work, but over the past several years, their reliability has diminished greatly. There MUST be something that is causing this. I’ve tried everything I can think of. I’ve posted here in the forum. I’ve contacted YI Home directly. No resolution.

I know I am not alone in these issues - I’ve read many other posts about similar issues. I guess it’s time to cut my losses and move on.

Just so frustrated. I just want WORKING CAMERAS that work for more than 10 minutes at a time without having to constantly be unplugged and replugged. I don’t think that is too much to ask for!

2 Likes
#25

Some things to consider if you haven’t already.

Did you physically remove the SD Cards and use a device to read them and see there wasn’t any recording?

Did problems arise after a camera firmware update?

Have you assigned a static IP to each camera from the router?

Are MAC addresses kept to their original number?

Is anyone else on your network who might be using a fixed non leased address?

#26

Excellent questions @anyone

Can you send me the email address on file for your account @jdm? I can take a deeper look into your account on the backend to see what I can find out. We released an update that was supposed to directly address this connection issue.

#28

Hey! Has the IOS app been updated yet? I just got my camera in the mail yesterday, worked great the entire day and then this morning I started having connectivity issues.

Exact same problem as OP

1 Like
#29

What error message are you getting? I have the same problem.

#30

Hey @alnoise @mifletz Are you still running into connection issues? A new release for iOS should be pushed in the next day or so.

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