Oh eufy, it started out so well

#1

When I started researching security cameras it quickly became apparent that pretty much all the systems on offer had their strong and weak points. However, when I read a few reviews on the eufy system I was sold. This new company were producing stuff of high quality and with an impressive set of features.

I bought two eufycam2c systems as the basis for a four camera system (with a redundant second Homebase, but it was cheaper than buying the cameras separately) and set it up.

In the early days I had problems with getting all four cameras online but from the discussions posted elsewhere it seemed many people had similar range issues. Early in the New Year eufy pushed out an update and suddenly all cameras were rock solid and detecting reliably and remained that way for weeks.

Sadly, it has all been downhill from there. Subsequent “upgrades” have reduced the usability of the system to the point where at first two, now three cameras, are offline and the remaining camera is sporadic at detecting events. Oh, and half the cameras are on one version of the firmware, while the other two are on a different version - I have no idea why.

I’m in contact with support, but the advice is generally along the lines of “remove the cameras and re-add them”. I’ve done this dozens of times and I’m fed up of taking cameras down without results.

I’m really sorry to have to say this, but if you’re thinking of buying these cameras, you may wish to think again.

6 Likes
#2

It seems to be status quo. Every update seems to bring more problems than fixed. They keep adding products without fine tuning the ones they have had out a while. I sent all my stuff back. I’m hanging around to see if things changed. I like the devices but they don’t know how to do things the correct way.

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#3

If it was “fine tuning” I wouldn’t mind, but it’s basic usability. :roll_eyes:

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#4

It is okay to hang around but you might be around for a long time before a changed. :slightly_smiling_face: They had the same exact problems since 2018 without a fix.

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#5

I will try not to be a hater. I really want them to get there stuff together. I would repurchase if they would show that they really want and know how to fix their stuff.

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#6

I share your opinion, but I’m in for 2K USD by now and wish I hadn’t bought them. They’re lacking support for what could’ve been a great product.
I think somebody has to reverse engineer the product to find out what’s actually going wrong with it. :smirk:

See other thread: Homebase2: all cameras stopped working / not found

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#7

Well I feel a little better. I didn’t go all out and spend no way near 2k. I feel for you.

#8

Sooooo…

Since my original posting, and without any other intervention on my part, ALL OF MY CAMERAS ARE NOW WORKING PROPERLY. :thinking::thinking:

I’m beginning to wonder if the issues I’ve been having (and others too) are a function of something happening WITH EUFY’S SERVERS.

Of course, this suggests that the feeds are being vectored via servers, presumably in China, and not stored and processed locally. I know the issue of the role of remote servers has been raised before, but this does seem strange.

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#9

I suspected something like that. I read this forum every day. I saw a bunch of people complain about that about the same time. They are just proving they are not reliable.

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#10

If you do a search on this forum people was making the same complaints a few years ago. If it’s their servers they couldn’t upgrade them by now with all the money they are making on us.

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#11

Totally agree… I jumped on board because of HomeKit Secure Video and the ability of the AI to reduce alerts for every little thing. I had Blink prior to making the switch and for the most part they were quite nice but I would get alerts for every little thing that moved hence the move to eufy… Pretty much I regret my purchase and wish I didn’t sell my Blink’s… It seems the latest firmware introduced a glitch to where my Homebase crashes almost every time I try communicating via the app.

I’m going to make the move to UniFi. I’ve installed them for my client and talk about solid! They’re just spendy but you know what, ya get what you pay for and so far eufy while not the lowest price is sure but Wyze is even better now!

What’s really crappy now!.!.! My system just crashed twice in a row literally as I’m typing this!!!

Thanks eufy. Much appreciated…

1 Like
#12

I will investigate UniFi systems. We all love the idea of wireless cameras but so far I find they still have bugs. Maybe I have not found the right one yet but I do know with our company not only do we have bugs with the cams to me the most important thing is there is no honestly and real customer support. I probably have to get off my lazy butt and install a wired system.

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#13

Man I’m starting to think the same.

#14

So, here we go again. An update to the app and it’s back to two non-working cameras and some of my settings changed that were unaffected by previous updates. If there’s a burglars’ forum I bet they recommend looking out for properties with eufy cameras. :roll_eyes:

2 Likes
#15

And a couple of hours after posting this, all cameras are online again.

Hmmmmmmm… :thinking::thinking::thinking::thinking::thinking::thinking:

I’m starting to wonder if the processing is actually being done remotely on eufy’s servers and they’re switching load to deal with issues.

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#16

So, another six months where some of the cameras are offline, all of the cameras are offline and all of the cameras are online. Sadly, the most frequent state is cameras offline. I’m afraid this system is just too unreliable to be of real use. I’m going to amend my original and favourable Amazon review to warn potential purchasers.

#17

Do eufy ever respond ? I thought this would have been the whole point of these forums.

#18

Unlikely if it falls outside basic troubleshooting. They will just suggest to email eufy support.