Farewell Izon
9Received the sad news last night that iZon will be shutting down at the end of the month. I hate that because those cameras made great indoor security cameras while we are gone. Does anybody know if they can be hacked to use on their own server or other uses besides paperweights?
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I have one of those in a box somewhere. I planned on putting it in a window to fool burglars.
@sammydog01 Still can!
@sammydog01 Now you can use them as outdoor cameras. Sweet!
@sammydog01 Our home is along side a popular walking/running/biking neighborhood sidewalk.
After our crappy Samsung security system failed after about 14 months, we left the cameras pointed out the windows.
We’ve been surprised how many folks notice them. (Guess we better be more careful what we do inside until the shades are pulled down!)
Hoping Wyze lives a long life since we’ve now replaced the now-faux Samsung cameras with Wyzes. Only wish Wyze would release outdoor cameras. Sweet little (inexpensive) cameras.
[Edit… just noticed the next comment about Wyze below!]
@RedOak Several sources for raincoats for the Wyze cameras.
@ruouttaurmind yeah! Thanks!
@RedOak @ruouttaurmind The reviews are mixed. I may do one, anyway, since the cameras are so cheap.
@sammydog01 @therealjrn How can I still use my Icon cameras?
@domingooli The information you seek is in this topic. Read and you will be rewarded.
@domingooli @ruouttaurmind Oh! A quest! I love quests!
I don’t know what features these offered, but I just got a couple of these cheap Wyze cameras to play with and they seem to work fine. They don’t pan/tilt/zoom, but they can be adjusted on their magnetic mounts, and they come with metal discs and adhesive for sticking to non-magnetic surfaces.
My two biggest complaints is that the app is the only way to access it (no PC software or Web interface) and the pivot could be tighter (it’s easy to bump out of position).
They are basically this Chinese camera with different firmware, but it’s actually cheaper to buy the Wyze than the Xiaomi and wait for it to arrive from China.
There is an open source firmware replacement, so you won’t get stuck when they go out of business.
So this might be a cheap replacement.
@craigthom Wyze offers a pan-tilt model for 29.99
https://www.wyzecam.com/wyze-cam-pan/
@phineasgage Yes, but I don’t think those features are implemented in the open source firmware yet. Or weren’t the last time I checked.
I was trying to address the problem bringing down these cameras.
@craigthom We’re liking the Wyze cameras but wish they’d release an outdoor model.
Hopefully Wyze has some staying power - aren’t they made up of ex-Amazon folks… who ironically seem to have done a nicer job on their camera than Amazon did itself?
BTW, agreed on the lack of firmness of the pivot mounts, but that design is cool.
BTW2, even if Wyze uses the Chinese hardware, I believe they run their free cloud service via end to end encryption using Amazon AWS.
There was an Izon hack to access the cameras directly, instead of relying on their service, that was posted here after one of the Izon sales. I’ll see if I can dig it up.
That was easier than I thought:
https://meh.com/forum/topics/stem-izon-2-0-wi-fi-video-monitor#570f929d21a0f48406076eb6
@blaineg Yep, yer gonna get goated for sure now buddy.
@blaineg As predicted by @RedOak:
@therealjrn Uh oh, what have I done?
@blaineg You’ve been helpful and an upstanding mehmber here.
@blaineg Clearly, you need to be goated.
I’ve made a one-stop-shop page for accessing the camera directly via the hack described above: https://willithack.com/izon/
@stuartpb Outstanding!
Well, I waited too long. App is now shut down and I have 4 awesome izon paperweights! If any other hacks work that dont require the app to set up let me know. Meanwhile I’ll be on the Wyze cam website placing an order…
This reminds me that I never set these up (IIRC, I got four or eight of them)…
I’d never planned to use the app due to its serious security issues (I’m no genius, but I’m not a moron) but then I tossed them in a box and forgot about them…
how do you use the stem cameras now that the company is gone?