Forum Discussion

charlotte11's avatar
charlotte11
Newbie
3 years ago
Solved

Base station tether for outdoor cam

Quick question. Does the base station have to remain tethered to the router or is it just for paring? The camera briefly worked last night and we for sure get signal in the area it’s in, but now it’s...
  • AvsGunnar's avatar
    AvsGunnar
    3 years ago

    charlotte11 

    Roku's base station for the OC (outdoor cam) currently needs to remain connected to ethernet. (It's Wyze cousin allows for Wifi connection of the base through the app settings after the initial ethernet setup, but Roku's Smart Home app lacks this setting).

    You can try using a longer ethernet cord if practical and move the base closer to the cam.  You can also try changing the Wireless channel within your router for the 2.4ghz band (try channels 1, 6, or 11) and see if one performs better for you. (may just be getting interference preventing connection).  Unfortunately, because the OC communicates only with the base station, there is no way to extend the range even with an extender.  You basically need to get the base closer to the cam if having issues.

    Also, check to see if a firmware update is available. My OC base received an update a week or so ago.

    From the Home Screen of the app, select the Account icon (lower right), then Firmware Update.  See if any listed devices need update.

    ----

    You may need to bring the OC cam back in and set it up again by placing it near the base station.

  • RokuDanny-R's avatar
    RokuDanny-R
    3 years ago

    charlotte11

    Thanks for the inquiry.

    For clarification, please be aware that you can change over wifi while connected to ethernet and then once on a wireless network, you can unplug the ethernet after it's connected.

    Hope this information helps!


    Thanks,
    Danny

AvsGunnar's avatar
AvsGunnar
Community Streaming Expert
3 years ago

JStewart64 

There really is no definitive answer to this.  The Roku cameras are the same hardware as Wyze cameras.  From the Wyze Support, it states a maximum range of 300 ft in an open clear field but that range can be adversely affected based on adjacent structures (ie. things can cause interference).

https://support.wyze.com/hc/en-us/articles/360044992711-How-far-apart-can-the-Wyze-Cam-Outdoor-and-Base-Station-be-

Where they get this number, or if it is an arbitrary number, who knows?  It is what it is, a mere number.

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As with any network setup, you can increase (or decrease) any number by moving the base closer to the camera, using an ethernet-compatible range extender at the base location to perhaps extand this range even more, or by better positioning the camera.

My outdoor cam is installed about 20ft up on an enclosed peak above an entry door and the base station is located at the router via ethernet about 100 ft away and works fine.

The recent firmware updates to the Roku outdoor camera and base station now allow you to connect the base station to your router using wifi rather than ethernet.  So theoretically, you can fiddle with the distance by placing the base station as far as possible as you can that still maintains a wifi connection to your router, and then maybe use the 300 ft number from the base station to the camera as a guide.  By adding an extender into the mix, can likely greatly increase this range as well.

The answer, really, is "It depends on your setup".  May not be a great answer, but it really is the answer.  Not every network, not every router, not every environment is the same.  But the above guidelines should give you some reasonable expectations.

 

JStewart64's avatar
JStewart64
Channel Surfer
3 years ago

Ok, I have the answer. Thanks for you input.