Cameras & doorbells

[charlotte11]

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 just continually trying to connect. We can’t move the router but just curious if there’s another way to get it connected with closer base station. 

[AvsGunnar · Accepted solution]

@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.

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

[RokuDanny-R · Accepted solution]

@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]

@RokuDanny-R 

Thanks for the update and clarification.  I don't know if this was an Smart Home app or base station/Outdoor Cam (OC) firmware update (or if mine did not work properly initially as it did not provide this option), but the Smart Home app does now allow for the base to connect wirelessly to router after the initial setup.

To build from @RokuDanny-R response, after you have done the initial setup and firmware updates, you can change from ethernet to wifi for the base station in the Smart Home app by selecting the Outdoor Cam Base Station, then the Settings (gear icon in upper right of app), then Device Info.  Then select Change Connection, and then input your SSID credentials for the 2.4ghz band of your network.

Note: You must be connected to ethernet when setting up the wireless connection.  After you successfully change to wifi, you will be presented a message to disconnect the ethernet cable.  The base station will start to flash after a few seconds (10secs or so for me), and then will turn solid after this procedure and you should now see that it is connected via wifi.

Thanks again for the update.  Should make it easier for troublesome connections the ability to move the base station around and connect via wifi.

[JStewart64]

Question! What is the maximum range you can have between the camera and the base station?

[RokuDanny-R]

@JStewart64

Thanks for the inquiry.

Please be aware that the range between the camera and base station can vary depending on your environment that the Roku Smart Home devices are being used in.

Thanks,
Danny

[JStewart64]

I believe that is a canned answer. What can my expectations be? Are there any specifics, or maybe an estimation of what can be expected?

[AvsGunnar]

@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-B...

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]

Is this information in relation to how far the camera can be from the source of the wifi, or is it for the distance of the base station from the camera. I have a mesh wifi network that covers approximately 5000 square feet so the wifi to the camera should not be a problem. I can walk around the property and never lose signal. I was just curious how far away the base station can be placed from the camera.

[JStewart64]

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