I Usually Recommend Against Window Cameras. This Model Is an Exception

Putting a security camera against a window is usually a bad idea. They’re subject to glare issues and can struggle to get a good angle. But this new wired Wyze camera ($35) is made specifically to watch from a window, an alternative design for people who may not have many security options — like renters who want to keep an eye on their car in a parking lot, or people without easy outdoor placement options.

CNET hasn’t been recommending Wyze cams for the past couple of years, a call I made after repeated security breaches and privacy snafus put user videos at risk. Since then, Wyze has made security improvements and gone two years without any incidents, enough time to start testing their products again. And what better place to start than this new concept?

I came away impressed with this window cam and how it fills a specific niche that could be just right for certain users, especially those looking to save money or who want to give a camera as a gift. Here’s what I found.

Camera construction and quality

If you’ve used Wyze cams before, the design of the Window Camera will be familiar. It keeps the Wyze cam’s compact, blocky shape, lightweight and small enough to easily fit in the palm of your hand. However, it comes with add-ons specifically designed to place the camera on the window.

Wyze has always put a focus on simplicity. Attach the cable to this camera, plug it in, and you don’t need to do much else at all. There’s a setup/reset button that I didn’t have to use, a small indicator light and a slot for a microSD card, but that’s about it. The absence of bells and whistles helps keep the price low on this affordable model, but you will need an outlet near your window to use it with the 10-foot cable.

The camera lens provides 1080p/HD resolution and a 120-degree field of view. These aren’t impressive specs compared to other cameras, but again, they help keep the price low. I found them suitable for basic viewing of my front yard and driveway, and the upgraded color night vision really does work well into the cloudy nights. I, uhh, made sure my outside windows were dirty for this test to see how that impacted visibility, and learned the camera still performed well.

Setup and installation

How does Wyze approach a window attachment? My camera came with a peel-and-stick Velcro-style pad to attach to a window, plus an extra just in case. Clean your window and pop the sticker on, then you can use the pad around the camera lens to latch the camera onto the hole. Again, Wyze’s simple approach is welcome, and since the camera is so lightweight there was no risk of my model falling, and the Velcro attachment proved strong.

You may be wondering if a window cam like this gets in the way of blinds or shades. I can’t speak for your window treatments, but my shades easily descend over the camera without it ever getting in the way. The attachment pad does block a small section of your window, so think carefully before placing it. Fortunately, that up-close lock-on method also helps reduce any glare issues.

App controls and settings

Wyze’s app is particularly straightforward, walking you through the setup process and Wi-Fi connection with no muss or fuss. Between that and the easy window Velcro approach, the entire setup took me about five minutes — although you will have to set up and confirm a Wyze account if this is your first time.

Wyze’s menus are a little complicated for just a single camera, designed for a broader ecosystem of devices, but they’re pretty easy to figure out, divided into Favorites, Devices and Automations, with a smaller menu devoted to different app sections like Events, Monitoring, Shop and Account.

Choosing the Window Camera in Devices or Favorites yields an immediate live view. After the first couple pairings, I found there to be very little latency and the image came in clear for its resolution. There’s two-way audio support, but when used as a window camera that’s not much use here, since it just picks up indoor noises.

When I tapped into settings, I found options to adjust the motion sensitivity that triggers the camera, choose what events are recorded, the sort of notifications you get and other various adjustments. Wyze’s experience shows well here, as the settings are both useful and streamlined, giving you plenty of options without making things too confusing.

That brings me to automations, which are more complicated, but allow you to set arming/disarming options for certain times of day. It’s more useful if you can connect other Wyze devices and use them in concert, like turning on a smart porch light if the camera recognizes a person. If you’re just sticking with this window cam, you probably won’t spend much time here.

What about subscriptions?

The free version of the Wyze Window Camera senses motion and can tell cars, pets and people apart, but nothing more in-depth. Add a Cam Unlimited subscription for $10 per month and you get arm/disarm modes and as well as friendly face recognition. Friendly face recognition isn’t a lot of use here, since windows cams are rarely placed at good angles to see faces and dirty windows can be an impediment.

More value comes from the $20 Pro subscription, which adds 60 days of cloud storage and AI video search, one of the latest features to hit the security cam market. But as I noted above, the camera includes a slot for a microSD card to manage local video clip storage. With that feature, and how you get basic object detection for free, I think this cam is a strong option for those who don’t want to pay any subscriptions at all.

One more note about that object detection: I found that it worked well, perhaps a little too reliably. The constant alerts of cars passing by quickly became tiring, as did people walking their dogs. Fortunately, Wyze has included options to limit notifications and how they work, or to set up an automation that turns off notifications for certain times of day.

Dive deeper in with the right Premium subscription, and you can control filters for people, packages, pets as well as sounds like crying (less useful here) and gunshots or glass breaking (more useful).

Final thoughts

I’m giving Wyze another shot, and if they can keep their security track record as clean as it’s been these past two years, I think you’ll see their security devices start to reappear on our best product guides.

For now, I can recommend this camera as an affordable, effective option for anyone who can’t use an outdoor cam but still needs eyes on the outside. The app is easy to use, and you’ll find plenty of ways to use this camera without subscriptions, including the microSD storage option. Plus, setup takes only minutes and is simple for newcomers.

Just keep in mind that some features, like two-way audio and face recognition, won’t work well with a window-mounted camera. If you want to explore additional camera mounting options, try out my guide on the best battery-powered cameras.