In a significant disruption for Wyze owners, a widespread outage caused difficulties in accessing smart home devices and using the associated apps. The problems were reported by users in the Wyze Discord community, with initial reports emerging as early as 4 AM ET. The issue became more prevalent by 6 AM ET, according to Down Detector.

Just before 1 PM ET, a number of Wyze owners shared relief as their devices finally came back online. The latest update from Wyze, issued at 1:07 PM ET, confirmed the restoration, stating that devices were beginning to recover. However, the company highlighted an ongoing issue with the Events Tab and promised more information in a forthcoming update.

Wyze acknowledged the outage earlier in the day, posting a note at 10:24 AM ET. According to the company, the problem stemmed from issues with their partner, Amazon Web Services (AWS). The connectivity disruption impacted device connections and caused difficulties with logins. Wyze assured users that it was working in collaboration with AWS to resolve the issue while simultaneously taking steps to mitigate the problem on its own end.

In posts on the Wyze forum regarding the service outage, users expressed frustration over not being able to connect to their security cameras through the app. Cameras were reported to be going offline, and users found themselves unable to control their devices via the app. Additionally, some users reported app crashes and devices disappearing from their accounts.

Wyze is known for its popular range of home security devices. However, the company has faced previous privacy incidents, including a data breach in 2019. Wyze also encountered a serious security flaw, leading to the discontinuation of older devices without a recall. Last year, a web caching issue resulted in users seeing camera feeds from other people's devices, with their own devices being replaced by strangers' feeds, even intruding into the privacy of strangers' homes.

The recent outage highlights the challenges that smart home device manufacturers face in maintaining connectivity and data security. Users rely on these devices for enhanced security and convenience, making it crucial for companies like Wyze to address such disruptions promptly and reinforce privacy safeguards.

[Update: December 16th, 1 PM ET] - Users and Wyze provide status updates regarding device recovery.

[Update: December 16th, 1:20 PM ET] - Wyze issues an additional update on the ongoing investigation of the Events Tab issue.