Eufy SoloCam S40 Update - Bad News!

[@jamcmanus2186]

I bought two of the eufy e20 solocams in November 2021 and set each up...one for the front of the house, one for the back. They each worked wonderfully until May, 2022. It was odd, but within a couple weeks of each other, both cameras died. The cause of death? Not sure, but they each started refusing to connect or stay connected to the network. I tried everything and even walked through troubleshooting with Eufy. This happened to both cameras within a few weeks of each other and I immediately went through the steps of trying to fix each when it happened. That means I dealt with all of this twice. Anyway, the end result for each situation was Eufy sending replacement cameras because I was still under the 1 year warranty. So...May/June 2022, I have two new eufy cameras back up and operating great. I was happy with Eufy support. They're great and seemed to stand by their product. No hassle on the replacement process. Now, we are in April 2023. Guess what happened? One of the cameras is doing exactly what happened to the original cameras....refusing to connect to the network. It's out of the blue, too. It was working fine and it was time to charge it so I put it on the charger and got the notification that charging was done. Suddenly it won't connect. It won't even beep if you try to go through the steps to uninstall the camera altogether and reinstall. I can't even factory reset it. I tried going through the steps with Eufy customer service to make sure I wasn't losing my mind. Sure enough I was doing it right. The camera has just decided it's not going to work anymore. I asked Eufy if these cameras are intended to be disposable, and they assured me they are not, however I find the evidence to suggest otherwise. This is now three cameras which have died when they are less than a year old. I am no longer under the 1 year warranty which only applies to the original purchase date. Eufy does not warranty the product to last a year. They promise to replace faulty products that die within a year of the original purchase. That's a big difference, and to be fair, that's industry standard as far as warranty practices go. However, what the heck, Eufy? The evidence shows that your products are meant disposable cameras that are thrown away and replaced once you use for 6 months to a year. At least the Eufy solocam e20 is. Let's see how much longer the back yard camera lasts. If I'm correct, it won't last more than a few more months. Anyone have suggestions on a camera brand without a subscription they would recommend?

[@MATechYoutube]

I’ve had varying levels of success with battery cameras, those with external solar panels can stay at 100% whilst those with them built in tend to have sudden and dramatic battery drops as soon as it gets colder. The issue is most have gone the way of subscriptions which is eufys main selling point currently.

[@tombetterley1645]

Reolink

[@myutube6422]

I bought 5 of these, and they are working great except one died in about 6 months. Eufy instantly replaced it and paid for the return. The bottom line is excellent customer service. With the one that monitors my street mailbox, the quality was so good that the cops arrested them in 2 days.

[@skionen1781]

Nice to hear that, I’m thinking of getting 3 cameras

[@chockey134]

​@@skionen1781 mine broke in 14 months. No replacement for me.

[@svtjunkie]

I have the same camera and the same thing happened to mine. I noticed that the front face was discolored where the spotlights are housed. It became a brown color. Shortly afterwards, the camera stopped detecting motion and now the battery is draining at an accelerated rate. I contacted Eufy and described the problem. Afterwards they told me it was purchased from a store not affiliated with Eufy so I would have to contact them for a replacement. The store refused to assist me and said it was purchased a year ago. I was hoping that after 11 months they would still honor a repair or some sort of exchange. I finally took it down from its mount at the side of my house and upon shaking it I could hear water inside of the unit. If you live in a rainy area expect the camera to give you problems within a year. The camera is not sealed properly to repel moisture for long.

[@MATechYoutube]

Seems to have been a common issue that probably prompted the redesigns. By the way if you’d had the device for 11 months then the manufacturers warranty has to cover defects not caused by your usage. Either the store or eufy would have to honour a repair/replacement. If you’re in the UK then UK consumer law states that electronic devices have to be effective for a period of 6 years (which is the period UK consumer law covers).

[@metsatsu3017]

I wonder if this is the reason they released the s220?

[@EdenAudio]

@@MATechKZbin Eufy don't actually have to honour the warranty is there is no contract with them, your contract is with the seller in this case the buyer bought from a third party, the seller (third party) has to go to Eufy. Only if you buy directly from eufy with proof of purchase will they honour the warranty. These devices are not sealed well and condensation will enter them.

[@BigSmonster]

Which store did you buy it from?

[@ringwraiths20501]

I bought two and one of them are having the same issue as you. Water got in a it’s ruining the circuits. When it full dries it works again. The solar panel flakes like crazy so their coating isn’t really good.

[@MATechYoutube]

They redesigned them recently so I’m guessing they figured out that these weren’t fit for purpose. If you’re in the UK get onto them as UK consumer law will cover manufacturers defects for 6 years regardless of whether the initial warranty has expired.

[@tombetterley1645]

I have the same issues with my solo s40's. I purchased 2 from Amazon about 2 yrs ago and since then the first failed 1 yr after purchase and Eufy replaced it under warranty and now approx 2 yrs after purchase the second AND the replacement has failed. Both are showing signs of water infiltration in the light lenses and the discoloration in the lenses are equivalent to the discoloration shown here in the video. I think the weather proofing is stated at IP67 which states that it can withstand being submerged for up to 30 minutes in 3 feet of water however it seems like it can not even withstand a simple Florida summer rain storm. I would not suggest purchasing these S40 cams as they seem to have issues with the weather proofing.

[@MATechYoutube]

They’ve changed the design on their revised versions I believe but even still there are better options (even from eufy themselves) now so I definitely wouldn’t recommend anyone purchase these S40s.

[@ghanemsalem240]

I still use 6 of Solocam S40 cameras, and at ambient temperatures that vary between 30 to 50 degrees Celsius in dusty area , they still work well, except for only one camera, which stopped working completely after a period of operation exceeding 14 months.

[@MATechYoutube]

It seems the colder and wetter conditions kill these way quicker than warmer locations as well as frequent triggers. No wonder eufy changed the design on these.

[@davidcurry8440]

Your experience with Eufy support is similar to mine. I have the Solo Pro being in the elements. I have one camera that breaks every time we have heavy rain. I’ve had the camera replaced 3 times since December of last year. The third replacement was a bit of a struggle to replace because they pushed back saying they have sent 2 out. I suspect that he camera’s are not as water tight as they claim. I’m debating about sending these back to CostCo for a refund rather than asking for a replacement.

[@MATechYoutube]

I’ve tested quite a few of their cameras and pretty much all of them have some weird quirks. I’ve not had to do a return for a while but some viewers have told me that they’re not being as accommodating with the replacements anymore. This videos is clearly quite old but in the UK products have to hold up for 6 years minimum therefore if it is a manufacturing fault then we can still get a replacement either way.

[@william38022]

Our first S 40 stopped working within a few months and they weren’t real quick to replace it and they were somewhat sarcastic the guy I talk to was anyway however we sent it back to them and they did replace that one and it’s lasted about a year and a half now and the replacement is still working however we’ve had to bring it in to recharge it once in a while if there’s a lot of overcast days and extreme cold however I took mine down today because it said the camera was off-line it has been cold at night 19 and 20°F however it was getting plenty of sun I assumed it needed recharged again I brought it in and as soon as it warmed up it started working however I noticed the two front lobes to the right and left of the lens right where your lights are at on yours are full of water(I hope it’s water and not battery fluid anyway)I doubt it’s still in warranty however I will check does anyone know if there’s a way to drain that water and seal them up with silicone caulking or something and press t back into service???

[@MATechYoutube]

If you’re willing to remove and re seal the lenses then it should be possible as I don’t believe there’s anything other than sealant holding them on. I have a similar experience with my replacement, works okay summer but as soon as it gets cold it either drains the battery or just goes offline.

[@jamesdean5677]

Their customer service is terrible!

[@DwFritz23]

I have two of the S40's for about 11 months now. Both of them are on the back of my house in direct sunlight most of the day. One of them isn't solar charging anymore. Just today it shut off due to low battery. The other one is 100% charged.

[@MATechYoutube]

Give it a full charge for 24hrs+ and see if it maintains charge after that, if not get in touch with eufy.

[@felixdacat211]

Thank you for the video! Do you have an update of how the camera is doing currently? Has water intruded the new camera? I wonder if Eufy addressed the issues or updated the design hence why the name change from S40 to S230.

[@MATechYoutube]

I had the camera replaced under warranty and it’s currently sat at around 78% after giving it a 48hr manual charge. It usually has issues when the weather drops below 10°C and that hasn’t happened yet so we will wait and see. I have other cameras in the same location now so don’t rely on this one for coverage as it can just randomly shutdown or become unresponsive at times. Not sure whether eufy changed anything with the refresh design but they have now started offering plug in cameras so suggests maybe they’ve been unable to get over all the issues that plague their battery cameras.

[@Omikoshi78]

They don't want it back so they can diagnose, they want it back so they can get rid of the bad press.

[@MATechYoutube]

Probably

[@thejonezfamily3090]

How is the Eufy SoloCam S40 replacement still doing? are you still using it with the same issues with the one they sent you?

[@MATechYoutube]

The replacement would die out constantly in the locations I tested it so I gave it away in the hope someone else might get better luck with direct sunlight. Most of the solar cameras I’ve tested from eufy die out within days when actual usage occurs unless they have direct sunlight for most of the day.

[@davidhenderson3400]

I just helped a friend install one. It would not connect to the router no matter what. I went home and got an old router and it connected to the old one with no problem. After so searching in line I found out I am not the only one with that problem. The camera just will not connect with some routers. Second thing to keep in mind is the motion sensor trip range is just 30 feet. My friend has a long drive way and he wanted it to trip and tell him when a car was coming the driveway but as it turns out the car has to be already up the drive way and right at the back door before it will trip. Just remember how short 30 feet really is.

[@MATechYoutube]

You’ll find most battery powered cameras are the same as they rely on motion sensors to save battery, you’re better off with one that you can connect to mains power that have 24/7 recording. As for the connection did you check whether you have 2.4ghz and 5ghz combined? (Most new routers or satellites will combine bands). Most Wi-Fi devices will use 2.4ghz as it has better range.

[@davidhenderson3400]

@@MATechKZbin In this case it is a Windstream router and you are not allowed to check or change settings. The one that it did work with is a NetGear that lets you check and change everything.

[@MATechYoutube]

That’s an issue on the router then because every manufacturer out there will say ensuring you’re sending a 2.4ghz signal is required And your responsibility. I’m using bt fibre and they have their own router that I wanted to remove from the system and use my Orbi router, but the way they have it setup it doesn’t allow me to, so I just switched my Orbi to satellite mode and left the bt router to assign ip addresses, not ideal but it works.

[@BigSmonster]

I see that u have multiple s40 cameras, if I was to get 2 of them, would I need a hub?

[@MATechYoutube]

These are meant to work independently so no need for a hub but you can usually add them to a hub 3 if you choose to do so. All of the newer solo cameras work with the hub but I’ve not tested this particular camera as it’s currently got a dead battery and I’ve not bothered recharging it yet.

[@Juan-getithowyouleave]

I have two of them one seems to detect ghost 👻👻👻 it's always going off I've had them for 3 months it's annoying the settings are on 1 and still goes off and when I'm actually in front 7/10 it won't go off good thing I didn't waist the $1200 on the cam3 home set up

[@MATechYoutube]

They changed the design so they must know it was a bad design

[@joyjoy534]

I have the same issue where the front facing has discoloration due to water collected inside (exact same spot as yours). Mine was leaking in from the top of the front unit. Let's see how long it will take me to get a replacement unit.

[@MATechYoutube]

That’s one thing I’ll hand to eufy, they’re usually pretty good when it comes to replacements as they usually send everything out via Amazon so arrives next day usually.

[@joyjoy534]

@@MATechKZbin I ordered mine from their Amazon store. However, I see the design fault that allows water to get in from the front facing, so the replacement unit will suffer the same fate within a year.

[@MATechYoutube]

My replacement has been done albeit I don’t use it in the same location anymore so not sure if that has a bearing on it. I prioritise the HomeKit cameras as that’s what my setup is based around so the stand-alone cameras I test are just for the eufy app.

[@needsomehike]

Thank you, excellent review . question: can I turn on/off wifi to use it as a standalone camera without connection to the network? (of course i know the app wont work without connectivity) Is there a user interface in the camera menu or is it configurable only via the app? how do I download the hours long recording to my laptop? ….. via wifi?

[@MATechYoutube]

You can’t disable the Wi-Fi, and there is a desktop app you can install but features differ, think the desktop app only offers recordings downloading.

[@johnw65uk]

Just bought one of these, it connects first time 1 in every 3 goes. I’ve tried a few wireless cam and this is the worst. Going back to Poe and drill some holes I think.

[@MATechYoutube]

Poe is always the better option if you can do it, my walls don’t allow for holes to be drilled so I’m stuck with battery cameras.

[@bryandavies6792]

Have tried three of these but found that the blue charging light did not go off after 36hours then 24 hours and 12 hours - eventually gave up and returned either to Eufy or Amazon. Followed the manual to the letter - any ideas?

[@MATechYoutube]

I know the app does have options to disable all led indicators now, any cameras that are linked to HomeKit (not sure this one does) have to be disabled in HomeKit as well otherwise they’d still show the indicator lights.

[@gloriadodoo1983]

Hiya, I have just bought one of this, an s40 solocam but struggling to connect to my WiFi. 😢 I get an error message at the stage it's supposed to connect. Please do you have any suggestions on how to fix this?

[@MATechYoutube]

Take it close to the router when connecting it, also make sure you have a 2.4ghz network available for it to connect to and not just 5ghz.

[@kjanos85]

Hi! does the replacement cam do the same problem? can you give feedback on whether it works well?

[@MATechYoutube]

Replacement works fine so far.

[@kjanos85]

@@MATechKZbin do you not experience any coloration in the leds? has the first copy already gone bad in all this time?

[@MATechYoutube]

The LEDs can be tuned between warm white and cool white but the replacement doesn’t have the defective LEDs or water ingress like the faulty unit. Yes, the faulty unit was sent back before the video went live.

[@mele2259]

Hello . 2 of my outdoor s40’s aren’t getting any sun at all . I lose charge within days . Are there any solar panel chargers compatible with this ? Thanks v much . Any help appreciated

[@MATechYoutube]

This isn’t designed to work with solar panels as the port isn’t protected in the way one of the eufycams are. But if you did want a solar panel I suggest the eufy ones as they protect the built in battery from overcharging: amzn.to/3RYMtI3

[@justme19852]

I replaced mine because it wasn't able to switch between B&W and colour mode, when i went life during day it was turning lights on all the time

[@superliegebeest544]

Have the s40, it works oke but when u have a party or doing some work in the view of the camera it runs out of battery. Thats oke and understandable but it has solar so it should turn itselve on again but that doesnt work. Also the zones u can adapt have only the same.rules u cant set one zone for the floodlight and the other zone for the alarmsirene. And I also have the blackspot at the front. But it still works. And it supposed to have facial recognition but I dont have any options for that in the software.

[@NordicHealthHavenCC]

I don't neither. Doesn't let me have access to AI facial detection.

[@superliegebeest544]

@@NordicHealthHavenCC u need the newest basestation for that.

[@NordicHealthHavenCC]

@superliegebeest544 thank you brother 🙏

[@GS-kh5se]

My S40's lights turned brown, then the camera stopped working and wont charge from solar or usb. It is 6 months old.

[@MATechYoutube]

Contact eufy for a replacement

[@chockey134]

Can see internal water damage at @7:30

[@MATechYoutube]

It was sent back for a replacement

[@93karlquirante]

I have set my eufy s40 to customize recording to 120 seconds and disabled “end clip early if motion stop”. Its not recording the full 120 seconds. sometimes it only records 30 seconds. Anyone else having the same issue with the s40 or other camera?

[@MATechYoutube]

It seems to happen on all of them, despite changing that setting it still stops recording randomly at times.

[@wwang7876]

I would love to have a somewhat defective S40 if Eufy can send me a free unit. Camera still works right? And you don't really need spotlight on since it drains battery. Point is you get a free replacement for a free Solocam. Get over it!

[@MATechYoutube]

I do review videos for the viewers, and neither I nor eufy/Anker would accept that a viewer/customer would receive a defective item. I also like the be transparent and not hide the issues that may occur so as to highlight to manufacturers where they can do better. This helps them and also the consumer at the end of the day. What good would a spotlight camera be that doesn’t have a functioning spotlight and a solar camera that doesn’t charge? And no the camera didn’t still work as it would randomly shutdown and become unresponsive. Thankfully eufy has great customer service so doesn’t need apologists to try and cover for faults.

[@MousyLeigh]

Lol. Wow! His job is to review things. It’s part of the review. Isn’t that why you are watching the video? Goodness! Why so much hate for no reason?

[@MATechYoutube]

😂 I get used to stuff like this with the amount of comments but it is funny when others call out some of the garbage that gets posted, no sense of reality for some and just think consumers should accept a bad deal!