How To Make A Raspberry Pi Zero WiFi Security Camera, Also Accessible Over The Internet

In this video, I'll show you step by step how to build your own WiFi security camera, which is accessible over your local network or over the internet, using a Raspberry Pi Zero W and the Pi Camera.
We'll be using the MotionEyeOS operating system on the Raspberry Pi, which is mobile and tablet friendly. You can also set up motion detection, which triggers email notifications or take still images and timelapse movies.
For the full step by step written guide with all of the links to the software and templates, visit the guide on my blog - www.the-diy-life.com/how-to-make-a-raspberry-pi-zero-wifi-security-camera/
Software Links:
MoitionEyeOS - github.com/ccrisan/motioneyeos
Balena Etcher - www.balena.io/etcher/
What You Need For This Project:
Raspberry Pi Zero W - amzn.to/3i95Lbx
Raspberry Pi Zero Case & Ribbon Cable - amzn.to/356ZcCK
Raspberry Pi Camera - amzn.to/3h11vJH
Micro SD Card (Min 8GB) - amzn.to/3h5VnQy
Power Supply - amzn.to/32jmu6u
Optional Alternative (You'll Still Need The Camera):
Pi Zero W Kit (Includes Pi Zero W, Case, SD Card, Power Supply & Camera Ribbon Cable) - amzn.to/2Zdh3Ep
If you've got any suggestions for Raspberry Pi, Arduino or Electronics projects or tutorials, let me know in the comments section.

[@NetzKanal]

I'm searching for something like that for a while now without success. And now I got this video suggested here. Perfect! Thank you 👍

[@BrookZerihun]

Thank you, will have something to do with all the pi zeros on my desk, the kids will love it

[@Dimtemp]

Very nice explanation. Used it to hook up my RPi Zero W to a Synology running Surveillance station. Added it as User defined - Streaming HTTP and works perfectly!

[@MichaelKlements]

That sounds awesome!

[@aaronheise1995]

it looks like GLADOS :D

[@user-rn6hz8pb9s]

I was thinking the same thing, and I think it’s the coolest looking security camera ever

[@MarcoShimomoto]

Best comment on all of youtube!

[@timyg]

6:12 why am i getting glados vibes (portal 2)

[@kinikinrd]

if you are looking to a project to keep you busy for a while, this isn't it. First step is to download the "full step by step written guide". I used a new 0w, modified the .conf file to match my router and flashed it to the card. I then put the card in the 0w and turned on the power. It loaded and started the 0w and the picture appeared. No VLC, no NOOB. NICE!! Thank You Michael

[@lionhuntingwolf3272]

Thank you this was very helpful for the project I am currently working on👍

[@yourpalfranc]

This is a very nicely done tutorial, Michael!! I've been looking for cameras "that I can trust," and this looks like a very interesting project. I have all the parts on the way including a second camera with better resolution and night vision to tinker with. Thanks for your very good work!! ~Frank

[@MichaelKlements]

Thanks Frank, enjoy the project!

[@yourpalfranc]

@@MrBobWareham Agreed! I bought another 1080p Pi camera with IR but I haven't put it all together yet. The basic camera has been working well.

[@randolfaquino9998]

@@yourpalfrancis it a secure feed?

[@ps6k4trk33]

Thanks you for this good video, congrats

[@jessed9299]

Great video!!

[@monologiorobotach557]

Thank you for the video. I plan to use it to watch my 3d prints from work.

[@MichaelKlements]

You should have a look at setting up OctoPrint!

[@Pocket2441]

@@MichaelKlements what’s that

[@SeanReitmeyer]

Would you be so kind as to provide a link to the go pro mount stl? Thanks

[@j.n.8745]

Very cool 👍🏻

[@markgiles8527]

Home security. Going to give this a try using a raspberry pi.

[@randallcrisp3266]

Oom Mike, this is great thank you!

[@michaeld4502]

I liked this for being simple.... I want to install on back window of my trailer when towing and use to see cars behind when changing lanes..... Also backing up trailer.....

[@MichaelKlements]

There is a bit of lag in the system, so it's probably not the best solution for something that requires a "live" feed.

[@manohar3787]

Am using this tutorial in 2023 and most of the steps are still relevant. Thanks for explaining clearly. Am using a USB camera and do you know how we can improve the video quality

[@jonathangrandmont]

Hello ! Great tutorial, does it record the pictures on the SD card ? I'd like to use this setup offline and pickup the picture every weeks.

[@jjones503]

For those who aren't able to do port forwarding, look into running a cloudflare tunnel on a Linux vm or local machine that opens the camera inside your network to a custom domain without fussing with your router.

[@ste76539]

If you'reusing Etcher to write the OS to your card, you don't need to unzip it, Etcher does this for you.

[@tinawu1328]

a

[@ste76539]

Totally not dodgy as f*#@...Anyone daft enough to fall for it, probably deserves scamming

[@theclockworkcadaver7025]

@@ste76539 What were you replying to here?

[@Didanihaaaa]

what "and then put it into the 30MB settings partition which you’re able to write to on your SD card." means is? I just copy-paste into the sd card! i get this error: "tarting wpa_supplicant: failed (brcmfmac)" thanks for tutorial

[@DigitalIP]

If used outside, would it be a good idea to add a little dielectric grease to the ports to help protect from corrosion/moisture?

[@arnabmondal9009]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nmnclKCopKuEidU

[@DigitalIP]

@@arnabmondal9009 Already seen it, but yes nail polish works well also, but grease isnt permanent or semi permanent and doesnt require a solvent if any repairs are needed.

[@JamesAAshton]

Cutting off power can corrupt the SD card if you don't remotely login and properly shutdown the system first. Usually you should get away with it but try to avoid just pulling the plug and hope for not too many power outages.

[@Tallermage]

@Solaire-Elec DIY sudo shutdown now

[@Gerald-iz7mv]

Hi nice video. Where to order the case? Is the case waterproof? Would like to connect a solar cell and a battery as well

[@callumbrowne2081]

hi. great explanation. which image should be for rasp pi zero? i can see for pi, 1, 2, 3, and 4, but not zero Edit: i missed it sorry

[@JohnsCrafts]

Hi i'd wanted to ask if we can add a microphone so we can hear too. Nice video keep going...

[@wilyc0y0te]

How many frames per second do you get with this on the best quality settings? I've tried using a PI with USB webcam in the past and the frame rate was very poor.

[@MichaelKlements]

The MotionEyeOS software automatically limits the framerate to 5fps so that it doesn't overload your networks bandwidth and allows slower Pis (like the Zero and Zero W) time to process. I assume that you can change this if you want to, but I haven't really looked too much into it. For a general security camera, 5fps seems to be fine for me.

[@SondelaConsulting]

This is a great video. I know its really old but still good. Do you have the file for 3d printing a Go Pro Mount? And what 3d printer do you use?

[@kishorekumar-gy6rx]

Can we use for same project what ever available new pi board?

[@kang.UjangBustomi_supporter]

Will you made a smart glass using pi w? I love your explain in this video God bless

[@MichaelKlements]

I don't really have a place for one at the moment, but I'd like to try building one at some stage. Looks like an interesting project!

[@TheDragorin]

so now how to get it to use google voice to call your phone when it senses motion.

[@db5145]

Any chance of making an internet booster to enhance reception in remote locations?

[@MichaelKlements]

I'll have a look at this, thanks for the suggestion D B

[@sachinfilinto]

Nice Project. Especially like the mount you 3d printed. some questions: 1. What are you using to keep the camera powered ? if batteries, what is the time you get of a single charge ? 2. have you explored any software which can do ONVIF ? (don't have budget for synology as one user has commented) 3. how are you protecting this from the elements ? (I guess the sun will eventually cause the camera to deteriorate in time)

[@MichaelKlements]

Thank you. To answer your questions: 1) I run my cameras off a small USB power supply each, so they're always plugged in. 2) I'm not aware of any freeware or open-source software that can do ONVIF. That's not to say that there aren't any though, I've just never come across them. 3) This camera is under a large (1m) or so overhang, so it can't get wet and it's never in the sun. I'd suggest using a completely sealed box if you do put one outside. Something like a food storage container with a clear flat side for the camera would probably work well on a budget. You could also probably retrofit this into a GoPro housing or something similar as the Pi Zero and GoPro are both 65mm long.

[@sachinfilinto]

@@MichaelKlements thanks

[@DanielMartinez_DantonioMarte]

Hi, link of the stand please?

[@somebody6590]

Hi, great video! Very informative, I had to use jawsper's version of the motioneyeos image due to having a raspberry pi zero 2 w with a cam rev1.3 instead, but it works great. But the problem is I'm making a dashcam and cannot have a wifi connected to the pi, so is it possible to use motioneyeos offline? Or even making its own wifi acess point would do, in fact make it more convenient. Would be glad if you could help me out!

[@RedGreen1]

This has mad GLaDOS vibes from Portal.

[@MRJEFRY-op7qg]

How u connect internet can u show tutorial .means when i put it on wall i not have internet cable

[@MichaelKlements]

It connects to the internet over WiFi, there’s more on setting this up in the written guide linked to in the video description

[@ssphaneuf1986]

I have an odd question, is it possible to take apart a phone and use the camera from a disassembled samsung galaxy note 5? for example it's broken, but the camera module works fine. I know it's a higher pixel camera than most. just wondering if it would work

[@MichaelKlements]

I'm sure you could salvage the camera module from the phone, the issue you'd most likely have is in finding a driver circuit for it. These camera generally don't have much circuitry on the actual camera module and rely on the phone's motherboard to "process" the signal. You'd probably have more luck trying to salvage the camera from an old laptop, these typically use a 4 wire USB interface already.

[@cjlowe1650]

can I attach a usb mic to record sound? and also send the video to another device suck as a network drive etc.

[@MichaelKlements]

MotionEyeOS unfortunately doesn't support sound recording at the moment, but there are options to save the video footage to a network drive or to cloud storage services like Google Drive.

[@cjlowe1650]

@@MichaelKlements Thanks for the rely. Do you (anyone chime in also) know of any projects that can stream audio with video on the Pi? Seriously, for years it's been a no brainer with most cameras in Windows. Is this an issue with Linux based systems? I really love the Pi. There are tons of projects recording and streaming video on the Pi but I can't find any doing Video and Audio together!!!! Any help would be appreciated.

[@CJfoks]

Can You hook up multiply USB cameras to single raspberry?

[@danielhidefjall5060]

You have a nice house.

[@miguelcastillo8441]

Thanks for the video. I am planning to mount it on the bow of a boat. Do you have any idea on how to make a waterproof case for the PiZero with an outgoing usb cable for power?

[@MichaelKlements]

I'd try and find a suitable waterproof container and then adapt it to fit the Pi rather than trying to build a case for the Pi. Try finding a clear pelican case or food storage container with a nice flat side for the camera lens to peer through.

[@CBWoodsman]

I've seen a dummy security camera used for this purpose. Just hollow it out and put in your pi cam.

[@MossCoveredBonez]

as long as there werent any editing tricks, then this was way more responsive than my store bought security cameras. Mine take so long to connect that someone could already be in my house before the feed conencts

[@htiguy1]

Great project, is there a way to have multiple video feeds on a single web page, or does each camera need its own web page?

[@MichaelKlements]

Yes you can do that too, you’ll just need a host Pi. So you set up another Pi Zero with MotionEyeOS as a host and it will receive the feeds from the other cameras, you then access this host to see a page with multiple feeds.

[@coltin1965]

@@MichaelKlements I would use the pi 3 or 4 the host pi needs that cpu power

[@potatogamer5559]

@@MichaelKlements could i make the multiple video feeds go to a Windows 10 PC?

[@pranavtatavarti105]

@@potatogamer5559 Yeah you can use docker to run motion eye on the PC and then connect however many zero pis you want to that PC with cameras connected to the pis

[@E_Proxy]

I am sorry guys, not a great technician or programmer, I'd like to surveil my house since when I'm away it is empty. Chinese cams are shady with data traffic and I do not have an hardware firewall, therefore I've just realized I could do something DIY with a Pi or an Arduino. All the points you made in this comment (the comment per se) are very interesting to me but I really am not that familiar with this kind of tech. Is there a possibility for you to elaborate or do you have sources I could learn from? I'd like to have multiple pi for surveillance, an host to gather feed (can an host be a camera too?) and I did not fully get the win10 part but might be useful (maybe it is intended not to have to use a browser page?). Other questions I have are: is there a way to implement motion alert, feed recording (sorta like dash cams: keep the last 5-10 min or keep recording while a motion is detected)? Maybe I am asking too much but I really do not know the limit of this "toys". Final question: I know it is a raspberry video but would you prefer an Arduino over the Pis or Pis are fine? Thanks so much to any kind souls for an eventual reply

[@venomxl1655]

can we connect it to multiple networks so it auto switches between them when 1 is not available

[@MichaelKlements]

I haven't seen this functionality in any settings or in their documentation.

[@shokdj1]

I’ll be using this to watch my 3d printer

[@MichaelKlements]

Try out Octprint for this

[@iroesstrongarm]

I recently set one of these up. Have you been able to get better than the 5fps feed for live video?

[@MichaelKlements]

I haven't really looked into this in too much detail but from what I've read, the framerate is limited by the software to 5fps so that it doesn't overload your network's bandwidth and allows time for processing on the Pi. I assume that you'd be able to change this if you want to, although I'm not sure if this is simply a setting change or if it requires editing of the source code.

[@CraigMullins1]

Can we do 4k yet with either the zero or the pi4? Can we do 30, 60, 120, 240 frames per second?

[@MichaelKlements]

Not that I'm aware of. You might be able to get 4K 30fps out of a Pi 4 with the right supporting hardware.

[@devangsahani2086]

Hi, BalenaEtcher seems to be giving me an error regarding it being a compressed image and that it could be corrupted. I did run it as a administrator after the problem occurred but it's doing the same thing. Please help asap, my sd card is showing no sign of storage

[@devilsknight]

Just wondering if you unziped it first? Could be it

[@arshafaq8377]

waow

[@danielroy8232]

how do you make it record?

[@MrBross-ey8yp]

Great video. I am wondering if you could plugin a small USB solar panel to a power bank which then plugs into the Raspberry Pi. How efficient do you think this would be? Also, does the video feed write over itself once it fills the SD card?

[@MichaelKlements]

Thanks! If you’ve got a nice sunny spot for a panel then you could definitely do that. The Pi Zero W only uses around 1W so you’d probably need a 5-10W panel to make up for the full day. You can get it up to fill the SD card or a network drive or even a Dropbox or Google Drive folder.

[@Camiped040]

Awesome idea, In theory, you can use the high-quality camera as well, right? Do you know if MotionEye supports tilting of the camera If I were to add a servo motor? Thanks ina dvance

[@MichaelKlements]

Yes you can use any other camera which usually works with a Pi, even a USB one. I don’t think it does, but it is open source so you could try adding the functionality if you’re up for the challenge.

[@Micksoffthings]

nice

[@matthewwinter157]

Very goo job with the tutorial. I am having trouble (on Mac) with creating the wpa_supplicant.conf file. The file seems to always revert to .txt. Please let me know if you have any tips!

[@MichaelKlements]

Thanks Matthew. Make sure that your mac is set to show file extensions (if usually isn't by default). You can then change the .txt to .conf. If you do this without extensions visible then it just becomes a .conf.txt file which remains a .txt file.

[@ToPProjectsCompilation]

Would you suggest a self-3d printed casing? And what is the total cost of the project? Btw thanks for the step by step instructions.

[@MichaelKlements]

Yes definitely, there are loads of awesome Pi Zero cases on Thingyverse to 3D print. I got the Pi for $5 and the camera was around $10, the mount and power supply you can get from a dollar store, so probably around $20 per camera.

[@ToPProjectsCompilation]

@@MichaelKlements thanks :)

[@reyzix-jj5of]

@@MichaelKlements Where did you get a Pi Zero for 5 dollars :o

[@jrseven2184]

Does the reapberry pi "camera" need to be connected to some type of power sourc?

[@MichaelKlements]

Yes it needs to be powered, this can be from a wall plug, battery or power bank

[@AnimatorElite]

under 10 mins, cool

[@razzy1]

Awesome video, 1 Question. Can you get it to save footage?

[@MichaelKlements]

Yes, MoitionEyeOS can save footage to a local drive, network drive or cloud drive

[@lowkeygaming4716]

Does the camera module has motion sensor and infrared for night mode?

[@MichaelKlements]

The MotionEyeOS software has motion sensing. You could add a camera module with infrared, but the standard Pi camera doesn’t have this.

[@matthieuvandenneucker]

Would it be more useful to use the noIr cam or just the regular one?

[@MichaelKlements]

If you want the camera to work at night then the NoIR one would be a better choice

[@idonthinkso807]

that looks just like a glados!

[@Urban_Geek]

thank you for your video great work Michael... Could this be used without internet as I would like to add this to my camper van project? but cant guarantee I have WIFI thanks again

[@MichaelKlements]

It doesn't need WiFi, it just needs a network connection to be able to access the dashboard. So you can run a local WiFi network without any internet access for it.

[@benjidaniel5595]

OMG it’s like a mini GlaDOS!

[@MichaelKlements]

Now that you mention it 😂

[@benjidaniel5595]

@@MichaelKlements Haha make it happen!

[@Gonzie6]

Keep it away from the nerve gas!

[@kierank01]

How did you get the heatsink & camera module into the case? When I put the heatsink on, I couldn't close the cover, when I had the camera module in...I had to take out the heatsink

[@MichaelKlements]

Are you sure that you’re using the right size heatsink? And that the Pi is “clipped” into the bottom of the case. I didn’t have any issues with it, it fitted together quite easily.

[@kierank01]

@@MichaelKlements well, the heatsink came with the pi, so can only presume so...it is 6mm high :) The pi is clipped in, and all the connectors line up...same with the camera It's working ok-ish as a dashcam, the frame rate seems to lag once a second... haven't played with any settings (or overclocking) yet, so not sure if the heatsink would help

[@marvinyo9813]

can you give me an example of what country code should look like in the code?

[@MichaelKlements]

In the first line of the supplicant.txt document (country=AU), AU is the country code I've used. For the USA it is US, for the United Kingdom it is GB etc.

[@NarutoUzumaki83]

Can the camera preview from a different network or must the phone be connected to the same network as the camera?

[@MichaelKlements]

You'll need to set up port forwarding if you'd like to connect from an outside network, but it is possible.

[@kfire68]

Great tutorial! My camera is not working however... Does anyone know how I can test the camera? I have a rpi4 I could use to test it.

[@MichaelKlements]

Try plugging the camera into your Pi 4 and running the "raspistill -o cam.jpg" command to take a photo

[@SidharthGat]

Bro where you didn't mention power supply connection. Can you tell me entire circuit diagram to stream live video to my laptop, I'm trying to do object(fire) detection on on this, a small part of my project?

[@MichaelKlements]

The Pi Zero is powered through microUSB as usual. I'm not really sure what you mean by a circuit diagram, the camera is just plugged into the Pi's camera connector with the included ribbon cable.

[@larrylarry1368]

Do you think it can withstand outdoor winter/summer temperature differences?

[@MichaelKlements]

It's definitely not designed to be an outdoor camera. The area this camera is in is under cover and quite well protected. Also, our outdoor temperatures typically stay in the 5°C to 35°C range throughout the year.

[@lyndajones1133]

@@MichaelKlements where would you look to get info to make this setup but outside...i live in a sketchy neighborhood so dont want it getting mucked with . knockin on weed. i mean wood.

[@marvinyo9813]

Do I code right into the template after I download it? In 4:00

[@MichaelKlements]

Yes, open the text file and edit the name and password, then copy it into the root directory and change the file type to .conf instead of .txt There is a written guide linked in the video description if you're still unsure.

[@1234andrew1234]

Thanks for the video. I keep trying to flash the sd card but get an error saying the compressed image is corrupted :'(

[@1234andrew1234]

Solved - Run as administrator if you are having this issue. Thanks again for the video!

[@MichaelKlements]

That’s great!

[@markward7088]

I'm interested in creating a microcontroller based color night vision WiFi security camera. My initial thought was to use a Sony IMX USB camera module, as it s transferrable to other devices with USB ports. I'm stuck on the best board to use. It appears a 32 bit board is preferable. Any suggestions?

[@MichaelKlements]

Microcontrollers can usually only handle limited bandwidth from a camera module. If you want a high quality camera, you're better off using a Pi 4.

[@markward7088]

Ok thanks

[@jathomas9928]

Any security issues in saving your wi-fi password in an unencrypted text file on the SD card?

[@MichaelKlements]

I probably wouldn't be using one of these cameras in a situation where it's likely to be tampered with or needs to be "secure". This is more of a keep an eye on things while you're out type of camera, great for watching your pets while at work or when deliveries are made to your door etc.

[@alan_lenarcoleptique]

Hello, when i boot my pi it does configuring wired network: no link and the pi reboots. Do you know where does this problem can come from ?

[@MichaelKlements]

It seems like it's not able to connect to your WiFi network, you've probably got an issue with the wpa supplicant file or the network details you've specified in it.

[@glennog]

Nice video, although if you're using Etcher you don't need to unzip the image download

[@MichaelKlements]

Thanks for the tip!

[@weahmanna660]

I like this a lot. My plan is to use this as a base. End goal is to have it be able to turn on for motion and record to google drive and the sd card. Also send a text and/or email. I'd like it to also work off wifi and on a back up battery source as well in case wifi goes down and power goes out and this can be similar to a back up to my ring. Excited for this side project. For yours does it still record and function if it disconnects from the wifi? Still record to the SD card. Working through instructions and code now.

[@MichaelKlements]

This sounds like a good application for it. I don't have the camera actively recording, I just use it for remote monitoring. I'm not sure about writing to the SD card as SD cards typically have a limited number of write cycles, but you could probably write to an attached SSD.

[@johnwittler7978]

@@MichaelKlements I was thinking an external drive would be better anyway and or google drive. I would only have mine activate when motion is sensed. What do you do to keep the device cool?

[@MichaelKlements]

If you've got sufficient space and the internet connection then google drive is probably the easiest option. I don't have any additional cooling on mine, just the small aluminium heat sink. Mine probably doesn't get that hot though because it's only really working when I have a browser open to access the video feed, which is for a minute or two at a time. If you're running it full time then you probably need to put a small fan onto it.

[@tomhedge3797]

is there a way to take all the footage from the pi zero and save it to a local drive?

[@MichaelKlements]

Yes MotionEyeOS has functionality for local and network drive backup.

[@michaelcooper5490]

Hello Michael very nice tutorial, Where did you get the pattern for the go mount? Thingiverse?

[@MichaelKlements]

It's just something I drew up in Tinkercad

[@michaelcooper5490]

@@MichaelKlements Oh okaycool beans Thanks.

[@divinefactsbykumuddave]

Can we build this project with just simple USB connected camera not a raspberry pi camera??

[@MichaelKlements]

Yes you can use a USB camera as well. With the Pi zero you'll just need to use the microUSB to USB adaptor to plug it in.

[@k1ortia]

How can this be incorperated for a video feed used in an rc aircraft, maybe connected to some kind of 3g-4g dongle? and relay the feed to a monitor or smart phone. could this be done? cheers

[@MichaelKlements]

You could probably get a 3G dongle to work but they're generally quite big and heavy and there would be a significant delay in the feed. You'd be better off with a local WiFi camera or analogue video feed.

[@k1ortia]

@@MichaelKlements To be honest, the weight of the dongle wouldn't really be an issue, as the plane flies perfectly around 1800-2kg. I'm aware there may be some Latency, but due to it being in a plane and not a racing quad where Latency needs to be at a minimum if none at all, i can get away with it.

[@mado1567]

is it possible to not overwrite current OS on raspberry? I am hosting some stuff on my raspberry pi

[@MichaelKlements]

You could probably install Docker and then install MotionEyeOS into a container.

[@GeorgeBrotherston]

I'm hoping to have multiple (up to 6) cameras connected to the internal network via WiFi to capture 60 minute sessions at 1920x1080 at 30 fps to a network computer that has SSD harddrive. I have Verizon FiOS Gigabit internet, which provided me a Verizon G3100 router. I'm hoping to record 1080p multi-cam home videos (each camera being utilized for a different camera angle), which I'll edit using Final Cut Pro X (Apple) video editing software. Will this support my desired video capture requirements? If so, what would be the recommended configuration (cached writes at x MB/GB or minutes)? Thank you!

[@MichaelKlements]

You could configure another Pi to be the camera hub and manage the video feeds from the cameras and the writing to an SSD. But yes, it all sounds possible. It would be quite bandwidth intensive if you’re planning on running it 24hrs or is the 60 minute session just an occasional one off? I’m not sure about the configuration, you’d have to do some experimentation and see what works best.

[@GeorgeBrotherston]

Michael Klements Thanks! They would be “one off” vids (whenever she is in the mood), I ordered a cam to test, if this works well I’ll keep adding cams! Your idea of a separate Pi to handle the management (hub, writes, etc) is a great idea!

[@joshuabrown8768]

Love the subtext...looking to do the same thing so please do update!

[@richards7909]

The Pi Zero W is quite limited in terms of CPU and RAM. MotionEyeOS while great suffers on this hardware once you start turning things on (such as motion detection or trying to view video). Also remember that while the camera itself may be able to do high res fast FPS video, the hardware itself has to be to deal with that end encode it as a stream in real time. I currently use v4l2rtspstreamer on a Pi Zero with the lite version of Raspberry PI OS which streams to a Synology Cam Surveillance app. It currently sends at 1080p at 15fps fairly well although if the CPU becomes busy, strange artefacts occur (because I guess it can’t encode quick enough). This may be solve-able by tweaking the encoding settings but I’ve not got round to this yet although setting to 720p could stop this too. :) My advice is if you do try it, be careful with the camera socket on the zero. It won’t take much punishment so perhaps keep it out of any case until you’re happy with your set up! Good luck :)

[@WilliamVirkin]

can create an array of cameras for differents positions of my house?

[@MichaelKlements]

Yes you can add multiple cameras to the system and assign one Raspberry Pi as the host to access them through.

[@toufikjabrane9650]

can i use a USB camera, and save ideo in the SD card

[@MichaelKlements]

Yes you can do both of those, although its not a good idea to continually save footage to an SD card as they aren't usually durable enough to handle a large number of write cycles.

[@fishbeetle]

Hi Michael, what's your experience with MotionEye? It doesn't seem to be under development any more, and I'm struggling with reliability on RPi3b+ whereby the video freezes up (whilst the web UI carries on as normal) and it requires a reboot to get it going again. This seems to happen whenever I leave a browser open on the video stream for any length of time. I also found the motion detection feature to be completely (and utterly) useless. Do you know of any other IP camera softwares for the RPi?

[@MichaelKlements]

I’ve only used the basic features of MotionEye, I haven’t really put a lot of time into it. How are you cooling your Pi? I’ve heard reports from others that continuous streaming causes the Pi’s temperature to rise and if you don’t have adequate cooling then this might result in it freezing up when it starts throttling.

[@fishbeetle]

@@MichaelKlements Thanks for responding, my pi has a fan and it doesn't completely lock-up, the web server and SSH connections both continue to work fine, just that the video freezes. It seems to happen when I leave a browser connected and walk away, when I wake my pc back up a while later the video is frozen and refreshing the page has no effect. If I subsequently grab a still it's from the point when the video stalled.

[@MichaelKlements]

And that doesn't happen if you leave it running without the browser open and just open up browser windows when you want to check on it? It might be worth asking the question on Reddit, perhaps someone else has encountered this before.

[@fishbeetle]

@@MichaelKlements Yes indeed: if you don't watch the video it doesn't die! Just wondering if you or any of your subscribers had seen this behavior too?

[@MichaelKlements]

Yeah that's strange. I haven't seen this issue come up here or on my blog before. The only freezing issue I'm aware of is one which is caused by the Pi overheating in the plastic case with no fan.

[@hamsterwolf]

cool project but on concern wouldn't it be possible for someone to steal your camera and read the login credentials for your network from the memory card?

[@MichaelKlements]

I haven’t checked that MotionEyeOS does the same, but Raspberry Pi OS deletes the supplicant.conf and ssh file after the first boot. So you can’t access this file once the Pi has been run.

[@vlenddd]

heatsink link?

[@demetriuscurry2697]

how do you " put it into the 30MB settings partition" ?

[@MichaelKlements]

When you plug the SD card into your computer, it's the boot folder that comes up as a mounted drive

[@tashigo3220]

Hey, would it be possible to access the camera without internet? I am working on a dashcam and want to be able to see live feed without internet.

[@MichaelKlements]

No you won't be able to do this without a network of some sort

[@tashigo3220]

@@MichaelKlements I want to connect it via wifi.

[@MaltheHave]

My raspberry pi 3 model b, is giving me a weird error when connecting to wifi. I tried to follow some guides on a github issue, but didn't seem to help at first glance. Do you happen to know what's wrong? Thanks! The errors are: starting wpa_supplicant: failed configuring wireless network: no link

[@MichaelKlements]

Hi Malthe, I've heard of the issue, but I've never experienced it myself and I'm not really sure what the cause is. Have you tried the suggestions in this thread - github.com/ccrisan/motioneyeos/issues/186

[@MaltheHave]

​@@MichaelKlements Thanks for your reply Michael! What ended up working for me was downgrading to the 20200203 release. Perhaps it has something to with the fact that my SSID has special characters in it? I don't know. At least it works on the prerelease version now

[@manuelraposo9270]

not working im getting a still image with a camera symbol crossed out

[@JimPIckins]

How long will a USB power supply power it for?

[@MichaelKlements]

What type of USB power supply? It depends on the battery capacity it’s got

[@Dragon54official]

I can't set a static ip, can you tell me how to do that?

[@MichaelKlements]

This is easiest to set up on your router and is different for all manufacturers. Do a search for your router's model and "static IP"

[@tatertots78]

could we use a webcam instead of the camera module?

[@mertem35]

yes

[@SondelaConsulting]

Also do you have a bootable image. I have tried to download the image several times from the site and it just does not boot no matter what. The light does not light up on the Pi Zero . The image i have is motioneyeos-raspberrypi-20200606 Yours seeemed to boot

[@MichaelKlements]

This was a few years back, so unfortunately I don't have the boot image anymore. Which Pi Zero are you using for the project? Do you have another Pi that you could try and see if it boots up?

[@overstreetjailen]

Can this be done with the Pico w?

[@MichaelKlements]

No, the Pico can't run MotionEyeOS

[@Dragon54official]

4:18 just a question: how to transform a txt file in a conf file?

[@MichaelKlements]

Just remove the .txt extension and replace it with .conf

[@Dragon54official]

@@MichaelKlements ok thank you

[@kaizoku004]

Hi there Ive followed step by step the tutorial, but when I turn on the Pi 2W, i get the 4 coloured rainbow screen. Any ideas as to what I'm doing wrong?

[@MichaelKlements]

There might be an issue with the microSD card that you're using.

[@kaizoku004]

@@MichaelKlements Thanks for the reply. Actually I tried it on a Pi 4 and all worked well. Same steps, same card.

[@IbarhimGaMer888]

I'm having the exact problem on the Pi zero as well... tried multiple SD Cards but to no avail.

[@chlupatazarovka8201]

Nice, but what about system updates and Security settings? How do you deal with it? Zero without sd card and boot from usb should be solution.

[@MichaelKlements]

You can configure the security settings and run updates over your network from your computer or mobile device.

[@chlupatazarovka8201]

​@@MichaelKlements Yes, but i mean, it is annoying and WiFi is so vulnerable. Connection over LAN with PoE would be ideal, but in this case it is not posible.

[@MichaelKlements]

The case has access to the ports on the Pi, you just need to plug in a micro-USB adapter and an Ethernet adapter. The Pi Zero doesn’t have an onboard Ethernet port.