Translation: we have looked at the footage, and apart from some Amazon employees and influencers nobody is using it ....
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Amazon to Permanently Disable Cloud Cam, Offers Affected Customers a Free Blink Mini and/or Echo
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They probably will be asking to send those cams back to replace them with blink minis. I have 2 cloud cams. Email also included this.
Actually, the *do* have a subscription fee, but don't your ignorance of the facts get in the way of your posts.
How are they leaving customers "holding the bag" - at least (unlike nearly every other IoT device supplier that's disappeared) they are replacing the devices with something better, and giving a year's free cloud support too. For once they are doing the RIGHT thing
apple should do security cams. imagine how good a faceid unlocked doorbell cam would be lol.connected to home app stores on icloud uses imessage for notifications etc...
or buy cheap raspi zero 2 but i dont know if you can find any device for sale or support for home app
or buy cheap raspi zero 2 but i dont know if you can find any device for sale or support for home app
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Homebridge and cheap TP link cameras. TP link could disappear off the face of the earth and they’d still work fine. This is the way.
We had one of these, and it worked great - until Amazon decided that you needed to buy a plan to store ANY recordings. You used to be able to use no more than 2 and have them store recordings free of charge, but of course that didn't make Amazon any money, so they flipped the script. I, in turn, flipped them off. So I'm not surprised that they did this.
Which is why they are being phased out in favor of another product that does.
I saw this coming as they stopped supporting the App on Android & iOS; hence me cancelling the subscription over a year ago for my five Cloud Cams. I now host my own cameras (12) using Ubiquiti's UDMPRO, but I'll miss that Alexa integration with the Cloud Cam & all those Echo Show devices I possess. I have one Blink XT 2 & I'm not impressed as the Cloud Cam had more feature sets available via the backend.
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Blink Minis are way worse. It has no free cloud storage tier. No pre-recoding ram cache (misses the initial few secs of a motion event). No web browser viewing support. No continuous live-view or clips over 30 secs. A minimum cool down of 10 sec between clips (vs zero cool down for Cloud Cam).
These cameras were not cheap at $120 a pop (Wyze cams were $20). People dump on Google for abandoning projects ( but it's mostly just a meme, big companies kill products all the time. See https://killedbymicrosoft.info), yet my Dropcam HD/Nest Cam is still working fine after a decade+ in service.
This why manufacturers need to be forced to write the guaranteed support time frame on the product (and for cloud applications must provide at least the same level of support for the same amount of money as published at purchase).
Any products going EOL prior 5 years after not being sold anymore (so not counting from product launch day) must either be provided with an open firmware supporting the same features as original firmware or refunded in full. Any networking product must receive security updates for at least 8 years (easy if the firmware is not running a bunch of unnecessary 3rd party binaries all exposed on the network).
All of that is a non-issue if software is written modular and there are 3-5 product lines than 20.
Any products going EOL prior 5 years after not being sold anymore (so not counting from product launch day) must either be provided with an open firmware supporting the same features as original firmware or refunded in full. Any networking product must receive security updates for at least 8 years (easy if the firmware is not running a bunch of unnecessary 3rd party binaries all exposed on the network).
All of that is a non-issue if software is written modular and there are 3-5 product lines than 20.
Oddly enough Amazon bought Ring in 2018 and now their original competitor, which doesnt have a subscription, is being scrapped.
People need to stop buying anything that requires a subscription or that doesnt let you actually own it.
People need to stop buying anything that requires a subscription or that doesnt let you actually own it.
Personally I find the Lorex type camera configurations with a local DVR preferable to these cloud based cameras.
Fully agree.
One problem with IP Based cameras for consumers, we really don’t know which OEM made the device previously, or if the device is actually NDAA Compliant. I do know that its easier for them to become Internet Of Trash based on these services being discontinued.
Do you know who else is accessing your IP-Based equipment? Years ago I bought a Network DVR that had remote viewing capabilities. Setup was easy, too easy. All I had to do was download an app and scan the barcode on top!
This was problematic to me for a number of reasons - mainly my device encryption key was PRINTED on top of the unit. This company made it clear that we had no full control over our private cameras… but what about other cloud based security cameras - especially ones from US Based startups with no budget to avoid super OEM hardware?
To avoid this, we have to consciously go out of our way. In fact, the United States has banned tthe use of first party and white labeled equipment and/or services of Huawei Technologies Company, ZTE Corporation, Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company, and Dahua Technology Company; for use in securing critical infrastructure.
Since I live <100 feet from a reservoir that protects a major city against losing water in massive fire (a scenario that did once happen) or other natural disaster, I don’t want my equipment to inadvertently be a target for any state sponsored eavesdropping. I have the only cameras watching the site as it stands in the first place, just by coincidence. I’m using a mix of higher resolution commercial grade Analog CVBS cameras connected to whitelisted Network encoders that are doubly firewalled, from Axis. Using open source surveilance software locally, I have the feeds finally going to my Azure instance.
Paranoid? Yes, for good reason.
If a business is known to mine personal data to increase consumer spending, would they decline to mine data through their cameras?
My guess is the return on investment with this product was not worth it relative to newer products. In other words, they will make a lot more money if consumers install newer hardware that does a better job of monitoring your habits and therefore getting you to buy more stuff.
People think I'm nuts or call me a 'luddite' because I don't do the cloud, and keep all my content on my Thunderbolt. Well, whenever stuff like this happens, I remark 'see? that's why'
Imagine all the e-waste being generated by this disposable society. Turns my stomach. Recycling ain't enough. We need to stop. consuming. There's enough used devices out there that still function perfectly fine to last us decades. Stop feeding the machine.
The irony is that you can still use the failed Amazon Fire Phone today.
As for the IP camera advantage, there's another problem. We have some at work. They only work with Adobe Flash Player and Internet Explorer. Freaking Internet Explorer. With most IP cameras, you're stuck dead at whatever software they depend on, and if your OS updates, you might lose the access.
Imagine all the e-waste being generated by this disposable society. Turns my stomach. Recycling ain't enough. We need to stop. consuming. There's enough used devices out there that still function perfectly fine to last us decades. Stop feeding the machine.
The irony is that you can still use the failed Amazon Fire Phone today.
As for the IP camera advantage, there's another problem. We have some at work. They only work with Adobe Flash Player and Internet Explorer. Freaking Internet Explorer. With most IP cameras, you're stuck dead at whatever software they depend on, and if your OS updates, you might lose the access.
Then I want all my months of $9.99 subscription charges back. I dumped Cloud Cam for Eufy over a year ago to get rid of the subscription fee (which I believe you must pay if you have more than 1 or 2 cameras or wanted better features...I forget exactly, but there definitely were subscription fees).
Speaking of facts, I did a simple Google search and found this:
Amazon.com: Amazon Devices & Accessories
Online shopping from a great selection at Amazon Devices & Accessories Store.
www.amazon.com
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Does anyone remember the whole Revolv fiasco? Tons of users paid a lot of money for the so-called 'lifetime' subscription only to be frelled over by Google.
Not a very good example then, because Cloud Cams were incredibly cheap (especially if you got them early on when Amazon had promos on them) and after 5 years, I'd say most people got their monies worth. They were never updated with new technology so people are probably better off getting something more modern.
You do realize most "of these types of devices" are at some point no longer supported by manufacturers?