Wyze’s $20 socket powers an outdoor camera, makes a dumb bulb smart

Keeping an outdoor camera powered up can be a vexing issue, involving solar panels, swappable batteries, outdoor wiring, or a combination of the three. Add smart lights to the mix, and your setup will become even more complicated. 

Want to simplify matters? If you have one or more outdoor light sockets, you can mount and wire up a Wyze security camera in a flash, and even add some smarts to the conventional bulbs in your yard. 

The trick is using Wyze’s $20 Lamp Socket, a screw-in adapter for a standard outdoor light socket that allows you to connect and power a nearby Wyze security camera as well as screw in a regular light bulb, which you can then control via the Wyze app. 

The Wyze Lamp Socket has actually been around for a few years now—the original was released in 2021—but this new and more powerful version works with a wider variety of Wyze cameras, including the Wyze Cam v3, v3 Pro, v4, Cam OG, and the Pan v3. 

Installation is easy. You just screw the Lamp Socket v2 (first spotted by 9to5Google) into an existing socket, connect a nearby Wyze camera to the Lamp Socket’s USB power port (you’ll need to use the cable that originally came with the Wyze cam), and then screw a conventional light bulb into the socket’s E26 receptacle. While you can screw just about any dumb bulb into the Lamp Socket, Wyze warns against using an incandescent bulb due to the excessive heat it will radiate.

Once that’s done, you’ll be able to control the connected bulb using the Wyze app, meaning you can remotely turn it on and off, put it on a schedule, and set it to turn on at dusk and off again at dawn. You can even make the bulb turn on automatically when your Wyze cam detects motion. 

If you have more light sockets in your yard or outdoor space, you can add more Wyze Lamps Sockets and group them together, allowing all the connected lights to switch on and off in unison. 

While only five of the original Lamp Sockets could be grouped together, you can group an unlimited number of the newer Lamp Socket v2 units. We’ve reached out to Wyze for details on the maximum range for wireless grouping (the original Lamp Sockets had a range of 82 feet). 

Keep in mind that at least one of the Lamp Sockets must be connected to a compatible Wyze cam; the sockets won’t work on their own.

Wyze’s product page also notes that while the Lamp Sockets can be used outdoors, they are not weather- or water-resistant, meaning they’re best used under an eave or in an outdoor light fixture. 

This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best security cameras and smart lights.