5 ms·

Do Wi-Fi cameras not revert to normal cameras when jammed? I guess they have little to no onboard storage?

15155 3y ago
Some have microSD media, most probably do not.
jerf 3y ago
Who needs onboard storage? As is well known [1], among other things, the network is reliable, latency is zero, bandwidth is infinite, and the network is secure, so there's no reason to incur the extra costs of onboard storage. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallacies_of_distributed_computing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallacies_of_distributed_compu...
joe_the_user 3y ago
It's easy to imagine devices that wouldn't be subject to this. They'd have storage and wired connections. A central server would send an alarm if it lost contact with the cameras for a time. But naturally anything like this wouldn't exist in default consumer land.
- itishappy 3y ago
  > But naturally anything like this wouldn't exist in default consumer land. Wired cameras hooked up with power over ethernet has been around almost as long as I have! https://www.amazon.com/s?k=PoE+security+system https://www.amazon.com/s?k=PoE+security+system
gnicholas 3y ago
I picked cameras that have this for this reason. But if someone knocks out the wifi from a distance and then gets closer and destroys/steals the cameras, I'm SOL. My neighbors probably have cameras though, so it could be a bit trickier to get away without being seen at all.
k8svet 3y ago
If I were guarding against this, I'd run wires. Everything else feels like a band-aid attempt. I love WiFi, but I hate WiFi.
- chatmasta 3y ago
  I would run wires too, but you're just shifting the problem. Now someone can cut the power, rip the camera out of its socket, follow the wires to the hard drives, and take them with the rest of their loot.
  - micromacrofoot 3y ago
    Ideally you'd have hardwired cameras with a battery backup that store to local drives with a cloud backup. This requires significantly more upfront and ongoing costs... and most criminals aren't sophisticated enough to cut power or jam wifi. Lots of times they won't even wear masks. The average property crime is still an opportunistic smash and grab. Stick up wifi cameras are an affordable "good enough" for most cases.
  - hwbehrens 3y ago
    The weak point is always the network connection. My cameras are PoE backed with a UPS, and the footage is replicated locally and to the cloud, but that replication still requires a network connection (which is also on battery). So, if someone jammed the cell network, cut my wired uplink, and then removed every drive they found, they can successfully prevent me from seeing them. I'll still know that something is happening, I guess? Plus they can always just wear masks. The real point here is, even if you capture a super-clear 1080p picture of the criminal(s) face, the police mostly won't care. It's just a little security theater that you put on for yourself, and sometimes your insurance company.
    - pixl97 3y ago
      > if you capture a super-clear 1080p picture of the criminal( That's why you figure out who they are and publish it on social media/other sources.
hellotomyrars 3y ago
Many are SD-optional. Personally I would (and have) never deployed one without local storage. It just doesn’t make sense, but having seen people with some of the lowest end devices, it is rarely even mentioned even when they do have a microSD slot.
jerlam 3y ago
Even when they do have onboard storage, it's de-emphasized because they want to sell cloud subscriptions and storage.

Some have microSD media, most probably do not.

jerf 3y ago

Who needs onboard storage? As is well known [1], among other things, the network is reliable, latency is zero, bandwidth is infinite, and the network is secure, so there's no reason to incur the extra costs of onboard storage. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallacies_of_distributed_computing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallacies_of_distributed_compu...

joe_the_user 3y ago

It's easy to imagine devices that wouldn't be subject to this. They'd have storage and wired connections. A central server would send an alarm if it lost contact with the cameras for a time. But naturally anything like this wouldn't exist in default consumer land.

itishappy 3y ago
> But naturally anything like this wouldn't exist in default consumer land. Wired cameras hooked up with power over ethernet has been around almost as long as I have! https://www.amazon.com/s?k=PoE+security+system https://www.amazon.com/s?k=PoE+security+system

gnicholas 3y ago

I picked cameras that have this for this reason. But if someone knocks out the wifi from a distance and then gets closer and destroys/steals the cameras, I'm SOL. My neighbors probably have cameras though, so it could be a bit trickier to get away without being seen at all.

k8svet 3y ago

If I were guarding against this, I'd run wires. Everything else feels like a band-aid attempt. I love WiFi, but I hate WiFi.

chatmasta 3y ago
I would run wires too, but you're just shifting the problem. Now someone can cut the power, rip the camera out of its socket, follow the wires to the hard drives, and take them with the rest of their loot.
- micromacrofoot 3y ago
  Ideally you'd have hardwired cameras with a battery backup that store to local drives with a cloud backup. This requires significantly more upfront and ongoing costs... and most criminals aren't sophisticated enough to cut power or jam wifi. Lots of times they won't even wear masks. The average property crime is still an opportunistic smash and grab. Stick up wifi cameras are an affordable "good enough" for most cases.
- hwbehrens 3y ago
  The weak point is always the network connection. My cameras are PoE backed with a UPS, and the footage is replicated locally and to the cloud, but that replication still requires a network connection (which is also on battery). So, if someone jammed the cell network, cut my wired uplink, and then removed every drive they found, they can successfully prevent me from seeing them. I'll still know that something is happening, I guess? Plus they can always just wear masks. The real point here is, even if you capture a super-clear 1080p picture of the criminal(s) face, the police mostly won't care. It's just a little security theater that you put on for yourself, and sometimes your insurance company.
  - pixl97 3y ago
    > if you capture a super-clear 1080p picture of the criminal( That's why you figure out who they are and publish it on social media/other sources.

hellotomyrars 3y ago

Many are SD-optional. Personally I would (and have) never deployed one without local storage. It just doesn’t make sense, but having seen people with some of the lowest end devices, it is rarely even mentioned even when they do have a microSD slot.

jerlam 3y ago

Even when they do have onboard storage, it's de-emphasized because they want to sell cloud subscriptions and storage.