+++ eufy cam QUALITY PROBLEM discussion +++

[yamyam]

PREAMBLE:
This post/thread of me has been herewith copied/moved from the kickstarter campaign page to this forum, to be able to better keep track of it and to also let other users (who havn’t been part of the campaign) known of it.

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(posted about 4 weeks ago at kickstarter)

Dear eufy and eufycam-owners,

today i would like to start a discussion and survey under all readers and backers about the quality problems with the eufy cam (let’s call it Revision 1), because in the last couple of months many users have reported about those problems.

If you ever noticed a quality problem with the eufy cam MATERIALS/SENSORS (not software/firmware issues!), like malfunction of any sensor (like IR or movement detection) or even a completley broken/cracked videolense, please reply to this post and report/comment your problems with the quality of the eufy cam material. Thanks!

IN MY CASE:

I have already reported to eufy support and asked for warranty support, as in the meanwhile TWO of my THREE cams are having massive problems, malfunctions and material issues and are not useable in this way. Support is great, waiting to get answer and feedback as soon as the replacement cams are avialable. I hope they will be REVISION 2 (and not the same stock as of the cams we got - revision 1). But i really hope that eufy will in the meanhwile “overworked” their cams and the next stock of eufycams will have better materials installed to prevent the same problems will occur again.

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+++ QUALITY ISSUE 1 +++

So in my case, right after i have received my 3 cams, one was having a malfuction right from the start which makes the cam useless as soon as it is getting darker or even the nightvision mode is turned on, because the video quality is then like this example:

(Only when totaly daylight and perfect weather and light conditions, the quality of the pictures is perfect, but as soon as it gets just a little bit dawn, its useless.)

But as i have noone seen or read until yet who reported the same problem here, i may be an indivisual case, dont know.

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+++ QUALITY ISSUE 2 +++

In conrast to my quality issue 1, which has been from start on, my issue 2 has happened about 2 weeks ago if i am right, so about 3 weeks AFTER i have received the cams and have them in use. You may have seen that some more people have reported tis quality issue already in the past and now it also catched me :(((

THE LENSE OF MY SECOND CAM JUST BROKE!

Without any contact to the cam, from one day to another my lense got scratched/broken from one side to the other side of the lense, completely.

You can see it right here:

This issue concerns several people as far as i know and as i can swear that my lense was 100% OK as i started to use my cam, this problem can’t be a shipping/packing problem. (Means: The lense is defentily not broken because of any guy who may let the package or cam drop down or fell down while shipping) (sorry for my bad english)

I dont know if it is a extremely bad quality itself or a temperature problem (stress cracking - in german: Spannungsriss), but i even dont know if the lense or lense cover is plastic or glass. No matter, it seems of very bad quality?!

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SO HERE ARE THE QUESTIONS TO EUFY:

1. Do you know about all those quality problems?

2. Do you know the reasons why this problems occur?

3. Will the next bunch of cams, which will replace our unusable and malfunction cams, be exactly the same as stock 1 (revision 1) or will they be improved and have higher valued materials installed and be some kind of “Revision 2”?

4. Is they any timeline or date, when the next bunch of cams will be available and how fast we get replacements? (already solved and replacement cams are available)

5. How can it be that you collect over 3 Million(!) Dollars and the quality of the lense or lense cover is so much poor?!

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AND HERE ARE THE QUESTIONS TO THE BACKERS:

1. Are you personally effected by malfuncations or poor material quality? If yes, what issue you got?

2. or do you know anyone who is? If yes, what issue he/them got?

3. Have you noticed any of the above mentioned problems, or any other?

4. Are you checking your cams frequently for lensbreaking?

Thanks all and hope eufy will bring some good news and improvements about item and cam quality with the “Next Gen. 2.0 of eufycam” !

yamyam

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Forum Signature: Yes, it’s me, yamyam
Most of you may know me already as very active user, tester, commenter at the eufy cam kickstarter campaign with hundreds of posts/comments: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1116368506/evercam-the-wirefree-security-cam-with-365-day-bat/comments
As non-native-english-speaker i am sorry if you have problems to understand me

[yamyam]

Here are all REPLYS to this post at kickstarer until yet i don’t want to withheld:

yamyam
about 1 month ago

Saying this … i have my fingers crossed and you are welcome to jump in, that my third and until now flawless working cam will held and stay healthy and not have malfuncations in the future like my other 2 cams in the meantime got.

FINGERS CROSSED … gogo cam #3 … stay strong, you will survive … i know it … pleaseeeeee !!!

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Harith
about 1 month ago

I appreciate your enthusiasm and zest for all this but wouldn’t it be better to post all this on the anker community forums? The comment section of a Kickstarter project isn’t really great for this kind of thing…

Or do you think you’ll get more attention from Eufy/Anker by constantly posting here?

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yamyam
about 1 month ago

@Harith Al-Shakarchi

No. As the eufy cam is a kickstarter project (the most funded in history btw), this is the right place to be (for me).

Sure, a forum system like on the anker community site has advantages, for sure, no question at all. But signing up to a manufacturer site would onl be senseful if i plan to buy or use more products of the anker/eufy cosmos.

So for right now (maybe will change), the only and most correct way to post it here AND there, but i invest more than enough time already in all testing and posting here. But never say never.

BACK TO TOPIC:

Do you or anyone else had bad experiences with the QUALITY of the cam (material)?

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Harith
about 1 month ago

Anker will eventually abandon checking this Kickstarter, especially when the camera is for sale to the general public.

I have had zero issues with my cams. I have a wish list of software changes/additions but nothing that stops me from looking at the two cameras I have mounted inside my apartment.

I also got an email from Anker inviting me to join a beta test group for the software, which will be held on a private forum of some sort. Another indication that using this area is becoming less of a priority for them.

¯_(?)_/¯

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Sam
about 1 month ago

It seems, from the comments, that the quality problems are in multiple areas, such as broken stuff (shipping/handling issues?), electronic performance (manufacturing, storage, or design?), etc. If they’re caused by common faults they can be tracked via the component serial numbers and/or shipment dates.

Often, tracking root causes can take a while, so Eufy needs to decide now whether they’ll just replace cameras/base stations (under whatever insurance coverage they may have) for their early supporters or drag things out while they do whatever investigation(s) they have time for. Always a tough balance between customer satisfaction and the bottom line, but I believe the customer should generally come first.

My vote would be to replace stuff now as more stock becomes available in order to maintain the satisfaction part. Otherwise, those Amazon ratings will forever suck.

Overall, I think they’ve done a good job on this system. I’ve had excellent performance from my three cameras so far, even in our recent cold weather; the cameras have performed fine at temperatures down to 6 below zero deg-F.

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Eufy Security
about 1 month ago

@yamyam

Harith is correct, but for different reasoning.

Long-form questions like this are eventually going to get lost in the ether of Kickstarter, as Kickstarter has a string of comments, with ways to reply to the string, but 25 comments later and the string is virtually lost.

On our forum there are ways to follow a forum post and for more, experienced, community members to become involved in the discussion, discuss points via quotations and relpies, and much, much more.

It’s not that we want you to forward questions to the community because we want you to stay in our ‘system’ so to speak, but rather so that there can be a more wholesome discussion had.

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Eufy SecurityCreator
about 1 month ago

The lense issue isn’t something that is common with the cams. You’re in contact with our support staff so that is the correct move.

Were you able to provide the pictures to them regarding the issues?

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yamyam
about 1 month ago

@eufy: Yes i had several phone calls with the german support and also send them plenty of pictures and descriptions of both if my cams which making problems or have a broken lense by email.

Now i wait to get infos about when i will get my replacement cams as both cams are not really useable since some time.

[yamyam]

I would like to say and mention that the malfunctional or broken or problematic cams are in the meanwhile all replaced by eufy cam support and they did a great job and tried all they could and have been very friendly and nice, especially Mr. Patruc Schwarz from the german support by email and phone.

Thanks!

[Shenoy]

This is a good write up on Eufy Cam, with all the details and issues, glad to see Anker / Eufy support has addressed and resolved your request.

Goes on to show how the customer perspective can be improved with top notch support like Anker

[AnkerOfficial]

Hey Yamyam!

We have had a few backers give us feedback about lens issues. We’re currently collecting the defective units and analyzing the cause of the cracking. We can say with certainty that this is not happening frequently, however.

Since we have a 12-month warranty on the eufycams, we suggest staying in contact with our support and getting replacecment cams.

We apologize for the inconvienience caused by this, but we’ll keep you updated on the reasoning behind the few cams cracking.

[TheDude]

Eufycam cracked lens

Sounds like the lens housing is too tight to account for heat contraction. @AnkerTechnical @AnkerSupport Hang tight I'm sure you will receive a replacement. Thank you for pointing out this flaw.

[MaLuXa]

I found the lenses on both my Eufy Cams cracked. I wrote an email to the support and I will try to call them this week.

[yamyam]

I found the lenses on both my Eufy Cams cracked. I wrote an email to the support and I will try to call them this week.

Hi @MaLuXa - Welcome to the Club!

Sad to read that you are also victim of the “cracked lense” problem. But you will get your replacement cams soon from eufy directly to your home and then let’s pray the new cams lenses will not crack again.

Your feedback would be nice about if eufy sends you the original eufy cam or the eufy cam E as replacement! Thanks

[gAnkster]

Great work bringing these to the community and making sure we see them. I missed the original post but I am a candidate for eufy cams. i have been interested in how they perform and any issues that occur with them when they ship. This definitely helps me know I need to wait to see these issues resolved! I am interested in the battery - 365 days is a bold claim. Would you mind telling me how many days you have had them running consecutively?

Thanks!

[yamyam]

Would you mind telling me how many days you have had them running consecutively?

You mean until the lense cracked?

[MaLuXa]

Today my two replacement Cams arrived. Two single Cams in the classic design not the “E” version. They arrived in the original package, sealed in plastic. I linked them to the Base without any problems. I’m not sure, but the lenses seem to look a bit different. More flat, maybe a design change? It’s not good to see on photos and of course I do not have an old cam to compare the new one with

[yamyam]

I’m not sure, but the lenses seem to look a bit different. More flat, maybe a design change? It’s not good to see on photos and of course I do not have an old cam to compare the new one with

Nice to hear that you have got your replacement/warranty cams!
I have plenty of cams, original from the kickstarter package and also replacement ones … but never compared the lenses. So i can’t tell ou if anker/eufy has changed, improved the lense. But i hope so because there have been a lot of people reporting cracked lenses in the past.

I guess @AnkerOfficial may give you an answer here if the lense has changed and is of better quality now.

[yamyam]

@Rosarios just reported in another thread, that cracked lenses are still arising:

Poor build quality eufy cams

Hi Eufy community. Just wanted to share something with the broader community. I purchased the 4 cam set around March 2019. Of the pack of 4, three have developed cracks in the lens in less than 3 months since being installed. I live in a very moderate environment where we get min 5 and max 30 and so this is really poor manufacturing and quality control from Eufy. I am close to asking for a full refund as I expect better quality for $1000 and it is also very inconvenient for me having to go back …

I suppose they are all from the first bunch of cams which has been shipped and had this quality issue?!

[The_Bearded_Tech_Guy]

I hope the ones I bought for my mom’s house aren’t going to fail like this.

[yamyam]

I hope the ones I bought for my mom’s house aren’t going to fail like this.

Even if, of course this would be very annoying for you, eufy would replace the cams for free of course (warranty).

[The_Bearded_Tech_Guy]

If there was a lifetime warrant that would be fine. But if this type of failure is occurring regularly, its safe to assume it will be more likely to occur outside of the 1 year warranty period.

[yamyam]

If there was a lifetime warrant that would be fine.

Indeed, with the experiences we made until yet in relation to the quality of the cam and/or materials, a lifetime warrant would be reasonable. But tell this eufy/anker, they will stone you!
But i guess, even if there are quality issues AFTER the warranty time, i assume that eufy will still replace the cam or pay back the money or find any other solution.

outside of the 1 year warranty period.

Thanks god we have a at least 2 years warranty time in europe!

Translated for you:

Consumer guarantees

When you sell a good or a service to a consumer online or via other
means of distance communication (by telephone, mail order) or outside a
shop (from a door-to-door salesperson), the consumer has the right to
return the item or cancel the service within 14 days. This is sometimes
referred to as the cooling-off period or the withdrawal period. No
reason or justification has to be given by the consumer.
EU law also stipulates that you must give the consumer a minimum 2-year guarantee (legal guarantee)
as a protection against faulty goods, or goods that don’t look or work
as advertised. In some countries national law may require you to provide
longer guarantees.

[yamyam]

Dear eufyanics and dear @AnkerSupport @AnkerOfficial @AnkerTechnical @Insider

The most of you, at least the guys from the very first hours of eufy cam at kickstarter like me, will remember the quality problem with the lense of the first “batch” of eufy cams, right?

If not, see the initial post of me here, direct link to the post: +++ eufy cam QUALITY PROBLEM discussion +++ and check the photo under point “QUALITY ISSUE 2”

Now … some time later without any quality or cracked lenses …
… it happened again:

CRACKED LENSE

See here:

You can see it “LIVE” at this video:
(Very good to see at the middle of the short clip)

In general it is not a big deal, as eufy/anker has to replace it as warranty case, as they did before (good service, without question). And as this is one of my first (oldest) eufy cam of my plenty eufy cams, and i guess the current/later eufy cams does NOT have this quality issue with all those broken lenses, everything is fine.

But still annoying

Does anyone else had a cracked lense issue in the near past (again) ?

Greetings
yamyam

[yamyam]

Dear eufyanics and dear @AnkerSupport @AnkerOfficial @AnkerTechnical @Insider

The most of you, at least the guys from the very first hours of eufy cam at kickstarter like me, will remember the quality problem with the lense of the first “batch” of eufy cams, right?

If not, see the initial post of me here, direct link to the post: +++ eufy cam QUALITY PROBLEM discussion +++ and check the photo under point “ QUALITY ISSUE 2 ”

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Just a few hours ago i have noticed, that one of the last original eufy cams from my kickstarter badge (out of a about a dozen) happened what now almost every of my "first batch eufycams happened:

JUST ANOTHER FRUSTRATING CRACKED LENSE

This happens to me now … let me think … i guess the forth or fifth time now. With the original eufy cams from the kickstarter campaign/badge back in Summer/Winter 2018.

And this just happened (of course and at least for this cam) right after the warranty-time is over! … and i guess (know) eufy / anker won’t replace me the cam, even if they know about the bad quality issues with the eufy cams first batch of cams.

Sooo sad

See here:

… and here:

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CONCLUSION

Only 711 Days after i started with a dozen eufy cam 1 (the original first ones) and about 104K videos (of all cams together) i can say that i love the eufy cam 1 …but i HATE HER CRAPPY LENSE QUALITY !!! … as nearly ALL my eufy cam 1 now got broken lenses in between the last 2 years!

Does anyone else had a cracked lense issue in the near past (again) ?

Greetings
yamyam