A simple way to make your lighting smarter and power Wyze Cam V3 at the same time

The Wyze Lampholder Starter Kit allows you to add smart features to traditional lighting equipment while powering the included Wyze Cam V3 without the need to lay additional wires.

Combining smart lighting and home security, the two-piece Wyze lamp holder starter kit ($45​​.99) is bundled with a Wi-Fi-enabled lamp holder and the Wyze Cam V3 security camera that won the Editor’s Choice Award. This socket allows you to control any bulb screwed in with your mobile phone and power the Wyze Cam V3, so you don’t need to install any additional wiring to make it run outdoors. The combination is very easy to install, but you cannot control the socket by voice, and it is not suitable for third-party platforms. To get a brighter appearance of the house, the $84.99 Wyze Cam floodlight pairs the Wyze Cam V3 with two bright motion-sensing LEDs, but it requires wiring. This makes the lamp holder starter kit an easier option to bring smart lighting and safety to any part of your home that can already be screwed into a light bulb.

The lamp holder starter kit consists of two components: a screw-in smart socket and a Wyze Cam V3 (purchased separately, priced at $35.98). Although this socket is dedicated to power the Wyze Cam V3, it can still interact with other Wyze devices (more on that later) if you set the appropriate rules. Each Wyze Cam V3 can connect and control up to five sockets; additional sockets are priced at $9.99 each. 

The round white socket measures 2.5 x 2.2 x 2.2 inches (HWD), with an E26 screw-in base and a bulb socket. It can handle bulbs up to 30 watts. You can use the USB-A port located on the side of the socket behind the removable rubber cover to power the camera. This is one of the main advantages of the starter kit: you don't need to worry about connecting the power cord to your house. The onboard Bluetooth and Wi-Fi (2.4GHz) radio can be used for wireless connection.

Unlike Wyze Cam V3, this socket is not weatherproof. You can only install it in a fixed device that can withstand the influence of the external environment, such as a covered porch light. For reference, many smart floodlights including the aforementioned Wyze model and Ezviz LC1C have an IP65 weather resistance rating.

In the box, you will also get six cable clamps and their associated screws and anchors; various camera installation hardware; USB data cables; installation tape; and a user guide.

This socket uses the same Wyze mobile app (for Android and iOS) as all other Wyze devices, but there is no dedicated panel on the main screen. Instead, it appears as an accessory in the Wyze Cam V3 settings menu. Here, you can click the lamp holder tab to manually turn it on and off, and configure it to turn on automatically from sunset to sunrise or when the camera detects motion or sound. You can also set a timer for it; create a usage plan and update its firmware. All these settings apply to every socket you connect to the camera.

To create a rule that allows the socket to interact with other Wyze devices, click the pencil icon in the upper right corner of the home screen. For example, you can set the socket to turn on or off when another camera detects motion or the smart plug turns on or off.

This socket is not suitable for IFTTT applets; Apple's HomeKit platform; or Alexa and Google routines. However, the camera is capable of streaming video to Amazon Echo Show and Google Nest Hub devices. 

Ultimately, the key idea here is that the lamp holder powers the camera, so you don't need to make any additional wiring. This makes it easy for almost anyone to set up outdoor safety solutions wherever they already have lamps.

If this is your first Wyze device, you need to download the app first and create an account. After turning off the power to the porch light, I removed the bulb, screwed it into the Wyze socket, and then screwed the bulb into the socket. Next, I removed the USB protective cover, plugged in the USB data cable, and then installed the camera on the wall next to the lamp. I connected the camera to the USB cable, restored the power to the lamp, and then clicked the plus button in the upper left corner of the mobile app's main screen. I clicked on Add Device, selected the camera, and then selected the Wyze Cam lamp holder. I chose the option to set up the camera and socket, click to check the Wi-Fi signal strength, and then select the option to start installation.

The next few screens will guide you through the physical installation process, so I keep clicking "Next" until I reach the screen that instructs me to press the "Settings" button on the camera dock. I confirmed that I heard the "Ready to connect" prompt, selected my Wi-Fi SSID, entered my Wi-Fi password, and scanned the QR code of the device with my mobile phone. I clicked Next, and Wyze immediately added the camera to my account; the camera also appeared on my Alexa account. I name the device to complete the installation process.

The combination of the lamp holder and Wyze Cam V3 works very well. The socket reliably responds to actions and sound triggers, and quickly responds to application commands to open and close. It follows my schedule without any problems and follows the rules I set for it to start when the Wyze Plug opens. At the same time, the function of Wyze Cam is exactly the same whether it is connected to a socket or not, so you can check our Wyze Cam V3 review for more details.

The low-cost, two-part Wyze lamp holder starter kit allows you to monitor and illuminate the exterior of your home when someone or something is on your property. This socket allows you to easily power the camera without connecting the power cord to the inside of the house, and can reliably respond to motion and sound events detected by the camera. Both components are easy to install and integrate with other Wyze devices, but the socket only supplies power to Wyze Cam V3 and does not support third-party platforms. Therefore, if you plan to spend $35.98 on the Wyze Cam V3 and want an easy way to install it outdoors, then spending an extra $10 on the lamp holder starter kit is a no-brainer. If you are satisfied with the wiring work and want more powerful lights, at the same time, please consider using Wyze Cam floodlights. Or, if you want to better support third-party services and are willing to pay extra for it, check out the $249.99 Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight camera.

The Wyze Lampholder Starter Kit allows you to add smart features to traditional lighting equipment while powering the included Wyze Cam V3 without the need to lay additional wires.

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As a contributing editor of PCMag, John Delaney has been testing and reviewing monitors, TVs, PCs, networks and smart home devices as well as various other hardware and peripherals for nearly 20 years. As a veteran who has worked in the PC Magazine laboratory for 13 years (most recently as the Director of Operations), John is responsible for the recruitment, training and management of laboratory technicians, as well as evaluating and maintaining the integrity of laboratory testing machines and procedures. Before joining Ziff Davis, John worked in the retail business of Federated Stores, Inc. for 6 years and then accepted a purchasing position at Morris Decision Systems, one of the first value-added resellers of the original IBM PC in New York. For the next five years, he was responsible for purchasing and configuring IBM PC, XT and AT desktops for many financial institutions in New York. Before joining PC Magazine in 1987, he worked for the now-defunct ComputerLand chain of PCs.

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