Can Wireless Cameras Work without Internet?

If you’ve ever undergone the process of setting up a wireless security camera, you’ll notice that connecting it to a WiFi network is one of the essential steps. That isn’t something to worry about in most cases, but a home connection can sometimes get interrupted.

That leads us to the question: can wireless cameras work without the internet? To answer the question, it’s crucial to learn about a security camera and why it needs the internet to work. You can understand what happens when you cut off internet access, giving you all the necessary answers.

In this article, you’ll learn if wireless cameras can work without a stable internet connection. I’ll also show you what happens if you disconnect your wireless camera from your WiFi network to answer the question even better.

Do Wireless Cameras Work without WiFi?

The point of a wireless camera is to have limited functionality until you connect it to a wireless network, hence the name. It’s a more practical alternative to the older wired security cameras, and it’s easier to install and set up, which explains the growing popularity of these wireless devices.

However, will these cameras continue to work appropriately without WiFi? The answer to that question depends on how you define “work” for a security camera. People have different uses for the device, and whether or not it works without WiFi depends on your use of the camera.

Since it’s practically impossible to list all the security camera uses, I’ll show you what the camera can and can’t do without WiFi. It’s up to you to go through the list and see if using a security camera without WiFi is still practical.

However, you should note that everything I said above assumes that working without WiFi is the same as working without an internet connection. There are options if you’re open to using a separate SIM on your security camera and connecting to the internet via LTE.

Also, those cameras will work precisely as you connect them to a WiFi network. However, you’ll have to incur additional fees, as you pay data bills for the camera separately. Doing that will be much more expensive than simply connecting your camera to your home WiFi.

In short, wireless cameras can work without WiFi but with minimal functionality. If you’re willing to try out a camera that supports LTE, however, you can skip the WiFi connection step without losing any of the core functions of your security camera.

How Can I Get My Security Camera to Work without WiFi?

If a security camera was designed to work with WiFi, you should endeavor to always connect it to a WiFi network before setting it up. However, it’s a well-known fact that not all houses have uninterrupted access to a good WiFi network 100% of the time. How do you get your security camera to work without WiFi if you can’t guarantee that?

In truth, most security cameras will work fine without WiFi if you can also afford to live without the features that require the functionality to work effectively. IP cameras are designed not to stop working when your WiFi disconnects unless they run out of battery.

However, you may need to complete some setup procedures depending on the kind of security camera you have. Also, you’ll have to acknowledge that you won’t get the same set of features available with WiFi. You may have to do some things to get your security camera working without WiFi.

1. Install a wired security camera

The best alternative to having WiFi on your security is getting one that doesn’t rely on an internet connection for most of its core features. In case you didn’t know already, wired cameras came before WiFi surveillance cameras, and they work just as well as their WiFi counterpart for the most part.

Wired surveillance cameras have some benefits over wireless cameras. For one, wires can carry more information than wireless signals, and the data quality is at no cost to you. The cables can also provide steady power to the camera, ensuring it never runs out of control. 

However, there’s a reason why everyone is moving to wireless surveillance systems. The wires don’t make your house look good, and installing them is expensive. Since you need professionals to help with the wiring, you may need a whole day for the exercise and a couple of bucks for labor.

2. Record directly to an SD card

Most wireless home security camera systems send live footage through an app on your phone in real-time. In addition, they only back up that footage to the cloud for future reference. However, some cameras let you bypass the cloud backup option by providing a tangible storage medium, like an SD card.

When you insert an SD card into the camera, it automatically saves the recorded footage, making it unnecessary to back anything up to the cloud. However, that still won’t give you access to the live footage, and if an intruder can physically access the camera, they may escape with hours of footage.

3. Get a camera that supports LTE

If you want most of the features you get after connecting to WiFi without touching your camera to a WiFi network, you can use a camera that supports LTE. In this case, you get a separate SIM for the camera, and the SIM powers the internet the camera uses for anything that requires WiFi.

On the negative side, LTE can be much more expensive to maintain than WiFi. 

Which Cameras Work without WiFi?

As explained earlier, some cameras offer complete functionality without a WiFi connection, thanks to their ability to connect to the internet using LTE. However, security cameras with that feature are few and far between, so picking up something random is likely a waste of time.

To avoid wasting your time and money, some security cameras that work without WiFi include the Arlo Go and most Reolink IP cameras. You could score many more on Amazon, but these are two of the most popular options.

Pros and Cons of Installing Wireless Cameras without Internet

While a stable internet connection powers many of a wireless camera’s core features, some benefits exist without worrying about connecting to the internet. Here are some practical pros and cons of installing a wireless camera without the internet.

Pros

1. Low Bandwidth Usage

Installing your security cameras without connecting them to WiFi will save you a couple of bucks on your internet bill at the end of the month. The reason is simple: most security cameras are configured to automatically upload the videos they record to the cloud, an activity that consumes lots of bandwidth.

By eliminating the WiFi connection, the camera won’t have to back up the footage to the cloud, leading to low bandwidth usage. Of course, there are some disadvantages, but let’s look at the positive side for now.

2. Generally Secure

Since 100% of the footage you record on a wireless camera that doesn’t connect to the internet is local, it’s less susceptible to a hack than a camera that uploads to a cloud server. Wireless camera data breaches aren’t uncommon, and they’re only possible if you let a third-party access the footage in the first place.

If you don’t want a random person peering through your security camera footage, you should consider disconnecting it from your home’s WiFi.

Cons

1. No Cloud Backup

SD card losses happen to the best of us. For that reason, you should always consider having a remote backup, and the easiest way to go about that is by recording to a cloud storage service. As you may already know, doing that would be impossible if you don’t have a fast and stable connection to the internet.

If you’re disconnecting your wireless security camera from WiFi, you want to ensure you’re recording the footage to another storage medium, like an SD card. That way, there’s still a chance you’ll recover some footage if you ever need it.

2. Limited Functionality

Most wireless security cameras are designed to work with a stable connection. Once you disconnect them, most of their features will automatically stop working, rendering them almost useless unless you buy one designed to work without the internet in the first place.

Some crucial functions you lose when you don’t connect your wireless camera to the internet include cloud backup and real-time safety notifications.

Conclusion

An internet connection is crucial to the functionality of many wireless cameras today, but can they work without the internet? This article has analyzed why IP cameras rely on internet connectivity. While wireless cameras can and do work without the internet, you may have to connect to a WiFi network to get total value for your money.