Wildgame Innovations ENCOUNTER CELL camera. Waste of money??
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- Today, i travelled 4 hours to my local bass pro sports shop in search of a cell camera for this upcoming hunting season.
My budget was going to be 350 but seen the Wildgame ENCOUNTER for 159. so i thought well maybe i should just grab one of these for my first cell camera experience.
I got home and followed the booklet to a T, downloaded the app, set up my account as well as paid for a subscription. The next step was to put a new SD card in as well as new batteries. i did this step turned it on, and nothing happened, well, i shouldnt say nothing happened. SMOKE started to roll out of the battery slot so i quickly turned it off. Is smoke a bad thing? pretty sure it is.
Long story short, i will be in contact with wildgame tomorrow when they open to see what they are going to do about it. i will keep you all posted.
#wildgameinnovations #cellcamera #trailcamera
I had similar experience, but without the smoke. I took the battery pack out and unloaded the batteries one by one and then I noticed a change in direction of the positive terminals, so I corrected the battery position in the battery pack and all is working well. It took me a couple if times of loading and unloading the batteries before I noticed the change in the loading pattern, but when I finally got it right everything worked. Hope this helps, good luck.
I put the batteries in wrong on mine and it smoked, it’s + - - + and I didn’t know that
I agree with the other person saying you inserted the batteries incorrectly. It's very confusing as to how to insert them correctly.
that could be a possibility but i have over 10 cameras and most are wildgame. they are tricky but i make sure they are the right way.
Yeah he put the batteries in incorrectly…..positives stick up on the 2 outside slots and the 2 slots in the middle have the negative up
Batteries in backwards shouldn’t smoke the camera !!!
@@Smsafety2 wrong flow of electricity absolutely can make things smoke from overloading wires
Mines fried 😂😂😂 great company SUPER clear instructions ill never buy a product of their again
But I am also having issues with mine. It will only blink red on the front, no illumination on the signal bars. I've tried 100 times to activate it, and it keeps failing..
Same thing happening to mine and it will never get a good bar only fair fucking junk
Had mine 10 months. Now won’t turn on customer service is non existent called 10 times. On hold for hours. Left my call back number 5 times still no calls back
I'm going threw the exact thing. Camera won't work and nobody returns my calls.
Mine didn’t smoke but it is doing the not showing any lights either. It was working great now it won’t format the sd card and stopped taking pictures. I don’t know what to do
2 cameras bought two weeks apart both died on day 36 and day 37 respectively. Wont connect to cell service, after 2 attempts get error message on app that server is unavailable. Customer service is the worst I've ever experienced from any company, and the original store in Canada where I bought these from only a) Covers WGI products for 30 days, after that you need to contact GSM (parent company of Wildgame innovations) and b) they discontinued selling this model of camera............I wonder why. Now I'm stuck with 2 dead cameras and out of pocket close to $280
Oh my, I'm very sorry to hear this. Mine stopped worked while in the woods around day 40. I haven't managed to get to the woods to get it to see what the problem is. I recently had back surgery and still laid up for a few more weeks.
@@Maritime2020Outdoors that's no good brother hope you have a speedy recovery. I hope your camera is an easy fix, I've cut my losses.....lesson learned. I'll be running a tactacam reveal x next week (I hope). Let me know how you make out.
@@leegregory2787 thanks very much. i think im going to go with tactacam or try stealth next season
I had mine 10 months and now it won’t turn on. There customer service which is zero sucks ass. I’ve left my call back number 5 times. Been in the phone for hours. And nothing. Will never buy another wild game product. Reconyx from here on out.
You had the batterys in wrong. I did the same thing until I rechecked the battery polariety symbols, I had miss read the way they were supposed to go in. I was lucky I had turned the switch off while going over the camera or mine probably would have been fried as well. I removed the batteries and put them back in the right way and it worked like a charm. I was really pissed until I realized my mistake. Don't know if yours will recover after smoking but its worth a try.
No this was mentioned a few times already. I had the batteries in correct. I have been using wildgame for the better part of 15 years. They are all the same battery wise.
The camera was replaced later in the week and I set it up.in the truck before I left the store to make sure it worked.
@@Maritime2020Outdoors so it works now?? I'm having trouble with mine connecting!
@@lloydmatthews4142 yes the replacement I got worked fine. I set it up in the truck before I left the parking lot just to make sure
@@Maritime2020Outdoors how are your encounters holding up?
@@northwoodstraditions3372 not good. They worked fine up until about 2 weeks ago. Then I started getting a message instead of pictures. It said something about single is strong but can't send pictures. I haven't made it to the woods to grab them yet tho. I think it may be an update? I'm not sure
My encounter cam works and transmits photos but you have to be within 10 ft to trigger it. Supposed to be 80ft . I feel like I was tricked the camera sucks.
since this video, i bought 3 more. opened up 2 and set them around my property for the summer months. they both worked fine, set them out in the woods and some days one would send pictures some days the other one would. i then set them up on the same deer site, and one day one camera would work and send pictures and the next day it wouldnt. there would be pictures on 1 camera that werent on the other and visa versa. the 3rd camera i have yet to take out of the box.. 2+ years sitting there still haha
I own 2 and they work flawlessly. Will be buying a 3rd after Christmas
I’m having issues with it allowing me to add my debit card to select a plan
@@Tonypelland two things ya might try 1: select the 10 dollar package, had to do that first to get freebies. 2: Check the date of expiration on card it wouldn’t except mine do to going out in December… It’s not out of date now but I guess Dec. is too close. Hope this helps you or someone else.
Since y’all have one will it take photos on the time u set it to it made me do the time and the max was 5 times on it will it only take photos at them times if not the reason I got it is bc so it can take photos all thro out the day
hello??/ any updates on these garbage $120 paper weights? a year later, I have a fried cell camera that only worked for 3 weeks until it filled with condensation and cooked. it took me two weeks prior of turning it off and on just to get the camera to power up... wild game innovations need to own up to this pos camera and fix the problems or send replacements.
Hey, funny you mention an update, i DO, i just finished recording and have to edit and do some touch ups and it should be out shortly
I just bought one today. Got my hopes up when i turned it on and lights came on but the signal bars never lit up and i sat and tried to activate the camera for an hour and it never would connect. Anybody else have that problem?
Just bought one yesterday. It wont connect to my phone. Camera shows i had 3 bars (great connection) i tried it multiple times and it wont connect. Now i cant even get the camera to turn back on.
I just bought one , work fine 3 days then it’s stop taking pictures i went to check and lights are just blinking red! I reset it, took the batteries out and still red light
Man I just bought this camera and I’m trying to set it up and it keeps telling me this camera is hooked up to another account service hasn’t answered in a week
see i wondered this exact same thing. the one that im talking about in this video is still hooked up to my account, even tho it doesnt work and i brought it back. i dont imagine they will try and resell it. i hope you get this figured out, and would love to know what they tell you about this.
Had the same issue, took it back got another, still can't connect it. Bought a service package and all
We had the same problem! Call could not be completed at this time when I called the company. Electrical fire smell when I took the brand new name brand batteries out. No power.
terribly sorry this has happened to another camera. I think im done with wildgame, after the last few hunting seasons with them, they dont last more than a month
just bought one had the exact problem granted i put the batteries in backward which is extremely unclear never seen something catch fire from AA the wrong direction
Lol did the same thing. Once I figured out I was a dumbass my next ones worked Great though.
I took me 3 of these to finally get a good one; first lasted 24 hours if that, second lasted a month.
The 3rd lasted rest of the season then quit (I held onto it since it couldn’t be returned).
Decided to give the 3rd one another shot last season and somehow it worked flawlessly all season.
NOW, this camera has an issue with staying on; turn camera on, sometimes the green LED comes on (followed by red blinking), sometimes it doesn’t cut on.
Took it apart to see if it had a bad switch somehow; tested switch with meter and seems to be “working” as it should. However, I can tell where there was some excess heat around switch. I don’t know if that’s from manufacturing/soldering of the switch, but that’s the only “sign” I have on inside.
Again, cuts on sometimes, but doesn’t stay on.
Their customer service sucks btw… first 2 cameras that failed I wanted my sub money back and never got an email answered
Oh my, that sounds like my situation, haha. I since bought 2 more plus the one Wildgame / huntsmart replaced. I am having on again off again issues. I have a follow-up video for this, but every time I say I'm going to finish it. Other issues pop up or go away, and then I replace some of the footage.
Thanks for stopping by!
how do you put the batteries in? i put it in exactly how i understood and nothing.
@@jacksonray7220 put facing same way in each slot… whatever sign is there, have that side facing up. I believe positive on outside 2 and negative on inside 2
@@rns_outdoors i did and nothing and it smells burnt and its warm
I wish I would have saw this video sooner just bought one of these and It’s doin the same thing won’t cut on at all
I have three encounter cameras and have no complaints I even run a solar charger to a 6 volt battery and I run them all year and never have to go near them except one that a bear tried to eat the battery!!
I currently have 3 as well! And same thing. A bear tried to snack on one of them haha
They are junk took me forever to get mine to work. Did fine for a month then somehow everything inside the camera was wet and it stopped working. Now they won’t reply or help. I wouldn’t get this camera.
That's the general consensus. Most people I have heard of took them back. Such a shame too.
Just got two and same crap they activated but won't get service to take pictures or even work. Beginning to think they are garbage.
I'm pretty sure you put the batteries in backwards. Like 99.9 percent sure. It's easy to do if you look inside. You would think they all go in one way but they don't you have to look on the lid.
Thanks. But again i did not have the batteries in backwards. I have a follow up video I'm releasing with customer service and all that. Thanks for stopping by
@@Maritime2020Outdoors lol ok sure. look forward to seeing the video. They probably just replaced it like they did mine. Even though it was my fault they still sent me a new one. I Just know that that's why my first one started smoking. And from reading the comments there has been a few people do it as well. On a good note once I figured out I was a dumbass that shouldn't assume because it has springs all the same that they all go one way the next 4 I've bought have worked great.
@@thatguyfishingben4794 haha all good. Yes they replaced mine too. Said it was a known issue. Since then I bought 2 more... but IL save details for the next video haha
My was having problems but you have to just keep turning them on and off it’s annoying but what do you expect for being on the cheaper end
can't get this one work, it was working just fine then nothing, can this cam work as just a reg. trail cam or must it be used as a cellular trail cam
It can be used as a regular trail camera if you do not want to pay for subscription.
You need to install the batteries correctly! I had no issues with the camera.
Mine did the same thing. Was that my issue? That I didn’t install the batteries properly?
How do you set the buck scoring setting lol?
Did you put the battery in right?
Haha yes batteries were in proper
Not if it was smoking
Yeah, they’re a waste of money and their CS sucks if someone answers the phone. Even let be for days because a buddy said his “figured itself out” and nothing. I know there are deer in the area and it’s a hit or miss if it works. Waste of money since I gotta pull the cards to get the pics anyways
I just purchased this camera 2 days ago and it's being shipped. Please let me know how this gets resolved or updates. I couldn't find any reviews for it when I bought it. Hopefully they take care of it for you.
Mine couldn't detect anything further than 5ft. I set it up in my yard to test it and walked around my yard for 10 minutes at all different distances. The only picture it took was of me reaching down to pick it up
Any luck??
@@northwoodstraditions3372 It worked great for the 1st week and stopped. Got a notification that the batteries were low. Replaced them and it won't update the battery life on the app. Hasn't sent pics since after the 1st week. Wont update the signal strength either.Have an email into Wildgame currently. Should have got a Tactacam.
@@northwoodstraditions3372 nahh I returned mine and got the tacticam one for the same price. This one works as good as my $160 bushnell and takes better pictures. The images sent over cell service kinda suck and are very low quality, but when you grab the sd and look on a computer, the pics are very nice. Plus it takes video as well which is a plus
Return it!!!! Junk
Anyone know how to get better signal from your cell camera? Works great at my house, not at my hunting spot.
You can try a different SIM card provider
You can also try putting it on the north or south side of the tree/post. These cell cameras seem to get better reception when doing that. South may be better or vice versa depending.
Just got my 3rd new one replaced and put back in the woods so far exactly like the rest takes pictures and sends them perfectly the first day then it stops and screws up I'm done with encounter trail cameras there junk.
I just had the same thing happen to me and I’m pissed Bc I sent over 100 bones and it’s junk I’m gonna flip out plz if you figure it out lmk I have the same exact camera
Well my batteries are in right and mine will come on show the wifi then shut off replaced the batteries 3 times and will not work. Does the same thing with each set of batteries
thats not good. i would recommend calling customer service but that might take you a week to get someone on the line that gives a damn and can actually help you out.
Maybe if you would’ve put the batteries in right it would work. I just bought one a few days ago and it worked fine.
yes, products are 100%, 100% right out the box. there is never a dud in the bunch
I had the same situation happen to me. There junk and I went back to SD only cameras since I 10 of them. WGI took my complaint replaced which took almost 2 months and same problem. I called them spoke my mind and hung up.
I bought one and it did not work. Their customer support does not answer their phone or call you back.
They sure dont. took me 3 hours to get someone on the phone and when i finally did, they couldnt help me. i spoke to 4 people before i asked to speak to a manager, who then told me that i could send it back for a replacement
Mine works great could been bad one.
Im not sure if my cam is having problems with signal or just not taking pics well.
I bought one, set it up in the field and shit really didn't even need the little booklet. It's pretty self explanatory. I think you probably installed the batteries incorrectly.
I want to know how to connect to the free premium service they supposedly come with. Have ours connected to cell phone but now it is asking to buy a plan
yes i had to put all my payment info in at first, after that it gave me 30 free days. i was thinking that it is supposed to be 90 so i was waiting for the 30 days to be up and get charged on my card. then i would have something to call and wait on hold about. but after the 30 days it went back to another 30 days free. im expecting it to do another 30 after this one is up.
@@Maritime2020Outdoors I suspected that is the way it would work. Thank you for your reply.
I just bought one and it's junk. Worst camera I ever had. Won't connect to my phone . I bought the $120 gold plan and followed directions to the exact. I have 3 full green signal light. I set times to receive photos. All it says is they need time to connect to device. I'm so mad right now.
Holy smokes bud, thats not good. I did recieve a replacement for the one in the video, i havent got a follow up uploaded yet, but i was told to pick it up at the store. I set it up right there in the store and everything went as it should. i put it out in the woods and it took pictures of me at my site, but then it was like a week before i got a picture. i thought something may have happened to it. Nope just lack of critters to start lol. I hope you get yours figured out.
@@Maritime2020Outdoors problem is there customer service sucks. I have tried to email them and call. Left my name and number for over a week and no reply . I'm am very dissatisfied with them. A company that big should at least have some one to answer even if there is a pandemic going on. Someone should be able to help but nothing. That's my biggest thing that makes me so mad
@@timboling5554 100% took me 3 days and talked to over 7 people who kept transferring me to a number that didnt work. finally i asked to speak to a manager. this person told me their entire system was shut down the week prior and they are trying to get caught up. after about an hour on the phone she told me to send the camera back to them and to go pick one up at the store i bought it at.
@@Maritime2020Outdoors I guess I will return mine or just use it as a SD card and unsubscribe from the plan to get them sent to phone. Thank you for the reply and hopefully they will get it working one-day.
Any luck Tim?
I just purchased one myself and was having issues with it saying on the app that they need time to update settings and that the SD still needed to be formated even though I formated the SD card 4 times just to make sure it was formated word for word steps out of the booklet. Also I set two scheduled times for the camera to send the pictures to the app, and the very first time they sent it drained the batteries.
oh no, thats not good. My SD card and batteries are one of the few things that didnt go wrong with my wildgame cameras... yet. Replying to this comment has probably jinxed that tho.
I hope you get this figured out. Wildgame was such a great brand in cameras for years, but recently i have heard nothing but bad things about them. I hope they get things figured out soon and get back to their old ways.
Mine did the same thing yours did
How did you get that problem fixed? I’m having the same problem
@@ez_roofer583 is yours sending you pictures mine sent them whenever I was near it but then when I sent back home I haven’t gotten any
Mine won’t stay on anybody know a fix
Think you burnt it up. Maybe batteries were not out in correctly.
I’m having the same problem without the smoke
Bummer.
Dang these things are now half that price literally $85
I bought 2. What a waste of money!!!
I have some problems do not but wast your money’s
I have the same problem with mine
No shit yours did it too? Mine done the EXACT same thing cept for it came on briefly, updated firmware once, then would come back on at all. I left it on a second while trying to trouble shoot from directions just like you. I started smelling burning electric smell within minutes. Turned off, haven't fucked with it since. I'm not very happy about it myself. It was bad enough I grabbed my fire extinguisher and started thru my house.
Oh man. Yea it's not a good feeling paying the money to see it smoking lol
Mine did the same thing yesterday. Took it back got another one and it too is glitching so back it will go as well. These are junk
2:02 Sounds like you might have installed a battery the wrong way? Or a bad battery
Mine working good your was probably drop on the floor while it was shipped to the store
Just bought one. Did the same as you. Nothing……. No lights, no nothing….. no smoke though 😂. POS
Yea, reading all these comments id day it's a waste of money. More people are having problems with then than are having a good product
Couldn’t get a human on the service line when I called either….
@@bradyterrell6498 3 days for me
@@Maritime2020Outdoors junk. I have a SPYPOINT and I thought it was junk up until I got this one….. lol
@@bradyterrell6498 LMAO
I guarantee you that you put the batteries in backwards. The little plus and minus icons are misleading. The slot that shows a plus sign means that negative end should be inserted first, so the positive end is facing you. Really stupid design, I know.
oh yes i know, i have 7 wildgame cameras and a few years back when i got my first one, it tripped me up. but now i make sure they are the right way.
@@Maritime2020Outdoors so was the batteries the problem for you? Or this happened even with the bateries in correctly? I returned my camera today because it couldn't detect anything past like 5ft. These cameras are absolute garbage
@@ryan370 No, batteries were in correct. it just burned itself out i guess. after 2 days of trying to get anyone on the phone about the situation, i finally spoke to a manager that got stuff worked out for me. sent the camera back and a new one is on its way here. i do have a 2nd one that i got, and this one works great. took pictures of everything around the house and took pictures of me cleaning up my shooting area in the woods. but that was 3 days ago now and i havent had a single picture sent to me. im not sure if its not detecting deer or nothing has walked passed yet. i checked the signal and it says good... so il check it in a few days to see if anything actually was there or not.
Nope, not the case for us...batteries fine..it just won't turn on. Mine was wet also inside like someone else said, only worked for 3 weeks...lost receipt and the only thing they'll do is give me 50% off....I told them no thanks not throwing good money at bad. Waiting for supervisor call....will update here if I get any help.
With the amount of people with the same easy fix problem definitely bothers me. These folks have some kinda firearm, or Bow, and have a license to hunt!?!? Folks, go back to cleaning the house, and maybe switch roles with the wife, or girlfriend, or boyfriend who knows….
You didnt format the sk card
nice
Dude you put the batteries in wrong!!! C’mon ese’
Yes. My camera worked fine. The app is a piece of shit. Literally no customer support. Go with a different set up besides WGI.
To be honest I think I may switch to covert next year
It's not workin, eh?
This one did not. I got a replacement that seems to be working tho. I had a follow up video but lost it on a corrupt SD card
Must had put a battery in wrong than fry it
You don’t even have to pay for a subscription.
And they’re actually great cameras.
And 98% of what we use are man made. Everything is subjective to fail.
It’s man made
The worst camera on earth I promise you guys save yourself trouble pay the money for the nice one man this camera company is garbage they’re against military veterans they don’t want to reach out and help , I promise you do not want to buy this product. If you do, you will have to pray hard it even connects
My works fine. C'mon man it says positive and negative on the battery cap. Super simple set up. Mine works even where my personal cell doesn't call out. Still get pics from it though. Best cam Ive had yet. $78 at walmart
I currently have over 50 cameras and over 20 wildgame. All battery components are the same. I do know how to.read the label and put batteries in.
Thanks for watching