One of the very best review videos I've ever seen on UA-cam, and believe me, I'm difficult to please. Straight to the points, yet very thorough, just what I was looking for. And very professionally produced. And thank you, thank you, thank you for not annoying me with useless background music. I think I will try the middle option. Edit: Not so sure now after seeing the horrible ratings from Amazon customers. 27% 1-star ratings? Man, that's a huge number of 1-star ratings.
Thank you for the feedback! If I had to guess the reasoning for all of the negative ratings are people that aren't able to follow the directions to properly set them up OR they are trying to run cell cams in areas with poor service. Everyone seems to blame the cameras. I've run 7 different models/brands now and all have worked great.
@@samuelhaldeman3556 funny you ask. I'm wrapping up filming a new version of this that includes all of the cell cams on the market that are $150 or under. The Spypoint link Micro is still one of my favorites. It seems like they worked out all of their firmware kinks the last couple years. Tactacam reveal X is a nice cam too. I'm trying to get the new vid posted early next week.
Great video, beautiful deer. Just a bit of advice... you can see how many deer stare directly at your camera's in the pics. This is not ideal especially with bigger mature bucks as they know these are not natural and will start to avoid them. Ideally you want no pictures of the deer staring at the cam. Mount them higher up in the tree out of their line of vision, use a stick or something to tilt them down a little. You will instantly notice a huge improvement of deer looking at or even noticing the cams after you do this
Thanks for the tip Jonathan. I'm all over this and have been hanging all of my cameras about 10' high. They still occasionally see the cams but way less frequently. Appreciate you sharing best practices!
Thanks for the videos. You avoid the problem of other folks who have similar videos. You show lots of actual footage. That's why we want a trail cam. The vast majority of us don't need to watch someone waste our time showing us that they have the skill to take something out of a box and how they can skillfully insert batteries. If you want to do a set up video then label it as such. Then we can search for X camera set up. Those are esp important videos for more complicated cameras. But in reviews, we want to see the results. One on video the guy was talking of how crisp the sound was and you could hear the deer walking in dry leaves but he talked over the whole thing. His 15 min review of one camera had maybe 1 minute of camera footage. So I really appreciate how much of your videos you devote the final products.
Hey Kevin, I really appreciate the feedback. It's great to hear what people really want to see out there and I'll continue to follow this format moving forward because it seems like a lot of people agree with you.
Great review. For my I use the SpyPoint Link Micro's and the Cell Links. I joined the Insiders Club for $99 a year and I can run multiple cameras at no extra cost.
I’ll have to check out the insiders club and do the math to see if it makes sense with some of the plans with higher picture limits. That’s a great thought though. Thanks for the recommendation.
I run a few LINK-MICRO-LTE on Verizon and it's been great. The picture quality isn't as good as a standard quality camera at the same price but it's decent. It doesn't have the variety of settings as other cameras but being able to change the settings remotely is VERY nice. For $99 the LINK-MICRO is a great deal compared with other cameras. The fact that Spypoint gives 100 pics per month for no cost makes it a no-brainer.
Spy points are hit or miss. Mostly miss on my end. When they work, they are great cameras. They just have left me stranded so many times. I sent back 4 of them last season. 1 did not work right out of the box, 3 quit in the middle of the season. All have been replaced. Customer service is good as long as your not trying to contact them during the season.
Thanks for sharing! I've had similar experience. They can be a bit of a headache but the price tag makes it worth while. Hoping some firmware updates solve any remaining bugs. Nothing worse than not having visibility into your areas during season.
Lots of good information and reviews. I enjoy trail cams but love using them on video mode which isn’t practical (or sometimes possible) with cellular cams. Blaise Krasnodemski sent me to check out your channel 👍
HuntingFarmer I appreciate you coming over to check me out! I’m with ya on the video. All of my regular cell cams were on video mode almost exclusively this last fall and it’s amazing what you can learn from a video clip. A lot of the cell cams still give you the option to have it take both and then send the pic but just have the video saved to the sd card which wouldn’t be too bad. Blow through data if you were having lots of videos sent through though.
Next Step Outdoors I will think about a video that I would like to see Thank you I am going to tell people to check out your channel on other hunting channels that I am subscribed to
The cost of the cameras for me is minuscule compared to someone breaking into my off grid lake house and garage...I have 4 Spypoint cell cams and the peace of mind they give me when I'm not there is well worth the price(RCMP are only 10 minutes away)....The only issue I have with my new Spypoint Link s is I believe the solar panel interferes with the antenna signal ...as I require an external antenna in order to receive an alert to my phone. I've been running Spypoint cellular cameras for 4 year and no issues.
That's a great point. They aren't only for hunting. Interesting point about the solar panel. Wonder if anyone else has had similar experience with the interference.
Also, the dark version offers the benefit of no glow which should help in not spooking deer. So, yes the price is higher than the micro and the photo quality may not warrant the price difference but the higher wavelength LEDs that are less noticeable could make the difference in a wary buck staying or leaving the area.
Great review. Thank you. Just curious, why didn’t you throw the Tactacam Reveal in there? I’ve heard nothing but good things about these cameras and you can’t even find them online, they stay sold out. For a $100 price point, it makes sense lol
When I made this review the reveals hadn’t been released yet. I did run one this year. Not my favorite cam out of the bunch but not bad for the price point. I also ran some stealth cam fusions as well to try them out. I’ll do an updated video this year after a whole season under my belt running them all.
Just watched your cheap amazon camera reviews but decided on getting 2nd Spypoint Micro. It worked really well and your review helped me make the same decision.. Can you do some reviews of the Amazon WiFi/Bluetooth camera's. I found those interesting as well.. Thanks
I've never considered it but I definitely will look into it. I think you will be happy with the micros. The first year I ran them I had a couple small issues but it seems like they have worked out all the kinks...*knock on wood*
Thank you for choosing Spypoint and hope all is well. Sorry for the inconvenience. We are happy to assist you. We checked and found out that the camera has missed many major updates. It is a must that we update the firmware. Please see instructions below and have fresh batteries. In order to update the firmware, you will first need to format the micro-SD card, then, follow the below instructions for the update. 1) How to format an sd card: Windows PC: Here is a video that will help you: ua-cam.com/video/26jf1f7CmNE/v-deo.html Insert the card in the computer Access the Files Explorer (shortcut = press Windows Key+E on your keyboard at the same time) Find ‘’This PC’’ or ‘’My Computer’’ Find your SD card and use the Right Mouse Button on it. Select ‘’Format’’ Make sure the setting for ‘’File System’’ is set to : ‘’FAT32’’ or ‘’FAT32 (default)’’ Choose one of the following options : Quick Format: is enabled by default and only takes a few seconds. Full Format : disable the Quick Format for a more secure and thorough procedure (recommended) Click ‘’Start’’ when ready to format. MAC computer: Here is a video that will help you: ua-cam.com/video/A6SJUGtLL4U/v-deo.html Insert the SD card in the computer Access the ‘’Disk Utility’’ --- You can find it using the ‘’search tool’’ at the top of your screen OR using the FINDER application. Find your SD card and select it. Click on ‘’Erase’’ Make sure the setting for ‘’Format’’ is set to : MS-DOS(FAT) Click on Security Options and choose one of the following: Fastest : is enabled by default and only takes a few seconds Most Secure : this is a more secure and thorough procedure (recommended) Click on ‘’Erase’’ at the bottom right corner when ready to format. 2) Updating the firmware version of your camera - Windows and MAC Download the update file from our website : www.spypoint.com/en/support/cellular-trail-camera/product-link-micro.html Open the downloaded .zip file by double-clicking on it. Extract the 5 files from the .zip file. Copy the 5 extracted files onto the Micro SD card. Eject the Micro SD card from the computer. Make sure the camera is turned OFF. Insert the Micro SD card into the camera. Power ON the camera. The camera will run the firmware update by itself for around 90 seconds. («Status» light flashes orange). Then, it will turn off for a second. The camera firmware will be up to date. The camera will then restart by itself and it will go through the connection process. («Status» light flashes green). To confirm the update was successful: Upon the next sync of the camera, access the “Status” tab in the SPYPOINT LINK app. Under “General Information”, the version number will appear, for example: V1.11.06 Feel free to contact us should you have any further questions. Sincerely, Wiltz SPYPOINT Customer Support
I bought 2 Stealth Cam WXA cameras (same as the one in the video, but AT&T). One was dead on arrival, the other kept telling me I had no cell service despite have full bars of AT&T 4G LTE on my phone and internet. So now I'm out of money for defective products just from the subscription plan. $20 for stealth cam's data plan, plus the AT&T data plan (2gb for 3 months for $30) they told me to buy. Have to buy Stealth cam's data plan along with a cellular plan? Highway Robbery....2 data plans? Screw Stealth cam. Got a Tactacam Reveal instead. Set up was faster, easier, and no addition data plans to buy. Also cheaper subscription. Only caveat is their app isn't as good as others including Stealth Cam's, but I'm sure it will get better in time. Plus on the Tactacam Reveal, you can overwrite old photos....so no having to go out to your camera to format/delete photos when your SD card fills up
I'm a bit confused because you only need to activate the stealth cam cell cams and select a monthly package very similarly to tactacam. I've been running a tactacam this year and have been thoroughly disappointed with the trigger speed, as well as the lack of several options that come standard on most other cell cams. I'm guessing Tactacam will put out firmware updates to fix some of these issues over time though.
@@NextStepOutdoors That is what I was told by Stealth Cam when I called when I had issues with the second cam...the one that said I had no cell service repeatedly. Ive had zero issues with the Reveal. Set up was super quick. I dont have issues with trigger speed. SD card over write is a big plus
Spypoint is not an option for me. I owned 2 of the spypoint link micro. After initial get to work issues, one was replaced by spypoint, both failed after a few months due to water leaking in.
So I have 2 SPYPOINT micro. Pretty much every picture is grainy and I can barely see the deer 🦌. I think they do this on purpose to make you buy the 50 hd pictures for 5$.. And one of my cams stopped working it says It does detect the sd card and I’m using the same as card that I’ve been running in it. And I even switched it out with another one. I heard Tacticam is really good same price as well.
Ray Roblyer tactacam is figuring it out. Couple things to work out with the app still. Most cell cam pics are sent to your phone in a compressed file which is why it looks grainy. When you pull the sd card they are full resolution. Just takes less data to transfer the compressed files.
I noticed there are 2 sim cards stacked on each other behind the battery tray. One has spypoint logo and the other is AT&T. Is there a way to cut spypoint out as a middleman and just insert a sim card from a cell phone and just call into it with the number associated to the sim card we use?
Part of the setup includes selecting the purpose of the camera, Security or Hunting. Does that have any impact on what the camera actually does or sends pictures of? Or is it strictly for the Spypoint company to hone their marketing? Thoughts?
The only thing I can find online is that they recommend shorter intervals between picture uploads to the app if used for security. Except during the rut, I generally only have my pictures transfer once every 24 hours to conserve battery. The more frequently it connects to the server, the shorter the batteries will last.
I use all 4 of mine for security. You lose some features I just can't remember what they are lol...I think one is the buck tracker feature, to detect bucks only....
Thanks for the comment Eric! My guess is most of the people that call cell cams junk and can’t get them to connect are either trying to run them where they don’t have good cell service or miss some of the steps setting them up initially. I’ve had an issue or two that I was able to resolve even if that meant calling customer support but I also think that a little common sense goes a long way. If you have any other questions let me know! I’ll be trying a few different models this year as well.
@@ericransom5000 First off make sure you try your camera where you have a strong signal so you know it works, Spypoint recommends you have at least 2 bars for connectivity and I have found this to be true......To add to this, I'm of the cusp of a cell signal...example if I move one of my cameras 10 feet from where it is it will lose its ability to transmit. Time of year is also an issue sometimes due to foliage cover. I find my signal is stronger in the winter when there are no leaves on the trees. One of my cameras requires the external antenna, where my other 3 don't and they are all in within 100 yards of each other.
I have had the stealth cam for two years and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone about every two months they mess up I have had to send back five cameras
I’ve personally not used any solar cams yet but the first two I’d check out would be the Spypoint Link Micro-S-LTE and the Tactacam Reveal SK. That would be a good test for another video. Let me know if you try any of them out!
That’s odd. They definitely come through in a more compressed version than what’s on the sd card but definitely good enough quality to tell what’s in the picture and to count points etc in most cases.
Can these trail cameras work on all data plans available in the world (universal)for eg: am in Jamaica and we use two cell plan digicel and flow data are they compatible to this camera
I dont have internet service provider on my property its in Okla its off grid, i want to protect my equipment using a trail cam I have a cell phone and computer in pa what trail cam can i get that wont let thieves know there being watched with no flashing and is there a trail cam that has audio and can notify me my cell phone, its not a smart phone, while I'm here in pa when motion is detected on my property, is there a trail cam that does this to monitor my land without out having use a home monitoring service any suggestion appreciated !
They make cameras that are "no-glow" meaning you cant see the flash but if you don't have cell service you will not be able to monitor your property remotely.
I bought a Spypoint cell link to turn my Stealth cam 2020 G42NG into a cell cam. Will I have to pay a fee to both Stealth cam and spypoint? This is my first year using a cam , so i hope you or someone can help
Let me know how that platform works out for you....I have a few standalone Stealth cameras(same model as yours) and they take the absolute clearest pictures....
The pics of the sd card are much better. I usually leave them the entire season and then look through the sd cards all at once. Always fun to see an entire seasons worth of data.
@@NextStepOutdoors thats what I thought. Just got one a couple weeks ago. I got a deer that might be bucks but cant really zoom in to see. Ill ha e to check the SD card to confirm. Thanks for the answer.
@@donwilson350 Yes, there needs to be an SD card in the camera but you will not need to manually check the SD card in order to have the pics sent to your phone. I'd recommend at least a 16gb SD card so it doesn't fill up on you if you leave your cam in the field for long periods of time. 32gb is even better and generally the max size most cams will take.
Last year I got my cams up in July and I think I replaced the batteries each once between then and the end of December. They were taking a decent amount of pics too. Outside of season or outside of the period I’m actually able to hunt I set them all to only send the pictures to me once or twice a day which saves a lot of battery. It’s when you have it transfer the pics to you after every single photo that they die super fast. During season I switched it to once in the morning and once in the evening or if I knew I was going to be hunting there I would set it to 4 times a day.
Dale Jaramillo yes you can set it up so they send you pictures as soon as they are taken. I typically set it to send me pics twice a day just to save battery tho.
@@dalejaramillo9653 Yes,,, but you have to use the app....I have two alerts on my phone, one when my camera takes a pic through spypoint app and the other when I receive the email from spypoint that says my camera took a picture. The app will send a pic as a pop up on your cell phone, just touch it to open up the picture....
After doing many reviews everywhere on all the cameras, my advice would be DON'T buy any until they get their shit figured out. Seems like none of them have the apps figured out. They tried producing them way too fast to meet the rising demand. I think I'll wait awhile and let the bugs get taken care of.
What ones are you speaking to specifically? I disagree for the most part. I ran 3 different spypoints, 4 total (2 different stealth cam models, a tactacam reveal, and a moultrie cell cam this year and never had any issues. My only gripe is that the moultrie cam doesn’t let you pick the transfer time but I still get the pics on a daily basis.
Anyone running AA batteries in a cell cam is not only missing the point, but also wasting a lot of money. Great video, but do yourself a favor and upgrade to 12 volts.
I think there's a time and place for sure. Running them on your home farm is a no brainer. I'm not going to lug them out to my public land spots though. Do you get through a whole season on one charge?
One charge lasts 12 months while sending the images at real time to your phones. This way you won’t miss out on valuable intel regarding deer movement throughout the night/morning when choosing a stand to sit. Also you never have to go back into a spot leaving more ground scent once you hang the camera. Furthermore you don’t have to worry about dead batteries on a camera several hours away or even in a different state. If your worried about not being able to carry a 12 volt battery, there are many different sizes and options available. The 12 volt batteries I personally run weigh 7lbs.
@@NextStepOutdoors I use one camera indoors with a small 12v battery with a solar panel, I switch it out every 6months just to give it a good charge, its lasted at least 2 years now.....It may take 20 pics a month of me coming into the building.
I'm not writing a book on how bad my experience with spypoint was but let it suffice to say I purchased 3 and all 3 worked fine for the first 6 months at which they all 3 quit working . Customer service couldn't function....got nothing resolved...end of story . I will never own another spypoint product again 🖕
Sorry to hear that. Their customer service can be a pain but I’ve always been taken care of in the end. They even upgraded me to their top camera after having issues with a lower priced product.
I have 4 spypoint cameras and all have been working great for over 4 years now. They even sent me a newer camera at no cost when they switched to 5g service(it was a very old camera)....I'm finding many people don't realise they need to update the firmware or are using the wrong sd card. I asked the company if they could automatically update the firmware but I guess its a money/change of software issue.
@@jedidiah5131 I tried reaching out time and time again . Once I was on hold for over 4 hours. Email after email not responded to. And when I finally actually got to talk to someone they couldn't help me. Over all I estimate being on the phone with them for more the 12 hours. I switched brands and have not had any trouble since. Also everytime I've had a question they where there and able to answer it. People need to know they don't have to settle for cheap cameras with bad customer service.
@@jaredglass2562 Yes it does happen...you can also use the phone chat in real time ...maybe they didn't have that then or leave your # and they will get back to you, I never had to wait more than an hour for them to call back...and yes sometimes you will get their adm persons who take care of non technical issues, but usually they will patch your through to a tech.....sorry to hear about your dealing with them...
I’ve been staying away from both stealth and spypoint as of late. Both customer service were not great to begin with and then went downhill the last year or so. What camera are you running?
One of the very best review videos I've ever seen on UA-cam, and believe me, I'm difficult to please. Straight to the points, yet very thorough, just what I was looking for. And very professionally produced. And thank you, thank you, thank you for not annoying me with useless background music.
I think I will try the middle option. Edit: Not so sure now after seeing the horrible ratings from Amazon customers. 27% 1-star ratings? Man, that's a huge number of 1-star ratings.
Thank you for the feedback! If I had to guess the reasoning for all of the negative ratings are people that aren't able to follow the directions to properly set them up OR they are trying to run cell cams in areas with poor service. Everyone seems to blame the cameras. I've run 7 different models/brands now and all have worked great.
@@NextStepOutdoors what camera are you running now I'm sure you've tried others since this video and what would you recommend?
@@samuelhaldeman3556 funny you ask. I'm wrapping up filming a new version of this that includes all of the cell cams on the market that are $150 or under. The Spypoint link Micro is still one of my favorites. It seems like they worked out all of their firmware kinks the last couple years. Tactacam reveal X is a nice cam too. I'm trying to get the new vid posted early next week.
Spypoints were an absolute nightmare
They can be a pain occasionally but once they are rolling those little things will last an entire season on one set of batteries.
Great video, beautiful deer. Just a bit of advice... you can see how many deer stare directly at your camera's in the pics. This is not ideal especially with bigger mature bucks as they know these are not natural and will start to avoid them. Ideally you want no pictures of the deer staring at the cam. Mount them higher up in the tree out of their line of vision, use a stick or something to tilt them down a little. You will instantly notice a huge improvement of deer looking at or even noticing the cams after you do this
Thanks for the tip Jonathan. I'm all over this and have been hanging all of my cameras about 10' high. They still occasionally see the cams but way less frequently. Appreciate you sharing best practices!
I didn’t know this thanks for info
Thanks for the videos. You avoid the problem of other folks who have similar videos. You show lots of actual footage. That's why we want a trail cam. The vast majority of us don't need to watch someone waste our time showing us that they have the skill to take something out of a box and how they can skillfully insert batteries. If you want to do a set up video then label it as such. Then we can search for X camera set up. Those are esp important videos for more complicated cameras. But in reviews, we want to see the results. One on video the guy was talking of how crisp the sound was and you could hear the deer walking in dry leaves but he talked over the whole thing. His 15 min review of one camera had maybe 1 minute of camera footage. So I really appreciate how much of your videos you devote the final products.
Hey Kevin, I really appreciate the feedback. It's great to hear what people really want to see out there and I'll continue to follow this format moving forward because it seems like a lot of people agree with you.
I think it is an excellent analysis. Good job, thanks for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it! Appreciate you checking it out!
Thank you for this. Very informative.
Happy to help!
Great review. For my I use the SpyPoint Link Micro's and the Cell Links. I joined the Insiders Club for $99 a year and I can run multiple cameras at no extra cost.
I’ll have to check out the insiders club and do the math to see if it makes sense with some of the plans with higher picture limits. That’s a great thought though. Thanks for the recommendation.
@@NextStepOutdoors All other cameras you have to pay per camera. With the insiders club you can run 100 cameras at 250 free photos all for $99 a year.
That's a solid deal especially if you run a bunch. Thanks for the heads up!
I have 6 Cellular Stealth Cam's and love them 4 months so far on the same battery's
They are great. I'm up to 4 stealth cams as well.
I've had good luck with the micro I ran last year. Might have to check out the stealthcam for this fall.
They are a game changer for a really reasonable price!
I run a few LINK-MICRO-LTE on Verizon and it's been great. The picture quality isn't as good as a standard quality camera at the same price but it's decent. It doesn't have the variety of settings as other cameras but being able to change the settings remotely is VERY nice. For $99 the LINK-MICRO is a great deal compared with other cameras. The fact that Spypoint gives 100 pics per month for no cost makes it a no-brainer.
Spy points are hit or miss. Mostly miss on my end. When they work, they are great cameras. They just have left me stranded so many times. I sent back 4 of them last season. 1 did not work right out of the box, 3 quit in the middle of the season. All have been replaced. Customer service is good as long as your not trying to contact them during the season.
Thanks for sharing! I've had similar experience. They can be a bit of a headache but the price tag makes it worth while. Hoping some firmware updates solve any remaining bugs. Nothing worse than not having visibility into your areas during season.
Spypoint has been my 1st cell camera and it has not been a good experience. Mine quit working after 2.5 months and customer service is terrible.
Lots of good information and reviews. I enjoy trail cams but love using them on video mode which isn’t practical (or sometimes possible) with cellular cams. Blaise Krasnodemski sent me to check out your channel 👍
HuntingFarmer I appreciate you coming over to check me out! I’m with ya on the video. All of my regular cell cams were on video mode almost exclusively this last fall and it’s amazing what you can learn from a video clip. A lot of the cell cams still give you the option to have it take both and then send the pic but just have the video saved to the sd card which wouldn’t be too bad. Blow through data if you were having lots of videos sent through though.
I have threeSpypoint LINK-MICRO solar set up as security cams at a second property. no major problems so far
That’s great to hear. I’ve yet to try and of the solar cams but have been on my list.
Another great vid !
Thanks Bryce!!!
love the audio in your videos normal I have to turn up the sound all the way but not with your videos keep up the good work
Thanks for the feedback and for the support! Always good to hear how the production quality is perceived!
Next Step Outdoors as long as you are putting out videos I will be watching them
@@krash22mini72 That means a lot! If there are any specific videos you want to see in the future, let me know!
@@krash22mini72 same here!
Next Step Outdoors I will think about a video that I would like to see Thank you I am going to tell people to check out your channel on other hunting channels that I am subscribed to
Excellent review of those 👍
Hey Nico thanks for watching!
The cost of the cameras for me is minuscule compared to someone breaking into my off grid lake house and garage...I have 4 Spypoint cell cams and the peace of mind they give me when I'm not there is well worth the price(RCMP are only 10 minutes away)....The only issue I have with my new Spypoint Link s is I believe the solar panel interferes with the antenna signal ...as I require an external antenna in order to receive an alert to my phone. I've been running Spypoint cellular cameras for 4 year and no issues.
That's a great point. They aren't only for hunting. Interesting point about the solar panel. Wonder if anyone else has had similar experience with the interference.
Also, the dark version offers the benefit of no glow which should help in not spooking deer. So, yes the price is higher than the micro and the photo quality may not warrant the price difference but the higher wavelength LEDs that are less noticeable could make the difference in a wary buck staying or leaving the area.
Good video, great information and plenty of picture examples! Thank you! This is very helpful!!
Dark30 Outdoors I’m happy to help!
Great video . Clear and to the point.
BK Campbell I appreciate the feedback!
The intro tho😋😳
Lol
The micro is the winner 🏆 my opinion
I tried a few more models this year and still like the micro the best I think.
Great review. Thank you. Just curious, why didn’t you throw the Tactacam Reveal in there? I’ve heard nothing but good things about these cameras and you can’t even find them online, they stay sold out. For a $100 price point, it makes sense lol
When I made this review the reveals hadn’t been released yet. I did run one this year. Not my favorite cam out of the bunch but not bad for the price point. I also ran some stealth cam fusions as well to try them out. I’ll do an updated video this year after a whole season under my belt running them all.
Just watched your cheap amazon camera reviews but decided on getting 2nd Spypoint Micro. It worked really well and your review helped me make the same decision.. Can you do some reviews of the Amazon WiFi/Bluetooth camera's. I found those interesting as well.. Thanks
I've never considered it but I definitely will look into it. I think you will be happy with the micros. The first year I ran them I had a couple small issues but it seems like they have worked out all the kinks...*knock on wood*
Thank you for choosing Spypoint and hope all is well. Sorry for the inconvenience. We are happy to assist you. We checked and found out that the camera has missed many major updates. It is a must that we update the firmware. Please see instructions below and have fresh batteries.
In order to update the firmware, you will first need to format the micro-SD card, then, follow the below instructions for the update.
1) How to format an sd card:
Windows PC:
Here is a video that will help you: ua-cam.com/video/26jf1f7CmNE/v-deo.html
Insert the card in the computer
Access the Files Explorer (shortcut = press Windows Key+E on your keyboard at the same time)
Find ‘’This PC’’ or ‘’My Computer’’
Find your SD card and use the Right Mouse Button on it.
Select ‘’Format’’
Make sure the setting for ‘’File System’’ is set to : ‘’FAT32’’ or ‘’FAT32 (default)’’
Choose one of the following options :
Quick Format: is enabled by default and only takes a few seconds.
Full Format : disable the Quick Format for a more secure and thorough procedure (recommended)
Click ‘’Start’’ when ready to format.
MAC computer:
Here is a video that will help you: ua-cam.com/video/A6SJUGtLL4U/v-deo.html
Insert the SD card in the computer
Access the ‘’Disk Utility’’ --- You can find it using the ‘’search tool’’ at the top of your screen OR using the FINDER application.
Find your SD card and select it.
Click on ‘’Erase’’
Make sure the setting for ‘’Format’’ is set to : MS-DOS(FAT)
Click on Security Options and choose one of the following:
Fastest : is enabled by default and only takes a few seconds
Most Secure : this is a more secure and thorough procedure (recommended)
Click on ‘’Erase’’ at the bottom right corner when ready to format.
2) Updating the firmware version of your camera - Windows and MAC
Download the update file from our website : www.spypoint.com/en/support/cellular-trail-camera/product-link-micro.html
Open the downloaded .zip file by double-clicking on it.
Extract the 5 files from the .zip file.
Copy the 5 extracted files onto the Micro SD card.
Eject the Micro SD card from the computer.
Make sure the camera is turned OFF.
Insert the Micro SD card into the camera.
Power ON the camera.
The camera will run the firmware update by itself for around 90 seconds. («Status» light flashes orange).
Then, it will turn off for a second. The camera firmware will be up to date.
The camera will then restart by itself and it will go through the connection process. («Status» light flashes green).
To confirm the update was successful:
Upon the next sync of the camera, access the “Status” tab in the SPYPOINT LINK app.
Under “General Information”, the version number will appear, for example: V1.11.06
Feel free to contact us should you have any further questions.
Sincerely,
Wiltz
SPYPOINT Customer Support
armand spano appreciate the thorough instructions!
Any information on when the camera says no as card detected? I’m using the suggested as card and the address card is the same one I’ve been using.
Ray Roblyer I would try formatting the sd card on your computer and trying again. If that doesn’t work contact their customer support.
I bought 2 Stealth Cam WXA cameras (same as the one in the video, but AT&T).
One was dead on arrival, the other kept telling me I had no cell service despite have full bars of AT&T 4G LTE on my phone and internet.
So now I'm out of money for defective products just from the subscription plan. $20 for stealth cam's data plan, plus the AT&T data plan (2gb for 3 months for $30) they told me to buy. Have to buy Stealth cam's data plan along with a cellular plan? Highway Robbery....2 data plans?
Screw Stealth cam. Got a Tactacam Reveal instead. Set up was faster, easier, and no addition data plans to buy. Also cheaper subscription. Only caveat is their app isn't as good as others including Stealth Cam's, but I'm sure it will get better in time. Plus on the Tactacam Reveal, you can overwrite old photos....so no having to go out to your camera to format/delete photos when your SD card fills up
I'm a bit confused because you only need to activate the stealth cam cell cams and select a monthly package very similarly to tactacam. I've been running a tactacam this year and have been thoroughly disappointed with the trigger speed, as well as the lack of several options that come standard on most other cell cams. I'm guessing Tactacam will put out firmware updates to fix some of these issues over time though.
@@NextStepOutdoors
That is what I was told by Stealth Cam when I called when I had issues with the second cam...the one that said I had no cell service repeatedly.
Ive had zero issues with the Reveal. Set up was super quick. I dont have issues with trigger speed. SD card over write is a big plus
Great video buddy. I am looking for cams for my new property 20 acres.
Good luck! Living the dream!
Spypoint is not an option for me. I owned 2 of the spypoint link micro. After initial get to work issues, one was replaced by spypoint, both failed after a few months due to water leaking in.
We’re they the solar powered ones by chance? That’s the only one I’ve heard of issues with.
@@NextStepOutdoors yes
So I have 2 SPYPOINT micro. Pretty much every picture is grainy and I can barely see the deer 🦌. I think they do this on purpose to make you buy the 50 hd pictures for 5$..
And one of my cams stopped working it says It does detect the sd card and I’m using the same as card that I’ve been running in it. And I even switched it out with another one.
I heard Tacticam is really good same price as well.
Ray Roblyer tactacam is figuring it out. Couple things to work out with the app still. Most cell cam pics are sent to your phone in a compressed file which is why it looks grainy. When you pull the sd card they are full resolution. Just takes less data to transfer the compressed files.
You should test the new Moultrie Camera. It’s through an app and is around 120$ for the camera and then it’s 16$ a camera per month
Luke Grow it’s definitely on the list. I’ve picked up 3 or 4 other ones since I made this video. Haven’t tried moultrie yet tho.
My moultrie only sent about 3 pictures before it fucked up.
I noticed there are 2 sim cards stacked on each other behind the battery tray. One has spypoint logo and the other is AT&T. Is there a way to cut spypoint out as a middleman and just insert a sim card from a cell phone and just call into it with the number associated to the sim card we use?
Unfortunately not. Everything runs through spypoints app. I don’t think there is any way to do that.
Ridgetec flawless
what makes that better than the others on the market?
@@NextStepOutdoors reliability, customer service is second to none, clear pictures day and night, videos are excellent...list can go on
I just want to use mine to look at animals in my back yard. Is it possible to skip the data plan and use it over Wi Fi?
You could just pull the SD card and manually look at it on your laptop or computer. I don’t think you can check it via WiFi.
Part of the setup includes selecting the purpose of the camera, Security or Hunting. Does that have any impact on what the camera actually does or sends pictures of? Or is it strictly for the Spypoint company to hone their marketing? Thoughts?
The only thing I can find online is that they recommend shorter intervals between picture uploads to the app if used for security. Except during the rut, I generally only have my pictures transfer once every 24 hours to conserve battery. The more frequently it connects to the server, the shorter the batteries will last.
I use all 4 of mine for security. You lose some features I just can't remember what they are lol...I think one is the buck tracker feature, to detect bucks only....
Hi, thanks for sharing, Will it work with a c-spire phone ? Thanks
Yea, it works off of the specific app so as long as you can download that app it doesn’t matter what phone you have.
Thanks for making this video! I keep hearing stories about how people can't get the cameras to connect...Have you had any issues with that?
Thanks for the comment Eric! My guess is most of the people that call cell cams junk and can’t get them to connect are either trying to run them where they don’t have good cell service or miss some of the steps setting them up initially. I’ve had an issue or two that I was able to resolve even if that meant calling customer support but I also think that a little common sense goes a long way. If you have any other questions let me know! I’ll be trying a few different models this year as well.
@@NextStepOutdoors Awesome, thank you!
@@ericransom5000 First off make sure you try your camera where you have a strong signal so you know it works, Spypoint recommends you have at least 2 bars for connectivity and I have found this to be true......To add to this, I'm of the cusp of a cell signal...example if I move one of my cameras 10 feet from where it is it will lose its ability to transmit. Time of year is also an issue sometimes due to foliage cover. I find my signal is stronger in the winter when there are no leaves on the trees. One of my cameras requires the external antenna, where my other 3 don't and they are all in within 100 yards of each other.
I have had the stealth cam for two years and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone about every two months they mess up I have had to send back five cameras
Seth Branch my experience with stealth cam has been really hit and miss. I like the cell cams but have had bad luck on some of the normal ones.
Can anyone tell me if you could use any of those cellular trial cam outside of U.S in a different country with different network
These ones do not work outside of the US
I am looking for a trail cam with cellular , solar charged good quality cam, what do u recommend?
I’ve personally not used any solar cams yet but the first two I’d check out would be the Spypoint Link Micro-S-LTE and the Tactacam Reveal SK. That would be a good test for another video. Let me know if you try any of them out!
I bought the micro 1 week ago and man the pictures are blurry as heck can’t even barely tell there is a deer on camera
That’s odd. They definitely come through in a more compressed version than what’s on the sd card but definitely good enough quality to tell what’s in the picture and to count points etc in most cases.
Can these trail cameras work on all data plans available in the world (universal)for eg: am in Jamaica and we use two cell plan digicel and flow data are they compatible to this camera
They work on a specified data plan, however, they come with a preactivated sim card so you do not need to add it to an existing plan.
I’m hoping this works for my dementia mother in law.she lives about 5 miles away hope this is a good choice
Country Charlie to monitor her?
Next Step Outdoors yes sir to keep an eye on her and people come and going, neighbor lady watch out for her until we can get help
Can I get one to use outside US? Can I use my countries IsP sim?
That I don’t know. You would have to contact the manufacturers.
Do any of these cameras have the capability to work as regular trail cameras when not on a cellular plan?
Yes, all of them will function as a normal cam without a plan.
FIRST
With the Spypoint do I need a cell plan AND the photo transmission plan? Or can you just pay for the photo transmission plan and that's it? Thanks
You need both I believe.
You need a cell plan you get
100 free a month if you go over get transmission plan
If you are running metro phones how many can you run
These all come with their own sim cards so they don't run off the same plan your phone does. It's all managed in the app where you use the pictures.
So you have to pay to get a mo data plan for this plus pay for transmission photos to see on my phone?
Some have free plans for a certain amount of pictures but other than that you do have to pay. Most plans start at about $5/ month, so not too bad.
How can you do if you forget the camera Passwords
Saw Jungle I don’t typically set passwords on mine. I’d call customer support if that happened.
I dont have internet service provider on my property its in Okla its off grid, i want to protect my equipment using a trail cam I have a cell phone and computer in pa what trail cam can i get that wont let thieves know there being watched with no flashing and is there a trail cam that has audio and can notify me my cell phone, its not a smart phone, while I'm here in pa when motion is detected on my property, is there a trail cam that does this to monitor my land without out having use a home monitoring service any suggestion appreciated !
They make cameras that are "no-glow" meaning you cant see the flash but if you don't have cell service you will not be able to monitor your property remotely.
@@NextStepOutdoors Thank You!
Mine got stolen once this is kinda sad :(
That’s a bummer. I lock mine up whenever I can to avoid that.
I bought a Spypoint cell link to turn my Stealth cam 2020 G42NG into a cell cam. Will I have to pay a fee to both Stealth cam and spypoint? This is my first year using a cam , so i hope you or someone can help
No you will only have to pay a monthly subscription to spypoint for the cellular service.
Let me know how that platform works out for you....I have a few standalone Stealth cameras(same model as yours) and they take the absolute clearest pictures....
@@jedidiah5131 while I had my stealth cams , the performed great until they was stolen
Can I run 2 cameras on 1 unlimited plan? With spypoint
Not with spypoint. The only cams that allow you to do that is the cuddelink by cuddeback to my knowledge.
I use mine to hunt trespassers
Yeah, it is great being able to monitor deer and people remotely...
Me too immigrants jumping out fence 😬
Does the camera still save all the pic/videos to an SD card?
Yes, it still saves all of the pics to an SD card even if you didn't have a plan running.
Yea I have mine for 3 months not even used 1 gb from 32gb
How was the cell pics vs the pics from the sd card
The pics of the sd card are much better. I usually leave them the entire season and then look through the sd cards all at once. Always fun to see an entire seasons worth of data.
@@NextStepOutdoors thats what I thought. Just got one a couple weeks ago. I got a deer that might be bucks but cant really zoom in to see. Ill ha e to check the SD card to confirm. Thanks for the answer.
@@markice7838 no problem at all! Good luck!
Hey I've got a question do you have to have an SD card in the microwave to get pictures sent to your phone
I don't suggest microwaving the cameras if that is what you're asking...
This stupid phone spelled everything wrong I was asking do you have to have an SD card to get pictures from the woods to your phone
@@donwilson350 Yes, there needs to be an SD card in the camera but you will not need to manually check the SD card in order to have the pics sent to your phone. I'd recommend at least a 16gb SD card so it doesn't fill up on you if you leave your cam in the field for long periods of time. 32gb is even better and generally the max size most cams will take.
How long are the lithium batteries lasting for you?
@nextstepoutdoors
Last year I got my cams up in July and I think I replaced the batteries each once between then and the end of December. They were taking a decent amount of pics too. Outside of season or outside of the period I’m actually able to hunt I set them all to only send the pictures to me once or twice a day which saves a lot of battery. It’s when you have it transfer the pics to you after every single photo that they die super fast. During season I switched it to once in the morning and once in the evening or if I knew I was going to be hunting there I would set it to 4 times a day.
Next Step Outdoors Awesome! Thanks for all the info. Love the videos so far.
Jerry Thunder I appreciate the feedback!! Happy to help!
Do they give real time alerts?
Dale Jaramillo yes you can set it up so they send you pictures as soon as they are taken. I typically set it to send me pics twice a day just to save battery tho.
@@NextStepOutdoors Thanks! I was thinking of using as home security, will they send an alert/warning immediately so as to wake me up?
Dale Jaramillo Yes, depending on your push notifications you will get a real time alert on your phone. Definitely a good way to monitor your house.
@@dalejaramillo9653 Yes,,, but you have to use the app....I have two alerts on my phone, one when my camera takes a pic through spypoint app and the other when I receive the email from spypoint that says my camera took a picture. The app will send a pic as a pop up on your cell phone, just touch it to open up the picture....
After doing many reviews everywhere on all the cameras, my advice would be DON'T buy any until they get their shit figured out. Seems like none of them have the apps figured out. They tried producing them way too fast to meet the rising demand. I think I'll wait awhile and let the bugs get taken care of.
What ones are you speaking to specifically? I disagree for the most part. I ran 3 different spypoints, 4 total (2 different stealth cam models, a tactacam reveal, and a moultrie cell cam this year and never had any issues. My only gripe is that the moultrie cam doesn’t let you pick the transfer time but I still get the pics on a daily basis.
My spy point would be so much better if my service wasn’t ass
Yeah, that's the challenge if you hunt where service isn't great.
Anyone running AA batteries in a cell cam is not only missing the point, but also wasting a lot of money. Great video, but do yourself a favor and upgrade to 12 volts.
I think there's a time and place for sure. Running them on your home farm is a no brainer. I'm not going to lug them out to my public land spots though. Do you get through a whole season on one charge?
One charge lasts 12 months while sending the images at real time to your phones. This way you won’t miss out on valuable intel regarding deer movement throughout the night/morning when choosing a stand to sit. Also you never have to go back into a spot leaving more ground scent once you hang the camera. Furthermore you don’t have to worry about dead batteries on a camera several hours away or even in a different state. If your worried about not being able to carry a 12 volt battery, there are many different sizes and options available. The 12 volt batteries I personally run weigh 7lbs.
@@paulyyyyD Thanks for the insight. Definitely going to try that for some of my cell cams this year. Makes a lot of sense.
@@NextStepOutdoors I use one camera indoors with a small 12v battery with a solar panel, I switch it out every 6months just to give it a good charge, its lasted at least 2 years now.....It may take 20 pics a month of me coming into the building.
I'm not writing a book on how bad my experience with spypoint was but let it suffice to say I purchased 3 and all 3 worked fine for the first 6 months at which they all 3 quit working . Customer service couldn't function....got nothing resolved...end of story . I will never own another spypoint product again 🖕
Sorry to hear that. Their customer service can be a pain but I’ve always been taken care of in the end. They even upgraded me to their top camera after having issues with a lower priced product.
I have 4 spypoint cameras and all have been working great for over 4 years now. They even sent me a newer camera at no cost when they switched to 5g service(it was a very old camera)....I'm finding many people don't realise they need to update the firmware or are using the wrong sd card. I asked the company if they could automatically update the firmware but I guess its a money/change of software issue.
@@jedidiah5131 I tried reaching out time and time again . Once I was on hold for over 4 hours. Email after email not responded to. And when I finally actually got to talk to someone they couldn't help me. Over all I estimate being on the phone with them for more the 12 hours. I switched brands and have not had any trouble since. Also everytime I've had a question they where there and able to answer it. People need to know they don't have to settle for cheap cameras with bad customer service.
@@jaredglass2562 Yes it does happen...you can also use the phone chat in real time ...maybe they didn't have that then or leave your # and they will get back to you, I never had to wait more than an hour for them to call back...and yes sometimes you will get their adm persons who take care of non technical issues, but usually they will patch your through to a tech.....sorry to hear about your dealing with them...
@@jaredglass2562 what camera are you running now?
You lost me at $350
Majority of the cell cams I run are under $150.
The spypoints are crap. They have tons of issues. Deer woods are a lot easier to get a signal in than our elk woods here in Oregon
Yeah I could see them being finicky without decent service. Have you found other cell cams work where you are at?
Spypoint worked for like 5 days then stopped. Customer support can be best described with one word PATHETIC
I’ve been staying away from both stealth and spypoint as of late. Both customer service were not great to begin with and then went downhill the last year or so. What camera are you running?