Wyze Gun Safe review: Bluetooth doesn’t really add that much value

I’ve been testing the new Wyze Gun Safe since a review unit arrived late last month. Although I generally like most Wyze products, this one seems underwhelming. While I’m sure it would keep any firearms in the home as safe as any competing, non-connected products, adding Bluetooth connectivity to this $154.99 (on-sale, normally $169.99) product really doesn’t add much value.

To best understand that, let me share details on what the Wyze Gun Safe is and what my experience has been like.

The 12.79-pound safe is well designed and built with 12-gauge steel. The outside measurements are 12.4″ x 10.24″ x 3.27″ making it relatively slim and small for what it is. On the top is a fingerprint sensor, a four-number keypad, and a hidden door that hides the backup key lock, and a USB-C port. The latter would be used if you can’t find either of the two included keys and have run out of battery power in the safe.

Inside is 195 cubic inches of storage, along with interior hinges, two LED lights, and a few hidden buttons; these are used for pairing the safe to the Wyze app and to release the battery pack. The interior has padding for firearms, magazines, and other accessories. Based on the storage space, I’d say almost any handgun with up to a 5-inch barrel at most should fit. The interior space is a bit deceiving from the outside as the electronics take up a good chunk of the bottom area.

From a security and safety perspective, the Wyze Gun Safe is certified to meet the California DOJ impact and tool-attack specifications. There are no other certifications such as fire or water resistance. That’s important to know as I use a “dumb” gun safe to hold my passport and other important paperwork at home. It is fire-resistant, which is one of the reasons I chose it.

Setting up the Wyze Gun Safe is simple and only took a few minutes. The process is no different from any other Wyze device you’re adding to your home. You open the app, click the button to add a new device and follow the prompts.

The app first explains how to access the internal battery pack. I added the four included AA batteries using the diagram on the battery pack but the safe didn’t work.

Turns out the imprinted diagram is backward, something many reviewers on the Wyze site have mentioned. Flipping the batteries and replacing the battery pack in the safe solved that problem and the safe powered up.

My Wyze app automatically connected to the safe over Bluetooth and I ran through some security options such as registering a fingerprint and creating a numeric PIN to access the safe. This is the PIN to open the safe with its keypad but you can also set another PIN to access the safe through the Wyze app.

I do like this as an extra layer of safety so that anyone with full access to my phone wouldn’t be able to open the safe over Bluetooth. I tested all of the methods to unlock the safe and they all worked well. The fingerprint sensor seems to be the fastest method (just under a second), followed by the numeric keypad and Wyze app.

From a privacy perspective, I need to call attention to one thing. To use the fingerprint sensor you need to confirm a consent prompt about how and where the fingerprint data is stored.

Wyze says fingerprints are encrypted and stored only on the safe itself; not in the cloud and not in the Wyze app. Wyze says by consenting, you are “waving all claims or causes of action based on any collection, use, storage and deletion of fingerprint records…” I suspect this is to cover Wyze in a case where law enforcement requested or got a warrant to view this data.

Let’s talk about the Wyze app because that’s really the only reason for a Bluetooth radio in this safe. And I’m not sold on it really adding that much value.

Yes, you can open the safe with the app. If I needed a firearm from it, I wouldn’t waste time fumbling for my phone though. You also get a history of safe access, including any failed attempts. You can change or mute the volume of the safe’s beeps. And that’s about it.

Because this device has Bluetooth only, it doesn’t work with any hub or smart home platform. It’s strictly a Bluetooth phone-to-device connection. You might find that acceptable and that’s OK. I’m a little letdown.

Even with the mobile app and Bluetooth connection, I don’t get notifications when the safe is opened. If I’m away from home, I won’t know about any safe intrusion until I get home. I can’t integrate the safe with any of my other products. That may sound odd but if my phone is somewhere else in the house, I’d love to see certain smart lights flash red when my safe is opened. But I can’t.

Ultimately, I’m sure this is a solid gun safe for those who want or need one. Most reviews on the Wyze site are indeed positive. It can be used to store any valuables, of course. You can even bolt it to a floor or a wall, like most viable safes. But there are plenty of options like this or better on the market.

The safe I use has a fingerprint reader and a 10-digit keypad, for example. It has double the storage and it will last longer in a fire. And it didn’t cost me that much more when I bought it years ago.

Simply adding Bluetooth doesn’t seem to add that much value to the Wyze Gun Safe. I’m not suggesting it’s a bad product; if it meets your needs and expectations, go for it. I just expected a little more out of it and it came up short.