Many of us invested in Yi security cameras over many years. We could store video clips to a micro SD card on the camera, could see what the camera saw, remotely, either live or stored on the card.
After buying many of their cameras, Yi/Kami changed the app used to view clips – literally forcing users to watch multi-minute online video ads, played VERY LOUDLY and some times borderline “safe for work” each time you try to view on of the cameras THAT YOU OWN – unless you paid them up to $15 PER MONTH.
Our investment in Yi camera is trashed by their own actions and I am planning to throw all of them away and replace them with some other brand. Their online reviews have gone to 1 star (and would be deserving of zero stars if that option were available).
Kami and Yi security products are trash. DO NOT EVER BUY A PRODUCT FROM KAMI OR YI.
(See below – there are some hacking work arounds to bypass the Kami/Yi ad crap.)
The ad system is so shitty that it sometimes displays ads that lock your device and the only way to get rid of them is to restart your phone. KAMI and YI are despicable, fraudulent, China-based businesses. AVOID THEM COMPLETELY FOREVER.
Here is an AI summary provided by Brave Search
YI cameras have become widely criticized for aggressive advertising, poor customer support, and forced subscriptions, making them nearly unusable for many users. Recent reviews and reports from Reddit, Trustpilot, and SafeWise highlight that the app now forces users to watch long, non-skippable ads every time they open it or view footage, severely delaying access during emergencies.
- Ad intrusiveness: Users report 30-second+ video ads with sound, often for games or Amazon, appearing at every step—making the cameras impractical for real-time monitoring.
- Paywalls on features: Previously free motion-activated clips and SD card access are now locked behind a $5–$15.42/month subscription, even for users who already pay.
- Broken functionality: Many users say SD card recordings are inaccessible, despite having a microSD slot, pushing them toward cloud storage.
- Poor support: Customer service is unresponsive, with reports of unanswered emails, disconnected phone lines, and difficulty canceling subscriptions—some even claim being charged after cancellation.
- Reputation decline: Formerly reliable cameras are now called “scams” by users who have thrown them in the trash, with one Reddit user stating, “Not even worthy of donating to the thrift store.”
While the hardware quality was once decent, the app and business model have deteriorated significantly, leading to widespread distrust. As of 2025–2026, SafeWise and other experts no longer recommend YI or Kami cameras due to these issues.
WORK AROUNDS and UPDATE
Yi/Kami closed their Sunnyvale/Silicon Valley office in the US, and fled to China.
There are hacking work arounds to make the Yi camera viewing app usable and bypass the Kami/Yi advertising crap.
On your phone, set a private DNS to dns.adguard-dns.com
That’s the easiest solution
Another alternative is to delete the Yi app and roll back to an older version before they added all the advertising: YI Home 5.7.0_20221111041647 (arm64-v8a + arm-v7a) (nodpi) (Android 7.0+) APK Download by Kami HK – APKMirror
Finally, a more complex work around is to install replacement camera firmware (on compatible cameras) and run alternative apps to view the camera output, remotely. Details on that will require a much more extensive post.
For now, the Adguard solution is simplest and appears to be working!
