How to Deal with a Scratched Yi Home Camera Lens
Your Yi Home Camera is designed to give you a clear view of your home, but its effectiveness depends entirely on the condition of its lens. A tiny scratch on that small plastic lens can lead to a surprisingly large and permanent blurry spot on all your video footage, or cause distracting light flares that obscure important details.
Whether the damage came from a fall, a cleaning mishap, or an unfortunate encounter with a pet or child, a scratched lens is a frustrating problem. This guide will walk you through the safe and proper ways to assess the damage, clean the lens correctly, and explore potential (but risky) DIY fixes for minor scratches.
Step 1: Assess the Damage and Clean Properly
First, you need to be sure you're dealing with a scratch and not just a stubborn piece of dirt or a smudge. Cleaning the lens is the first step, but doing it incorrectly can cause the very scratches you're trying to fix.
The Safe Cleaning Method
- Remove Loose Dust: Before you touch the lens, use a can of compressed air or a soft blower brush to get rid of any loose particles. Wiping a gritty piece of dust across the lens will guarantee a scratch.
- Use the Right Tools: Get a high-quality microfibre cloth (the kind used for eyeglasses or camera lenses) and a bottle of lens cleaning solution. Do not use paper towels, tissues, your t-shirt, or window cleaner. These materials are abrasive and the chemicals are too harsh for the lens coatings.
- Apply Solution to Cloth: Spray a small amount of the cleaning solution onto the cloth, not directly onto the camera lens. This prevents liquid from seeping inside the camera housing.
- Wipe Gently: Using the damp part of the cloth, wipe the lens in a gentle, circular motion, starting from the centre and working your way out. Don't apply heavy pressure.
- Dry and Inspect: Use a dry part of the cloth to gently buff the lens dry. Now, hold the camera up to a light source and inspect the lens from different angles to see if the mark is still there. If it is, it's a permanent scratch.
Step 2: Understanding the Impact of a Scratch
A physical scratch on the lens creates an imperfection that bends (refracts) light in an uncontrolled way. This results in several common image quality problems:
- Blurry Spots: A soft, out-of-focus area that is always in the same place in your videos.
- Lens Flare: Bright light sources, like a lamp or a window, might create streaks, lines, or starburst patterns across the image.
- Reduced Sharpness: A general decrease in the overall clarity and detail of the video.
Step 3: Attempting a DIY Polish (For Minor Scratches Only)
Disclaimer: This is a high-risk procedure that may not work and could potentially make the lens look worse by creating a hazy area. Attempt this only as a last resort and at your own risk. This will not work for deep gouges.
For a very fine, superficial scratch, you can try to gently buff it out using a mild abrasive.
- Get a Plastic Polish: You need a very fine polish designed for plastics, such as Polywatch (used for watch faces) or a similar non-abrasive polishing compound. Do not use toothpaste, baking soda, or car polish.
- Apply a Tiny Amount: Use a clean cotton bud and apply a minuscule amount of the polish directly to the scratch.
- Buff Gently: With very light pressure, rub the polish over the scratch in a small circular motion for about 20-30 seconds. The goal is to gently wear down the plastic around the scratch to make it level.
- Clean and Check: Use a clean microfibre cloth to wipe away all the polish residue. Check the lens again. You may need to repeat the process once or twice, but be very careful not to overdo it.
The Final Option: Replacement
Unfortunately, the lens on a Yi Home Camera is not a user-replaceable part. It is integrated into the device during manufacturing. If the lens has a deep scratch that severely impacts the video quality and the polishing method doesn't work or isn't an option, the only solution is to replace the camera unit itself. To prevent future scratches, consider the camera's placement carefully, keeping it out of reach and away from high-traffic areas where it might get bumped or knocked over.