‎Motion Sensor Went "offline" - Best Way to Fix? | SimpliSafe Help Center
 
jonny_gogo's profile

Wednesday, April 27th, 2022 5:14 PM

Motion Sensor Went "offline" - Best Way to Fix?

​We have had SS3 for about a year.  Sensors have all been in the same place for all that time, with no connection issues (except once, the keypad lost connection to the base station).​

​A day ago, the motion sensor upstairs went "offline".  All other alarm functions work.  I put the system into test mode, tested a few random sensors around the house as a control group, and they test function was working.  I then tested the problem motion sensor, and the base station didn't give any indication it received a signal from the sensor.  I then took the problem sensor downstairs in the same room as the base station and pressed the test button.  Again, the base station gave no indication it received the signal from the sensor.​

​I'm using the term "problem sensor" just to refer to the motion sensor that has gone offline, but it has never before had any issues, just this one time.  (If it matters, I actually test the entire system only a few days ago and all sensors worked. :/   )​

​Should I just go ahead and replace the battery?  I thought they were supposed to last 3-5 years, no?  We have an entry sensor upstairs near the problem motion sensor, and it has been working all this time, fwiw.​

​Or is there a way to turn the entire system on/off, without losing settings, to try and re-establish a connection to the problem sensor?​

Official Response

Community Admin

 • 

4.3K Messages

11 months ago

Hi @jonny_gogo ,

Just to recap - a Sensor will be marked as 'offline' if it fails to check in with the Base Station. Since it's the only sensor that's having trouble, we can safely say that the issue is isolated to just that one sensor, and that's what we should be troubleshooting.

But it does sound like you've done quite a bit of troubleshooting already:

  • Since there's another sensor near where the problem Motion Sensor is normally set up, we know it's not an interference or signal issue.
  • When you moved the sensor to the same room as the Base Station, and still got no response from it, that confirms that the sensor might not even be powered at all.

So you're right that this might be a battery issue. You're right, that lithium battery should be lasting 3-5 years, so dying so soon is very unusual. Before going ahead and replacing, I would actually suggest the following, before testing (via Test Mode on your Keypad) again:

  1. Take out the battery and examine it for any signs of corrosion. Unlikely if it's been installed indoors this whole time, but worth a check!
  2. Reinsert the battery, and make sure that it's snug in the compartment. It might have just been too loose to make proper contact.
  3. Swap out the battery with another sensor (Motion and Glassbreak sensors use the same type)

If none of the above brings that sensor back to life, then we might actually want to replace the sensor itself entirely! Let me know and I can take care of that for you. Or you can give us a call at 800-548-9508 and our Support team can help.

(edited)

55 Messages

11 months ago

@davey_d Good idea to just swap batteries.

I swapped the batteries between the problem motion sensor and a motion sensor in the same room as the base station.  There was no sign of corrosion around the problem motion sensor's battery.  Then I put the system into Test Mode.

  • If the problem sensor still doesn't work, that tells me the sensor itself must be dead
  • If the problem sensor does now work, but now the other sensor doesn't , that tells me it's just a dead battery

But what happened, was that both sensors worked.  I immediately got an email telling me the problem motion sensor was back on-line.  Using the test buttons on top of both motion sensors caused the base station to announce each one correctly.

Weird. For some reason, it seems like turning the problem sensor off and on caused it to re-establish comms with the base station.

Good news, is that it's good to go!

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