Community Admin
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535 Messages
Entry Sensor Announce available now!
We’re happy to announce that a popular feature request is rolling out to all users! Included in the Fast Protect™ Monitoring and Self Monitoring w/Camera Recordings plans, Entry Sensor Announce enables your Base Station to verbally call out the sensor by name whenever it’s opened. e.g. “Front door Entry Sensor open” instead of the chime.
You can enable Entry Sensor Announce in the SimpliSafe® app:
- Tap the three-bar ☰ Menu on the top left
- Select My System
- Select Device Settings
- Select the Entry Sensor you would like to modify
- Under Entry Sensor Alert, select Sensor Name Voice Prompt
This is a per-sensor setting, so you’re able to choose which sensors produce a Voice Prompt, and which sensors produce just a chime. Also keep in mind that the announcement is only available for preset list of sensor names; if you use a custom name, the Base Station will revert to just “Entry Sensor open”.
For more info on setting up this feature, head over to our Help Center page here. And for info on how to rename your sensor to one of the supported names, head over here.
The feature is now available for both the iOS and Android versions of the SimpliSafe® app. Be sure to update to the latest version of the app on your phone! |
worthing
702 Messages
9 months ago
Yay, new functionality. I love to see it! I do have questions/comments, of course. :)
I only saw this because I'm one of the tiny percentage of your customers that check these forums regularly. I checked email and didn't see anything about it. Why on earth wouldn't you email folks about this? Also, regardless of your answer, please email people about new functionality. Celebrate your successes and let your customers know about new stuff. (Good or bad.)
Please consider adding additional preset names for us to choose from. If you have more sensors than there are preset entries you're kind of out of luck and one or more entry sensors won't benefit from this functionality. Even if it came down to "Exterior Door 01" or similar it'd be better than not having enough presets.
The support article for this functionality that you linked above contains the following line:
Note, Custom Names for the Entry Sensor are not supported by Entry Sensor Alert at this time.
Does this mean that this functionality is in development? If not, please remove the "at this time" from that article because it suggests it may be an option in the future. We've been hurt before SimpliSafe, we don't want to be hurt again.
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Farialeno
1 Message
9 months ago
Thanks for listening to the requests. I do appreciate you all working on it. Just a few comments/suggestions/questions below.
If you are going to announce it is ready perhaps the first thing it should say is it is only on IOS...so the Android users don't go looking for a feature that is still not available to us. Instead of putting it at the bottom after the instructions.
Perhaps provide a list of preset rooms for which it is available. I do not remember which rooms I had to customize after all this time.
Are there any plans to announce custom room names in the future or add more rooms to your standard so there are less custom rooms?
Thanks
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toastie
175 Messages
9 months ago
Not available for me. I have the most updated app version and my phis is always updated immediately.
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larrhurd
105 Messages
9 months ago
It's not on mine either, I have iOS. and my app is up to date.
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BritishBiker
5 Messages
9 months ago
I noticed that the upgrade only works if the system is turned OFF. If that is correct, why wasn't the functionality included in the "home" setting? Thanks.
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toastie
175 Messages
9 months ago
And, of course, crickets from SS on this issue where we don't have this so-called new feature.
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worthing
702 Messages
9 months ago
Bump. C'mon SImpliSafe, it's been 2+ days w/o a single reply to any of the comments/questions here. What's going on?
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shiherlis
731 Messages
9 months ago
SimpliSafe makes some very odd decisions. I first quickly read this three days ago and have not had time until now to revisit it. Making this only available to Fast Protect™ plans I can get (they pay the most), but skipping Standard Monitoring subscribers and making it available to Self-Monitoring w/Camera Recordings subscribers? That is illogical as they pay the least of any [paid] plans.
It is like when you removed unlimited timelines from Standard and limited us to 7 days but increased Self-Monitoring w/Camera Recordings subscribers to limitless. I voiced my thoughts about why it made no sense back then, and years later, you have never changed course.
Decisions like these genuinely frustrate me. Yes, I am happy with my system (otherwise, I would move on), but come on. The thought process behind this is a terrible business move. Why would you give such a great feature to customers who are paying less? I get the possible reason (i.e., upsell), but you overestimate the logic. If I have been without the feature for over a decade, I will not pay more (with recent price increases) for something I never had.
Like Joey Swoll says, "You need to do better."
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lance843
983 Messages
9 months ago
I just found out from my simplisafe security and cameras owners group on Facebook that I have and someone put up a post about it and I was like yyaaayy then found out that it's not on Android yet then I went aaahhh lol. Can't wait.
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ssgoodguy
6 Messages
9 months ago
So, we have pay to get this basic feature, very nice company!
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captain11
Captain
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6K Messages
9 months ago
As a friend of mine from Alabama says "don't have a dog in this hunt", up front just wanted to say I will not be using this feature in any incarnation as my base is configured to be dark and quiet. That said, SS should solicit what additional "standard" names should be added to the already established list. Two that I see missing are "Guest BR". "Master Bath"
If you have other suggestions, post them here in the thread for Emily to carry back to the guys with the propeller hats! (Compliment by the way!)
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toastie
175 Messages
9 months ago
DAYS later and not ONE person has said they actually have this new feature!? WhY post it’s available now when it very obviously isn’t! And more importantly WHY NOT update us and admit you screwed up and it’s not ready yet so we stop looking for it til it is ready and available!?????????
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lance843
983 Messages
9 months ago
@emily_s do you have an idea when this will come out for Android? Thanks
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rragusa
3 Messages
8 months ago
I'm not seeing this new feature but I would prefer to be able to schedule the Home mode per device. For instance, in Home mode during the day I would like a door to my garage to be disabled and then automatically enabled at night when we are asleep. Just Disabled during Home mode is not very useful.
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rragusa
3 Messages
8 months ago
First of all, I don't see this new functionality under preset device names. Secondly, I would prefer to be able to schedule per device during Home mode instead of only three choices currently allowed. For instance, I would like an internal door to my garage to be disabled under Home mode during the day but enabled at night when we are asleep. This would be much more useful.
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