‎Outdoor Camera gets even better with Performance Mode! | SimpliSafe Support Home
 
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581 Messages

Wednesday, December 13th, 2023 3:28 PM

Outdoor Camera gets even better with Performance Mode!

By popular demand, we’re bringing a new feature that makes your SimpliSafe Wireless Outdoor Camera even better!

 

Performance Mode kicks in automatically when your camera is plugged into a power source - either through the Power Adapter, or the Solar Panel Accessory - and the battery is at least 90% charged. While the feature is active, your camera will stay active at all times, meaning that it will be able to respond to motion triggers, and livestream, even faster!

And even better, Performance Mode also enables pre-roll, initiating the recording as soon as the motion sensor is triggered, so you can get a more complete capture of the event on your Timeline.

 

If the battery drops below 70%, Performance Mode will automatically deactivate, so that the camera can go into deep sleep to conserve power and recharge.


Performance Mode is rolling out now alongside firmware 1.20. You can learn more about that update and other improvements coming to your cameras here.

17 Messages

10 months ago

How does this work with solar panels that don't supply a charge over night? 

Community Admin

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5.7K Messages

@miketjthomas​ assuming that you don't have excessive activity occurring, the battery should be able to stay above 70% overnight, and will charge back up again during the day.

But if it does go below 70%, then Deep Sleep will kick in. Your camera may just take a few extra seconds to start a livestream.

1K Messages

10 months ago

I knew it, I just posted this morning on my simplisafe group page on Facebook showing everyone that something is weird lol l, my cameras are picking up before any motion Is going on and now here is the reason. Thanks @SimpliSafe and @davey d now if we csn just hurry and get the sensor announcement for Android that will be great. For everyone else trust me this new feature is amazing and working flawless. 

1K Messages

Yep it works and we like it

17 Messages

10 months ago

When do you expect the roll out to complete?

Community Admin

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3.4K Messages

@miketjthomas​ Firmware updates have a slow rollout, so I don't have an exact date on when it will be completed. You should expect to see this update on your camera(s) soon.

Captain

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6.1K Messages

10 months ago

I have received the 1.20 firmware update and have feedback and one suggestion. First the feedback: Wow! Two seconds flat toggling between my front and back yard cameras.  Both are connected to AC and work fast. Nicely done SS!!

Now the suggestion: The app says "waking up camera" which is at this point misleading. Yeah, it saves you a bit of code but why stop at this point? Yes, my cameras are now in "Performance" mode, and should say it. Other than that, mark me as one happy camper.

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17 Messages

I have 1.2 as well and my cameras don't seem as reliable any more. I get more failures to notify when movement is detected than I ever had. They are also still slow.

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5 Messages

6 months ago

Nice improvement.

17 Messages

6 months ago

I have 1.2 as well and my cameras don't seem as reliable any more. I get more failures to notify when movement is detected than I ever had. They are also still slow.

This comment was created from this reply

Community Admin

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3.4K Messages

@miketjthomasAre your cameras plugged into a power source like the Outdoor Camera Power Cable? Performance mode will only kick in if the Outdoor Camera is plugged into a power source and its battery is charged to at least 90%. But if your Outdoor Cameras are not plugged into a power source, there are additional troubleshooting steps we can take to improve their speed. 

The Outdoor Camera relies on its connection to the Base Station to wake up and begin recording, so moving the Base Station a little closer to the cameras can help with how they communicate. 

Adjustments can also be made to the cameras’ placement to help with motion detection. The cameras should be placed 6-8 feet from the ground, angled down slightly at 30°. The cameras’ motion sensor is also most sensitive to lateral movement, so they should be looking to the side of active areas instead of looking at them straight on. We recommend positioning the cameras so motion is moving across their field of view instead of moving toward them.

3 Messages

5 months ago

Would continuously charging battery ruin the life of battery?

Captain

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6.1K Messages

@taeyu2011​ No, not on the AC power cable or the solar pannel. Either will put it in Performance Mode and greatly enhances performance.

1 Message

1 day ago

I just found out about this feature and I happened to have a SimpliSafe power cord that I had never used. I plugged in cable and the improvement was day and night. My biggest issue had always been the delay in recording since it the cameras had to first wake up and then record. This was causing recording to start half ways through, and I would lose the first 1 to 2 seconds. But now the saved recordings start 2-3 seconds before an object or person appears on the screen. I was always concerned that I would lose an important part of an activity if something ever occurred but now everything is getting recorded without skipping a beat. 

The backyard camera is setup with a solar panel and it's providing the same performance as the one in the front connected with a cable. 

It seems that since the camera are not going to sleep mode, they are actively caching 3-4 seconds of video at all times in order to save the recording prior to any activity being detected. I am completely satisfied with this feature, and it has fixed the two issue I had with my system. The second issue was opening live video which would take seconds before due to the camera needing to wake up first. But now when I open a live feed for one of the cameras, they open up in 1-2 seconds max. 5-star improvement.

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