‎Battery for doorbell? | SimpliSafe Support Home
 

4 Messages

Sunday, March 27th, 2022 6:49 PM

Battery for doorbell?

I didn't realize the doorbell had a battery.  I received an alert message today stating it was less than 30%

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Official Response

Community Admin

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5.7K Messages

3 years ago

Hi @mtebor ,

The Video Doorbell Pro does indeed have a very small battery that helps with operation - though not enough to keep it powered for more than a few minutes.

The wired doorbell circuit should be keeping it charged. So if you're getting a warning, that implies that it's not getting enough power!

4 Messages

@davey_d​  thanks.  I wonder if that line is on a mismarked breaker.   I was doing a light changeout and had to turnoff the upstairs circuits.  not sure why side door would be on that line though but I am not surprised as this house is 72 years old

12 Messages

@davey_d​ 

Hi Davey

Can and does the pro doorbell battery need to be replaced at some point based on age or charging cycles?

Mike

Community Admin

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3.4K Messages

Hi @davis1024​, 

The battery in the Video Doorbell Pro is not replaceable, but it should stay charged consistently from your existing doorbell wiring. 

If you received a message that the Video Doorbell Pro's battery is low, that would mean that it isn't getting enough power anymore. We offer a Chime Connector that helps supply the Video Doorbell Pro with the proper amount of power. If you contact our Support team, they can send you one free of charge.

1 Message

2 years ago

I also received this notice of less than 30% doorbell battery. I know the doorbell has power because I can use the camera and the doorbell works. I am currently away from home. What could be causing this?

1 Message

2 years ago

My door bell has never worked if it’s on the terminal. It only works when plugged into a charging cord and it doesn’t hold a charge ever. Do I have a bad doorbell or terminal? 

Community Admin

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3.4K Messages

Hi @info_21676b​, 

If your Video Doorbell Pro doesn't work when it's connected to your wired doorbell, that could mean that it's getting the incorrect voltage. A chime connector will help with that! If you contact our Support team, they can send you one.

1 Message

2 years ago

Hello,

How to change a battery in doorbell camera device? 

Thank You 

This comment has been converted into a post

2 Messages

1 year ago

Unfortunately, I purchased 2 Simplisafe video doorbells and then find out they’re not battery powered.  I built my home in 2020 and made no provisions for wired doorbells.  Without tearing up my completed drywall (and SIPs) what are my options?  Should I just return them?

Community Admin

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3.4K Messages

Hi @Sriviere​, 

The Video Doorbell Pro is designed to only plug into an existing wired doorbell for power. Any other wiring methods could potentially damage the Video Doorbell Pro.

2 Messages

Great…we’ll over $200 wasted unless they will allow a return refund my money. 

Community Admin

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3.4K Messages

@Sriviere​ We have a 60 day return policy. If the Video Doorbells were purchased within that time frame, our Support team will be able to assist you with setting up a return and getting a refund.

3 Messages

1 year ago

I received the same message today. The video doorbell was installed 8-9 months ago. The voltage on the electrical circuit feeding the doorbell is 121.9 volts although I did not remove the doorbell to measure the voltage on the leads. Please advise.

(edited)

Community Admin

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3.4K Messages

@dbuck7​ The Video Doorbell has a 8-24 voltage range required to be charged. Anything outside of that range could result in this error. A Chime Connector will ensure that your Video Doorbell is getting proper voltage - our Support team can send one to you!

1 Message

1 year ago

We just received the same notification re: 30% left on doorbell battery.  Am charging it now. Q1: how will we know when the battery is fully charged?  Q2: don’t have a volt meter right now but if it is outside the 8-24 volt range do I understand correctly that Simplisafe will send us the “chime connector” for free?

Community Admin

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3.4K Messages

@rbpeop​ The Video Doorbell does have a small battery, but the USB port on the back does not charge it. It gets its charge from the wired doorbell it is connected to. Once the Video Doorbell is properly charged, the message you see about its battery level will go away. 

Since you are seeing this message, it does seem that your wired doorbell may be outside of the required 8-24 volt range. To remedy this, you can reach out to our Support team for a Chime Connector which is free of charge.

2 Messages

4 months ago

I have had my video doorbell for over two years and got the message about the battery a couple weeks ago. I ignored it and now the battery is dead and the doorbell is not working. Why all of a sudden is this happening and how do I charge the battery?

Community Admin

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5.7K Messages

@ctcolgan​ hi! As we mention above, the Video Doorbell has a very small internal battery that should be charging on its own - just by being plugged into the wired doorbell circuit. My guess is that your circuit may not have been able to supply enough power to keep it charged up, and it took a couple of years for the battery to drain completely.

If you don't have it already, I would suggest adding the Chime Connector, which our Support team can provide at no charge. That will make sure that the correct amount of power goes to the Video Doorbell.

2 Messages

SimpliSafe,

Let me add some clarity that other have tried to add:

Doorbell has been installed for 2 years without a low battery warning. Power remains the same 24 volts, is on, working, without interruption for the entire 2 years. 

Now we get the 30% warning, even though power is continuous.

Has SimpliSafe sold us a product with a 2 year life span, without a way to replace the battery? 

Waiting for your reply, thanks! 

Community Admin

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5.7K Messages

@MatthewEvolving​ no, you shouldn't need to replace the internal battery for the Video Doorbell Pro at all.  It should be charging just by being plugged into the circuit.

We are tracking reports like yours, but we have not yet been able to identify the issue.

Thanks for the detail in your report! Do you know if you already have the Chime Connector? It's a little add-on to the circuit that ensures that the correct amount of power is supplied to the video doorbell. If you don't have one already, our Support team can send one free of charge.

3 Messages

3 months ago

We are also showing the 30% warning for the doorbell camera that is on a dedicated line that has had and still has power without interruption. What is the solution to this if the battery is not replaceable and with constant power is still dying?

Community Admin

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5.7K Messages

@seanfontaine ​ we've been asking other users, do you remember if you've already got a Chime Connector installed on that Video Doorbell? It's a small component that plugs into the circuit to make sure that the camera is getting the right amount of power. Our Support team can get you one free of charge.

3 Messages

3 months ago

If it was not included in our original packaging the no we don’t. It would be much appreciated if you could send us one. 

Community Admin

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3.4K Messages

@seanfontaine ​ If you reach out to our Support team, our agents can send you a Chime Connector for free.

3 Messages

I spoke with the Support team about getting the chime connector, was told I would receive one, and got a refurbished doorbell camera listed as having been on clearance. We'll see how this goes and if the 30% notice comes back in two years.

2 Messages

2 months ago

Same issue for me. Getting battery notice <30% and I already gave the chime connector installed. Is this an anomalous notification?

Community Admin

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3.4K Messages

@gilmcrae​ One other thing to check, is the Video Doorbell completely flush with its mounting bracket? The Chime Connector helps ensure that the Video Doorbell gets enough power at the proper voltage, but the mounting bracket is what powers the device. 

It's important to make sure that the gold pins on the back of the Video Doorbell are touching the mounting bracket. Generally, we see that if the mounting bracket is screwed on too tight it can bend, preventing a solid connection to the Video Doorbell. 

I'd recommend slightly loosening the screws on the mounting bracket and then mount the Video Doorbell again. After about 10 minutes or so, does the battery notification go away?

2 Messages

1 month ago

This also happened to me.  I purchased and installed the doorbell in Mar 2024.  About 6 weeks ago (Sep 2024), I got the battery notice saying it was <30% and shortly thereafter the doorbell stopped working completely.  I do not have a chime connector and the doorbell has had 18 volts of power for the entire time.  Also, confident that the mounting bracket is not screwed on too tight ... I actually loosened it today to see if that helped, and it did not. 

I called support today and they are sending me a new doorbell to replace this one.  

I am very interested in understanding why the battery dies ... I see via this thread that this has happened to quite a few people over the past few years.  Hoping to see a design improvement in the product because I am very happy with the product otherwise.

Thank you.

Adding one note.  My doorbell system does *NOT* have a chime box of any type (mechanical / digital).  I have seen Community articles saying it is not required and Community articles saying it is required.  So, unsure which is correct.  Possibly this is a part of why the battery dies?

ARTICLE SAYS CHIME BOX NOT REQUIRED: ‎Video Doorbell Pro - does doorbell wiring provide primary power? | SimpliSafe Support Home

ARTICLE SAYS CHIME BOX IS REQUIRED: ‎No mechanical chime, doorbell camera appears to be working fine | SimpliSafe Support Home

(edited)

Community Admin

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770 Messages

@lumahai Apologies for the confusion, we have gone ahead and edited that Community post.

 

A mechanical chime box is a requirement for the Video Doorbell Pro. The camera gets its power from your pre-existing doorbell wiring, but the chime box acts as a resistor. Without one, it could damage your Video Doorbell Pro or the transformer.

2 Messages

Very happy to see SimpliSafe investing in their Community Support capability.

Thank you for the clarification that a mechanical chime box is required & why.  And for correcting the conflicting post.

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