Camera Feedback Noise

Hi @rochedanielle36 ,

We've heard of feedback being an issue before (especially if you have your phone close to the camera while you're streaming). Or it could be that the camera is picking up on noise that is normally inaudible to humans.

But just in case it's something else, are you comfortable with sharing a recording here?

I have 3 indoor cameras also and all 3 are making this awful ticking+static noise during live view.  Any solutions to this yet?  I’m going to guess that there’s a design flaw with microphone placement and the privacy shutter mechanism.  You can’t fix a bad physical design with software update.

@merlinair  I'll ask the same question that I also asked @rochedanielle36.

A recording would be really helpful for our engineering team to figure out what the noise is.

Also, is it only happening in live view? Or do you hear the same noise from recordings?

@davey_d 

Here's a recording from one of my Simplicams set to 1080p with night vision set to OFF. I hear this noise in live view and in the recordings and I've moved the camera from the garage to interior rooms and I always get that noise. Please note that when I have night vision set to ON or AUTO (and it's dark and it's on) the ticking/static gets faster. I can reproduce this 100% of the time.

@davey_d​ the recording submitted by @worthing is the exact sound and problem I have an all 3 cameras.  Night/day/ morning/twilight, etc, etc.  And yes,  it is only during live view because that is all I have.  I do not have the recording subscription.  

@merlinair ​ I saw your other comment first.

If this is happening in Live View only, do you hear the same noise when you're in a different room (or even location) from the camera? It sounds like an issue with feedback, i.e. the camera is picking up the audio from your phone.

Hi Dave,

Don't know if I have anything to add, but I get the very loud squealing noise in LIVE view continuously.  It ramps up quickly within seconds of entering the LIVE view.  I taken the phone to the farthest part of the house out of view of the camera (about 40 feet away) and the squealing from the live video is just as loud.  It is a bit deafening.  The clunking noises and static also occur but aren't as much of an annoyance for me.  The squealing noise continues even when I turn the phone mike off.  My solution has been to turn the phone speaker volume "down" or "off", but it would be helpful if there was a volume control in the app to be able to turn it down rather than have to remember to turn the phone volume back up when i later get a phonecall.

@davey_d​ Not a phone, at least in my case. I still don't like the delay with the outdoor cameras. By the time the alert reaches my phone it's 10-20 seconds later.

@davey_d​ I have the constant clicking noise from the indoor camera. It's a new indoor camera in a quite room. It has no electrical devices within 10 ft, the closest electrical device is the router about 12 ft away. Both recording or live monitoring have the same constant clicking noise.

Yes we are having the same issue like white noise. 

@davey_d​ I just purchased a SimpliSafe system. I’ve had previous indoor cameras that have two-way audio that never had this issue. I purchased a camera for indoors through simply safe and have moved the camera all over the house and still get the ticking and squealing noise. It’s a brand new camera. I have placed tape over the pinhole as others have had suggested it helps with a squealing sometimes. This is a big issue for your company how come it has not been resolved? I just spent $100 on a camera that’s defective. It makes me wonder if I should’ve went through Ring instead. 

@davey_d​ 

I have the same issue of a constant rhythmic chucking sound (chuck chuck) as well as random scratching sounds from a quiet room. As soon as the camera picks up any external noise, it boosts the gain on the camera mic and those internal background sounds get louder.

SS is sending me another camera, but based on what I've read here and on other sites, I don't expect that the situation will be any different. There's something going on in the camera that's finding its way into the mic circuitry and then perhaps amplified by some internal feedback loop.

@davey_d​ I’m having the same issue as kenhwang99 with the loud clicking noise. Brand new camera, brand new system. Quiet space, no other electrical nearby; the closest is in another room and on the other side of a brick wall. There is an entry sensor 8-10’ away. 

@roeder411​ do you think for you it could be mic feedback? e.g. the camera is picking up the audio from your phone?

If so, the issue would stop if you were livestreaming in the same house, but a different room.

@lilykiss_19​ In all honesty it will probably require a redesign of where they placed the microphone as it's probably picking up noise from either the internal circuits / noisy power or it's picking up the cameras WiFi signals. Considering the original post is from 2020, not sure things are looking good on a fix for us Simplicam users any time soon which is a bummer and they will probably introduce a new version and offer a "discount" to those of us with existing Simplicams.

@davey_d It's not a mic feedback problem from the phones unforutently, it happens even if you're not in the house at all. See my comment above about this is most likely an issue with the position of the mic to either noisy (dirty) power, being close a circuit that produces EMI or most likely candidate is the WiFi for the camera itself is getting picked up by the microphone which is pretty much what it sounds like to me.

@nthompson2410​ the above users are describing a known issue with the Indoor Camera, which is currently under investigation.

But you mention that you're actually seeing the issue on your Video Doorbell? Is it also coming through on recordings/streams? Or are you hearing static from the doorbell's chime box instead? That latter one is a totally different issue.

@dfenske24​ this sounds different from what the original poster describes - definitely not loud enough to be painful!

Could it be possible that you're encountering mic feedback from having your phone too close to the camera while you livestream?

No, pretty sure this is caused by something mechanical within the Camera. Its not audio distortion and seems to be universal on all indoor cameras. 

Hi @SgtSam​ 

It sounds like the shutter might be stuck on your outdoor camera. As a quick step, can you try removing the battery from the unit for 1 minute, then placing it back in? Let me know if the issue persists after that.

Still happens after removing battery.