Can an outdoor camera trigger the alarm or do I need a motion sensor?

@ s13n at the current time there is not a way to have an outside camera set off an alarm. That said, motion detectors are designd for indoor use only and false alarms would be very likely.  In my garage I have two entry sensors on door hindges that work quite well on the garage doors, and have used a motion sensor in the garage itself for several years with no issues.  It is unheated and has been operating in a temperature range from the nienties to single digit.

Summary:  not recommended to use sensors outside and the simplicam won't set off an alarm, even inside.   A possible alternative is to opt in to videol verfification.

Hi s13n,

The Captain is right. Since our Motion Sensors use passive infrared, so they trigger when there's a heat source contrasting with the environment, and that means that false alarms are much more likely when placed outdoors. It's fine for a camera to trigger every time a random squirrel goes by, but it wouldn't be a good idea for the actual alarm system.

The other piece is that the SimpliCam is technically not part of the alarm system, as they connect through the app, not locally. So the camera couldn't trigger an alarm, at all.

And yes, thirdly, the system sensors are not protected from the elements in any way. It's possible to set up an Entry Sensor if you covered it in plastic, since it can still sense the magnet through that (just want to keep it closer). But the Motion Sensor needs the dome to be clear, so it would be very difficult if not impossible to waterproof it.

- Johnny M.
SimpliSafe Home Security

I do not see why you would want to alarm based on detection.

maybe a better function would be the ability to "fire the siren manually' when you view somebody you don't like the look of hanging around.

Although in my experience (admittedly only a couple of days) with the outdoor camera, the potential "perp' will be long gone before you receive notification. So the "interactive' capabilities of the system are unlikely to be of much use.

On our camera, at least, the audio is so weak you would need to be physically within 6 inches of the camera to either hear or be heard. And when we deliberately set off the alarm absolutely NOTHING came out of the camera siren.

And in the few days I have had this camera operating I know it has failed to detect on at least two occasions, nd produced blank video for two it did detect.

(and thank you in advance for asking about my Wi-Fi connection - but the signal is very strong where the camera is sited (professional mesh network) and I have absolutely no problem with any other wireless devices in that area).

Unfortunately, I do not carry my IPad Pro around with me everywhere, but it works on that, so I guess it works on an iPhone.

(And yes, all of the other internal cameras do work in live view mode. When they connect first time to the Wi-Fi. Which is about 75% of the time).

And the Android Application "live view' fails to connect and just causes the application to crash - Tried on two separate Android 10 phones - same result).

I'm in a rural setting and assume that a potential perp will still be snooping around still when I receive a notification.  We have many outbuildings for someone to snoop through.  And so far my notifications have been very speedy.  So how do I set off an alarm if I'm not home? Thanks!