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Friday, May 8th, 2020 7:21 AM

Chime connector - what is it?

So when I bought the doorbell, SS sent me a chime connector and described it as a transformer:
Quote "We will provide you with a chime connector which has a transformer built into it. So you replace your mechanic chime with ours. The doorbell has a physical button that you would press which then will chime for you.

The voltage is 12v on the Doorbell.'

I looked at the wiring diagram they sent and it looks like it puts the doorbell in parallel with the chime, so possibly it's just a switch to prevent the doorbell from constantly dinggggg'ing or buzzing.

So I wonder what exactly it is and does it step the voltage up/down to the optimum volts? I really doubt such a small device (size of a pen cap) has a transformer with the right input/output terminals.

Note: I haven't connected the chime connector and everything works fine (apart from garbled outgoing audio).

Accepted Solution

Advocate

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697 Messages

2 years ago

The chime connector is just a resistor if I recall correctly. If you aren't experiencing problems (buzzing at the chimes, frequent network drops, no ringing or bizarre ringing) then you probably don't need to install it.

FYI, this isn't just a SimpliSafe thing. I believe Ring used to provide a chime resistor for their earlier video doorbells?

Official Solution

Community Admin

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5.4K Messages

2 years ago

Hi all,

To put it simply, the Chime Connector is an add-on that ensures the correct voltage is supplied to your Video Doorbell Pro. Since the buzzing, or lack of sound at all, are both symptoms of incorrect voltage coming through, the Chime Connector can resolve those issues.

As djforbes7 says, for more info, check out the Help Center article here.

1 Message

4 years ago

You may or may not need it.

https://support.simplisafe.com/hc/en-us/articles/360035706971-My-doorbell-won-t-ring-do-I-need-a-Chime-Connector-

Advocate

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697 Messages

2 years ago

I'll add that "weird network problems" is a thing the chime connector also seems to fix. I not only had the hum but my camera dropped a LOT and that has been mostly sorted by the chime connector. (Motion detection is another story...)

1 Message

2 years ago

So I am planning to install the SS doorbell pro and I DO NOT have an existing doorbell. I know how to install it and get power to it, but what I would like to know is if I will hear a "ding" from my base station when someone rings the bell? 

Advocate

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697 Messages

@smurr02​ 

Yes. Check out the bottom of this support document to see the settings you can choose for doorbell notification volume.

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