Doorbell cam will not work

I was coming here to make a post about this and saw your post. I received my third doorbell camera yesterday and have the same issue you described. I found out this morning that there is a known issue with the new batch of doorbell cameras. Hopefully you can get someone on their support like that understands that. Read my details below.

I received my first doorbell camera two weeks ago, wired it in, and it would not power on. The doorbell would ding so I knew the wiring was correct. I also measured the voltage at the doorbell and received a constant 19V. Support had me plug the micro USB port on the back into a wall charger and it still did not power on, so they sent me a replacement. The replacement arrived and exhibited the same behavior. I called support again and they sent me a chime connector, which again did not solve the problem. I called support again last week and they sent me a third camera. I received it yesterday and again saw the same behavior. I called support again this morning and they FINALLY acknowledge there was an issue with a firmware update for the latest batch of cameras. She apologized for me having to call so many times and nobody realizing that was the issue. They sent my contact information to the department working on the issue and they are supposed to reach out to me. She did not know how long it would take them to reach out or fix the issue.

As for their support, I have had mixed results. I've been a SimpliSafe customer for six years, but I have not had to call their support. I have found the best time to call is early in the morning. When I have called around 8:00am Central, I have spoken to someone very quickly. When I have called at night, I have waited for a long time, usually hanging up after about 40 minutes. As for the support they provide once on the phone, I have had three agents who were very helpful. The other two were very rude and both accused me of doing something wrong. One even went so far as to tell me the information I was giving her was "wishy washy". It turned out that she was assuming some things about my setup all along that were wrong. Overall, I'm not very impressed with their support especially after finding out this morning that the issue is a firmware issue.

If this issue with the new batch of doorbell cameras is as widespread as it seems, I do not understand why they are still shipping them. I am three for three on having a cameras with this issue. I am pretty frustrated with the camera at this point, but I did get a really good deal on it as part of an upgrade, so I will probably give them a little while to resolve the issue before returning and putting in a different doorbell camera.

Good luck!

Wow. These posts sound exactly like mine, except that I have just received and tried #4. Like kp511, during my last call to them a very helpful tech support person said they were having issues. But she never said it was firmware. If she had, I would have told her to hold off on sending me #4 until they had the issue resolved. I've been through all the troubleshooting like each of you have, even replacing my transformer. Tonight, rather than call them, I sent an email requesting a phone call.

I have not had to wait what I consider an unreasonable amount of time. Each person I talked to was very helpful and accommodating. But then again, I've spent well over 30 years in an IT career, so know how to control the tone of the call. Now that I know this is a firmware issue, I can see about what it takes to get to the right department and find out what kind of timeframe they are dealing with.

I'll report back here when I find something out.

JW

They lady I spoke with that told me it was a know issue said she would pass my number to that department and they would reach out to me. I have not heard anything from them yet. I asked how long it would take to resolve the issue and she was unsure.

I have been a network engineer and system administrator for about 15 years, so I understand how people do not always give you the full story. I have done my fair share of DIY work around the house too, so I would consider myself more than qualified to replace a doorbell. The lady that was especially rude had been given a very detailed and accurate description of my issue and what all I had done. She then proceeded to tell me the information I gave her was "wishy washy". I would never a customer that the information they gave me was "wishy washy" or anything along those lines. It turned out that she had assumed that I had a chime connector when I did not. She then told me to push the button, which as you know, there are of on the doorbell. She went on to tell me that I needed to insert the screw that locks it in place in order to make sure it was charging properly. That obviously didn't make a difference. She gave me her extension to call her back after I waited for 40 minutes with the screw in the bottom. I tried to call her back, but I never found anywhere in their phone tree that let me enter an extension.

^ LOL, the old "here's my extension" trick.  Of course, customers can not enter extensions because SS has never allowed it in their phone options.

(not laughing at you, just irritates me that they keep saying this, knowing full well that customers can't enter extensions).

Yeah, I was not too happy when I called back and figured that out. I had not ever needed to call them back or listed to the entire phone tree before, so she fooled me by taking her word for it. Even if it did work, I kind of wondered how I would call her while she was off the phone since she is answering their inbound call line. I did not ask or really care because I mainly just wanted to be done dealing with her. I called back that night, but gave up after about 40 minutes on hold. I called back the next morning and the guy I talked to sent me a chime connector.

I am going on two and a half weeks of having a fancy looking doorbell camera that rings just like the old $10 doorbell it replaced. I'm pretty disappointed because getting a good deal on the doorbell camera was the main reason I finally bit on their discounted upgrade offer. If they cannot figure out how to get these doorbell cameras working pretty quickly, I will probably return this doorbell camera and get something different. If it takes them a long time to resolve these issues, that does not give me much confidence in their development team and that this will not happen again. I still do not understand why they are still shipping doorbell cameras out if they are all broken.

having problems with my doorbell camera since I bought in dec 2019, last month I was told I needed at 2.0 meg upload speed. I changed my internet service and am now getting 6meg upload . still my doorbell camera does not work properly and the audio is not working. called them again ,this time I was told I needed at least 8meg upload speed. different rules for different calls . am now fed up and will go back to Brinks .

They list 2 Mbps upload per camera as necessary upload for 1080p in their documentation: https://support.simplisafe.com/hc/en-us/articles/360035379652-How-much-internet-speed-do-I-need-for-my-camera-

2Mpbs seems about right to me, but 8Mbps seems way too high. For comparison, Zoom list 3Mbps as the requirement for a group video call for a person sending 1080P video.

I am also having trouble with the initial setup of my SSDB3.  I received my replacement very quickly, but it's experiencing the same issue.  Before finding this forum and thread, I had called the support line and was instructed to use the micro-USB port and after 20 minutes, push in the reset button for 10 seconds.

Still nothing, so I'm back on the phone and will get another sent out.

Hopefully third time will be the charm!

Same thing is occurring for me as well. I am on number two for cameras. I guess I will have to keep monitoring the thread to see if there is ever a fix. Thank you for all of the information.

I'm having the same issue. Talked to tech support this morning. He acknowledged that there is a known issue with a batch of the doorbells

We tried a few things
1. Plug into USB and wait a minute - nothing
2. Unplug then hold large reset above for 1 minute, plug back in, wait 15 seconds - nothing
3. Unplug and press small reset button once, plug back in, wait 40 seconds - nothing

He ordered a new one but they are out of stock of working ones. They are working to fix the issue then I assume have to re-manufacture / re-program and ship working ones. They had no ETA on shipping, which isn't surprising.

New SimpliSafe customer with extensive security system for large home. Everything works great; however, I have been through 3 different doorbells now. The doorbell chime worked on each one, but none of them would ever power up and connect to my WiFi (never got white light or any light for that matter). The doorbell is getting power (I checked with a voltmeter), and I even got a new doorbell transformer to ensure enough power was going to the the doorbell. SimpliSafe customer service has been less than adequate. I asked for a tech to come out to professionally troubleshoot, and that SimpliSafe cover the $79 since I've had so much trouble with this thing. I was told it would take a couple days to get a decision. Really!? SimpliSafe is willing to lose $25/month and the over $700 I paid for the equipment over $79?

One of main reasons I got the SimpliSafe system was for the doorbell camera. Anyone here have any updates on this problem?

I do not have an update yet. I was told a week ago that they would have some from "that department" call me. I haven't heard from anyone yet. I've been a SimpliSafe customer for over 6 years and have really liked their product, but their customer support and speed to fix this issue is disappointing. The Doorbell camera was the main reason I finally bit on one of their upgrade offers.

I sent SimpliSafe a message via Facebook today. They acknowledged there was an issue with setting up some of the units and that the engineers have determined which units were affected. They are supposed to be sending me a new doorbell that is not affected by this issue. I will post back here once and I get it and let everyone know the results.

I received my fourth replacement camera last Thursday. I hooked it up, waited about 20 minutes,and then was able to set it up. If you are having issues with technical support sending you a working camera, you might try contacting SimpliSafe via social media. They acknowledge and addressed the problem much quicker than technical support. I contacted SimpliSafe via social media late Tuesday afternoon and had a working camera early Thursday morning.

The doorbell when I originally got it was difficult to set up.  I went out and added Wifi mesh to increase the signal per the recommendation of tech support.  It connected and worked great for many months.  I have even updated my internet speed but no other changes have been made to my home network.

The past two months it rings like normal.  I get notifications of motion but no video.  At times when I check the doorbell from my phone, it disconnects constantly.  I have contacted support who were totally useless and kept blaming my internet.  Apparently the doorbell is the only thing that has issues, the other cameras have no issues.  When I check the strength of the doorbell it says strong.  

Bottom line.  Doorbell is a good idea. but it's very unreliable and has turned out to be a waste of money and time.  I could have kept our normal doorbell.