Lost recording

@pjanits I have the older SimpliCam with the outdoor kit installed in my back yard, that one hasn't yet shown any "no video" errors but I also don't check it as often. I did have problems with it maintaining a WiFi connection at first, that's why I switched over to a mesh system and placed a satellite near where that camera is. 

Knowing the issues I've had with both of these cameras there was no way I was going to buy the new outdoor camera. 

@davey_d I have all of my IoT devices (cameras, streaming devices, etc) on a separate network. I've tried separating the 2.4 GHz & 5 GHz frequencies on that network into different SSIDs but that had not effect on the camera issues. 

Prior to installing this mesh network I had a single router with a WiFi extender that was ONLY 2.4 GHz and had the same problems.

I have spoken with support in the past about this and really the only suggestion they offered was "install a WiFi extender". 

My previous posts about issues with this camera:

Lots of issues with Doorbell camera | SimpliSafe Community

Doorbell camera doesn't work AGAIN | SimpliSafe Community

Why does the WiFi on these cameras suck so badly? | SimpliSafe Community

@mb43 since you were working with different routers, it's possible that you could be having different issues. In this case, you might be able to place a mesh access point closer to the camera than you would with a single router.

But the mesh network itself, by its nature, is a different issue altogether. I'm not a networking expert myself, but it sounds like something about setting up a guest network (perhaps something to do with the router's security) plays a factor. It's something to try, if you haven't already.

@davey_d As I said in my initial post, there is a mesh satellite less than 10 feet from the doorbell. I've just measured it and it is 93 inches away - almost 8 feet. Testing the WiFi signal outside near the doorbell shows that it is nearly maxed out at -40 dBm. The Connection Check of the doorbell camera from the SimplieSafe app reports -39 dBm.

And I've already tried a guest network (not sure if any of my previous posts said that). I had the same issues when using that.  

@davey_d​ Have you any other suggestions or is this a lost cause?

I had somebody at my front door this morning, the doorbell camera shows it recorded 58 seconds but after 18 seconds it shows "No Video. We've lost this part of recording due to some internet issues with your camera".

@mb43​ is that same message showing up on both your app and your account on the web?

@Bandit1015​ sorry to hear about your camera issues. Do you also have a mesh network like OP? If we can get more details about how your camera is set up and where, we can help come up with a solution.

@davey_d​

Hi Dave  I do not have a mesh system.  I do have Verizon Fios which connects flawlessly to every other wireless device.  I have some cheap KASA smart plugs that are in upstairs bedroom's, that are really far away from the router.  Much further than the doorbell, and the signal travels through several walls They maintain a constant wireless connection  The rest of the Simpli Safe system works fine.  Appreciate your response.  But I have given up on fixing the doorbell issue

@craigsmetana​ you mention that you were actually able to see the video in question, and only later did it become unavailable. Which leads me to believe that your particular issue isn't with the camera, but with the app (or at least the part of it that retrieves your video from our server).

Did you already try viewing and downloading the video from a different device? Or through the webapp on a desktop computer?

Just making sure you know this- the webapp doesn't allow you to look at the camera history like the app does. So asking people to try and pull it up on the computer is quite confusing since it's not actually possible.

The only thing you get on a PC is the Timeline which means spending hours scrolling through ALL the cameras, just to try and find the one particular video you are looking for.

@brownstone8681​ 

• Yep, and for some reason Simply Safe refuses to acknowledge the problem, so they bury their head in the sand and just ignore it.  Hire someone who is competent in this area, and address the problem.  As I posted before, EVERYTHING WORK PERFECTLY on my network, (Verizon FIOS) except your crappy doorbell camera.  I even replaced the transfer on my doorbell,  same results.  Neighbor has Ring doorbell camera, same Verizon FIOS that I have, theirs works perfectly every time 

and I don't have a mesh network.  I have items connected to my network, 60 feet away.  The doorbell camera is 20 feet from the router.  It does alert to activity at the door, but video only records only 3 seconds 

@brownstone8681​ I would not say that we're looking to place blame on anything. WiFi networking is complex, and there are a lot of different factors that can impact performance. You mention you have great bandwidth, but we also need to consider a lot of other factors like signal strength and reception, how your WiFi router handles traffic and even certain security settings.

Since you reported an actual incident, I'm going to go ahead and escalate your case. Hopefully we can get your cameras to 100% ASAP.

The escalated support just sent me a Wifi extender. There was zero attempt to resolve the actual issue. If they bothered to read the complaint, they would have seen that I've already stated all devices are within 15 feet of the router. A Wifi extender is useless. 2 of the cameras are within 8 feet of the router and those are the ones that lose connection most often. The doorbell cam doesn't work the majority of the time or if it does, it will record 3 seconds and drop.

I have already changed ISPs, router and modem, just to eliminate those as potential issues. And my equipment is not cheap. I have moved everything off of the 2G bands so only the cameras are on there and there is no interference. I have tried a myriad of different router settings to try and get the cameras fully functional. Smart Connect has always been disabled as I don't want my devices bouncing around on bands.

I agree networking is complicated. This is why it's incredibly frustrating from an end-user standpoint. I am well versed in technology and know what I am looking at. I can't imagine the level of frustration that comes from your non-technical customer base. 

If I had not invested such a significant amount of money among all the cameras and sensors, I would have definitely canceled a long time ago. At this point, I'm just trying to get some of my money's worth but ultimately, my home is not secured with this product. I know it is not a reliable source of information.

@brownstone8681​ I'm not sure what troubleshooting steps you've already gone through with our Specialist. But a WiFi Extender might help, not just will range issues, but also because the Extender that we use has been tested extensively and we know that it's able to connect with all SimpliSafe devices. So if there was an issue with the router settings or hardware compatibility, or anything like that, we could bypass it. If you haven't already, we would suggest trying it anyway.

But if you keep having trouble after that, just let me know. I can escalate this further to a more technical team.

@marc​ They are still blaming our networking as the issue. For my issue, there has been no attempt to resolve it outside of them sending a Wifi extender which again, is blaming it on the network. They are refusing to admit that something needs to be changed/improved.