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eamail2001's profile
eamail2001

98 Messages

Tuesday, November 9th, 2021 3:36 AM

Closed

New Outdoor Camera wake time is SO Slow

Why does it take SO LONG for the New Outdoor Cam to wake up? It can take 5-10 sec. I've read many people post about the same thing.
This means that when motion is triggered it catches the "end of the act" if at all.

Thanks for your patience. SimpliSafe is hard at work on improvements to camera performance in response to your feedback. Outdoor Camera Firmware 1.10 (September 2022) is out now, and more are on the way.

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1 year ago

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This conversation has been merged. Please refer the main conversation:

KNOWN ISSUE: Outdoor Camera Delay

jasonaward

16 Messages

3 years ago

Having the exact same issue, and it's terribly sad because I wanted to like the outdoor camera.  Obviously a poorly designed, half-baked product that isn't going to work for most people, which is terribly disappointing because I really do think they typically make great products.  Their technical support has been particularly unhelpful, so it seems like they want me to return to my indoor camera in the outdoor camera cover.  Really disappointed.

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captain11

Captain

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6K Messages

Not to defend Simplisafe, but to refer to history, the Simplicams and doorbell pro cameras were a lost slower when first released too. At this time they load very quickly and perform well. I suspect overtime and firmware updates the Outdoor camera will too.

For SImplisafe, a question:  Is it possible if the camara is on an alternate power source (AC adapter or solar panel) you can leave it on at all times, not checking for battery status to make it perform same as the Simplicam or doorbell?  It would seem the "waking up camera" and "connecting" stages would no longer be necessary.

3 years ago

garvey_k

15 Messages

Attention SimpliSafe programmers,,,

Still waiting for the update for "always on" with the outdoor camera when connected to external power. I paid $49 for a genuine power supply and 25ft. outdoor cord (great quality but too expensive) and still have the same problem. Waking the camera that should always be on is beyond frustrating. 

2 years ago

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davey_d

Community Admin

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5.6K Messages

Thanks for the feedback, garvey_k. I've already forwarded this to our devs. I do want to set some expectations, though. What you're asking for is a fairly big change to how the camera works right now. So if the change is implemented, it will take some time.

2 years ago

0

davey_d

Community Admin

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5.6K Messages

3 years ago

Hi folks,

The Outdoor Camera is designed to go into a deep sleep when not active to preserve battery life. It might take a second or so for it to wake up - but definitely shouldn't be as long as 10 seconds!

Our dev team pushed out a firmware update that helps with the issue a little bit, targeting a decrease in that wake-up time. If the update hasn't rolled out to your device yet, it should soon.

- Davey D.
Community Development Manager
SimpliSafe Home Security

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captain11

Captain

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6K Messages

@Davey D, thanks for the update, however, can you answer my question on the alternative power source check? Both of my outdoor cameras are now on AC, so can the "deep sleep" process be shut off as the battery should always be 100%? Seems a software change could do that.

As far as firmware, as of right now, two different versions:

Front Yard Camera: 1.4.4.262  
Back Yard Camera: 1.4.3.256

Update: Two hours later, both cameras are now at 1.4.4.262

3 years ago

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tidurden1994

33 Messages

@davey_d​ we have a horrible delay. By the time camera woke up my neighbor was already on their front porch. So disappointed 

2 years ago

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rhigg1989

2 Messages

@davey_d​ this answer you provided was a year ago. I just recently got a new system. The outdoor cameras still take a long time to wake up and connect - if they connect at all. Half the time they won't even show live view. They just get stuck in a loop of waking and connecting which never ends.

2 years ago

davey_d

Community Admin

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5.6K Messages

Thank you for the feedback. Yes, work on optimizing Outdoor Camera performance is ongoing. While our engineers have made progress, there's still a lot of work to do. 

 

In the meantime, there are a few things that you can do on your end to help performance. As well as making sure that you have a stable WiFi connection (you can check via the Check Connection tool in the Camera Settings page of the SimpliSafe app), you'll also want to troubleshoot the local radio connection between the Base Station and the camera.

 

And of course, our Support team can help with all troubleshooting step by step.

2 years ago

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Jen90

3 Messages

@rhigg1989​ I'm in the same boat. I just got two outdoor cameras and really excited about them but it takes forever for them to wake up even when I'm home. I have an even harder time checking my cameras when I get notified when I'm not at home. 

2 years ago

davey_d

Community Admin

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5.6K Messages

3 years ago

@Captain,

No, the battery is always the main power source, and the Outdoor Camera is not aware of when an external source is plugged in.

- Davey D.
Community Development Manager
SimpliSafe Home Security

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captain11

Captain

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6K Messages

@Davey D. thank you for the reply, but very disappointing and let me be the first to say "hindsight is 20/20". If the product could have been designed to take into account the power source  and thereby significantly cut down on the  "start up" time. Sad this didn't come up in your NPIP  process earlier

3 years ago

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eamail2001

98 Messages

3 years ago

Mine updated today to v1.4.4.262 and the wakeup lag is better. still slow but better.

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s13n

35 Messages

3 years ago

My experience of battery powered cameras and motion detection is they have all suffered from a problem of missing the start of motion.  They are not looking for motion continuously but periodically sampling analyzing to save battery - sometimes only using low res IR motion sensor.  By the time the motion is detected and video recording starts you've already missed a second or two and that is often too much especially at a door or point where someone is passing by.  

Not sure if that is how it works with SimpliSafe's camera functions but that's been my experience.  Ideally you'd be continuously recording, when motion is detected include a few seconds video before and then video after until motion stops.  But you just can't do that with limited battery and expectations of long battery life.   I have a Eufy outdoor solar camera which is pretty good in this respect but it has a massive battery and a bunch of solar that keeps it charged even with aggressive motion detection behavior but it still doesn't do as well as, say, my SimpliSafe doorbell camera.

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vistaronn

19 Messages

3 years ago

I haven't noticed any improvement in startup time for my two outdoor cameras since the latest firmware upgrade. Battery life and motion zone performance seem better, but not wake up time. I do like that these cameras are battery powered because I cannot easily run a cable where they are located, and one of the cameras will not get enough light for solar. But I would rather charge the batteries more often and have quicker wake up time than live with the slow performance now. For a front door area, these cameras would be useless to capture fast deliveries and such. Thankfully, I have the doorbell camera for that which captures motion much more quickly. For the price, I have not been impressed so far and I doubt firmware upgrades for the existing hardware will be able to solve all of the issues.

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captain11

Captain

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6K Messages

3 years ago

@vistaronn  given the history of the Simplicams and Doorbell Pro, I do believe (okay, and hope) that additional features and better preofrmance are coming to the outdoor camera.

The wake up time is too slow and hope SS finds a way to approach the outdoor cam same as the doorbelll pro (both have a battery) but the pro is very quick loading as SS knows there is also an AC source.  Both of my outdoor units are on AC.  Also:
- ability to set up alarm during a live stream (sound only, no dispatch)
- ability to turn on spotlight duirng a live stream
- add excellent troubleshooting tool to check signal strength that is currently on the simpliscam and doorbell pro

No time like the present, SS, to have an online webinar on the outdoor cam. There are other topics you can cover too!

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simplisteve

18 Messages

3 years ago

@Davey_D  I've been patiently waiting for months for SS to get this Outdoor camera to respond to anyone walking within it's view.  What I'm experiencing is when a delivery person walks up to my front door the camera doesn't capture him until he is walking back to the truck at appox.20 ft.

I've already done a hard reset with no improvement.  Settings are medium and people only.

Any chance something is going to get fixed soon?  Thanks

Edit: Still waiting to hear "something" from SimpliSafe @davey_d 

Edit again:  Still the same issue, no improvement at all to date (3/22).  I know SS moves slowly to fix things, but I certainly hope it comes sooner than later!

(edited)

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tidurden1994

33 Messages

@simplisteve​ , no better and we are now in April! No security with camera

2 years ago

simplisteve

18 Messages

Well here I am again, still waiting.  I continue to have some faith in SS as they do usually get things fixed, but they are not very proactive in doing so (it takes them awhile).

It's been 6 months since I originally posted on my experience and "nothing" has changed at all for me.  This camera is a dud for sure as in no protection.  I truly do hope "some day" SS will get it to "wake up" in a more timely fashion to record a subsequent intruder.....sigh

2 years ago

derbyshire

2 Messages

3 years ago

Product is so slow am not capturing people walk up the drive or access the house. The cameras all seem to work independently. Would be sensible if one detected motion they all woke up so at least stand half a chance of getting any meaningful footage. This is a major issue and had I known I wouldn’t have purchased 

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jaredschindler

4 Messages

2 years ago

Just my opinion, but I think the option to disable the 'deep sleep' should exist in the menu so the end-user can decide whether extended battery life is more important than capturing all of an event (especially so when the unit is connected to an external power source).  

The picture quality and form-factor of this camera are great!  I just hope SS will push out updates to improve the functionality of the camera so it is best poised to do what I bought it for: capturing video footage.

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davey_d

Community Admin

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5.6K Messages

That's a great idea. I'll forward to our devs.

2 years ago

trudesea

2 Messages

Please look into this asap, I had a suspicious individual near my home and it only caught him walking away.  I think he saw the camera and turned around.   Camera is no good if it can't capture the whole event.   Never captured his face.   I could have purchased cheaper cameras that do a better job

2 years ago

tidurden1994

33 Messages

2 years ago

Outside camera notification is extremely slow. Example today neighbor came over and by the time notified my neighbor was already on his front porch. So Very unhappy. Can’t justify paying for monitoring which I need. 

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Bigmike

10 Messages

2 years ago

I have the exact complaint. Slow response time to activate camera. SS needs to address this or system is going back

M Bennett

Pittsburg ,CA

2

davey_d

Community Admin

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5.6K Messages

@Bigmike​ we're definitely working on it, Bigmike. If your cams don't have the latest update already, we'll get it to you soon. And further improvements are on the way.

2 years ago

tidurden1994

33 Messages

@davey_d​ We must need updates also. Camera is at least 10 seconds or more before picking up anyone. So disappointed no need to pay for monitoring, which we had intended to do. I should have returned to get our hard earned money back. Why can’t the issues be fixed?

2 years ago

parag

5 Messages

2 years ago

I have the exact same issue. I have 4 cameras that I installed and on each of these, the recording itself is so delayed. Every time I get the notification and open the app to see the video, it only records the tail end of the motion.

What gives?

For now, these are no more than glorified toy cams, and less of the security hardware that it is advertised as.

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jaredschindler

4 Messages

2 years ago

It almost seems like they are coded to behave like they are operating on battery, and set to make maximum use of that battery, despite being plugged into wall power.

Fingers crossed this is an issue that can be fixed with an update.

1

davey_d

Community Admin

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5.6K Messages

@jaredschindler​ yes, this is the case. The priority (at launch) was on maximizing battery performance. Our engineering team is working on a solution that takes wired power into account.

2 years ago

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ltoddjohnson

2 Messages

2 years ago

Beating a dead horse but the wake up times are pretty bad.  The cameras only act as a deterrent because the status light is flashing.  I should have done more research before purchasing.  Catching the back of someone’s head as they walk away is not very helpful.  Additionally, the cameras are not secure!!!  They are recommended to be 6 to 8 feet off the ground and they are only secured by a magnet!  At the very least come up with some sort of tether so that would be thieves do not just reach up and steal the camera.  Another lack of forethought by SimpliSafe!

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davey_d

Community Admin

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5.6K Messages

@ltoddjohnson​ we do have the Permanent Mount on the way, that takes advantage of the tripod socket on the bottom of the camera. We'll keep you updated when it's closer to launch. Though of course, since it's a standard socket, you can already use any third party solution with a 1/4"-20 screw.

2 years ago

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Streaky

28 Messages

@ltoddjohnson​, I can spray the camera with black paint at up to 15' away, so 6-8' is not an issue.  The REALLY BAD aspect is the ABYSMAL wake-up time, especially for remotely-powered cameras.

@davey_d, it's not a significant improvement.  The camera can be ripped from the wall or off the mount before it triggers.  Or it can simply be knocked around and away from the action.

1 year ago

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