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Jolee's profile

Friday, May 8th, 2020 5:11 PM

No Picture From Camera

Camera seems to be working except I have a blank black screen. It seems to accept commands and the audio works. Checked shutter privacy settings. Removed and tried to reinstall camera but it won't scan QR code. Anyone think of anything I'm missing before I declare the camera bad and order a new one?

Official Solution

Community Admin

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5.7K Messages

2 years ago

Hi all,

I stumbled upon this thread again, and one thing that we missed from our initial response is that the issue might be with the magnetic shutter (as noted by the user deleteme). It might have been lodged into place; you can tell if there's a silvery-grey plate covering the lens, and you can't see the curved dark glass of the lens itself.

But yes, if you experience similar issues to the original post, you don't need to purchase a whole unit. All SimpliSafe products are covered under warranty. Give us a call at 800-548-9508 and we can arrange for a replacement!

Captain

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6.1K Messages

4 years ago

@jolee, when you say "order" I hope you mean and call SS support and have it replaced under their 3 year warranty. If you purchased it early on after release, the springs for the privacy shutter may have broken. They did on one of mine and SS promptly replaced it at no charge. I would call SS, troubleshoot and then, if necessary, replace at nc.

2 Messages

@captain11​ I was told by customer support it is out of warranty if I purchased it 1 1/2 ago. 

Community Admin

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5.7K Messages

@mcatrucker26 sorry about the miscommunication. You might have been told about our Money Back Guarantee, i.e. if you wanted to return the product for refund. That period is only 60 days.

If you purchased your system 1 1/2 years ago, then your system would be covered under the 3-year Limited Warranty, which means that if there is an issue that would require a replacement unit, we can absolutely do that for you free of charge.
And actually, if you have Interactive Monitoring subscribed right now, the warranty extends to the lifetime of your service. So you can get free replacement parts when necessary, for as long as you have service active.

(edited)

1.2K Messages

4 years ago

Smack the camera around a bit, it may release the shutter.  I had one arrive like that, been fine since.

272 Messages

4 years ago

Give us a call at 888-910-1454 and we can help with troubleshooting or replacing your camera.

Lee
SimpliSafe Home Security

1 Message

4 years ago

I am experiencing the black screen problem and it is about 2 years old.  Any recommendations on trying to solve the problem if physically away from the camera?
Thanks

Captain

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6.1K Messages

4 years ago

@pjc1121 first see if the privacy guard is stuck in the closed position.  The earlier cameras were defective with weak spring mechanisms that would break. I had two cameras replaced at nc. Remember there is a 3 year warranty on the cameras. Also, some of the cameras had memory chip issues that when you would do a firmware update they would get fried. Call SS and troubhleshoot. Please post your outcome here if you get a chance. Thanks!

2 Messages

3 years ago

Same thing is happening to me at this very minute. I'm not sure if I want to order a new one as of yet, being it only lasted a little over a year it must have a defect of some kind. Customer service remove mine and just as you stated it won't read the QR code. 

Captain

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6.1K Messages

@mcatrucker26​ The cameras, like all SS hardware, has a 3 year warranty so you are covered. If you have the interactive plan ($27 a month) you have a lifetime warranty as long as you have the plan.

Community Admin

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5.7K Messages

@mcatrucker26​ and even before a replacement, we'd want to troubleshoot in case we can bring your existing unit back to life.

The first thing that comes to mind is that we want to make sure that your camera is actually in setup mode. You can do that with a reset: press the button on the top for 16 seconds, and when you release, it should reboot. And then after a few seconds, the camera should be blinking white, letting you know that it's ready to scan.

The next piece is that we want to make sure that the QR code generated on the app on your phone is readable. You can start by placing both your phone and the camera on a table, about 2ft from each other, and slowly bring them closer together. There's even a slider on the app that lets you change the brightness on your phone, so the camera can see the code a little easier. You'll know that the code was scanned successfully when you hear the chirp from the camera.

8 Messages

10 months ago

My inside camera went to a Black screen for 15 hours. I noticed after reading the post about the silvery screen my camera also had a silvery lens but audio was working. I unplugged the camera for 20 seconds and plugged it to electricity again and still black screen. I decided after about 2 hours after plugging up again to remove the camera and call SS.

Again I looked at my cameras on my Laptop and all were operating perfectly again!

I am only guessing the shutter or something locked up and when I drained the current flow ( Magmatism) the camera cleared itself and all is well and I don't have to deal with SS people I can not understand their English. I speak Tennessee English only! This may not help you but it worked me this country boy. old man!

1 Message

Just had ours go “blank screen”, thanks to this thread ours seems to be that privacy screen thing.

Removed that in settings, still blank screen, can still see screen over lens.

Gave the camera a soft “whack” on palm. Privacy screen retracted & can now view camera in app.

Dunno if this will resolve the issue, or not. Will see…

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