‎Outdoor Camera Battery Drain | SimpliSafe Support Home
 
ferrellcat's profile

Friday, May 6th, 2022 6:41 PM

Outdoor Camera Battery Drain

I also have a camera that records that there is motion.  I even turn the motion off and it still goes on until the battery dies usually.  

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Official Response

Community Admin

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5.7K Messages

3 years ago

@ferrellcat since you mention a battery, it sounds like you're asking about an Outdoor Camera. So I created a new thread for you.

You also mention that you're getting Motion notifications even when the Motion setting is already turned off in the Settings. So clearly something strange is going on with your camera.

Can you confirm what version of the firmware your camera is on? You can find out from the app by navigating to Menu > System > Camera Settings > Your Camera. The "Software Version" is under Basic Info, at the bottom of this screen.

Also, have you already tried a hard reset? You can do that by pressing the button on the back of the camera itself, for 16 seconds. When you release, it should reboot, and you can reinstall on the SimpliSafe app like it was new.

1 Message

2 years ago

Just trying to find out on average , how long is battery life of outdoor cameras

Community Admin

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71 Messages

Hi @pondoasisdude,

 

The Outdoor Camera's batteries should last between 3-6 months, depending on usage. 

1 Message

@harriet_c​ I have a brand new system that is less than a month old and one camera already has a low battery.  I do not have the spotlight on either.

Community Admin

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71 Messages

Hi @mcdover,

 

How many motion events do you get in a typical day? If you're getting 10+ motion events a day, that could be the issue, and setting up motion zones could help! 

 

Also, when you charge the battery, make sure you're using a charger that is at least 5V, 7.5W+ or 1.5A+.

 

Let us know if that helps! 

10 Messages

2 years ago

Depends on how many triggers it receives. Bite the bullet and bring 120V to them. Before I would have one last several weeks and two others that would only last several days. On 120V don't have to think about them and contrary to what I have read their response time seems quicker, by a little, but 1-2 seconds can be a deal breaker

1 Message

2 years ago

My battery is draining within four hours have had the camera for 10 months this is not normal. Bought a new battery and within four hours got an alert ow battery again. I have a backyard camera never had a problem would usually recharge 3-4 months on average. Has to be a hardware issue short somewhere that is pulling too much power. Also not picking up any more motion and I don't have the auto light on. Should last longer than 4-6hrw before needs a charger.

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1K Messages

@dtallerico​ have you tried to delete the camera from system and push button on back for at least 16 to 20 seconds to reboot the camera then adding it back to the system? It worked for me awhile ago and when it went through the rebooting and adding it back it received an update and all was good, I would try that method and see what happens 

1 Message

1 year ago

Same problem.  Except my battery never shows charged, using the SimpliSafe charger and cable or a non-simplisafe.  They started by replacing the camera.  Same fast drain on the new camera with a new battery.  They were going to send a new battery, but they were out of stock.  Probably because there is a battery issue and they aren't telling anyone.  

My camera worked perfectly for 3 months then this started.  They suggested I hard wire power. You buy a battery powered camera because you don't have power handy.  Now they are sending me a solar panel to keep the battery topped off.  No way the panel will keep up with the battery draining so quickly.

I really like SimpliSafe, but this is a defective product.

Community Admin

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3.4K Messages

@tsh228​ What type of power adapter are you using to charge your camera? We recommend using a 5V, 7.5W+ or 1.5A+ power adapter, or the camera's battery might not charge all the way. 

Also, how many motion events does your camera capture a day? If you get more than 10, that could be causing this issue. There are certain settings you can enable like People Only mode and Activity Zones to decrease the amount of motion your camera captures. You can learn more about these settings and how to maximize the life of the camera's battery in this Help Center article

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