Outdoor Camera Release

It's official. I regret my decision to go with SImplisafe. While my equipment works well, Ring has passed them by with technology, integrations, and outdoor cameras. I'm still waiting for outdoor cameras to complete my system. This is a classic case of over-promising and under-delivering.

I have a 1st gen SimpliSafe system, ooooo an email with a % off coupon code I can use towards a second gen system.  So I can sell my 1st gen system to reduce the cost but wait, you have an doorbell camera (still need to install), indoor cameras which I have no interest in but still no outdoor cameras which I would be very interested it.  Now you know why I delete those emails SimpliSafe.

^ You should save the email (with the % off), so that if by some miracle, they do produce an outdoor camera, you'd still have that discount to buy the new system as well (if it's the 40% off discount, that's the best they're going to offer on a new SS3 system).

I recently inquired about the outdoor cameras. Unfortunately they didn't provide any new information. Response from Simplisafe is below.


Thanks for reaching out, I understand you are interested in outdoor cameras.

We know how important outdoor protection is, which is why we are developing our own wireless, outdoor cameras. We will be sending out announcements as more information becomes available to us.

However, if you need outdoor cameras now, we might have a solution. Many people want to put the cameras outside, so we started selling outdoor camera kits.

With the outdoor kits, you can start using SimpliCam outside with a weatherized sleeve and a 25-foot power cable. The SimpliCam needs to be plugged into a power outlet and requires a WiFi connection. The camera should also still be covered by an awning or some other kind of covering. The kit works from -4° to 114°F. It also includes hardware to mount and secure the camera. The camera kits are $19.99 and are available in either black or white.

More information on the kits can be found here

We also recently released our video doorbell. Much like the SimpliCam, the video doorbell detects motion and alerts you when someone's at the door, even if they don't ring the bell.

The video doorbell has a wide viewing angle of 162° and the resolution is 1080p HD. They are designed to work with doorbells on almost any type of home. You would need an existing doorbell setup (8-24V) and a WiFi connection. At this time, the Video Doorbell Pro is not compatible with digital doorbells.

More video doorbell information can be found here.

If you have any other questions, please write back in or give us a call at 1-800-297-1605. We are open 7 days a week - 9 AM to Midnight EST. Thank you and have a great day.

Best,
Dylan W.
---------------------------
Customer Service Representative
SimpliSafe, Inc.
1-800-297-1605

To be honest they need to work on phones and customer service before they even think about coming out with another product, because they can handle what they have now much less another product thats probably going to have problems and they cant handle the problems they have now.

Follow the money. Rip off Simplisafe probably have too many indoor cameras left in stock that they want to sell off first before introducing the outdoor one. It's a rip off. Wish I went with Ring. Probably will switch. or go with Blink

I will recommend buying Arlo security camera. It is HD smart security camera and is very economical. It has few great features like it is weatherproof, it has motion detection, night vision. Moreover, it is completely wireless. Set up process is also hassle-free all one needs to do is just install the camera in the desired location and download arlo app for pc and operate it.

Update on outdoor skin for the indoor camera:

I installed a camera+skin on Nov 10th to point at our back yard/door.
Positives:
- Power cable was plenty long and had no issues there.
- Good picture and adjustable to where we wanted.
- Looks good and was able to place so it is not easily accessible from the ground

Negatives
- lost connection to the app after 3 days and had to be re-added (had to get ladder out)
- the picture is partially obscured by condensation at night (note that we live where the temp is already around 32° at night) so not sure if ther is a way to fix this. (See the photo album here https://photos.app.goo.gl/o8o1WY3s1x2E6k1q9)

Update: another poster on the forum found a solution for the spotting: https://simplisafe.com/forum/customer-support-forum/installing-and-using-simplisafe/camera-night-mode-reflection

Update:  
I contacted support about my condensation issue when using the indoor camera outside with a skin on it. They didn't have any suggestions and when I asked it my issue could be escalated to the engineers that didn't seem like it was an option. I tried one more thing on my own but it didn't help either - I ordered a camera protective uV filter lense that fit just inside the outdoor skin. The image was just as bad or worse at night.
So I am calling SimpliSafe to arrange for a return/refund on the outdoor skin since it does not produce an usable image in colder weather at night. Probably going to return the camera as I don't need another camera inside. I guess the wait for a real outdoor camera will continue.

Bottom line: I would not recommend this setup in a colder climate if you need a camera after dark (which is 5pm at the moment).

Update: Seems the issue is related to the cover lip - see this post with a solution: https://simplisafe.com/forum/customer-support-forum/installing-and-using-simplisafe/camera-night-mode-reflection