2 Messages
Outdoor camera won’t connect to wifi
Following all recommendations but still won’t connect. Connected fine and worked fine for weeks. Both outdoor cameras went offline and won’t reconnect no matter what I do. Close to dumping the whole system for my home and business and buying new one. Not worth the time to sit in the phone to be told to do the same thing that I’ve tried many times. One last chance…….
firelandsplumbing
1 Message
7 months ago
I've got 3 separate security systAll the same BS. All cameras worked flawlessly for 6 months, then 6 cameras stopped working, disappeared on the home system, 6 on the office system a d 2 on our equipment storage building. All all disappeared from the app. Have spent doze s of hours on a solution and have nothing. But all other items connected and cameras are ok. Just exterior cameras
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Cory_Hulet
9 Messages
7 months ago
Gonna throw my experience into the discussion here in the off chance it might help from a troubleshooting standpoint:
We got a brand new system about a week ago. The base station, keypad, and outdoor cameras won't connect to my wifi. I worked on hospital networked systems for 25 years, so I am no rookie when it comes to routers and wifi setup and security.
The system is set for ONLY 2.4 GHxz (the 5 GHz band is turned off) and I am using WPA2 security.
I can connect other devices in the home (my iPhone, wife's iPhone, son's Laptop, etc.) to this network with no issues whatsoever.
But the SimpliSafe equipment will do the following:
- Find the wifi network when searching for networks
- Accept the password (which has been verified in the router and on the devices and again pointing out that password works for other devices just fine)
- (Base station) Fails to connect at this point
- (Hand Controller) States it is connected, but when you attempt an update or anything like that, it reports it has no wifi connection.
- Both the hand controller and base station show up on my router's network map, so I know they are being assigned a MAC and IP by the DHCP, but nevertheless, they are not connected as far as SImpliSafe is concerned. On the Customer Service reps end, she sees "Connecting..." and cannot push data to them.
One interesting tidbit here. As a troubleshooting step, we turned on the hotspot on many wife's iPhone and tried connecting the base station and keypad to that, and it worked immediately. We were even able to download the latest firmware updates for the system this way. My hope was that the updates might resolve the connection issues with my router, but they did not.
After receiving the firmware updates and verifying the firmware version (2.14.10.0) on the app, we tried to connect to the router again. Same problem as described above. No change.
At this point, the CS rep is sending me out an extender that she says she has an easy time connecting SimpliSafe devices to. The hope here is that the extender will connect to my router and serve the same function as the hotspot did - allowing me to connect the base station and keypad (and then cameras) to the extender.
I'll have to report back here if that works as I have not yet received the extender - it just shipped yesterday.
As others have suggested in this thread, all the symptoms seem to point to a problem in the software handshaking between SImpliSafe devices and routers. The problem does not appear to be on my end for the following reasons:
Lynksys AC2200 Router:
- I am using 2.4 GHz (as required)
- I am using WPA2 encryption (as required)
- I can freely connect multiple other devices in my home to this network with no issues.
I have ever tried connecting the system to another router in my home that is a slightly older Linksys WRT1900ACS and it still won't connect. Also with 2.4 and WPA2.
Why your system will connect to an iPhone hotspot and not to a Linksys router directly is a question worth having your engineers look into. There is something inherently different in the way your software sees one versus the other. I have tried researching this myself, but have yet to find an answer.
If the extender doesn't work I'll have no choice to box the system up and return it.
If it does work, I'll report back here, but it also tells a similar story of why your devices would connect to the extender and not directly to the router (as they should!).
I have certainly learned one valuable lesson through all of this. Any wifi device I purchase in the future will be researched for connectivity issues prior to pulling the trigger. Would love to have known all of this before I made the purchase! So many wasted hours! =/
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kevinfrowe
3 Messages
6 months ago
I'm having trouble with the outdoor camera connectivity too. All of the other parts of the system have largely worked well. The outdoor cameras don't seem ready for prime time. I can test, resest, add range extenders, or have the cameras within 15' of a wireless network source and they still drop. I test connectivity in the app and it says three out of three bars - connection is good.... and then they drop. Very disappointed.
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lkesteele
1 Message
6 months ago
Same issue. Was hoping to find the answer here but looks like there’s no solution . Camera worked flawlessly until we had a Wi-Fi outage and then it would never reconnect. Have removed the camera from my system/app, removed the battery and fully charged it. I’ve held the back button for 16 seconds and this camera will not reboot to be re-added to my system.
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jtjordan
34 Messages
6 months ago
I’m all working perfectly now. The latest firmware has resolved my issues. Good battery life and solid connection
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jtjordan
34 Messages
6 months ago
I’m all working perfectly now. The latest firmware has resolved my issues. Good battery life and solid connection
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datavortex
2 Messages
6 months ago
@datavortex Performance Mode (which kicks in when your camera is plugged into AC and is over 90% charged) speeds up your livestream by keeping the camera awake so it's always ready to start streaming or recording.
But it sounds like your actual issue is more with the WiFi connectivity. Have you tried the Connection Check tool in the SimpliSafe app yet? That can help us diagnose the connection and figure out how to improve it. We have more info on this page.
(edited)
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markmacconnell
5 Messages
4 months ago
I am having similar issues. On my fourth replacement now. Works fine for months. Then randomly when the battery needs replaced I put my spare in that is fully charged and once doing that have all kinds of issues with getting it to connect. Support just has me jump though all kinds of hoops and finally gives up and sends me a new one. A replacement camera should not be the solution to the problem.
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ryancarrier66
4 Messages
4 months ago
This issue has cost them my business after several years. I’m sure I am not the only one.
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malwillis10
1 Message
4 months ago
I got my system maybe 2 or 3 months ago and my first outdoor camera and my indoor camera paired fine but my second outdoor camera refuses to have an initial install and pair to my wifi. I have tried using a different battery and also plugging it into my solar, and I have never gotten it to connect. Even tried the rebooting by holding the button down for 16 seconds.
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roby
9 Messages
4 months ago
It’s hilarious that SS won’t acknowledge the problem are the cameras themselves. Other battery cameras (RING) work fantastic in the exact same spot on the exact same WiFi network. But yeah, run the WiFi connectivity tool again, lol!!!!
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davidcimiri
1 Message
3 months ago
I had the same issue - worked fine initially and then stopped connecting to wifi. I got all the same advice. Like most of you, I grew weary of the “reboot it, try changing the network” canned suggested solutions. I have tried a number of different changes. Finally, I discovered that taking it off the magnetic mount that is supplied with the camera solves my problem. I wish that SimpliSafe would do some real investigation and engineering. My camera has been working great for the last 2 weeks since removing it from the magnetic mount. No, I didn’t change my network, batteries, location or anything else.
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ABC123456
2 Messages
2 months ago
I got the cameras to work!!!
Dealt with the same as everyone above, tried everything, and was sent new cameras by Simplisafe. Those did not work. Found the thread, poked around and eventually got the old and new cameras back online. Here is a summary of main steps I did after the new cameras would not connect. Hope this helps someone.
(After: resetting router, resetting camera, removing camera, swapping batteries, trying to add camera, updating wifi settings, updating base station, resetting base station)
1) Set up a 2.4 GHz Guest wifi network, WPA2/WPA3 Personal
2) Removed and reinstalled App on my phone
3) Reset my router
4) Resumed camera install using guest network
5) Camera updated and started working, this update took a while
6) Installed other cameras on either wifi network
7) Set up all cameras to original wifi network
It seems the problem was getting the first camera to connect, then the others were a breeze. I wonder if the first camera install triggered an update to the base station. Super annoying. Everything back online and functioning great. Curiously before I reset my router (not first time) but after I first set up the guest network, I could see the camera connecting through the mesh network app but it wouldn’t transmit data for more than a second.
(edited)
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rayl
1 Message
2 months ago
Having the same issue now with my outdoor camera - all other cameras work and connect fine. The outdoor camera had been working for months until the battery ran out. Replaced the battery which resulted in the base station & app seeing the outdoor camera as offline/out-of-battery.
Resetted the camera & tried to re-add it to the system and now it's just gets stuck trying to be added to the wifi. The router sees the connection log, so something seems to be happening with the camera when it runs out of battery or gets reset & it seems to brick itself from connecting back to a network.
(edited)
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lorimaegoodale
1 Message
2 months ago
This is now the second time this has happened to me. All my cameras say they’re offline but I can view them if I go to my account through the browser but not through the app and they will not connect to WiFi so I’m literally having to remove them and redo them AGAIN. Super frustrated, this is the last time, next time they go to the garbage and I’ll literally go anywhere else
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