76 Messages
SimpliCams on Disarm - NO VIDEO - We've lost parts of the recording...
I have 6 SimpliSafe Cameras (5 indoor and 1 Doorbell). They are all set to 480p resolution with the exception of the doorbell, which is set to 720p. My internet is Comcast with 1GB DOWN and 25mbps UPLOAD. I did the connection check to my cameras in the SimpliSafe app and they all report great signal and connection to the Wi-Fi.
However, on disarm when they all record at once I constantly get a random camera reporting "NO VIDEO - We've lost this part of the recording due to some internet issues with your camera." This happens on different cameras at different times. Individually, I can always connect to all the cameras, but my fear is if somebody triggered the alarm the cameras are not going to work right at a critical moment. Even the camera in the same room with the Wi-Fi Router does this. My signal strength is across all camera is -2 dBM to -52 dBM for the furthest camera. SimpliSafe recommends -55 dBm or better.
Any advice here? I am ready to switch to Nest Cameras as this is makes me live in fear that when the cameras need to record an alarm trigger that they are going to fail me.
Please be aware none of the cameras actually every disconnect, which leads me to believe this NO VIDEO message in the app is software failure on the SimpliSafe servers.
Also, per SimpliSafe the camera needs 480p - 1 mb/sec/camera and 720p - 1.5 mb/sec/camera. So with 5 x 480p we need 5MB and the doorbell needs 1.5mb for a total of 6.5mb upload speed. I have 25mbps upload and have way more than enough overhead. This is even when NOBODY is using the internet at home for anything it says NO VIDEO.
I did a stress test on the Internet while all 6 cameras are streaming for disarm and the worst I saw the upload speed drop to was 19 mbps.
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alexandria_c
Community Admin
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242 Messages
Hi @tek
Thanks for all the details on this. It sounds like you do have decent signal strength between the cameras and the network when running the signal test from within the app. Just so I have a better understanding of the issue, when you receive the error "No Video" on the app are you able to see video events on the app despite receiving that error? Are you currently using a single router, or do you have a mesh system or extenders at this location?
If the issue can be reproduced regularly, it may be worth contacting our support team to troubleshoot the issue in real-time. They'll be able to run a few tests and work towards diagnosing the issue with you on the phone or by chat.
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tek
76 Messages
So it either says the NO VIDEO - We lost part of the recording..., but shows the image of the behind the message. OR it has a black image with just a NO VIDEO message. The first message is more common than the black NO VIDEO message.
I have a single router with no mesh or extenders. The house is not very big and the router is in the center of the house on the middle floor. Coverage throughout the house is strong.
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tek
76 Messages
I have spent two years troubleshooting this issue. I have spent hundreds of dollars if not more chasing this phantom wifi issue. I finally got escalated to a higher level support.
They had me try my cameras on my corporate network, which is Fiber with huge download and upload speeds. The upload at work is 200 Meg. Shocker, the cameras drop recordings during events just like at home.
I wasted money on extenders, increased wi-fi my internet to the most expensive tier, bought new routers, spent days working on wi-fi.
I even tested a different camera system from a different brand. No drops. No disconnects. Under the exact same circumstances as my SimpliSafe cameras.
I am sorry SimpliSafe. It is time for you to look into the issues with these cameras and stop blaming everything under the sun and moon.
I should have Googled this issue sooner. The cameras dropping is wide spread.
I am so frustrated with the money and time I have wasted.
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