Simplisafe Camera Disconnects

• 
     
• Tap on ‚ò∞ Menu
  
• Select Settings
  
• Choose Camera Settings and then select one of your cameras that is experiencing this issue
  
• After scrolling down the page, you should see an option called Connection Strength
  
• If you tap on that you can then run a quick test to see what the quality of the Wifi that the camera is getting from your router
  
• Repeat for any other cameras
  

Constant problems with their cameras. Would not choose SimpliSafe again if I was selecting a new provider. Their dismissal of the system’s issues as problems with your wifi when you’ve repeatedly definitively ruled that out is particularly troubling. You’d think they would take these obviously common problems seriously.

I have one camera, in the same room as the WAP.  I took packet traces from the WAP and when the camera disconnects from the Simplisafe internet server it is the camera sending the disconnect... the two way communication is fine up to the point that the camera sends a FIN,ACK then the Simplisafe internet server responds with a FIN,ACK and then I see the message from Simplisafe that my camera disconnected from the internet.  That is true but it is not due to a network issue.  The signal is still there at -48dBm (more than Simplisafe's recommended -55dBm) and over 10 mbps upload speed.  I have 100 meg symmetrical fiber here.   Camera is on 2.6.2.126.  Nothing else has disconnect issues in the house.  FireTVs, PCs streaming YouTube, PCs that the wife and I use for work from home on Teams video calls all day.  Something is going on with the Simplisafe camera here.  And it disconnects when practically no other traffic is on the network, less than 2 meg total on the 100 meg connection.

@patrick Thank you for providing the details about the camera disconnect, as I have run into the same issue and have been meaning to run network sniffing to see what is going on. 

Our cameras show good connection link and good upload speeds when doing diagnostics, however when viewing a camera live for over 45 min or sometimes even shorter periods of time, the camera will time out with a “lost connection” message. Sometimes this is followed by a reboot of the camera or flashing yellow or red LED. But all other devices on my network do not have any issues or hiccups at the same time. 

It has caused me to believe that the camera sends a disconnect signal to the server or stream for some reason, or that the encrypted connection to SimpliSafe’s servers must be rock solid or the camera terminates the session.

Either way, I agree with most people on the forum. I don’t have time to troubleshoot with level 1 tech support at SimpliSafe when I would really need to speak to an engineer who can actually look at packet data and solve the root cause of the camera issue. I wish Simplisafe offered a “local live view” option with optional SD card storage, so that when the network connection to SimpliSafe’s servers was not stable we would not lose live and recorded video functionality. 

Same here. 7 cams and if you watch them live they constantly drop. It's not wifi strength (shows strong), it's something faulty in the programming, most likely something to do with robustness of the streaming software. A local live view feature likely wouldn't work because they are probably programmed to only communicate with Simplisafe servers. Would likely be more work to support that than just fixing the actual problem. 

They replaced my indoor camera I posted on earlier in this thread and it did not change anything.  Packet traces still show that the camera sends the disconnect to the SImpliSafe servers.  Everything is streaming along fine then the camera sends a disconnect, does a new DNS request, then starts a new connection.  Camera is within 20 feet of the WAP, camera states the signal strength is -45dBm and greater than 10 meg upload, all well above minimums per SimpliSafe.  I am not confident they have the support staff capable of troubleshooting this to resolution. 

It's a software issue for sure. Going to have to get rid of their stuff unfortunately when time permits. I'm already telling people not to get this system. I've also noticed the front door lock is unreliable. Sometimes I press the lock button and the keypad LED lights up but nothing happens. Second press and it actually locks. It's random.

My camera's have been doing this since I bought them 3 years ago. I've increased my internet speed twice and when they get activated half of the time they just shut off

Same problem here. Four outdoor cameras, one is fairly reliable, three randomly disconnect, or won’t connect after waking up, or won’t connect after dark (yes, really) with good signal strength verified at all four when they do work.  But when they don’t, which happens randomly and frequently, troubleshooting always ends up telling me to move the camera closer to my WiFi router. I suppose the system would work well if I placed all my cameras in the same room as my router. This is more an outdoor hobby camera system than a real security system.

I agree with you, My cameras do the same thing. Im not happy about it, my guess is they can't fix it so they just forget about it. 

I'm fairly new to Samplisafe but it doesnt look like it for very long!

They have replaced cameras and basestation and still asme issues.

If I decide to discontinue my Simplisafe coverage will I still be able to view my cameras ?