14 Messages
Solar panel not charging
I’m on my second panel and they don’t seem to be charging the camera. The only thing I haven’t tested is unplugging from the solar panel end which seems like a bad idea:
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Secure the connection between the Solar Panel's power cord and Camera by unplugging and reinserting both ends of the cable—the end connected to the Solar Panel and the end connected to the camera
Can you really pull the cable from the end connected to the solar panel? It feels pretty secure.
Official Response
davey_d
Community Admin
•
5.6K Messages
2 years ago
Hi @3373inLine ,
You are correct, the Solar Panel's power cable is indeed not removable from the unit itself. Please don't attempt to try and pry it off!
As for the original issue - have you already tried doing a firmware reset on the camera? You can do so by pressing and holding the pairing button on the back of the camera for 16 seconds. When you release, it should reboot into setup mode, and you can set it up again through the SimpliSafe app.
If the issue is with the firmware or programming of the camera, that might resolve it.
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mikemalloy0
5 Messages
2 years ago
As FYI, I have been having a similar outdoor charge issue via solar panel. The solar panel just does not keep up. I have attempted to have a settings profile that tries to minimize the use, but still having issues. I have no firmware updates, the panel location is in the sun, the cables are well seated. Also, the solar panel is about 18 months old and wonder if there is a failure rate?
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foremanjf
5 Messages
1 year ago
I am having an issue with four of these Simply Safe Solar panels. I ditched 3rd party solar panels for these, but they atleast showed "charging icon" when the sun was up... What's with these not autorecognizing?
The camera has a computer chip, on it's power input, it's just sensing IV (current and Voltage) so whether it's a solar panel or a microusb wired to the wall outlet - they should recognize the solar instantly.
I work on large scale utility solar power plants, these are properly mounted (ok well not perfect.. kids running around the ladder, but sure should work) in the sun and I put in fresh batteries all properly charged too - what gives?
Simplisafe brand name solar panels should be better than the 3rd party ones I'm now regretting throwing away too soon for these at 2x the cost. The other ones didn't charge fast, but atleast showed the voltage icon of charging during rhe day.
I'll be pretty mad if I have to rebuy / reladder hang 3rd party panels and return $500 worth of 6x Simplisafe solar panels (I've hung 4x today) cause they don't have enough juice to even show charing on the cams like the 3rd party panels did even when cloudy.
Dont' worry about the camera light shading part of the module on the right, it was early morning when I took these (sun at low angle)
(edited)
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mgaffney
1 Message
11 months ago
I tried everything mentioned in the other posts....what worked for me was checking the connection with the charging plug, You really have to press hard on the plug.....the weatherproofing makes it hard to get a good connection.
I also did a hard reset on my iPhone, just in case that was affecting the Simplisafe app.
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riverside
2 Messages
10 months ago
Does anyone have slightly cloudy days and their camera dies? How is someone supposed to keep their cameras charged in the winter when the sun is not always direct?!
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OperJunge
1 Message
9 months ago
The app was telling me with the icons that my solar panel was working and charging the camera. But when I would arm and disarm my system, the home base would say the camera was low on battery. Well today the camera is disconnected and not working at all. Not sure how I would end up conflicting issues like this. I'm going to try and reset the camera and hopefully that will work.
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brianbryson
2 Messages
18 days ago
I am having the same issue. I have ordered another battery, thinking it was the battery, but I am getting the same issue! I do not see a charge icon on my app, so the solar panel is not charging the battery. Is there a warranty on this panel?
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brianbryson
2 Messages
18 days ago
My solar panel is not charging my camera properly. I do not see the charging icon on my app. I have also bought a new battery, thinking it could be that. I have reset the camera multiple times as well. Does this solar panel have a warranty?
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briansean
1 Message
5 days ago
I'm chiming in on the problem of a solar panel not charging my outdoor camera--and the problems of getting meaningful support. I'm hopeful other more knowledgeable SS support folks might have information to share, just as much as I hope community members might share information.
General Support Challenges
Extended email discussion with lots of photos ended up with a recommendation to call support. The phone support team tells me they have no access to either emailed or chat support—that's a big continuity problem in my opinion. That meant I had to start from scratch by phone with a conversation a few weeks old. The anonymous email author replied, "Again, we really apologize for what happened to your account. We will improve and develop our systems and services to ensure that this issue will not occur again."
My solar panel has not yet worked.
Is it charging?
I cannot tell whether the panel is charging my camera. Davey says in a reply somewhere in help discussions that we'll know through the app whether the camera is charging from the panel. The minimalist paper leaflet instruction card that came with the panel should have illustrated such icons. If there's wording in the app that the panel is working, then that should be illustrated, too. I can tell when my iPhone is charging through an icon with a lightning bolt; the color of the icon; an audible sound that it's charging; and haptic feedback. There are many references to all of these signals in Apple's documentation. Ring products that I routinely install (I'm an IT guy certified as a Pro to install these) all give indication when solar is connected, and when solar is charging (those are not the same thing.)
Cable attached?
I've made sure the cable is firmly in place, another apparently common issue with charging. It makes sense that weather-tight cables need to have firm connections. That same paper leaflet instruction card should have made that more clear. That wasn't my issue, either.
Firmware
We're told to make sure firmware is up to date, and that updates are automatic. (Well, then I should not have to worry about firmware updates, one would think.) I asked why there's no table online at SS support that shows what the current firmware should be for each of the 9 devices I have installed here. I should be able to look at my app and compare my installed products to a table of all SS devices to see if everything is up to date. Email support had no comment about this.
Reset firmware - remove/restore device
Then I did what I didn't want to do, to force a reset of firmware by removing my camera from my system and adding it back. That's a hassle of time to set up and customize again. Often, (Apple) wants us to completely wipe devices whenever there's a problem. It's simpler and faster **for support people** to tell consumers to do this—it's always great to start from a factory reset. Except that the time burden is extraordinary for consumers to put those devices back how they once were. I mentioned to the email support staff about this point, and asked why there isn't a way to export camera settings out somewhere so that they can be restored later. No response. It's not clear when I do a firmware reset if fresh firmware is downloaded to the device through the base station during this procedure...or if simply the settings I had are removed. In any case, removing/re-adding the device back did not fix my problem.
<My phone conversation with Dale has now been dropped twice—the first time he called back; the second he did not. Dropped calls with SS support is not rare or unique in my experience--which is why I wanted to resolve this via email.>
Better product information before purchase
I learned the following from phone rep Dale today, information which would have been much more timely prior to purchasing a solar panel.
1) Solar panel maintains, doesn't "charge"
The panel will never charge the camera above the present level of charge on a battery. I incorrectly assumed this solar panel would behave like Ring or Nest panels with their similar products. Specifically, I expected the panels would eventually maintain **and** replenish a battery over time. I didn't especially care over how much time. So what happens when I use a battery starting with (in my case) ~60% charge? Dale said I need to charge the battery for 5 hours. But that's not a percent battery charge. My battery charge status is not measured in hours. It's measured in percent. Maybe it's a misnomer to call this a "solar charging panel" and instead a "solar charge maintenance panel."
2) Product placement
SS ads state the solar panels need only three hours of direct sunlight to maintain a charge. There's no statement about indirect sun, cloudy days, etc. Dale explains that the panel must be angled up toward the sun. Apparently, anyone who hopes to mount a panel on a north exposure is in for disappointment and product failure.
I live in a condominium and am not allowed to attach anything to the building. I'm not allowed to deface the facade in any way. My condo faces west. I zip-tied my camera to a column facing south, not prominently west-facing on the facade; and angled the surface westward, but not upward. (The more I call attention to the panel, the more likely management will find a reason to make me pull it down and fine me for violations.) The panel sees indirect sunlight, because of its angle, from about noon-6PM.
3) Learning by example is preferable
My two-sided paper leaflet is simply not enough information for a product with this many variables and nuances. I get that it's too expensive to include much printed material at all. That's what online reference manuals, PDFs, bullets are all about.
I asked Dale to point me to support photo examples of successful solar panel installations. During the call, as when I initially wanted to purchase the panel, it's not an intuitive process simply to find the solar panel starting from ww.simplisafe.com. Dale sent me this link:
https://support.simplisafe.com/articles/outdoor-camera/wireless-outdoor-...
There are exactly two close-up photos, each with "textbook perfect" installations--but with little indication of context of a bigger picture. By virtue of shadows shown, images depict solar panels prominently displayed on south-facing eaves. This suggests that the panels installed as shown receive 100% direct sunlight, sun-up to sundown. Great! But for the rest of us not in a laboratory setup, I'd love to see photos of how others have done their installations. Googling such images shows me many aesthetically unacceptable solutions. By unacceptable, I mean affixing an unsightly ~3' long wood plaque to an exterior brick wall, to which solar panels are attached. Homeowners who don't care about the appearance of their structure can do that. In condominiums, owners do not own the brick walls, patio fence railings, columns. We're prohibited from hanging anything or permanently attaching anything (flower boxes, flag poles, bird feeders, decorations, signs). I welcome posts and suggestions from others homeowners who have conquered these challenges.
Unrelated battery problem
I had asked email support (and phone rep Dale today) how to resolve a problem with the second battery for my outdoor cam. I purchased two with my original system in 2021, knowing that I'd always need one battery charging while the other was in use. I provided a picture of the battery, whose plastic flat pin in the middle of the female receptacle was malformed if not broken. I cannot charge it; it's depleted and the camera does not recognize it. Dale was ostensibly investigating the matter when the call dropped; he never called back—and I'm now annoyed enough to write all of this out here. This problem is unresolved.
SimpliSafe app notifications
I had asked email support why the SS app always, everyday, has the "red ball 1" attached to its icon. In iOS, this universally means notification or alert to a problem requiring resolution. I faithfully tap the app and authenticate. No clue what the alert is, but the red ball goes away. I asked the team whether this is tied to the almost daily marketing prompt in my app to buy more hardware, or refer friends to SS; or if this is about a battery problem on my patio cam; or if this related to the expected text messages I get whenever we come and go. I asked for clarification so that I could adjust my notification settings in case I'm asking for duplicate notifications; or so that I could opt out of marketing when I thought I had already done that. I provided screenshots. I received no answer to that.
I really want to love my SS installation. It has potential. The monitoring is fine for my needs...and it's **not** the stalwart ADT thing.
Brian
07.21.2024
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