8 Messages
TP Link Deco Mesh not compatible with Simplisafe cameras?
My setup:
I have the indoor camera as well as the doorbell camera. I have a TP Link Deco w6000 system (1 base, 3 nodes). My home is medium size single story. I don't have a single wifi dead zone in this house. I have gigabit fiber. Speed is not an issue. Signal strength is not an issue.
I have the Deco(s) setup in AP mode while using a router with DD-WRT.
On the Deco(s), I created a guest network to operate on 2.4 Ghz that is isolated from the rest of the network (which everyone should do frankly). Beamforming and Fast Roaming are disabled. I found the MAC addresses for the cameras and disabled the "mesh" toggle which to my understanding tells the Deco(s) to not try to switch nodes i.e. "It's got the best connection on this node so don't try to switch it".
I have one Deco that is 10' from one camera and 20' from the other. There is a single wall in between each camera and the deco.
The problem:
I can get the cameras to connect to the WiFi when I first set them up. Not 5 minutes later, both disconnect and will not reconnect. Occasionally they manage to reconnect but the fun part is that I can view 1 and the other will go offline again. Then they both disconnect again and the cycle repeats.
The oddities:
On my DD-WRT router, I kicked on the 2.4 Ghz radio (which irks me because it's less than 1' from the base Deco), created a guest network isolated and connected both Simplisafe cameras to that SSID. Now I can view both cameras with about 85% reliability.
I have several other IOT devices including cameras from other vendors such as the TP Link Kasa, some cheap WiFi cameras from Walmart, smart light switches, outlets, etc. NONE of them have a single problem with the Deco's 2.4 Ghz guest network.
The conclusion:
Something about the Simplisafe cameras absolutely doesn't play nice with TP Link's Deco mesh system. They sent me replacement cameras which had the same issue and the folks working their call centers had no idea what a mesh network was and it was painfully obvious they were reading from the FAQs that are already publicly available. They seem to want to default to having customers use a range extender. I initially thought they were just recommending a range extender out of ignorance. But after some thought, it's probably cheaper for them to peddle range extenders than to recall and replace every single WiFi camera they've put out on the market. The range extenders probably do work most likely for the same reason the cameras work with my DD-WRT rotuer's WiFi.
The question:
Anyone else experience something similar? Any working solutions? I've been searching the internet for days and found that most people just deal with their cameras not working, getting a range extender, or switching to something like Ring. Simplisafe is a great system bar their cameras. Unfortunately I have recommended Simplisafe to 2 people close to me and am very much regretting that because both of them are running into very similar issues (one is on TP Link Deco, the other is on a Unifi system).
s13n
35 Messages
2 years ago
Not using DD-WRT but I have Eero Wifi 6 mesh network with three nodes and have similar connection issues with the doorbell. Dropped connections, truncated or missing video, delayed or missing interior doorbell rings. Frustrating! Especially the doorbell part when at home, and obviously for security reasons loss of video. I'm thinking I need to get a physical doorbell now as a backup. Or just ditch SS doorbell completely - I have a Ring camera from the previous owner and it worked flawlessly and has a monster battery that lasts weeks with no power. SS lasts about 30 minutes as best I can tell.
You might try this guy's suggestions which are primarily for setting channel width and channel selection:
https://www.reddit.com/r/simplisafe/comments/vnoxju/wifi_settings_best_practices_for_video_devices/
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Mcburn13
8 Messages
2 years ago
I just swapped out temp Verizon and Netgear router with my new TP Link Deco AXE5400 mesh (2 nodes), and that’s exactly when the outdoor cameras started failing connections. The only reliable setting to change was from WPA3 + WPA2 dual encryption to just WPA2! COME ON MAN! This is just insecure! Here’s the deal: ENCRYPTION is SECURITY; SIMPLISAFE is a SECURITY company! No room to be aloof about it and blame the router vendor. There is obviously an issue with these IoT devices on 2.4GHz negotiating the dual WPA3/2 algorithm. It may require some bug fixes from vendors as well with their chipsets. Update your firmware please to support this. Now please?!! I suspected this was the issue as I recently had same thing with an HP Envy 4500 printer/scanner and had same exclusive WPA2 workaround. I will probably just use guest network for SimpliSafe devices.. but a thief these days will be able to exploit WPA2 and what? Be able to decrypt PIN Codes? Capture video and audio (remember Ring debacle anyone??!!!). Do better please.
(edited)
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kennybryant
99 Messages
2 years ago
I had a TP-Link access point about a year ago and the Simplisafe cameras were often dropping connections. I moved them to the guest network on my Verizon router and they work perfectly. My conclusion was that TP-Link is garbage.
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mpbitt
2 Messages
2 years ago
I have the same mesh system, door bell cam is intermittent, ie it doesn't always catch the whole video, someone walking up to the door but records person walking away. Deco is set to automatic fro 2.4GHz and 5 GHz. other cameras work good. doorbell cam is a little troublesome and settings do not always seem like they are working consistently.
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gillm_is
2 Messages
6 months ago
I am having the same problem. Funny thing is they worked flawlessly when I switched to the deco mesh but when I took the battery out to charge them, they won't reconnect. So they obviously work with the deco mesh but just won't reconnect or set up once power has been cut to the cameras. I have no idea what to do. Anyone have any ideas?
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