‎Turn off outdoor camera motion notifications when Alarm is off? | SimpliSafe Support Home
 

6 Messages

Saturday, March 19th, 2022 2:32 PM

Closed

Turn off outdoor camera motion notifications when Alarm is off?

Just installed a full system with two outdoor cameras and haven't been able to find the answer to the following...

when alarm is off, I am still getting notification after notification of movement in the garden when we are out there and would really like to turn that off without having to manually do it each time under settings! Is there a way to have the alarm off with no notifications and then only the notifications when in Home and Away mode?

when it's a nice day and we're in the garden I don't see the point in all of these notifications and the garden cam's battery already at 30%! Plus, it's easy to forget to turn the motion detection back on again which makes this flawed in my opinion unless I have totally missed something?!

thanks in advance 

This conversation has been merged. Please refer the main conversation:

Outdoor Camera Motion Tied to Alarm System Armed State

2 Messages

3 years ago

Can I second this please! It is really irritating to keep getting notifications when we are home and the alarm is off. 

Thanks!

6 Messages

3 years ago

Glad I am not the only one. So I presume there isn't any other way, then?!

Community Admin

 • 

27 Messages

Hi all,

 

The camera doesn’t link to the different system modes at the moment, but it is something we are looking into. As soon as we have more detail on this feature we'll be soon to let you know.

 

While the battery life varies based on camera placement, usage and settings, there are several ways to help extend your battery life between charges. Visit the Camera Settings in your SimpliSafe app and adjust the following settings:

  • Motion Type - set to People Only. This is the default setting.
  • Picture Quality - set to 480p
  • Night Vision Mode - set to Standard. This is the default setting.
  • Setup Activity Zones - Remove high traffic areas such as roads, paths and sidewalks etc.

We also have a Cable or Solar Panel which you could use so that the Outdoor Camera is permanently charged.

 

Thanks,

Natalie

6 Messages

@Natalie90​ Hi Natalie. If the camera had the same shutter functionality as the indoor one then for me it would be ideal. Understandably, that isn't possible with the current outdoor cameras, so a function on the app to have no motion detection under 'OFF' setting should be easy and allow us to move around outside without running down the battery.

I have my camera using 'people only' but unfortunately the cat still sets it off and even a rolling empty plant pot, so that doesn't help. As for the quality, it needs to be the highest for me all the time.  

5 Messages

3 years ago

I agree. Sitting in the sun at home and it’s ping, ping, ping…

21 Messages

3 years ago

Largely signed up to the forum to report/ask the same thing, so I will simply add to the above, this is quite a bad feature as it stands and provides little value. I'm only 3 weeks post-install and as someone who is out in the garden a lot, the base station and app are now reporting critically low battery, and my phone does not stop pinging all day. Muting/turning off notification's isn't ideal - that can lead to forgetting to turn it back on or missing a real issue.

Dropping picture quality to 480p is not a solution. Not only would this mean that the video quality is getting close to 10x below the best cameras on the market, but also wouldn't solve the underlying issue which is down to the lack of ability to specify the conditions under which the camera wakes up. The indoor camera is great. I'm less fussed about a privacy shutter outdoors but the ability to tie it to modes is definitely not just a nice-to-have, it should be a fundamental part of operation

@Natalie90 you mentioned this is something that's being looked in to, by any chance is there an ETA? Sadly at the moment I am leaning towards boxing up the entire system and returning it. I'd like another camera but that plus 2 solar panels is way too pricey

Another way to solve this (secondary to the above though as it won't for for everyone) is smart home integration that is actually usable. I'd thought I could create an Alexa routine that would in turn interact with the app to disable Notifications  & motion detection (and better yet, the option to trigger said routine when the 'off' button is pressed on the panel), but it turns out the actual 'integration' doesn't extend beyond basic arming and disarming, unless I've missed something in which case I'd be happy to be corrected!

I did quite a bit of research before making a decision but I have to say that while the installation and core functionality are clearly excellent, the lack of meaningful smart home integration and the outdoor camera issue is super disappointing and massively impacting the value of the system.

Product Team - Please listen to your customers, this is reported a lot!

(edited)

7 Messages

2 years ago

+1 Posting my support for this as well.

5 Messages

2 years ago

It’s been four months since I posted when we were told it was being looked into, but as yet there have been no further developments, or if there have been, no has been told about it.

It really is a very frustrating problem. I also agree with one of the above posters that it’s desperately in need of smart home integration. I have Alexa at home but I also use Apple HomeKit. Just about everything else I have integrates with that and this would be a very welcome addition.

I also have to agree with one of the other posters who said, “SimpliSafe, listen to your customers…“

2 Messages

2 years ago

I really, really, REALLY want an outdoor camera & solar panel on my patio. And most likely another around the side of the house where we have some things stored in a six-foot fenced-in area as required by the HOA. However, we spend almost all of our time on the patio in the spring, summer and fall in the evenings during the week and pretty much all day during the weekends. Both of us will be retired this next summer, so we'll be out there even more next year and going forward. However, having pings while we're out there would just be too annoying.

As many here have stated, this could be fixed by the software shutting them off in "Off" mode. This is a deal killer. I will NOT add this camera until this "corrected". Too bad. I have five indoor cameras and a doorbell, a ton of sensors and love the system over-all. I mean, jeez, we're going to go back to the moon shortly. Surely someone in engineering can get this prioritized and corrected ? ? ? ? 

2 Messages

2 years ago

@Natalie90 @SimpliSafe Admin @simplisafe 

Looks like there's no intent to make progress on this issue given the lack of updates. If that's true then say so. Otherwise, where do we stand here?

Looks like the camera is not actually attached to the base station which means there is no 2-way comms for status-based alerts. Comments?

(edited)

2 Messages

2 years ago

Came here to voice my support for this as well. When I looked through the settings, I was shocked that there was no way to automatically disable the outdoor cameras when the system was in off mode. I'm having to charge the battery every couple of weeks because of this. Please LISTEN TO YOUR CUSTOMERS!

2 Messages

2 years ago

Here to add support. I’ve been dealing with this for almost 2 years and am about ready to switch to Ring. I deeply regret my decision to spend as much as I did on this Simplisafe system. It sucks. 

8 Messages

2 years ago

This issue needs to be #1 on the list of things to fix.  I am nearing 60 days and considering returning the system for a refund.  

please advise if there is a timeline to add this strangely overlooked feature.  

Community Admin

 • 

242 Messages

Hi @davmccarth​ 

There is a feature that has been rolled out on iOS and Android called Snooze Notifications. This lets you pause push notifications from the SimpliSafe app for a set period of time, like 30 or 60 minutes.

To use Snooze Notifications on iOS:

When a push notification appears, press and hold the notification until the Snooze options are shown.

 

To use Snooze Notifications on Android:

Tap the arrow on the top right of the push notification to expand, and the options will be revealed.

8 Messages

@alexandria_c​ 

Thank you for your reply.  
Each time I ask customer service about when I will be able to set the cameras to stop notifications when alarm is “off”, a representative points me to another feature that is not what I am looking for.  

Please tell me if the change we are all requesting is coming.  And if so, when.

also, I am unable to get the notifications to pause in the manner you have described.

New to the Community? Get started by reading our Welcome Article and please be sure to review our Community Guidelines before posting.