‎Unreliable, ongoing issues, poor support, is this the norm? Will it ever get better? | SimpliSafe Support Home
 
clark511's profile

Wednesday, November 1st, 2023 9:58 PM

Unreliable, ongoing issues, poor support, is this the norm? Will it ever get better?

I have a relatively large house with a system that includes 6 external and 2 internal cameras, all the motion detectors, entry sensors, CO/fire monitors, etc.  (total of 41 devices).  As such, with thousands invested - it is not easy to change systems at this point, but I may be forced to.  Unreliable, weak software that conflicts easily, and poor customer service that always blames any problem on your Wi-Fi connection - despite having a strong 6 unit nested Google system. I have had 4 different alarm systems on homes in the past, and I have had more problems with this SimpliSafe system in 12 months than I had with all 4 other systems over 30 years.  I'm losing hope, just too many problems, the unreliability of the system is frustrating and time consuming.  Today's problem; even with the privacy shutter ON for all modes other than AWAY, one indoor camera has recorded activity when the alarm system is OFF.  Often enough my wife now wants the den camera moved so it can't see us.  Support just keeps following the script and telling me how it is supposed to work.  Well duh!  I have had to become an expert on YOUR SYSTEM BECAUSE IT FAILS ALL THE TIME.  I know it better than support does.  In short, for those with longer duration experience - is it ever going to get better?

92 Messages

1 month ago

To be honest, no it won't.  Take it from someone who has been through it all with simpliunsafe.

14 Messages

Understood.  Sheesh, that is discouraging.

Community Admin

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1.8K Messages

1 month ago

Hi @clark511, 

I am very sorry to hear about your experience, and please know that I will forward your feedback to our internal teams. We can always help troubleshoot your system here in the Community as well.

Regarding your indoor camera, when do you notice that it records motion when its Privacy Shutter is on? Does this happen around the time you disarm your system into Off Mode? As a security measure, your cameras will wake up and film a short recording when you disarm your system so you know who disarmed it. If your camera detected motion while taking this recording, it will continue to record.

14 Messages

Thanks and good question.  Yes, the cameras do routinely take a short recording when the system is disarmed.  The recordings I am concerned about occur long after being disarmed.  As I continue to try to figure out cause, I did just notice while looking back in the history - the history does not show disarming the system, yet it obviously was off because the alarm didn't go off after remotely turning off via the app.  I am going to do more testing, but I'm wondering if the system is somehow turning off the alarm, but not resetting a status internally causing the cameras to stop detecting/recording motion.  I tried to explain this to Tech Support, but they just kept reading the script - they don't really understand the system, nor how to help you fix it, other than just following the process map they use as reference.

Community Admin

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1.8K Messages

@clark511​ Understood! Since you notice these recordings happening outside of a disarming event, it may help to reset this camera by pressing and holding the button on the top of the camera for 20 seconds. Once you release the button, you will be prompted to set the camera back up in your system.

You pose an interesting theory, and since you didn't see a disarming event on your timeline, I would also recommend resetting the Base Station as well to ensure its connection to your system. This can be done by taking the following steps:

  1. Unplug the power cord from the Base Station, and use a Phillips Head screwdriver to remove the screw below the plug
  2. Remove the bottom cover and remove one battery from the Base Station
  3. Wait 30 seconds
  4. Reassemble the Base Station by inserting the battery, cover, and the power cord
  5. When powered up after the reset, the Base Station will say "Welcome to SimpliSafe"

14 Messages

Yeah, hard pass.  You have no idea how many times I have reset cameras, deleted cameras, re-added cameras, reset the Base Station, etc.  I have over 20 hrs with Tech Services the last 11 months.   Thanks for your input, but we are waaaaaaay beyond your suggested actions, been there and done that far too many times.

4 Messages

1 month ago

I'm afraid it will not. I'm a tech kind of guy, and instead of sending the system back, I decided to try to fix it. After adjusting settings, multiple calls to support service, and many, many trials and errors, I can say this system has two major fatal flaws. 

1. Faulty cameras. They simply don't work as expected. They are expensive cameras but not at all what you pay for

2. The base simply doesn't reach very far, resulting in 1) not being able to cover your entire house and 2) even if all your sensors are connected, they will lose the connection requiring you to re-install the device. 

And just a final comment: If all your sensors and cameras are connected to the internet, why do you need the base to connect to the devices on its own when they are already connected to the net? Why can't the base get their data/info from the net?

Advocate

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653 Messages

If all your sensors and cameras are connected to the internet

They aren't. All of the sensors communicate with the base station via RF. They don't use WiFi at all. You don't need an internet connection to use the system if all you have are sensors and no cameras. (Though w/o WiFi you can't receive updates to the base station, the mobile app doesn't work, etc. so it's not at all advised.) 

(edited)

14 Messages

1 month ago

Wow, just when I thought we might have hit a lull, the "smart lock" failed indicating requires "calibration".  You have to uninstall and reinstall - which cannot be done from the app.   This continues to evolve as "The Never-Ending Story".  I wonder if any lemon laws cover situations like this?

Community Admin

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1.8K Messages

@clark511​ You can recalibrate the Smart Lock on the Keypad by going to Menu > Devices > Smart Lock > Recalibrate. You can learn more about recalibrating the Smart Lock in this article in our Help Center.

14 Messages

Thanks, after several attempts recalibrating, I finally had to uninstall and reinstall - twice, despite being within 30 ft and directly line of sight of the base station.  Only took me an hour to get it working again, with absolutely no idea what caused it to require calibration - after being in service for over 10 months.  

This is exactly what drives me nuts about this system, for absolutely no apparent reason stuff will suddenly stop working, and if you fiddle with it and/or the base station for a while - you can get it to work.  Extremely frustrating, time consuming, and not confidence inspiring.  SimpliSafe needs to do better before enough unhappy customers come together for a class-action.

92 Messages

@clark511SimpliSafe needs to do better before enough unhappy customers come together for a class-action. I have been posting that for a while, I can't believe no one has started one.

1 Message

28 days ago

I’ve had the system for about a year and the quality is so terrible I’m considering switching to a different service. Notification delays, devices disconnecting, the updates won’t even install. For how much I paid, it’s unacceptable. Our house has $800 door chimes because that’s all that works. 

Community Admin

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5K Messages

@kjdryden89​ so sorry you've had so many issues with your system. Have you already been working with our Support team? If you like, I can set up an escalated call so we can work through all of these concerns all at once.

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