Base Station Functionality While on Battery Backup

So if the power is out, there is no way to arm or disarm the system until it comes back online if you are not physically at the property? Wow, that seems extremely limiting, and definitely something that should be reconsidered. Other security apps do allow communications during a power outage. 

Can you explain why something (not me) sent a disarming command after the power was removed? I didn't do it. The Timeline says it was sent by the app, but I didn't do anything when I unplugged the base station. That makes me wonder if it disarms the system by default. My goal was to see how long the battery would last and I only tried to change the status after 24 hours had passed. 

@simplisafe_admin​ I stand corrected, but still suggest the article be updated to explicitly state you will be unable to use the phone app to turn the arm off and on.

@fhgoalie​ I just simulated your test, except the battery time test.

What happened?

After unplugging the base station twice, it announced Warning, Power Outage, Now Running on Backup Batteries. (The voice reminds me of V.I.K.I in iRobot. 😂)

Anyhow, after the announcement I hit arm home and it worked in the app, but only for about 10 seconds. Base wifi dropped shortly after unplugging.

So I monitored the base wifi connection in the app as I tested again. This base, a new one by the way, on 2.17 firmware, dropped the WiFi after unplugging in about 10 seconds each test.

Look in base station settings when testing to see if your base WiFi also drops. You may want to wait when plugging back in to see if it reconnects on it own in a while.

Mine didn't reconnect on it's on, but I didn't wait 10 minutes either. I had to manually connect base back to WiFi in two unplug tests.

If you're home you can handle it, if your away and have an actual power outage, unless your WiFi is on a universal power supply its going down also and will not be able to communicate via the app to home. Especially if the base drop WiFi anyhow.

I don't have monitoring to test cellular, but think that's just to monitor sensors and send an alarm to the monitoring center. Test if yiu wish and if you have monitoring.

But assuming batteries last until power comes back even if the above is SS programmed, it still works via cellular for alarms, supposedly. Really it should reconnect on its own to WiFi when the router is back up.

My WiFi was never down in the test, unplugged base only like your test.

As to the random disarm command and message, I didn't get any of that, except when fiddling with the keypad.

There is a ghost bug disarm message, floating around the forum about that but no resolution yet known from the developers.

Keypad does work when unplugged, assuming Bluetooth or RF connection.