‎Base Station still NOT working after 4G Cell Replacement | SimpliSafe Support Home
 
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Tuesday, July 20th, 2021 6:45 PM

Base Station still NOT working after 4G Cell Replacement

My base station wasn't connecting so support sent me the new 4G module. Installed that and it still won't connect. I've spent hours on the phone trying to get through to support again but just left in waiting. Beyond frustrated at this point.

Community Admin

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5.7K Messages

3 years ago

Hi balane,

Thanks for reaching out. Sorry about the call wait!

After you've connected the cell module, and once the Base Station is powered on again, it should continuously be attempting to connect (it might just take a few minutes to register with the cell sites in your area).

So you might want to double-check that the module connector is plugged in all the way, and of course that the Base Station powered on (you should be seeing lights, if not hearing a voice prompt). Also might want to check that the SIM card in the module is present and properly seated (you can take it out and reinsert it to make sure).

After an hour or so of putting the Base Station together, if your system is still unable to reconnect, let me know here and we can look into further options.

- Johnny M.
SimpliSafe Home Security

3 Messages

3 years ago

Since tech support has consisted of 'take out a battery', I figured it out myself. So I'll post what I did here for others. Skip to the end for short version.
The property my system is at has no wifi and I received no notification that my 2G cell module would stop working, it just did. Called tech support and after pulling batteries (first of many times) they decided to send me the new 4G module. It arrives with the usual instructions: put in, pull battery, blah... Doesn't work. Won't connect. After waiting on hold several times for over 30 minutes, finally got hold of tech support. Guess what the suggestion was? Pull the battery :(  But, was reading on these forums about some firmware updates and noticed mine was really out of date. Must not update over cell? Anyway, decided to take it to my house and connect to wifi to see if it would update. After a night on wifi, the update arrived. i never saw a gear icon that they say will show up. I had to go into system settings to look for the update. After the base station and keypad both updated it still wouldn't connect but I tried the old pull battery trick again and FINALLY it connected.

TL;DR; - Make sure you have updated firmware, which will probably require wifi to get, when you get the new 4g module. And then pull the battery and restart:)

Hope this helps someone.

Community Admin

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5.7K Messages

3 years ago

Glad to hear you got it figured out, balane.

The 'pulling out a battery' step is basically just a reboot of the system. So it can help, by forcing the Base Station to attempt a reconnection immediately. But it could also interrupt the cell module if it was already in the process of linking up with cell sites near your home.

From what I can figure, I think it was actually the fact that you took the Base Station to another location that finally solved the problem. For whatever reason, the cell module was unable to link up with the cell sites at the protected location. When you took it back to your main residence, the cell module was able to get connected there, and was able to register itself.
So now, back at your protected location, the Base Station should have no further trouble.

Though we do highly recommend that you keep your Base Station up-to-date. We are constantly improving system performance and adding bug fixes. So your system will keep getting better!
Currently yes, firmware updates are only possible through WiFi. If you're installing at a location without WiFi, and if you have it available on your phone, you can try setting up a hotspot, and the Base Station can update that way.

- Johnny M.
SimpliSafe Home Security

35 Messages

@davey_d​ I am having the same problem, but I'm on a property with WiFi and my base and keypad are both up to date on firmware.  I followed the installation instructions to the letter for installing the Verizon 4G cell module Simplisafe sent me.  Since then I've power cycled the base multiple times, removed and reconnected the cables to the module twice, reseated the SIM card, and moved the base around the house (even though I have a strong Verizon signal throughout).  It will not connect.  My diagnostics screen for the cell module always reads Status: Init, RSSI: -51db, Carrier: Verizon, Network: Home, IP: 0.0.0.0, which indicates to me that the module is getting a good signal but cannot connect for some other reason.  Please advise.

Community Admin

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5.7K Messages

Thanks for letting us know. I'll DM you.

2 Messages

@davey_d I'm having the exact same issue as @taggart  above. What's the best way to resolve this? The 4G module will not connect no matter what I do and I'm in a city with extremely good 4G verizon coverage.

Community Admin

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5.7K Messages

Hi @towest ,

Your cell module might have just not activated properly. I pushed an activation from my end. Whenever you get the chance, please check the connection by disabling WiFi, and then putting the system into Test Mode.

2 Messages

Hey @davey_d, thank you for your quick reply! For some reason I never got a notification about your response. I just tried going through the full module replacement/setup again with no luck. The cell status section in diagnostics just has an IP of 0.0.0.0 and status: Init. Test mode never ends up working.

Should I open up a support ticket?

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