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Kathy 's profile

Tuesday, December 6th, 2022 3:24 AM

Low Battery

We had our SimpliSafe system installed by one of their representatives two weeks ago, and I already have battery so low it’s in the red on both of my outdoor cameras. We live away from the street and not in a high traffic area. There’s not that many recorded videos, so I don’t believe, it’s because of overuse. Is it possible the batteries are defective ?

I don’t want to climb up on a ladder every two weeks to recharge these cameras.

Captain

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6.2K Messages

2 years ago

@Kathy  I have two suggestions: first, call SS to walk through your settings. There are several steps you can take to maximize battery life, including setting your motion sensitivity to medium, people only and don't use the spotlight. (Night vision works very well). If still no help, I highly recommend the AC adapter or the use of a solar pannel. Living in Chicagoland where temps routinely go to single digit, both my outdoor cameras are on AC, as I defintely agree with your ladder comment.

3 Messages

@captain11​ thank you, I appreciate the quick response.

The sensitivity is now at mediums instead of high. My  night vision spotlight is off.

Looks like I’ll need to buy an adapter.

My Arlo cameras hold a charge for 5-6 months, I just assumed these would too.

72 Messages

@captain11​   Even if someone’s setting are set at the highest consumption of battery power your batteries should definitely last more than two weeks. SimpliSafe’s batteries are garbage and you know it.  

Community Admin

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242 Messages

2 years ago

Hi @Kathy , just want to echo what Captain11 said here. The settings of your camera can definitely determine the longevity of the batteries. I just installed my Outdoor Cameras about a month ago on in my summer home, and the batteries are still at 90%.

Another thing that could be a factory is the firmware version for the Outdoor Camera. Can you go to My System > Camera Settings > Choose your camera > scroll down - and then let me know what the firmware version says? If it's not on 1.10 or higher just hang tight. There should be an update rolling out to you shortly that should help improve the overall battery life for your Outdoor Camera. 

(edited)

3 Messages

2 years ago

Thank you!

I didn’t find “ firmware” by following your directions, I have -

software version # and serial # as well as a Mac address#.
my settings are set on “ standard” and motion “ people” versus motion. Though it did pick up a cat last night.

Picture setting 1080,

sensitivity -high

I’ll lower the sensitivity and see if that helps but my cameras don’t seem to alert me often as it is.

Community Admin

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242 Messages

@Kathy ​ Lowering the sensitivity can help to improve the battery life, as well as turning off the spotlight for night vision. After making those changes, let me know how things are going.

Additionally, the software version is what we're looking for on that page - not firmware. Apologies for the mix up!

1K Messages

Definitely get the power cord or solar panels, been a life saver to me and I never have to think about it

72 Messages

@Kathy ​   Good luck with that.  I’ve tried changing any and all settings on the camera to reduce energy consumption and it has been to no avail.  I think SimpliSafe is the problem in that they supply us with the very cheapest batteries they can buy.  

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