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coltmaster1's profile

Wednesday, December 29th, 2021 6:14 AM

Weird "interference" alerts, and a SS request

Two nights this week, the base announced 'warning, interference detected' (or something to that effect, I couldn't hear the entire message either night as I was in another room).  At the same time, the keypad alert stated "interference detected, please call support".  The first night, I did NOT receive a text message alert.  The second night, a text message stated "your base station may be having trouble communicating with your devices".  Didn't have time until tonite to check my account's timeline of events, but the message on the timeline was "Wireless interference - your base station may have trouble communicating with your devices."

First problem is that I didn't know if this was a "wireless" interference or something else because the base didn't announce "wireless" to my knowledge, and neither did the keypad alert or the phone text message, none were prefaced with "wireless" except the timeline of events. 

Request:  Can SS please, keep all alerts consistent with the correct preface/alert title?  I don't have time to log online to check what the timeline says, I rely mainly on whatever text message comes up, or the keypad alerts.  So, no way of knowing what type of interference was actually going on, or whether to really be that concerned.

Both nights, when the interference occurred, the system was obviously not working during the events (no chimes from doors or windows for example) - first night, I simply unplugged the base ac from the outlet, plugged back in and it corrected itself.  The second night, after the interference detection, and opening a door did not chime, I noticed the keypad was 'connecting to the base station'.  

Either way, strange behavior.

Tonite was the second night the interference occurred.  I have it narrowed down to a sensor on a basement window - said window is a crank-out window where the sensor is inside the frame (interior of wall) and the magnet is sort of between the glass and window screen.  Another window like this in the same area is set up the same.  Never had any problems with either.  The significant other was closing said window tonite and noticed the led light was not working when he was closing it.  It was at that moment that all the alerts were coming in (base, keypad, text msg), and he was doing the same exact action when it occurred the first night.

Sorry so long to read, but is it possible that a cold battery/sensor could cause such an 'interference' (or even a dead battery, this has never happened before with a dead battery)?  And if so, why aren't the alerts just stating "sensor not responding" instead of this "interference" stuff?   I didn't think the battery was dead, as I never had an alert of low battery on the keypad and never heard a low battery announcement from base station, but I changed it anyway thinking it might be drained due to the cold.  We're having sub-zero temps the last few days, and when I changed the battery, it was pretty cold (although the other sensor on a window near this window is acting fine).  I have to wonder about the cold temp because in sub-zero temps, those windows are rarely opened, but both nights this week, this window was, long enough for the sensor/battery to get pretty cold.   I'm hoping it's really that simple regarding the 'interference'.

Not that it should matter and I've ruled it out, but I did set up a new laptop, new modem and new router over the weekend.  Dual router has SS on 2.4, and everything else on 5.0  - my previous setup was the same, so I'm pretty sure it's none of the equipment causing 'interference' issues, the router is quite a distance from the base station.

Community Admin

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5.6K Messages

3 years ago

Hi coltmaster1,

I will certainly pass on your feedback about the notifications/messaging. That's a very good point.

On the "Wireless Interference" warning - that's more of a Base Station issue, rather than just a single sensor. That is, the Base Station is detecting a non-SimpliSafe device that is transmitting in the same frequencies as the system's local radio (so not WiFi or cell).

Since it's only just happening now, it might be something new that was added to your home. The most common things I ask folks to keep an ear out for are remote controlled garage door openers, wireless weather stations, and some older models of baby monitor. But anything else that seems simple/low-tech but is also wireless could be our culprit. We'll have to hunt down and identify whatever that device is to continue troubleshooting.

(edited)

2.8K Messages

3 years ago

Thanks, Davey - but nothing new beyond the new laptop/modem/router  - it has not happened again (knock on wood), since changing the battery in the one sensor.

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