4 Messages
Door Chime Options/Configuration (Needed for Special Needs Child) that would be useful for all customers as well
Hi,
I have had my SimpliSafe system for about 3 years now and have referred other family members who have SimpliSafe systems now as well so awesome product.
I have a request as I have 2 special needs children with one being Non-verbal and more severe along with there being significant safety challenges that we have to manage. I have a separate siren unit that we use and likely will be adding another upstairs as well but we use the siren unit for the door chime alert and not the base station entry sensor chime or name announcement function for a number of reasons.
I have a very significant need for the entry chime capabilities to be expanded. What I desperately need is for the various entry sensors to be able to have potentially different chime sounds (I am guessing the siren is just a Piezoelectric speaker and not fully voice/audio capable). I have 5 external entry doors with sensors on them and they all chime exactly the same. If there were a way to set different distinct chimes or even potentially different groups of sensors to a unique chime it would be life changing. We have therapists who go in and out through our front door multiple times a day but our other entry doors are not really within easy viewing point from our living room where my wife or both of us usually are throughout various times of the day and evening. It is crucial for us to be able to audibly be able to tell if the back door versus the garage door versus the front door for example were opened which would help us better potentially stop one of my children from exiting the house during the day or evening without us fully being aware it's potentially them as my more severe child can now unlock door knobs and deadbolts and putting interior keyed locks or additional door latches/locks would stop normal function of myself or other caregivers/therapists or family members from being able to enter without challenges.
Additionally it would be excellent if you could set certain sensors to not chime in addition to not triggering an alarm countdown when the system is in home mode (for example I open my exterior garage door to the outside but have not entered the door from the garage to inside the house when getting home in the middle of the night from work after everyone is asleep and alarm set to home and I am bringing tools and such into the garage before actually coming into the house from the interior garage door and either may not be aware the alarm is set or may not want that door chime alert going off multiple times inside the house as I come in and out of the exterior garage door. Also sensors such as a cabinet or a bedroom door that maybe is set for silent alert/monitoring (my crawlspace door for example) that I may not want chiming or my childs bedroom door we monitor with a sensor that we may want to chime but not activate the countdown or alarm when the alarm is set to home mode.
I think this expanded functionality could prove very useful/desirable to other customers as well in addition would likely make the system very desirable to special needs families that may have unique needs to better monitor and alert for various things and would likely become a widespread desired product to those families as a solution to a number of problems that traditional systems that either don't have the functionality for or are not even capable of solving for due to wiring and such along with location of the device need.
This function could very well be a lifesaver for my family and others who have children that are capable of potentially unknowingly wandering out of the house and are not aware of danger of things like cars in the road or maybe take off and run and are attracted to water but can't or don't know how to swim for example and often end up being found in a lake/pond or swimming pool that may be nearby or in a neighbors back yard.
Thank you for taking the time to read this as I know it is a lengthy post but I wanted to give many examples of the need and the urgency and impact this functionality could be to a family or potentially save a childs life!
captain11
Captain
•
6.1K Messages
1 month ago
A very thoughtful, detailed post from a loyal customer that deserves the same kind of response from Simplisafe. No offense to Emily or Davey, you are great at your jobs and faithfully pass suggestions such as these to the development team on a regular basis. The issue here is that Simplisafe is not a regular, or usual type of security company. (I know, as the founder and CEO of SS was in the forums on a regular basis back in the day.)
Here's the point, again. Marcom needs to get off their duffs and actively manage the products they manage. That doesn't just mean internal meetings, conference calls and being held accountable to their direct supervisor/managers. It means being held accountable to the ultimate supervisor/manager, external customers.
Please, shock all of us, and have someone in product management spend the few minutes it would take to respond to Ben_in_NC here in the forums. And in the area of special needs features, such as his requests and the often strobe light feature request, actually do something. ADT wouldn't but the Simplisafe I use to know would.
(edited)
1
dlpsr
1.2K Messages
1 month ago
User here.
Are you a programming and computer technically inclined, DIY type background?
Unfortunately, it took years for even the Simplisafe announcement feature to come to development. And it's extremely limited to names they pick.
I can point you towards hardware and devices, but its all DIY. GUI programming for much, but easy and similar to IFTTT, YAML for high end automation. (Similar to HTML in web pages)
For instance, when one of my doors or windows etc., open I can set off an alarm, and/or send myself a push notification, and/or if opened and left open send warnings ASAP or reminders every so many minutes that its still open etc. etc. Skies the limit.
Sounds for me come thru my Bluetooth hearing aids via my Samsung phone, but I suppose speakers or Echo's etc could be integrated as well. I don't use those myself. I do integrate a bluetooth speaker at night when my other alarm is armed.
That alarm integration written by someone else, does do zones, allows night, all sensors armed, home, just sensors I never open. Etc.
Android phone sounds are the alert for me.
Too much to describe here. If you're interested, I'll DM you some info and you can research it and do the due diligence.
Any or most canned systems including SS is going to be limited with features or perhaps a bone thrown out occasionally.
4
0