‎Sensor range extender/booster/repeater | SimpliSafe Support Home
 

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Tuesday, October 22nd, 2019 11:53 PM

6

Sensor range extender/booster/repeater

Has simplisafe said if they have plans to manufacture a signal range extender?
Or has anyone had success at using an aftermarket repeater?

2.2K Messages

5 years ago

No, they have not, but then they very seldom do announce what they are working on (and sometimes not even after they release it for sale :-)  SS2, which would benefit from it the most, has essentially 0 chance of one coming out.  That system is "obsolete" and it would be ludicrous to do any more development work on it.  SS3 is the current primary system, and the range extender is somewhat "built in".  I suppose it is possible they could bring one out in future, but my experience with SS indicates that it will never happen.

4 Messages

3 years ago

Please please consider adding a range extender (not WiFi) as your next device. I am a new customer and have encountered soooooo many issues in my first month, resulting on me being on the phone with Customer Service multiple times a week. After so many rounds of troubleshooting, I am convinced that my house is just not a good fit (possibly too large, or too old, or too many barriers) for Simplisafe. But I so want to like it and make it work and feel if there were only just a range extender to connect the devices more easily with the base station across my house that it would work more smoothly. As a security system, reliability is FAR too important to settle for a system that frequently loses connection and goes offline. After researching more, I have seen others have experienced this same issue (despite claims that the baseline can connect up to 400ft away). Some have even suggesting hacking the sensors to extend the antenna but that is not something I am willing to mess with. It seems adding an extender would be such an easy fix and VASTLY improve the quality of this product.
Note: This comment was created from a merged conversation originally titled Range Extender PLEASE

742 Messages

I absolutely agree that a range extender of some sort would be valuable for any system from any manufacturer but I've not heard of any plans from SImpliSafe to introduce one. (Johnny M, any chance this is on your list or is this going to be, "I can't comment on what's under development"?)

If you're up for doing some troubleshooting, I'd love to see if we can improve the situation for you. No guarantees but I see a lot of these posts here and on reddit and sometimes (but not always) we can figure out what the problem is and sometimes (but not always) we can improve or even fix the situation.

First, what issues are you having, exactly? And please be detailed here. Are there specific sensors having issues? All sensors? Is your base unit losing connectivity? Do the problems exist all the time or at specific times of the day?

Second, how many floors is your residence, how big is it and what is it made of? Is it newer construction of wood and drywall? Older construction and a lot of brick? Is it a 3 floor townhouse and you're in the middle of a row of units?

Third, where is your base station located in your house? I'm specifically wondering what floor it's on, what room it's in, where in the room it's located and what else is within 10 feet of it? Is it on the floor in a corner behind the sofa? Is it on the top of a bookcase on the outer wall? Is it in the kitchen next to the refrigerator? Is it on the entertainment center behind a TV?

Fourth, during the troubleshooting you did with customer service, did they have you unplug the base station, unscrew the bottom and remove the battery to fully reboot the system? (I'm not asking you to do this, just asking if they had you do it or if you did it on your own.)

Again, no promises here, and you may have faulty equipment but if you're up for doing a little bit of legwork we can try some more things.

4 Messages

I completely agree!  I just replaced my SS Gen1 alarm with a Gen3.  I was told it was better.  It is certainly not better as far as distance from Entry points is concerned.  I do have a two floor larger home, but Gen. 1 did the job....not Gen. 3.  My Entry sensors keep dropping off at night (I think it is the cold, although I live in Calif.).

I have called support many times and get different skill levels each time...not good.  The last one was reading from a "sheet" to get me my answers but did not know how the system was supposed to work.  They have no "Level 2" support but will take the system back if within 60 days of starting it up.  I am on day 21.  I have moved my Base Station a number of times trying to get the system to work and still have one or two of the farthest sensors drop off each night.  It did not work at all in the spot I had my Gen. 1 base station for 10 years.

I am looking at a Ring alarm because they do have "Extenders" that will repeat the signals from Remote Sensors.  I believe it will be more expensive...but it will work.  If you have a big home, then do not try this system even though they will give you a refund.  The amount of time and frustration is too much.

Reminds me of the outdoor camera scenario.  Called SimpliSafe several times asking about the availability of outdoor cameras before they came out and nothing was revealed.  Meanwhile we went with another outdoor camera solution - - more expensive.  SimpliSafe please listen to your customers about range extenders and at least reveal if you're considering providing and/or selling them.

13 Messages

An older house with plaster walls may be part of the problem.

If the plaster is over wood lath, like my house, then no problem. We have devices everywhere, door bell & other sensors in the front and entry sensors in back. Also, we have smoke, CO and other sensors on all three floors.

If, however, the plaster is over expanded metal (~screening) lath then each room is isolated  from the others by  that lath. You've probably already had fun getting good WIFI coverage, let alone the lower frequencies  uses like SimpliSafe. 

4 Messages

I have been a monitored customer for the last 5-6 years and loved the system in the house. Unfortunately, as the back yard structures have multiplied (and have been broken into) I need to extend the monitored security out there. I tried moving some sensors around out there to test the feasibility but, even with them only 50ft out, the external walls are too much and it just doesn't work. I have waited about a year from my first inquiries to them with no updates, or new products announced. After all this time I have no choice but to go to the competitor that has a mesh systems with extenders, and costs more per month. Hopefully they can work out something for their other customers in the near future.

2 years ago

With a little effort you can modify the antenna of the sensors to extend the range. It probably invalidates the warranty on the sensor but it works. I have done this to sensors placed in my outbuildings which were too far from the base station.

Take a look here https://www.instructables.com/Boosting-Signal-Range-of-SimpliSafe-DoorWindow-Sen/ and scroll down to the comments for instructions for the new SS3 sensors.

1 year ago

Our home is setup like a long rectangle and not a square like most homes. As a result our garage sensors and keypad tend to throw false errors or become completely disconnected occasionally. We do have wifi in our garage via a mesh system as we park our BMW and Tesla in there to charge and both cars use the internet to receive OTA updates. We also have a couple of nest cameras on that end of the house that rely on the wifi to record. Some type of device that I can plug into an outlet in the garage to extend the base station’s signal would be extremely beneficial for us, and a lot of other people who’s homes aren’t setup with a room in the direct center of the property to place the base station in. Other than that, solid system and a huge upgrade from the horrible service from ADT. 

Note: This comment was created from a merged conversation originally titled Base Station Extender

Community Admin

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3.4K Messages

@BeachAndBoats1941 Thank you for this suggestion! This feature has been submitted to our dev team already, and once we get any news from them we will update the Community in this thread

The Base Station has a range of about 800ft in open air. In a home, physical and wireless interference can impact its signal. If your house has thick concrete or stone walls, or a heavy door leading to the garage, it can be a limiting factor depending on where the Base Station currently is. 

Even if you don't have a room that is directly in the middle of your home, I would try moving the Base Station a little closer to your garage to see if that helps your sensors connectivity. 

1 Message

Agree that an extender for the sensors is very much needed. Ring has this feature, FYI.

1 Message

add us to the list of those requesting an extender, please!

1 Message

11 months ago

I had a gen 1 system for many years with sensors on my basement and out-building and never had an issue with sensor to base station connections. My upgrade to gen 3 system has included many lost connections to my out-building and basement door sensors. SimplySafe should think of offering an extender or offer a higher powered version of the entry sensors.

1 Message

5 months ago

Definitely need range booster for base station.   My door sensors on extreme side of my house do not connect with any workable location of base station. If I move closer, I loose coverage on other side of house.   Frustrated that the only solution is 2 base stations and 2 monitoring plans.    You can do better than that!  If nothing else, more powerful sensors?

1.4K Messages

5 months ago

@varel  Doubtful for an RF repeater. There's a DIY hack up above in this thread or a person on Etsy sells prehacked SS3 entry sensors, not warranted anymore entry sensors. Or did last time I looked.

(edited)

19 Messages

Hey all - I am the one selling the mod on Etsy. Please not I only make a few bucks per sensor so I do this more as a hobby then as a business 🤣

~There use to be a post here with step-by-step instructions but appears to have been deleted.~

Updated URL:
https://support.simplisafe.com/conversations/alarm-sensors/sensors-not-connecting-how-to-extend-range/660a81d9e1007e3e406ffa8e

Here is the link for the pre-hacked sensor:
https://smarthomehacks.etsy.com/listing/1725014925/extended-range-simplisafe-entry-sensor

Also, for anyone that's curious about the range adding an antenna will add, I recently conducted some field tests with the antenna modification. See results below.

(edited)

1 Message

Hey man… firstly, thanks for the work, folks like you make all the difference. The lack of a way to boost or extend the base station seems insane to me! Why wouldn’t they solve it. Surely it can’t be that hard. Anyway, I have a couple of locks out of range so a) do you have an idea if extend their range is possible? Also.. I took apart the base station and found what I believe is the antenna inside. Wondering if there is a mod to that that might help? I’ve tried some crude stuff like tin foil etc.. but wondered if you had any thoughts?  

3 Messages

@gtalarico​ Wonderful product modification.  have you thought about doing similar modifcation to the Simplisafe Keypad?

1 Message

Has anybody been able to successfully extend the range of the motion detector? I have been able to significantly extend the range of door sensors but extending/replacing the antenna on a motion detector doesn’t seem to help its very limited range. 

1.4K Messages

@ElusiveM​ There is a similar hack with a wire for RF range. If you're referring to PIR range, that has a device sensitivity setting and that's about it. Link below.

Per comments under the link it works.🤷

At your own risk of course.

https://www.instructables.com/Improving-Range-for-SimpliSafe-Motion-Detectors/

7 Messages

3 months ago

This upgrade is one that is URGENTLY needed! That, or we need the ability to somehow connect and use a second base station in tandem as a system extender to enhance signal reach. I have a 2k sq ft house (2 story), and the range from the base station - placed in the center of my home - cannot reach each outside wall for outside cameras. It’s only 35-40 ft! A repeater or extender for the SimpliSafe signal (not WiFi - my wifi connection and speeds are excellent) would entirely fix this issue. Customers have been asking for this for at least 5 years! Help us!

Captain

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6.2K Messages

@pearcenm  As I posted in the other thread, unfortunately a repeater for the SS3 will not help for your outdoor cameras. They connect via WIFI.  The OD cameras and doorbell pro in my 2600 sq ft 2 story home work fine but it take a bit of testing and reconfiguration of my Google WIFI mesh to accomplish that.  A call to Google 1 support did the trick, where the agent recommend that I take my 3 points (bought at costco years next to my router point after doing a factory reset. Then moved them back to their original positions and, after using the app "Netspot" found a location in our master bedroom almost directly in the middle of our 2 outdoor cameras, one in the back of the house facing due east and one in the front facing due west. Result: perfectly operating cameras, outdoor and doorbell pro.

Yes, I agree, upfront, a bit of work to get to this point but they have been working fine since I did it. As far as sensors, those in my basement, attached 2 car garage, 1st and 2nd floors, all 30+ of them are also doing fine. Please note I have vinyl siding and wood frame construction, no brick.

If you need assistance, try also calling support and send them your floor plan. I did that back in 2012 when I got my first SS2 system and their input greatly assist me placing my motion detectors, but that is a whole other story.

Hope some of this helps. To you and your family, a very happy holiday weekend

12 Messages

3 months ago

Do the door & motion sensors rely on bluetooth or wi-fi of some type?   I'm trying to figure out if their is a way to increase the range a bit from the base station to the sensors.
Note: This comment was created from a merged conversation originally titled Range extender for SS?

1.3K Messages

Neither. They use frequency around 433MHz.

12 Messages

Any way to 'boost' that signal?  Or even better direct it.  Maybe with a reflector type set up?  Thoughts.

2.2K Messages

One fellow on here reported good results by connecting a longer antenna to the sensor.  I suppose a more effective antenna on the base would work, but I don't recall anyone reporting on trying it.

There are three factors in range - the power of the transmitted signal and the sensitivity of the receiver (which probably would not be practical to enhance), the effectiveness of the antennas, and the height of the transmitting antenna (mount the base higher to see if that helps).

1.3K Messages

FWIW, if you have a SS2 system they claim more range for SS3.

44 Messages

You can disassemble the sensor and attach a wire to the internal antenna, and have it exit a hole in the plastic casing that you drill.  The sensors all use 433.92 MHz transmitters, so you want a quarter wave long monopole type antenna which is a total wire length of 6.800 inches.  Be sure to include any of the internal wire antenna in the total length calculation.  For a more compact antenna you can use a loaded coil antenna or a helical coil antenna, however they will not have quite as much gain.

3 Messages

3 months ago

I am a big fan of Simplisafe and have been a subscriber for years.  I do have a suggestion that would address what I see as the single biggest obstacle for people with large homes or with irregular layouts:  Base Station location and connection to all sensors.  Both in my house and in my daughter's house, placement of the base station in a location that allows continuous connection to all sensors/keypads/cameras is next to impossible.  So here is my suggestion/question:  Is it possible for SimpliSafe to design and offer a Base Station Extender that operates similarly to wifi extenders that are available on the market?  A product offering such as this would allow complete connection to all sensors/cameras/keypads regardless of house size or layout.  

Note: This comment was created from a merged conversation originally titled Extender for Base Station

Community Admin

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3.4K Messages

Hi @brucetomei, 

Yes, at this time we do have a recommended Wi-Fi extender, but we do not have a range extender for our Base Station or sensors. This is a product request that we have submitted to our devs for their consideration - we'll bubble this request back up to them!

7 Messages

This upgrade is one that is URGENTLY needed! That, or we need the ability to somehow connect and use a second base station as a system extender to enhance signal reach. I have a 2k sq ft house (2 story), and the range from the base station - placed in the center of my home - cannot reach each outside wall for outside camera. It’s only 35-40 ft! A repeater or extender for the SimpliSafe signal (not WiFi - my wifi connection and speeds are excellent) would entirely fix this issue.

Captain

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6.2K Messages

@pearcenm Unfortunately a repeater for the SS3 will not help for your outdoor cameras. They connect via WIFI.  The OD cameras and doorbell pro in my 2600 sq ft 2 story home work fine but it take a bit of testing and reconfiguration of my Google WIFI mesh to accomplish that.  A call to Google 1 support did the trick, where the agent recommend that I take my 3 points (bought at costco years next to my router point after doing a factory reset. Then moved them back to their original positions and, after using the app "Netspot" found a location in our master bedroom almost directly in the middle of our 2 outdoor cameras, one in the back of the house facing due east and one in the front facing due west. Result: perfectly operating cameras, outdoor and doorbell pro.

Yes, I agree, upfront, a bit of work to get to this point but they have been working fine since I did it. As far as sensors, those in my basement, attached 2 car garage, 1st and 2nd floors, all 30+ of them are also doing fine. Please note I have vinyl siding and wood frame construction, no brick.

If you need assistance, try also calling support and send them your floor plan. I did that back in 2012 when I got my first SS2 system and their input greatly assist me placing my motion detectors, but that is a whole other story.

Hope some of this helps. To you and your family, a very happy holiday weekend.

7 Messages

@captain11

I very much appreciate the reply, Captain but Wi-Fi signal isn’t my issue. They all have impeccable signal, we have a $600 mesh router. In all of my conversations with many different SS CS reps, they have told me that the indoor wireless cameras only require Wi-Fi, but the outdoor wireless cameras require Wi-Fi AND a good connection with the base station. If that’s untrue, then the CS team needs serious retraining. If it is true, then it was a massive fail by the engineering team, and needs to be somehow rectified. 

I have 2 outdoor cameras that will not work after dark. They work flawlessly all day long, but as soon as the sun goes down they stop communicating entirely. You can go outside and trigger them but nothing makes it to the app/base station and you can’t pull up live feed. As soon as the sun comes up, all is well again. We’ve added WiFi nodes, put the SS equipment on their own isolated network, changed a billion different network settings, moved components and changed angles, swapped mounts, updated software, performed reset after reset of cameras, base station, keypads, uninstalled and reinstalled the app, and even had the cameras replaced. No change. No help. No solutions. So very frustrating.

Community Admin

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750 Messages

@pearcenm We apologize to hear about this trouble. The agent you spoke to was correct, the Outdoor Camera needs to communicate with both your Base Station and WiFi network in order to function.

 

Looking into your account, we see that you were able to get in touch with our Support team, and one of your cameras is getting replaced. But we have a few other troubleshooting questions to ask, too:

  • Are you able to livestream at night, and do you see the image in Night Vision Mode?
  • How high are the cameras from the ground (i.e. how far are they from potential subjects)?
  • How far are your cameras from your WiFi Router and your Base Station? Are there any dense walls in between?
  • When you try to trigger the cameras at night, do you see them blinking as if they are trying to record?

2 Messages

3 months ago

i had some issues with our previous alarm carrier. They won't fix my Honeywell system in my business. They tried to strong arm me into signing a new agreement and demanding an $800 payment. Long story short, got smart with them, and took them up on their threat to cancel my services.

So decided to get SimpliSafe as a temporary solution until I can find a new alarm company for my business, but to be honest with everyone this is an awesome system. I installed 11 motion sensors, 2 cameras, and 6 door sensors.

I love the App based controls, and absolutely love the way the cameras work.

Here is my issue. I got another part of my office that are apparently out of range for a few of my motion sensors. Is there anything I can do to extend the range?

I tried moving the base unit, but it puts my other sensors out of range.  So I'm kind of stuck with the placement of the base unit.

Do they make a take over system or unit?  I got 60 wires sensors, and do they have anything where I can convert several wired sensors from my old system to work with SimpliSafe?

I know Comcast has a take over unit where I can connect several wires sensors and convert to wireless.

Any help would be appreciated. I'm very excited to have this system, love the features but I really need my hard wired sensors back.

Claude greiner
Note: This comment was created from a merged conversation originally titled Range extender or hard wire sensors

2.2K Messages

They do not have a range extender.  If you have the SS3 system, it is supposed to have a much greater range than the SS2 system.

You can modify SS entry sensors to hook wired switches to.  Of course, it voids the warranty on that sensor.

1.2K Messages

How large is the office building and what are the interior walls made of?  Got any attic space that doesn't get too terrible hot?  Our building for example has an 8" tall insulated ceiling with a floor used as storage space.  If we were to use SS at the office I could put the base up there where it has less walls to travel through to reach sensors.  You'd lose the announcements from the base, but I would imagine in an office environment that wouldn't be a big deal.

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@claudegreiner​ In this thread there's a hack to add a wire to the RF antenna in entry sensors.

I may have also added info for a hack for adding a wire to SS motion sensors. There is a hack. Soldering required.

No on using wired sensors from other systems with SimpliSafe.

However, konnected.io also makes little esp32 or something electronic gadgets to hook old wired systems into. Requires due diligence and research. I don't have any. The above hacks for added wire to antenna voids SS warranty.

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3 months ago

PS: I back the addition of some sort of RF entender, repeater, router whatever.

The RF signal to wake OD cams is not strong enough. If I had a signal boost though, then all cams and sensors would receive better signal.

Whether its feasible or possible is another story. This RF frequency is common, RF is getting more clogged every day.

But a puck or something similar that is connected to the base and just amplifies the existing base RF signal doesn't seem unreasonable. Maybe even daisy chain them.

Its been an ongoing ask for years, was submitted, so maybe an admin could transparently tell us it's soon to be released or not ever going to happen.

2 Messages

2 months ago

Simplisafe, I have called customer support multiple times for the same issues, customers have been asking for an extender for over 5 years. I am in desperate need of an extender or I will have to switch to a different system. What is your solution? 

1.4K Messages

@Joshuakaczynski​ Currently and to the best of my knowledge, the only RF base station signal extender is a 2nd base station.

Hint to Simplisafes, figure out how to link or install two or more base stations and you have an extender to sell. To eliminate having to setup two or more bases in the app. Add like any other device.

This depends on your monitoring type, or security tolerance level, paying twice wouldn't be an option in my opinion, the problem your having etc.

But for me, self monitoring works fine and I'm testing a 2nd base station right now to attempt to extend wake up RF signals to 5 outdoor cameras.

Through a 1980 model all brick exterior to the eaves and interior plaster rancher. The plaster is a minimal signal blocker in my opinion.

If you require more info just ask. If not for you, that's fine too.

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