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sergiovergara's profile

Friday, May 19th, 2023 6:22 PM

4

Strobe Light Component for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing

Hello there!

My name is Sergio Vergara, a firefighter currently serving as the Fire and Life Safety Educator for the Batesville Fire Department, Batesville, MS. Since 2019, I've been a satisfied user of the Gen3 Simplisafe System, and I am enthusiastic about Simplisafe's potential for continued growth.

As a Fire and Life Safety Educator, my role involves recommending products and best practices to our community members aimed at promoting their safety. The industry standard finds interconnected detection devices, such as smoke alarms, particularly vital in this respect. The integration of interconnectivity and monitoring in Simplisafe offerings is a feature I deeply appreciate.

Based on my experience and knowledge, I'd like to propose a few product enhancements, particularly around accommodating individuals with hearing impairments.

Simplisafe Strobe Light

The Hearing Loss Association of America estimates that approximately 47 million Americans experience some degree of hearing loss. These individuals cannot solely rely on the life-saving sound of a smoke alarm. Many companies have introduced smoke alarms that incorporate a strobe light. Including such a device in the Simplisafe product line would greatly expand its reach to these high-risk populations.

The interconnectivity of these devices is crucial for their effectiveness, and I sincerely urge Simplisafe to consider their inclusion in the product range. Simplisafe's ability to wirelessly interconnect devices provides homeowners with the possibility of integrating them into their homes without requiring extensive electrical work. I believe these additions will serve to strengthen Simplisafe's reputation as a leading provider of home safety solutions.

Best regards,

Sergio Vergara

Community Admin

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5.7K Messages

2 years ago

Hi @sergiovergara ,

Thanks for your suggestions! In this section of the Community, we request that you create one new post for each suggestion, so we can track progress for them separately. You can find the full guidelines on this page.

You can also find an existing request for a Heat Detector here, and a Vibration Alarm here. Surprisingly, I can't seem to find an existing post for a Strobe Light component, so I'm leaving your post up to serve as the first.

19 Messages

@davey_d​ Thank you! I have updated the body of this post to simply address the strobe light.

11 Messages

1 year ago

I would like to see a remote status light and speaker. Something around the size of an Echo Dot, perhaps even smaller. My base station is located in the living room, which is ideal because it is pretty much centrally located. I know others actually have theirs in a utility closet, and utilize an additional alarm unit in the hallway However, we spend a great of time in the family room, so I’m not able to hear the chime as a door is opened or closed. Something I like since I can monitor children’s activity. I even have a sensor on

the pet door and I am alerted when my dogs go outside and come back in.  I also like the light feature on the base station. I can quickly look and see if the system is activated or not, or if there is an update or other issue. I can’t see the light or hear the voice indicating that the system is armed or disarmed, or the chime feature,  with the actual base station in another room. I believe it would be a nice addition to your products if you added something like this. Customers could place one in any room they wish and benefit from the indicator lights and voice prompts. It should plug in and contain a back up battery, of course, in case of power outage.  I am hopeful something like this can be added. I don’t see where the cost would be prohibitive. It doesn’t need a large speaker to be used as a supplement alarm. Like I said, similar to an Amazon Dot. 

Also, I have my elderly mother here with us. Have you considered a smaller fob, something that acts as a panic button only smaller, to be worn around the neck? It could be waterproof as well. Nothing fancy. I realize medical alert services are not your primary purpose. But you do offer a panic devices, and we have options of having medical, fire, or police notification. For you customers, it would be a nice addition to offer, saving us from subscribing to a separate service for medical alerts. I know those services have fancier devices to wear on the wrist or around the neck. Usually with some automatic feature that alerts when a person falls down. I’m just talking about a smaller panic button. A fob without the ability to arm and disarm the system. Just a thought. 

Otherwise, your system is outstanding. I have no concerns or complaints. The equipment is all very nice. It’s so easy to install and add to. Easy to use. And when I had a sensor magnet fall from a window early one morning, which was my fault entirely, the response was immediate. Within one minute of activation, I received a text, a push notification, and a phone call. The customer service was friendly and courteous. I couldn’t expect more. 

Thank you!

Note: This comment was created from a merged conversation originally titled Remote status light/speaker

Community Admin

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3.4K Messages

Hi @jmriddle66, 

Thank you for your suggestions! I have submitted your first idea - the remote status light - to our dev team. Would you mind splitting this post to move your other request of the smaller Panic Button into another suggestion thread? This way, both suggestions will have their own status labels if/when they are brought into development! 

While we currently do not have this remote status light, we do offer an Extra Siren that chimes when Entry Sensors are open. These can be placed throughout the home, so they may be useful for you in the meantime. You can learn more about the Extra Siren on our website.

11 Messages

@emily_s​ 

Thank you. I also have the remote siren at the end of my hallway, near my bedroom. And while it does provide the chime, it still lacks the voice prompts and confirmation, and visual aids. But thanks for passing it along. I do believe it would be a popular add-on, and profitable as well. I will do a separate post regarding the smaller panic pendant. 

11 Messages

@emily_s​ 

Id also like to add…..I’ve been reading these suggestions tonight and it seems to me, there has long been a request for a better visual aid for the hearing impaired. A remote wireless strobe. Would this not also be a great opportunity to address that concern as well? The remote “status” indicator and speaker could also be fitted with a flashing strobe in addition to the standard LED alert and notification band. The device could be made so the customer has the option of placing it next to their bed, or on a dresser, or affixed to the wall. Two birds with one stone. You take care of those with hearing impairments, which is really a no brainer, as the handicapped deserve to feel as “safe” as anyone else, and also provide the features I’ve described. Given the technology already incorporated into your devices, I don’t see this as being an expensive R&D exercise. It should be profitable for SimpliSafe. I’ll add, I did find it curious why a strobe light isn’t already incorporated into your remote siren. The same regarding your smoke detectors. Why no light? LEDs are cheap. And draw very little current. The better smoke alarms in the market often have built in lights. 

Again, thanks for the time and consideration. 

1 Message

1 year ago

I'd like to add that a strobe light that could be placed outside would aid in first responders locating the residents and attract greater attention of passerby/neighbors. 

Jim R 

1K Messages

1 year ago

If I'm correct doesn't simplisafe already have something like this in the uk. Bell box is what I believe it's called. 

742 Messages

I had no idea the Bell Box existed. For those curious you can read about it at https://simplisafe.co.uk/blog/what-is-a-bell-box-and-why-do-you-need-one . You can also see it in action at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SYJ3Act7lo if you're curious about the red light.

I think something like this (with some changes, like adding the aforementioned strobe light, a hardwire power option, etc.) would be a great addition to the SimpliSafe portfolio.

@davey_d or @emily_s What's the logic with this not being available in the US? Is this coming here eventually or no plans at this time?

This reply has been converted into a post

1 Message

1 year ago

I am deaf so I cannot hear an alarm when it trips, especially at night. Is there a device that can turn on a light or lights to wake me up in the event of an alarm? I could not find one on the website.

Community Admin

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5.7K Messages

@rsvonhar​ unfortunately no, we don't have a component like that available.

For alarm events, we strongly suggest setting up the SimpliSafe app, if you haven't already. You'll get Push Notifications for all alarm events, and with Monitoring Service, you'll even get notified of activity and warnings.

I've also moved your comment to this post, which is a request for the component you're asking for. The more voices we have chiming in, the more we can show our Product team how in demand it is!

2 Messages

I am hearing impaired and have been asking SimpliSafe for this for 2 years. Their response was to give me more sirens. I was in a hotel recently and the fire alarm went off. It was the strobe light that woke me up. This is long overdue by SimpliSafe.

1 Message

9 months ago

I am hearing impaired and agree wholeheartedly with Sergio.

3 Messages

8 months ago

I have been asking for this for many years since my father is hearing impaired and cannot hear the siren when it is going off and he is 10ft away. This is a life safety issue and should be addressed immediately! What good is an alarm if you don't know it is going off? Thankfully the only alarms we have had are false alarms because he either forgets to turn it off in the morning when letting out the dog or he accidentally sets it to away instead of home and walks out in to the living room. His memory is failing and we have this system to help keep him safe and it simply isn't doing that. 

Note: This comment was created from a merged conversation originally titled Alarm Strobe for hearing impaired

6 Messages

7 months ago

My husband is hearing impaired and when I’m not home he can’t hear the alarm especially at night when he’s asleep. He’s woken up to police banging on the door when he’s not heard the alarm. 

Note: This comment was created from a merged conversation originally titled Any plans for hearing impaired customers such as a brightening light?

Captain

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6.2K Messages

@dreah323 Excellent question that has been asked many, many times. While I personally don't need this or other ADA features (at least for now), I do have personal friends and family that could take advantage of such features if and when Simplisafe will release these type of products.  

Simplisafe, not only socially responsible thing to do, you can aslo make $$$$. Of course, you would do it mostly for the socially responsible aspect but appears to be a win/win.

6 Messages

They will get to this, I'm sure!

Community Admin

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3.4K Messages

Hi @dreah323, 

Thank you for this post. We agree that this is an area we can improve upon and understand the importance and need for accessibility. As of today, we have submitted the request for a strobe light component and a vibration alarm to our dev team. These tickets are still open, and we'll bubble these ideas back up to them.

And if you have any ideas on your own, please let us know here in the Product Requests and Suggestions section of the Community!

6 Messages

Thanks for your response. I know you’re committed to providing excellent service. I’m a VERY satisfied customer and have confidence something may be forthcoming soon. Happy Spring!

3 Messages

@emily_s​ 

what about this bell box from the UK? If I can get one will it connect to my system here in the USA?

is there any update from your submission to the dev team?

1 Message

6 months ago

This has been an ongoing concern for at least 10 years. Guess what, all you have done is post a canned responses. A simple fix would surely be available in the state of technology today. Or you simply non committed to a true need.

(edited)

1 Message

5 months ago

I'd second this request!  I just bought a system and am going to have to do a bunch of custom modifications to a remote siren speaker to get it to flash a strobe light.  Not super easy and it'd be way easier if we could just buy something!

2 Messages

@SamMassa​ did you complete this? Could you share?

Captain

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6.2K Messages

5 months ago

This thread ( and many before it) got me thinking that this would be an excellent customer hack for a small Etsy business.  Two wires leading from an entry sensor connected to a small battery powered trobe light unit. Can't be that hard to do for somebody with engineering talent and could sell a million of them. 

(edited)

1.4K Messages

5 months ago

There are several non critical ways for a strobe and a few, ok, maybe several, 😉 dollars for devices, a smart bulb etc.

If you have a Samsung phone one ui5 or later there's a way tondo some stuff. Their hub, smartthings etc. modes and routines.

You could buy an Aqara smart home hub and add parallel Aqara Zigbee entry sensors where needed, the hub does some smart things with lights, switches etc.

May even be Google home and Alexa compatible if you talk to your smart home, I don't.

I went all the way with home assistant. I can do "almost" anything. Too lengthy to explain here. And probably not appropriate per terms and conditions. Lol 

It seems many, many, many, did I say many enough, requests are outside of Simplisafes closed system and DIY only. IMHO.

As suggested, someone might hack a sensor. So far the only known hack to me is the RF antenna wire in an entry sensor on Etsy for sensor signal drops etc. He should add motion, keypads, doorbells, outdoor cameras etc etc.😁

Lots of 3D plastic print devices there for hanging SS a garage door, or in my case Zigbee sensors etc. Doorbell swivel mounts etc.

Skys the limit, but it's DIY unfortunately.

All require some effort, willingness to learn and some 🤑. 😂  If you can use an app and IFTTT, plug in an Ethernet cable and power brick, none of the above are any harder than that for standard automations.

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