1 Message
Suggestion: Auxiliary Speakers for Voice Prompts – A Must for Larger Homes and Hearing Impaired Users
Dear SimpliSafe Team,
I’m a long-time customer and really appreciate the simplicity and reliability of your security system. I’m writing to suggest a valuable feature that would greatly improve the experience for many users — particularly those of us who live in larger homes or have elderly family members with hearing difficulties.
Currently, voice prompts and system status updates only come from the Base Station. While this works fine in smaller spaces, it becomes a challenge when you’re on a different floor or in another room, especially for individuals who are hard of hearing. In my case, I have elderly loved ones at home who often can’t hear the Base Station’s voice prompts or alerts unless they’re in the same room — which isn’t always possible or safe in an emergency.
I’d love to see SimpliSafe offer auxiliary speakers or satellite voice modules that could be placed in other rooms or on different floors. These could wirelessly connect to the Base Station and mirror important voice prompts and alerts. Even better if the volume could be adjusted independently to suit specific hearing needs.
This kind of addition would not only help with accessibility but also add peace of mind across households like mine — and I’m sure I’m not alone in this.
If anyone else agrees or has run into similar issues, please reply and add your support. The more voices we gather, the more likely we are to see SimpliSafe bring a feature like this to life!
Thank you for considering this suggestion. Keep up the great work!
Sincerely,
[A Lot of Concerned Customers]
simplisafe_admin
Community Admin
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1.3K Messages
9 days ago
@thorgoldsmith Thank you for this suggestion! We do currently offer an Extra Siren which relays the system's alarm, Entry Sensor chime, and Entry/Exit Delays, but at this time it cannot relay voice prompts. We will forward this suggestion over to our dev team.
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captain11
Captain
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6.3K Messages
9 days ago
@thorgoldsmith Your request is a valid and good one, but would like you to consider trying another avenue: Shut off ALL prompts and lights on your base, and place in a non descript location and put something like a picture frame or plant in front of it. Turn on push alerts, SMS and emails if you like for good measure, and see how it goes. When I first got my SS2 system a long time ago, I quickly realized the downside of the base giving any kind of hint where it was located. Admittedly a small amount of time, the base is vulnerable between the entry countdown (0 in home mode for us with 30 sec on away mode) it decreases the chance of anyone getting to it and smashing it.
We have found, as my daughter, her in-laws, two uncles and over a dozen others, this works very well.
(edited)
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dlpsr
1.5K Messages
8 days ago
Need Better Audio Alerts? Here's a Workaround DIY Path;
If you’re caring for elderly family or live in a multilevel home, SimpliSafe’s single base station voice prompt can be hard to hear — and unfortunately, there’s no way to add external speakers or extended voice prompts.
I'm hard of hearing, I know and I wear hearing aids and I'm close to elderly. 😆
Here are some practical options:
1. Extra Sirens (from SimpliSafe)
Good for beeps and chimes in other rooms. Mine only does siren, all the beeps get on my nerves. I have it all turned off, and the base prompts, can't hear it unless I'm near it anyhow.
No voice prompts, though — just tones.
2. Alexa/Google (Very Limited)
Only support arming/etc, and even that’s questionable for reliability. They're always changing the API and bent on money. No door sensor alerts, no custom announcements.
Also, both platforms are moving many features behind paywalls.
3. Home Assistant (my redundant system)
If you’re willing to learn, Home Assistant is a powerful, free (software) smart home system. Or there are devices sold & preloaded, plug in power and an Ethernet cable. And start learning.
With it, and added devices you can:
Trigger voice alerts to smart speakers when doors open.
Flash lights, play chimes, or send alerts anywhere in your home.
Build caregiver-friendly automations.
It runs locally, isn’t subscription-based, and doesn’t rely on cloud voice assistants. It has one available, its local to LAN only, for devices control.
Matter certified, ZigBee, Z-Wave, WiFi etc.
Person detection possible with Mmwave presence sensors, fall alerts etc. Skys the limit or budget & abilities perhaps.
Note: Avoid analog baby monitor radios — some or most operate around the SS 433.92 MHz RF and may or probably will interfere with SimpliSafe. If you could find a completely digital model that "might" work, but may be prohibitively expensive.
If in the Samsung ecosystem, look at options with Samsung's Smart-things, mode & routines etc., many options there.
Hope this helps anyone looking for more flexibility. SimpliSafe sensors are ok for basic security use but a locked down system, if you need more awareness or accessibility, bridging it with something like Home Assistant or almost any DIY smart home automation device out there is a way forward. Run it along side Simplisafe, for now. I do.
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