Outdoor Camera Motion Tied to Alarm System Armed State (Home/Away/Off)

This would also be great on the doorbell.  When home I don’t need it on motion sensor I just need it to record when the bell is rung.  

@Chriswangove ​ Your request sounded similar to this thread, so I merged it here. Our devs are working on this feature, and when we hear more we'll let everyone in this thread know.

In the meantime, you can turn your camera's motion notifications for a set amount of time with the Snooze Notifications feature. You can learn more about this setting and how to turn it on in this Help Center article.

@emily_s​ you've been saying this for 2 years +. It is time for simplisafe to update the outdoor cameras to allow them to be "off" or not recording when the system is set to home or off. I'm tired of hearing "its in development" or "were working on it". Fix it or I'm leaving and getting another system. Its super annoying and shouldn't take 2+ years to fix.

I agree with colesea. Just read through this entire thread. 2 years of people repeating the same issue.

Considering leaving simplisafe as well. I shouldn't have to snooze notifications everytime I want to grill on the back patio. Total alarm fatigue causes me to ignore all the notifications I do receive. Should be able to set designated time for notifications AND correlate to system alarm status.

@emily_s​ is there an update on this much needed and requested feature ?    If the indoor cameras can have this feature (specific settings for Off, Hone and Away), then it can’t be difficult to implement the same for the outdoor cameras.     We just purchased and installed cameras expecting them to operate the same as the indoor ones and they obviously do not.   Thst coupled with the lack of a wireless doorbell and we may move onto your competitor - Ring.  

Rather than saying it’s under development , can you provide a GA date for the feature or even if it will be available in beta sometime soon?

This is a request that has been out here for a long time - and one that is EXTREMELY easy to code in. 

It’s been long enough, Simplisafe - let’s get this feature added! 

Tyson 

@wrightpb​ Absolutely. Switched to Ring and Simplisafe didn't care one bit. Wouldn't take return of the unused equipment that we purchased in a bundle. I definitely recommend Ring - they have been great to deal with.

@protofish​ I will bubble this back up to our devs, but I do not have an update on this feature at this time. When we hear any details from our devs, we will provide an update in this thread. 

Agreed - might be time to look at more adaptable systems that work effectively for a common area that sees a lot of traffic. 

@HANKH1313​ Unfortunately I do not have any updates on this feature right now. When we hear anything from our devs, we will post an update in this thread.

This same comment has been made for well over a year in response to requests to add features that stop excessive outdoor camera recordings - e.g., when system is set to home, don't trigger a recording. The lack of an authentic, clear response is hurting the integrity and brand of SimpliSafe.

@emily_s​ What we customers don't understand is why you, or someone in customer support, can't talk to the devs and, basically, demand an answer from them, or elevate it to a management level that can get an answer. Bottom line is that customers have been asking for this for 1-2 years (!!!) and the only answer we get is "we'll let you know when - if ever - we hear from devs." 

I'll tell you what: please provide me/us with the email address or phone number for Crystal Caligiuri, Chief Customer Experience Officer, and we will bug her about this until we get a serious answer. 

emily_s, you are the messenger; we need to talk to the boss. (I am not angry/frustrated with you because it sounds like you know as much as we do - nothing.) So elevate this, please, and let someone at a higher pay grade deal with us. 

Thanks. 

@Dogood​ At this point you’re better of returning. SF has been promising this basic feature for years. Huge gap in their offering, but clearly they can’t or won’t address it. It pretty clear the camera’s are a bolt on addition to their ecosystem that never really meshed. It’s too bad, because their alarm system is solid. Clearly next to no development dollars being spent, at least on their cameras. I’ve only seen minor tweaks to their app, and firmware upgrades to their alarm system. Disappointed with all of this. 

100% .. their entire ecosystem is built on sensors only .. the doorbell camera works well, but the other cameras are garbage. It’s 2024 and the best offering they have for outdoor cameras are 1080p with zero adjustment for alarms and triggers? I’m going to sell mine and get different cameras to support outdoor since SimpliSafe cameras are unusable. 

That’s it… I’m done with SimpliSafe. It’s been two years of the same answer! A company doesn’t have to comply with customer requests but it also has to live with the results of losing those customers.

Hi @lilyann620​, 

This feature is still certainly still in development. I do not have any news at this time on when it will be ready to roll out, but when we hear anything from our devs we will provide an update in this thread.

In the meantime, we have a Snooze Notifications feature where you can temporarily stop receiving notifications from your camera(s) for a set amount of time. For more information on this feature and how to enable it, visit this article in our Help Center.

@emily_s Who provides prioritization of effort to the devs? Seems off that you are just in a sit and wait mode for something that’s needed as badly as this is. Very frustrating to see this attitude.

"n the meantime, we have a Snooze Notifications feature where you can temporarily stop receiving notifications from your camera(s) for a set amount of time. "

I am at work, I get notifications of my family walking around.

If I snooze it and they leave, I would not get a real alert.

@AlanB​ thanks for the feedback.

To be clear, the Snooze Notifications feature applies to camera alerts only, and only for your own device. So yes, for the remainder of that time, you wouldn't get any further camera alerts. But assuming that your family armed the system, you'll still get alerts for that.

But yes, that's a great point, and a very good use case for the addition you mention below.