At SimpliSafe®, we are always working on our devices by releasing firmware and software updates for system-wide and device-specific improvements. We are always updating our customers on the latest firmware releases in the Device and System Firmware Updates article so you can be informed about the latest and greatest updates that are coming your way. 

If you are ever curious about the firmware that your system and cameras are running, take the steps below.

Checking the Base Station’s Firmware

You can view which firmware version your Base Station is running using either the SimpliSafe® Mobile App or  Keypad.

Using the SimpliSafe® Mobile App

1. Open the SimpliSafe® Mobile App on your smartphone or tablet

2. Select My System from the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen

3. Choose Base Station Settings

4. Next to Firmware, you will see which version your system is running

Using the Keypad

1. Press the Menu button on your Keypad

2. Enter your Master PIN

3. Select System Settings

4. Scroll down to Diagnostics

5. Press the right arrow until you see Base Station

6. Next to Version, you will see what firmware your system is running

Checking a Camera’s Firmware

You can view your camera’s firmware in the SimpliSafe® Mobile App

1. Open the ​SimpliSafe® Mobile App ​on your smartphone or tablet

2. Select My System from the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen

3. Choose Camera Settings

4. Select the camera you want to check

5. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen until you see Basic Info

6. Next to Software Version, you will see what firmware your camera is running

Related Articles

• Updating your SimpliSafe® System

The Wireless Outdoor Security Camera provides an extra set of eyes outside of your home, to alert you to potential threats before an issue occurs. The following article will walk you through some common issues that may occur, along with the steps you can take to troubleshoot the issues and work towards a resolution.

Incomplete Recordings

Incomplete camera recordings can often be a symptom of an underlying network connectivity issue. To rule out any temporary connectivity issues, we recommend rebooting your router - especially if it’s been a while since you’ve done this. To reboot your router, simply unplug it from power for 30-60 seconds, then plug it back in. This will provide a fresh connection for your network devices.

If you’re still having trouble after a router reboot, we’d recommend using the Connection Check Tool found within the SimpliSafe® Mobile App to further analyze your network connectivity.

Delayed Live Streaming or Trouble Live Streaming

To optimize battery life, the Wireless Outdoor Security Camera enters a “deep sleep” mode when not in use. When a live stream is initiated, the camera must first wake up and then connect to Wi-Fi to start the stream. This process can take up to 10 seconds.

If you are concerned about this delay or are experiencing a delay longer than 10 to 15 seconds, you can try the below steps to troubleshoot your camera’s Wi-Fi and system connectivity

• Move the Base Station closer to the camera

• Ensure your Base Station is connected to Wi-Fi

• Bring the camera and your internet router close together

• If the Camera works in this position, there may have been too great a distance between the devices and you will need to install the camera closer to your internet router

• You can also purchase a Wi-Fi extender to extend the range of your Wi-Fi

If the camera still does not connect when it is right next to your router, you may be experiencing Wi-Fi connectivity issues; in this case, you can try to troubleshoot your Wi-Fi connection.

Not Recording or Live Streaming

If your camera is not recording or live streaming, there are three main factors that you can check for - environment, connectivity, and battery.

Environment

The Outdoor Camera’s optimal temperature threshold is ​​-4°F to 122°F. If the camera overheats from high usage and its temperature rises above 145°F, it will shut down in order to protect the battery from damage or catching fire. Once the camera has cooled back down, it will turn back on and resume functioning.

Connectivity

If you have ruled out both battery and environmental issues, you can try to troubleshoot your Wi-Fi connection.

Battery

1. Remove the battery from the camera

2. Connect it to power using the in-box USB charging cable

   1. If the three lights on the battery do not all light up, it is not fully charged

   2. The Outdoor Camera charges fully in just 6 hours for a battery life of up to 3 months

3. Ensure your battery is into the camera with the three metal dots lined up with the metal lines inside the camera and the tab facing out

4. Check to see if the lens of the camera is aligned with the speaker facing down and tightened fully

Camera Does Not Detect People

Our Cameras have a wide field of view to maximize coverage inside and outside of your home. If you find that your camera is not detecting people or motion, there are a few steps you can take to improve its’ functionality. 

For the Outdoor Camera, Smart Alarm Wireless Indoor Security Camera, and Video Doorbell Pro, you have three options for controlling motion detection:

• Sensitivity for Motion Detection

• Motion Type

• Activity Zones

Note, the SimpliCam® Wired Indoor Camera only allows you to control Sensitivity for Motion Detection.

Sensitivity

The sensitivity allows you to control how precise the camera is at detecting motion. We generally recommend setting this to medium for most homes.

Motion Type

This allows you to choose between tracking all motion, and people only. For the Smart Alarm Indoor Camera, we recommend setting this to People Only, especially if you have pets within your home.

Activity Zones

This allows you to configure your camera to track motion within a certain parameter or exclude tracking it for other areas such as a busy street or sidewalk.

To improve motion detection, open the SimpliSafe® Mobile App and follow these steps:

1. Choose the Cameras tab at the bottom of the app

2. Tap on the Gear Icon in the upper right corner

3. Select your Camera

4. Tap on Motion Detection

On this screen, you’ll be presented with the option to adjust the sensitivity, motion type, and even set activity zones, depending on your camera.

If your camera is still not detecting people, we recommend resetting it. You can find the steps to reset each of our SimpliSafe® cameras in the Help Center articles below:

• How to Reset the Smart Alarm Wireless Indoor Security Camera

• How to Reset the Wireless Outdoor Security Camera

• How to Reset the SimpliCam® Wired Indoor Security Camera

• How to Reset the Video Doorbell Pro​

Two-Way Audio Is Not Working

The Wireless Outdoor Security Camera has a Two-Way Audio feature that works with a simple tap of the speaker button, unlike the SimpliCam® indoor camera where you hold the button while talking and release it to hear. Holding down the Outdoor Camera speaker button will not allow the two-way audio to work properly.

In order to test two-way audio, you should stand far away or in another room from the camera and have someone else stand near the camera. This is because the camera will automatically detect and mute any echo it hears, including one caused by the sound looping between the camera and your phone’s speakers.

Videos Not Showing Up in the Timeline

Video recordings are only available to users who are subscribed to select monitoring plans. If you do have a monitoring subscription and are not seeing videos from your cameras on your timeline in the SimpliSafe® Mobile App, you’ll need to ensure that “Motion Events” are turned ON within the motion detection settings.

1. Open the SimpliSafe® Mobile App on your phone or tablet

2. Select the Cameras tab at the bottom of the app

3. Choose the gear icon for Camera Settings in the upper right corner

4. Choose the camera you wish to make changes for

5. Select Motion Detection

6. Toggle Motion Events ON 

7. Click Save in the upper right corner to save your settings before exiting

If your Outdoor Camera is detecting motion too late, there are usually two main factors at play: improper placement of your camera, or a poor wireless connection between it and the network.

We recommend reviewing each section below in the order they are presented to troubleshoot your camera.

Using Outdoor Camera’s Connection Check Tool

The Outdoor Camera can run a quick connection check between it and the Base Station to determine if any improvements can be made to the Wi-Fi connection. 

During the test, the Outdoor Camera will check the upload speed and the signal strength to paint a better picture of what the overall connectivity looks like. If you receive a fair or poor signal in any category, the app will walk you through some steps you can take to improve upon that connection. This could be steps as simple as moving the Base Station and testing the connection again, or more involved steps such as setting up a separate network for your SimpliSafe® System.

Reviewing the Placement of Your Camera

Placement is one of the most important factors for accurate motion detection for the Outdoor Camera. For accurate motion detection, it’s important to keep our mounting instructions in mind when placing your camera.

• Ensure that the Outdoor Camera is placed no lower than 6 feet from the ground, but no more than 8 feet high

• The Outdoor Camera should be angled down slightly, roughly a 30° degree angle

• If the Outdoor Camera is mounted upside down, the motion sensitivity is halved from ~30 feet to just about ~15 feet

• The Outdoor Camera is most sensitive to side-to-side motion, so the camera should be positioned towards areas where people will walk across its field of view, rather than walking towards the camera. 

You’ll also want to identify factors that could dramatically change in temperature or interference regarding the Outdoor Camera’s heat signature detection. For example, driveways that can get very hot in the summer, or a flag moving in the wind and causing a cool shadow.

We also recommend reviewing your Outdoor Camera’s Activity Zones to ensure that you are not blocking key areas of your property where motion may be occurring. 

You can change your Activity Zones at any time within the SimpliSafe® Mobile App:

1. Open the SimpliSafe® Mobile App on your phone or tablet

2. Navigate to the Cameras tab

3. Select the gear icon for Camera Settings in the upper right corner of the app

4. Choose your Outdoor Camera

5. Click into Motion Detection

6. Scroll down to view Activity Zone

7. Tap on the squares you want to include or exclude

8. Once done, be sure to select Save to save your selections

Testing Your Outdoor Camera After Making Changes

Once you have made any changes to your wireless network or the placement of your Outdoor Camera, it’s recommended to test the camera to ensure the changes are working.

To test your camera, first, give it a couple of minutes to go to sleep. Be sure that the camera is not detecting any movement during this time. 

Next, walk across the field of view of the camera in a side-to-side motion. After, check the app for the recording and confirm that the changes you made have solved the issue.

Still Having Trouble?

If you are still experiencing latency issues with motion being detected, placing your Outdoor Camera into Performance Mode is the next best option. This feature allows a camera plugged into a continuous power source to avoid delays in waking up and provides pre-roll to the beginning of the recording.

Need More Help?

If you wish to purchase an Outdoor Camera Power Cable or need further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact our support team directly for further assistance. 

The Outdoor Camera will record motion events to your system’s timeline, with select monitoring subscriptions. Please note that Standard Monitoring and Basic App plans will not allow for your cameras record.

If you are subscribed to a monitoring plan that supports timeline recordings and are not seeing recordings appear within the SimpliSafe® Mobile App or Online Account, this article will walk you through a few steps you can take to get things working again.

Confirming Motion Events are Enabled

The Motion Detection settings for the Outdoor Camera allows you to customize your camera to record motion events that are relevant to you and your system. 

To adjust Motion Detection settings:

1. Open the SimpliSafe® Mobile App on your phone or tablet

2. Choose My System from the bottom navigation bar

3. Select Camera Settings

4. Choose your Outdoor Camera

5. Select Motion Detection

6. Ensure that Motion Events are toggled ON

7. Once you have made your changes, be sure to tap on Save in the upper right corner to save your selections

8. Repeat these steps with your other Outdoor Cameras, as needed

Motion Notifications are optional, but you’ll receive a push notification whenever motion is detected from this camera.

In the Motion Detection section, you can also customize the sensitivity of your Motion Detection.

• High sensitivity detects any motion - which may cause frequent alerts and shorten the battery life!

• Medium sensitivity detects general motion - it’s our recommended setting.

• Low sensitivity only detects large movements over a wider range

If you need your Outdoor Camera to be more granular, you can also adjust the Motion Type by toggling between People Only and All Motion.

• People Only utilizes our proprietary software to only alert you when people are detected by your camera

• All Motion alerts you to every motion event - people, animals, vehicles, etc.

Reviewing the Placement of Your Camera

Placement is one of the most important factors for accurate motion detection for the Outdoor Camera. For accurate motion detection, it’s important to keep our mounting instructions in mind when placing your camera.

• Ensure that the Outdoor Camera is placed no lower than 6 feet from the ground, but no more than 8 feet high

• The Outdoor Camera should be angled down slightly, roughly a 30° degree angle

• If the Outdoor Camera is mounted upside down, the motion sensitivity is halved from ~30 feet to just about ~15 feet

You’ll also want to identify factors that could dramatically change in temperature or interference regarding the Outdoor Camera’s heat signature detection. For example, driveways that can get very hot in the summer, or a flag moving in the wind and causing a cool shadow.

If you find that certain things are triggering the camera’s motion detection often, you can adjust the field of view of the camera to avoid them or adjust the Activity Zones to remove these areas from being monitored.

To adjust your Activity Zones:

1. Open the SimpliSafe® Mobile App on your phone or tablet

2. Select the Cameras tab from the bottom navigation bar

3. Tap on the gear icon in the upper right corner for Camera Settings

4. Choose your Outdoor Camera

5. Select Motion Detection

6. Scroll to Activity Zones

7. Tap the squares you want to exclude. They will be greyed out to indicate that area of the image is not being monitored for activity

8. Once you have made your changes, be sure to tap on Save in the upper right corner to save your selections

9. Repeat these steps with your other Outdoor Cameras, as needed

Once you make a change, it’s important to go back and test it to confirm that the settings are effective. Give your camera a couple of minutes to go to sleep, by ensuring there is not any movement during this time. Then, walk in front of the camera and check the app timeline for recordings or notifications of the motion event.

Confirm When the Recording Took Place

Video recordings will automatically be deleted from the timeline after 30 days, however, these can also be manually deleted from the timeline. If a recording was manually deleted, it is not recoverable as it automatically gets removed from the SimpliSafe® servers. 

If you are looking for a recording that is older than 30 days, that is also not recoverable.

We recommend downloading clips from your camera to your device if you feel the clip is important to ensure backup and redundancy of any video you may need.

Was the Camera Uninstalled?

If you uninstall a camera from your system, the recordings will automatically be removed from the system’s timeline.

To retrieve these recordings, you can re-install the camera to the system. The system should automatically recognize the recordings even if the camera is not working for other reasons. 

Did you Recently Lose Power?

If you lose power at your system’s location you will hear the Base Station announce the power outage. You will also have an event recorded to your timeline to register when the power outage first occurred, and when the power was restored.

The Outdoor Camera requires a Wi-Fi connection to upload recordings. Power outages that impact the Wi-Fi may prevent the camera from storing videos on the SimpliSafe® servers.

Overview

The Wireless Outdoor Security Camera and Outdoor Security Camera Series 2 require a Gen 3 Base Station running the latest firmware. The “Update Software” error typically means that you need to update your Base Station’s firmware.

Not sure what version of the firmware is installed on your system? You can check the version at any time using the SimpliSafe® Mobile App.

Please note: Your system must be connected to Wi-Fi to receive firmware updates. You can learn more about connecting your system to Wi-Fi on our Help Center.

How to fix it

If your System is Running Firmware Below 2.15

For systems running a version of firmware below 2.15, you will need to manually update your system. You can do this using the SimpliSafe® Mobile App or your Keypad. 

Using the SimpliSafe® Mobile App:

1. Open the SimpliSafe® Mobile App on your phone or tablet

2. You should see a tile on the Overview tab detailing there’s an “Update Available”

3. You may also manually check for updates using the following steps:

1. Choose My System from the bottom navigation bar

2. Select Base Station Settings

3. If an update is available, it will say so to the right of “Firmware”

Using the Keypad:

1. Press Menu

2. Enter your Master PIN

3. Select System Settings

4. Then, Check for Updates

If your System is Running Firmware Version 2.15 or Greater

For systems running firmware version 2.15 or greater, updates will occur automatically after you disarm your system and it has been disarmed for at least 10 minutes. This ensures that you are never without protection when your system updates and that you’re home during the update process. You’ll be able to tell that an update is running when you see an amber or orange-colored light circling the Base Station, similar to a “searchlight”. You can tell when an update occurred by checking the Message Center within the SimpliSafe® Mobile App.

Overview

With the Outdoor Camera Solar Panel, you can power your Outdoor Camera without the need to separately recharge or replace the battery. With just 3 hours of direct sunlight per day, the water-resistant Solar panel keeps your Outdoor Camera charged at all times.

Thanks to its 13-foot power cable, the Solar Panel doesn’t need to be installed in the same place as your camera. Simply run the cable to the Outdoor Camera, and use the included cable management velcro sleeves to neatly tuck unused cable behind the Solar Panel.

NOTE: Outdoor Cameras are only compatible with SimpliSafe® Solar Panels, and not third-party solar panels.

Physically Installing Your Solar Panel

First, you’ll need to find a location within 13 feet of your Outdoor Camera. This should be a spot that receives at least 3 hours of direct sunlight per day.

Next, you’ll need the appropriate tools to install your Solar Panel. 

If mounting on brick/stucco/stone surfaces:

• Use a ¼” masonry drill bit to drill two pilot holes into the surface

• Then, use the included anchors and screws to attach the Solar Panel to the wall

If mounting on wood or vinyl surfaces:

• Screw the self-tapping screws directly into the wall using a handheld screwdriver

• Wood surfaces generally do not require pre-drilled holes

After mounting the Solar Panel, use the omnidirectional mount to aim it towards the direction that will give it the most access to sunlight.

Finally, secure any excess power cord by wrapping it around the base of the Solar Panel, then using the cable management velcro straps to ensure the cord will not get tangled or caught by inclement weather or small animals. 

Troubleshooting

• Solar Panel Troubleshooting Guide

Shop Compatible Products

• Outdoor Camera Series 2

There are two main reasons that a camera may lose its Wi-Fi connection. It may be installed too far from your Wi-Fi router, or it may not have sufficient bandwidth. 

If Your Camera Will Not Connect to Wi-Fi During Initial Setup

If you are having trouble connecting your camera to Wi-Fi during a first-time setup, we recommend making sure that your home network is configured to meet our system requirements.

• Your Wi-Fi network must be broadcasting 2.4GHz

• SimpliSafe® cannot connect to 5GHz networks

• Your SSID and password cannot exceed more than 31 characters each

• Your network must be configured as WPA2 or WPA3/2 Mixed Mode

• WPA3 only networks are not compatible with SimplISafe® at this time

If Your Camera Will Not Connect After Its Setup

If your camera had previously been set up but is now failing to connect to your Wi-Fi network, the Connection Check tool in the SimpliSafe® mobile app will tell you if there are any issues between your network and camera.

How to Run a Connection Check:

1. Open the SimpliSafe® Mobile App

2. Tap on the Cameras tab on the bottom of the screen

3. Select the gear icon in the upper right corner 

4. Choose your camera

5. Select Connection Check and follow the on-screen instructions to test your signal strength and upload speeds 

Using your results, you can improve your camera’s connection with the tips below.

Camera Wi-Fi Requirements:

• Signal strength should be above -55dBm. A lower number means a weaker connection between your camera and Wi-Fi router

• If you have a low signal strength, try troubleshooting your Wi-Fi network

• Upload speeds need to be above 2Mbps

• If your upload speed is below 2Mbps, you may need to contact your internet service provider to upgrade your internet package.

• If your upload speed is exactly 2Mbps, you should take these steps to improve your upload speed.