Cameras

When connected to a continuous power source, the Outdoor Camera and Smart Alarm Wireless Indoor Security Camera can enter performance mode. 

When performance mode is enabled for a camera, the camera will remain awake allowing for faster live streams versus battery power. This feature is available to the Outdoor Camera and Smart Alarm Indoor Camera when running firmware version 1.20 or higher, and occurs automatically when the camera is plugged into a power source and it has at least 90% charge. If your camera battery ever drops below 70%, your camera will automatically exit performance mode to conserve battery.

Performance mode also allows the cameras to begin recording while it determines whether or not the observed motion event was a person or another object (such as a passing car, a tree blowing in the wind, or an indoor pet). This allows for more complete recordings of motion events delivered to your timeline in the SimpliSafe® Mobile App.

An exciting feature of the SimpliSafe® App is the ability to reorder your list of cameras in the Cameras tab in the app*. This is helpful if you want to see your cameras in alphabetical order, or organized in any specific way. 

To Reorder Your Cameras in the SimpliSafe® App:

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

2. Select Cameras from the navigation bar on the bottom of the screen

3. Tap on the reorder icon on the upper right corner of the screen

   

4. Press and hold a camera to drag and reorder it

5. Follow step 4 again for any other cameras you want to reorder

*Note: This feature is only to reorder your cameras in the SimpliSafe® app. Changing the order of your sensors is currently not supported. 

If you find that your Outdoor Security Camera Series 2 is detecting motion and you’re receiving too many notifications or alerts, there are some recommended placement and settings changes you can make to reduce the number of notifications.

Adjust the Placement of the Camera

If your Outdoor Camera Series 2 is facing a high-traffic area like a busy street or sidewalk, we recommend angling the camera down to remove this area from its field of view, as seen in the image below.

Change the Camera’s Settings

If you cannot change the angle of the Outdoor Camera, there are settings you can adjust in the SimpliSafe® Mobile App to minimize the amount of motion it detects.

Sensitivity

By default, the Outdoor Camera’s sensitivity is set to High, but you can adjust this setting to Medium or Low to limit the number of motion events you receive. 

You can adjust the sensitivity of your Outdoor Camera by taking the following steps:

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SimpliSafe® Mobile App:

1. Open up the SimpliSafe® Mobile App on your mobile device or tablet

2. Choose My System from the bottom navigation bar

3. Select Camera Settings from the list of menu options

4. Choose the Outdoor Camera you’d like to adjust

5. Tap Motion Detection

6. Under Sensitivity, move the slider to Low

7. Tap Save in the top right corner to save this change

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SimpliSafe® Online Account:

1. Log into your SimpliSafe® Online Account using the browser of your choice from a computer

1. If you manage multiple properties, choose the location you wish to update from the list by clicking on the Base Station Serial Number or Property Address 

2. Select Devices from the navigation bar on the left side of the screen

3. Select the camera you want to update

4. A pop up menu will appear on the right hand side of the screen

5. Scroll down to Motion Sensitivity and move the slider to Low

6. When you are done, click Save Changes on the bottom of the pop up to save your selections

Motion Detection Type

The Outdoor Camera has two motion detection options: All Motion and People Only. When set to All Motion, the camera will record any motion it senses - which may cause excess motion events. However, if the camera is set to People Only it will only respond to people-shaped objects.

Note: When your Outdoor Camera Series 2 is enrolled in SimpliSafe® Active Guard Outdoor Protection, you will have different Motion Detection setting options available.

To minimize the amount of motion your Outdoor Camera detects, you can change its motion setting to People Only by following these steps:

1. Open up the SimpliSafe® Mobile App on your mobile device or tablet

2. Select My System from the bottom navigation bar

3. Choose Camera Settings

4. Tap the Outdoor Camera you’d like to adjust

5. Select Motion Detection

6. Under Motion Type, select People Only

7. Tap Save in the top right corner to save this change

Activtiy Zones

By setting up Activity Zones, you can block unnecessary sources of motion from the camera’s view, like tree branches, sidewalks, or busy streets.

To create Activity Zones, take the following steps:

1. Open up the SimpliSafe® Mobile App on your mobile device or tablet

2. Choose My System from the bottom navigation bar

3. Select Camera Settings

4. Tap the Outdoor Camera you’d like to adjust

5. Choose Motion Detection

6. Under Activity Zone, tap the boxes in the frame where you do not want your camera to record

7. Tap SAVE in the top right corner to save your selections

Additional Troubleshooting

If you’re still getting too many motion alerts when your camera is set to People Only mode, we recommend trying the following tricks:

• Change your camera’s motion detection setting to All Motion

• Turn your camera’s sensitivity down to Medium or Low

• Set up Activity Zones around the perimeter of the camera’s field of view

Placement of your Smart Alarm Wireless Indoor Security Camera can vary from home to home. To get the most out of your camera, we recommend placing it in a spot that covers a significant portion of a room. 

Here are some tips to keep in mind when finding the right location to install your camera:

• Place the camera in a room or area where subjects are likely to spend time in if there is an alarm

• The motion detector is most sensitive to side-to-side motion with its 125-degree field of view

• Do not position the camera so that only a doorway is in frame

• Do not position the camera to look outside through a window or doorway

The following is an example of a floor plan and how we would recommend placing the Smart Alarm Indoor Camera within this home.

All SimpliSafe® Video Doorbell Pros use both video analytics and passive infrared (PIR) to detect motion in its field of view. Our granular motion detection options allow you to better control the quantity and types of notifications you get by customizing your activity zones, motion types, and sensitivities. The camera has a 120 degree field of view and a motion detection zone of 90 degrees from left to right, downward, and straight out. 

When motion is detected, the doorbell will issue a notification to alert you. If you are subscribed to a monitoring plan that includes video recordings, the Video Doorbell Pro will also record the event. If you are not subscribed to either of those plans, you will still be able to live stream the event through your Video Doorbell Pro. 

Activity Zones

During the daytime, your Video Doorbell Pro can ignore parts of its view that you don’t want to be notified about, like busy streets or sidewalks.

Motion Type

You can set your Video Doorbell Pro to one of two different motion settings, All Motion or People Only. 

When set to All Motion, the Video Doorbell Pro will notify you when it senses any motion moving across its field of view. But when set to People Only mode, the Video Doorbell Pro will only notify you when it detects people-shaped objects.

Sensitivity

You can separately set daytime and nighttime sensitivity for more granular control using the options below:

• High: High Sensitivity detects any motion, which may cause frequent alerts

• Medium (recommended): Detects general movements

• Low: Only detects large movements over a wide range

How to Enable These Features

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 Video Doorbell Pro that you would like to change the settings for

5. Choose Motion Detection

You can learn more about changing your Video Doorbell Pro’s motion detection settings here.

Need More Help?

If your Video Doorbell Pro is powered up, but has stopped detecting motion or recording, see the Video Doorbell Pro Stopped Working article for more information. If you are receiving too many notifications from your Video Doorbell Pro, please visit our Too Many Motion Alerts From Video Doorbell Pro article. 

Video clips from SimpliSafe® cameras can be downloaded to your mobile device using the SimpliSafe® Mobile App. Recordings are available with select monitoring plans. 

Please note that if your camera name contains an apostrophe, this may limit your ability to download recordings. We recommend changing your camera’s name to exclude the use of an apostrophe before attempting to download any recordings. 

How to Download Recordings Using the SimpliSafe® App:

1. In the SimpliSafe® App, tap on Timeline from the bottom navigation bar

2. Swipe up and down through the Timeline and find the event whose clip you wish to download

3. Tap on the event and then tap on the video preview within the event

4. Tap the three-dot icon next to the recording and then choose Download Video

5. The clip will be saved to your phone

1. To access saved videos, go to your phone’s camera roll

How to Download Recordings Using the SimpliSafe® Online Account

1. Log into the SimpliSafe® Online Account using the browser of your choice

2. Select Timeline from the navigation menu on the left side of the screen

   1. If you do not see the navigation menu, click the three-bar icon on the top left corner of the screen to reveal it

3. Scroll through the Timeline and find the event with the video clip you wish to download

4. Tap on the event and then tap on the video on the right side of the screen

5. Tap the download icon on the bottom right side of the video player

6. The clip will be saved to your computer

   1. To access saved videos, go to your downloaded files in your computer

Is a Timestamp Included?

When you download a video from your timeline, the date and time that the recording was filmed is found at the end of the file name.

To find the timestamp, take the following steps:

1. Open your camera roll

2. Select the recording you downloaded

3. Tap the i icon on the bottom of the screen to display the video’s file name

1. This step may vary depending on your mobile device

4. At the end of the file name, you will see the date and time the recording was filmed

Note: the time stamp will be written in numbers, displayed as MM/DD/YYY_HH/MM/SS. So for a recording filmed on August 21, 2024 at 2:31:21 PM, the timestamp will be displayed as: 08212024_023121PM. 

If you’re getting too many motion alerts when your camera is set to People Only mode, we recommend trying the following tricks:

• Change your camera’s motion detection setting to All Motion

• Turn your camera’s sensitivity down to Medium or Low

• If you have Activity Zones set up, adjust them to also block off the zones around the image that the camera is detecting, as seen in the GIF below

How to Change Your Camera’s Settings

You can change your camera’s motion detection settings using either the SimpliSafe® Mobile App or Web App by taking the steps below.

SimpliSafe® Mobile App

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

2. Choose My System from the bottom navigation bar

3. Select Camera Settings from the list of available menu options

4. Select the camera you want to update

5. Adjust your camera’s motion detection settings as needed

6. When you are done, select Save in the top right corner to save your selections

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SimpliSafe® Online Account

1. ​Log into your SimpliSafe® account using the browser of your choice on a computer

   1. If you manage multiple properties, choose the location you wish to update from the list by clicking on the Base Station Serial Number or Property Address 

2. Select Devices from the navigation bar on the left side of the screen

3. Select the camera you want to update

4. A pop up menu will appear on the right hand side of the screen

5. Adjust your camera’s motion detection settings as needed

6. When you are done, click Save Changes on on the bottom of the pop up to save your selections