‎Motion Sensors | Page 2 | SimpliSafe Support Home

Conversation List

Filter by

  • A
    Using Motion Sensors with Pets

    Pets are such an important part of your family, so we understand that you’d want to keep them safe and secure when you’re away from home.

    When using a Motion Sensor, you’ll want to make sure that you position it correctly and adjust settings (as needed) to account for their weight and body heat.

    The adjustments you need to make for the motion sensors vary depending on if you have a Motion Sensor Gen 1 or a Motion Sensor Gen 2. Not sure which version of the Motion Sensor you have? The Motion Sensor Gen 1 has a dome in the middle that’s about 1 inch in diameter, where the Motion Sensor Gen 2 has a dome that’s approximately 1 ½ inches in diameter.

    Motion Sensor Gen 1 and Motion Sensor Gen 2 side by side

    Use the collapsible sections below to find the best ways to optimize your motion sensor and its settings to account for your furry friends within your home.

    The Motion Sensor Gen 1 is designed to work with both small and large pets within your home. 

    For Small Pets:

    To install your motion sensor in a home with smaller pets, you’ll want to place it on a wall or a shelf/ledge approximately 6-10 feet from the ground with the test button facing up. 

    For Larger Pets:

    To install your motion sensor in a home with larger pets, you’ll want to place it on a wall or at the edge of a shelf/ledge approximately 4 feet from the ground with the test button on it facing down towards the ground. This will allow the sensor to look straight out and upwards, allowing for pets to pass freely within your home.

    For the Motion Sensor Gen 2, you’ll want to enable Pet Mode either during the installation or later on in Device Settings. Pet Mode allows your pets to roam freely around your home, so long as they are under 60 pounds. Note, Pet Mode should allow for your pets to roam freely without having to mount your sensor at a certain height. We still recommend mounting your Motion Sensor at 6 feet off the ground, regardless if it’s on the wall or placing it on the edge of a shelf or ledge.

    To Enable Pet Mode:

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

    2. Choose My System from the bottom navigation bar

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

    4. Choose your Motion Sensor Gen 2 from the list of available products

    5. Scroll down to Motion Sensitivity, then tap on Pet Mode

    6. Toggle Pet Mode ON

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

    Help Center Article

     • 

    Motion Sensors

  • S

    Motion Sensor Gen 1 Overview and Installation Guide

    Overview

    Motion Sensors are always on the lookout for uninvited guests. They can detect motion within 30 feet, with a 90-degree field of view. They’re also designed to distinguish between people and pets. If you have a pet in your home, check out the Pet Owners video on this page for additional installation instructions. 

    Before Getting Started

    You’ll need to install your Base Station prior to getting started. If you have pets, please watch both of the installation videos below.

    What’s in the Box

    • Motion Sensor Gen 1 with mounting plate

    • Screws (optional for permanent installation)

    If you want to mount your Motion Sensor Gen 1 on a wall using its adhesive backing, make sure the surface has been wiped clean and has had time to dry.

    If you plan on wall mounting your Motion Sensor Gen 1 with the included screws, you’ll want to also have a Phillips head screwdriver available.

    How to add the Motion Sensor in the SimpliSafe® Mobile App

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

    2. Navigate to the three-bar menu on the upper left corner and select Add Device or Camera

    3. Select Motion Sensor from the list of available products

    How to Pair the Motion Sensor to Your System

    1. Pull out the battery tab from the back of the device

    2. Press and release the setup button on the top of the device

    3. Once the setup button has been pressed, the Base Station should say “Motion Sensor”

    4. Choose a name for the device by selecting one of our pre-populated names, or select Custom Name at the bottom of the screen to input your own

    Where to Put the Motion Sensor

    1. Bring the Motion Sensor to its desired location, if you have not already

      1. The Motion Sensor looks out and down with a 90° field of view, so it has the best visibility when mounted in a corner

      2. We do not recommend installing the Motion Sensor near AC units, vents, or heat-generating objects, as changes in heat signatures within a room have the potential to trigger false alarms

    2. Choose a spot 4-6 feet off the ground to mount the Motion Sensor, making sure that its setup button is facing up

      1. If you have pets that are 30 pounds or more, we recommend installing the Motion Sensor 4 feet off the ground with its setup button facing down

      2. If you have pets that are under 30 pounds, install the Motion Sensor 6-10 feet off the ground with its setup button facing up

    ​

    How to Mount the Motion Sensor With its Adhesives

    1. Clean the desired surface using rubbing alcohol 

    2. Wait for the surface to dry completely 

    3. Peel the plastic backing off of the adhesive strip on the back of the Motion Sensor

    4. Press and hold the Motion Sensor in place for 30 seconds

    ​

    How to Mount the Motion Sensor With its Included Screws

    1. Remove the adhesives from the mounting plate

    2. Slide the Motion Sensor up and off its mounting plate

    3. Use a screwdriver to secure the mounting plate to the wall

    4. Slide the Motion Sensor back on the mounting plate

    Watch the video below for a hands-on experience from our team of experts for the installation process

    Pet Owners - Additional Information 

    Troubleshooting

    Related Articles

    Shop Related Products

    Help Center Article

     • 

    Motion Sensor Gen 1

  • Motion Sensor Gen 2 Settings & Customizations

    The Motion Sensor Gen 2 has a variety of settings that can be customized to fit your home or business’ needs. You can make adjustments to the sensor’s settings and the way it behaves during different armed states in the SimpliSafe® Mobile App. 

    Using the SimpliSafe® Mobile App

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

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

    3. Select Device Settings

    4. Choose your Motion Sensor Gen 2 from the list of available devices

    Device Behaviors

    Off

    This setting manages how the Motion Sensor behaves when triggered in Off mode. The Motion Sensor will not be active when the SimpliSafe® system is disarmed in Off mode, so this setting cannot be customized.

    Home

    This setting manages how the Motion Sensor behaves when triggered in Home mode. This setting is disabled by default, but to customize the setting you may pick between Alarm or Disabled. 

    Away

    This setting manages how the Motion Sensor behaves when triggered in Away mode. This setting is set to Alarm by default, but to customize the setting you may pick between Alarm or Disabled. 

    Instant Trigger

    When Instant Trigger is enabled, your Motion Sensor will trigger an alarm right away when it detects motion, bypassing the system’s Entry Delay. This feature is helpful when monitoring areas of your home or business that you do not enter often. 

    To customize this setting, simply toggle it On or Off in the SimpliSafe® App. 

    Note: When enabled, your Motion Sensor will always scan for motion in both Home and Away Mode.

    Pet Mode

    Pet Mode can be turned on if you have dogs or cats in your home or business. Enabling this setting allows the Motion Sensor to filter pets (up to 60 pounds) in its detection algorithm. 

    To customize this setting, simply toggle is On or Off. By default, Pet Mode is Off.

    Related Articles

    Help Center Article

     • 

    Motion Sensor Gen 2

  • S

    Motion Sensor Gen 1 Settings & Customizations

    The Motion Sensor Gen 1 has a variety of settings that can be customized to fit your home or business’ needs. You can make adjustments to the sensor’s settings and the way it behaves during different armed states in the SimpliSafe® Mobile App. 

    Using the SimpliSafe® Mobile App

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

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

    3. Select Device Settings

    4. Choose your Motion Sensor Gen 1 from the list of available devices

    Device Behaviors

    Off

    This setting manages how the Motion Sensor behaves when triggered in Off mode. The Motion Sensor will not be active when the SimpliSafe® system is disarmed in Off mode, so this setting cannot be customized.

    Home

    This setting manages how the Motion Sensor behaves when triggered in Home mode. This setting is disabled by default, but to customize the setting you may pick between Alarm or Disabled. 

    Away

    This setting manages how the Motion Sensor behaves when triggered in Away mode. This setting is set to Alarm by default, but to customize the setting you may pick between Alarm or Disabled. 

    Instant Trigger

    When Instant Trigger is enabled, your Motion Sensor will trigger an alarm right away when it detects motion, bypassing the system’s Entry Delay. This feature is helpful when monitoring areas of your home or business that you do not enter often. 

    To customize this setting, simply toggle it On or Off in the SimpliSafe® App. 

    Note: When enabled, your Motion Sensor will always scan for motion in both Home and Away Mode.

    Motion Sensitivity

    The Motion Sensitivity setting allows you to increase or decrease the Motion Sensor’s detection range. The Motion Sensor’s sensitivity is set to Medium by default, but you can increase it to High to make it more sensitive to motion, or decrease it to Low to make it less sensitive. 

    This adjustment is made on the sensor itself rather than in the SimpliSafe® App. To customize this setting:

    1. Slide the Motion Sensor up and off its bracket

    2. You will see a switch labeled Sensitivity above its battery

    3. Slide the switch to the left to decrease the Motion Sensor’s sensitivity, or to the right to increase it

    Related Articles

    Help Center Article

     • 

    Motion Sensor Gen 1

  • S

    Motion Sensor Gen 1 False Alarms

    Gen 3 SimpliSafe® Keypad

    Does your Keypad look like the one pictured to the left? Then you're in the right place! You've got the Gen 3 SimpliSafe® system. If you purchased a system in 2017 or earlier, you have the Original SimpliSafe®. You can learn more about the differences between the two systems on our Help Center.

    False Alarm Causes

    SimpliSafe’s® Motion Sensors have been designed to avoid false alarms. However, if you’ve experienced one, there are a few potential issues that may cause them:

    • Direct sunlight hitting the sensor can trigger a false alarm. 

    • Heating vents located in the room. If they are located within the sensor’s field of vision, they may cause false alarms. 

    • Pets that are able to get too close to the sensor. Pets under 30 pounds generally don’t trigger Motion Sensors, but if they get close enough to the sensor, smaller dogs or cats may still be able to trigger it.

    A motion sensor with arrows pointing straight out and down to create a 45-degree angle.

     Avoiding False Alarm Triggers

    Sunlight can be avoided by placing your Motion Sensor in a corner where it will not be directly hit by sunlight throughout the day. 

    If you suspect that heating vents may be responsible for false alarms, position your sensor in a part of the room where it will not see the hot or cold air vent. As long as the change in the room’s ambient temperature is gradual, the sensor should not trigger.

    Pets may require small adjustments to your motion sensor placement. You can view this video to learn more about adjusting your motion sensors with pets in the home.

    Cancelling a False Alarm

    If an Entry-, Motion-, or Glassbreak-triggered alarm is disarmed within 30 seconds of the initial alarm signal, our Monitoring Center will consider this a false alarm. That means you will not receive a phone call and a request for emergency services will not be issued.

    After 30 seconds, the Monitoring Center will attempt to reach the Primary Contacts for your system to inform you of the alarm and determine whether or not emergency services are needed. They'll ask for your Safe Word if you wish to cancel the request for dispatch (not send the police). Otherwise, the Monitoring Center will request police dispatch to the location of your system. 

    Please note, giving the wrong safeword will result in an immediate request for dispatch and you won't be told you got it wrong to protect anyone who may be under duress. Missing the phone calls to your primary contacts will also result in a request for police dispatch. See our What Happens During the Event of an Alarm? article for more information on what happens during an alarm.

     

    Help Center Article

     • 

    Motion Sensor Gen 1

  • A
    How do Motion Sensors Respond During an Alarm

    You can configure your Motion Sensor to detect motion in any system arming state (Off, Home, Away). Depending on how your Motion Sensor is set up, either the entry countdown will begin or the alarm will immediately sound should Instant Trigger be enabled.

    When motion is detected at your location, the entry countdown will begin. The entry countdown by default is 30 seconds, however, this can be adjusted at any time within the SimpliSafe® App.

    If the system is disarmed within 30-60 seconds of the initial alarm signal, this will be considered a false alarm by our monitoring center. That means you will not receive a phone call or an Alarm Text, and emergency services will not be requested to your location. 

    If the system is not disarmed before the time elapses, an alarm will sound. Depending on your monitoring subscription, two things will happen at once.

    The Primary Contacts for your system will receive both an Alarm Text and a phone call from our monitoring center to verify the status of your home.

    If you receive an alarm text, you’ll have the option to cancel the alarm or request dispatch of emergency services. If you respond to the text with a C during the grace period, you won’t receive a call from our monitoring center.

    Once cancelled, you can also disarm your system via Alarm Texts by replying back with “Disarm now”. This is not case sensitive, so replying back with “disarm now” will also work. Disarming your system via Alarm Texts is a great way to ensure that subsequent alarms don’t occur while you work to get back to your home or business.

    If the alarm is not canceled within the grace period, the Primary Contacts will receive a call from our monitoring center. During this call you will be required to provide your Safe Word to the agent you speak with. Please note that providing the wrong Safe Word, or no Safe Word will result in a request for dispatch. You won’t be told you got it wrong to protect anyone who may be under duress. Additionally, missing the phone calls to your Primary Contacts will also result in a request for emergency services to the location that your system is registered to. 

    We encourage you to save the monitoring center number to your phone. That number is 855-693-4911.

    Once saved to your phone, you’ll also want to allow us access to bypass Do Not Disturb and Silent Profiles. This allows for Critical Alarm Notifications to get through to you, regardless of your phone’s volume or profile status.

    When motion is detected by a Motion Sensor and Instant Trigger is enabled, the alarm will immediately sound to deter potential intruders. 

    If the system is disarmed within 30-60 seconds of the initial alarm signal, this will be considered a false alarm by our monitoring center. That means you will not receive a phone call or an Alarm Text, and emergency services will not be requested to your location. 

    If the system is not disarmed before the time elapses, an alarm will sound. Depending on your monitoring subscription, two things will happen at once.

    The Primary Contacts for your system will receive both an Alarm Text and a phone call from our monitoring center to verify the status of your home.

    If you receive an alarm text, you’ll have the option to cancel the alarm or request dispatch of emergency services. If you respond to the text with a C during the grace period, you won’t receive a call from our monitoring center.

    Once cancelled, you can also disarm your system via Alarm Texts by replying back with “Disarm now”. This is not case sensitive, so replying back with “disarm now” will also work. Disarming your system via Alarm Texts is a great way to ensure that subsequent alarms don’t occur while you work to get back to your home or business.

    If the alarm is not canceled within the grace period, the Primary Contacts will receive a call from our monitoring center. During this call you will be required to provide your Safe Word to the agent you speak with. Please note that providing the wrong Safe Word, or no Safe Word will result in a request for dispatch. You won’t be told you got it wrong to protect anyone who may be under duress. Additionally, missing the phone calls to your Primary Contacts will also result in a request for emergency services to the location that your system is registered to. 

    We encourage you to save the monitoring center number to your phone. That number is 855-693-4911.

    Once saved to your phone, you’ll also want to allow us access to bypass Do Not Disturb and Silent Profiles. This allows for Critical Alarm Notifications to get through to you, regardless of your phone’s volume or profile status.

    Help Center Article

     • 

    Motion Sensors

  • Motion Sensor Gen 2 False Alarms

    False Alarm Causes

    Our Motion Sensors have been designed to avoid false alarms. However, if you’ve experienced one, there are a few potential issues that may cause them:

    • Direct sunlight hitting the sensor can trigger a false alarm. 

    • Heating vents located in the room. If they are located within the sensor’s field of vision, they may cause false alarms. 

    • Curtains moving in front of a warm radiator in the sensor's field of view

    • Pets that are able to get too close to the sensor. Pets under 60 pounds generally don’t trigger Motion Sensors, but if they get close enough to the sensor (within a few feet), smaller dogs or cats may still be able to trigger it.

      • We also recommend avoiding pointing the Motion Sensor at a couch or bed that the dog or cat may jump onto. 

    • A bolt of lightning creating a sudden burst of light and heat.

    • Open windows that allow the Motion Sensor to pick up on outdoor motion.

    • A small insect crawling right in front of it.

    • Force that vibrates or moves the sensor, like a strong gust of wind.

    Avoiding False Alarm Triggers

    Environmental triggers are rare, but they can cause false alarms. Sunlight, lighting, or outdoor motion through your window can be avoided by placing your Motion Sensor in a corner where it will not be directly hit by sunlight throughout the day. 

    If you suspect that heating vents may be responsible for false alarms, position your sensor in a part of the room where it will not see the hot or cold air vent. As long as the change in the room’s ambient temperature is gradual, the sensor should not trigger.

    For homes with pets, it’s crucial that you enable Pet Mode within the SimpliSafe® Mobile App. You can turn this setting on at any time by taking these steps:

    1. Open the SimpliSafe® Mobile App and choose My System from the bottom navigation bar

    2. Tap on Device Settings

    3. Select the Motion Sensor Gen 2 you would like to customize.

    4. Under Motion Sensitivity, Select Pet Mode

    5. Toggle Pet Mode on

    6. Tap Save in the upper right corner to save your selections

    Canceling a False Alarm

    If an Entry-, Motion-, or Glassbreak-triggered alarm is disarmed within the grace period of the initial alarm signal, our Monitoring Center will consider this a false alarm. That means you will not receive a phone call and a request for emergency services will not be issued.

    After the grace period, the Monitoring Center will attempt to reach the Primary Contacts for your system to inform you of the alarm and determine whether or not emergency services are needed. They'll ask for your Safe Word if you wish to cancel the request for dispatch (not send the police). Otherwise, the Monitoring Center will request police dispatch to the location of your system. 

    Please note, giving the wrong safeword will result in an immediate request for dispatch and you won't be told you got it wrong to protect anyone who may be under duress. Missing the phone calls to your primary contacts will also result in a request for police dispatch. See our What Happens During the Event of an Alarm? article for more information on what happens during an alarm.

    Help Center Article

     • 

    Motion Sensor Gen 2