‎Do Glass Break Sensors Actually Work? | SimpliSafe Support Home
 
keelyc84's profile

11 Messages

Saturday, July 5th, 2025

Do Glass Break Sensors Actually Work?

I appear to be having an issue with my glass break sensor. I had to break some glass and realized I was standing very close to the glass break sensor so I expected the alarm to go if but it did not. I activated the alarm, checked the sensor settings, removed and replaced the sensor battery but I could not get it to trigger the alarm while breaking glass nearby. The sensor seems to work from clapping in test mode however. 

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Official Solution

Community Admin

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1.5K Messages

21 days ago

@keelyc84 What type of glass were you breaking? Our Glassbreak Sensors listen to the exact frequency of windows breaking. If you were breaking something like a glass dish, the Glassbreak Sensor should not pick up on it. This is to ensure the Glassbreak Sensor does not trigger false alarms if you ever drop any glassware in your home.

Captain

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6.4K Messages

23 days ago

@keelyc84 I have three glass break sensors and when installed in 2017 I did the hand clap test, and then, compliments of my neighbors old windows, did a hammer/window test. They worked then. The most important sensor is approximately 15 feet away from a 3 window bay.  My test windows that I broke with the hammer were about 2 feet further away and worked as expected.  Again that was in 2017 but I have tested with clapping at least once every year since then. I should had there are roller shades on the windows it covers, made of a plastic material.

11 Messages

23 days ago

Thanks for the reply! Do you have the original system or the newer one? The original system worked great. My motion sensors on the new system randomly stop working, so I don't have much confidence in the new system. 

Captain

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6.4K Messages

SS3 and all sensors and cameras work fine but just had to replace my 3 CO sensors as theynare all over 5 years old  

1.6K Messages

23 days ago

I don't know, I may never know hopefully, clap works. 🤷 For what that's worth.

I use Zigbee vibration sensors in my home brewed system stuck right in the middle of the window pane.

Definitely going to vibrate if the glass breaks. Also triggers on tilt. Window breaks, definitely gonna tilt too.

1.6K Messages

21 days ago

A real break test while the system was armed. If a glass break sensor can’t recognize actual glass breaking, what’s the point?

Asking about what type of glass is breaking is like asking a smoke detector what kind of fire or smoke it needs.

✅ Clapping works? Sensor isn’t dead.

🚨 Real glass break nearby? Sensor didn’t trigger? That’s a failure!

Support asks “what kind of glass?” instead of acknowledging that real-world breakage didn’t register? That’s spin.

Many different types of windows break differently and with different sounds. Shatter versus thud for example.

11 Messages

Yeah, I thought the same thing. I had the original SimpliSafe system, and the glass break sensor was triggered by accidentally breaking a dish which was actually kind of a comforting reassurance that the sensor was actually doing it's job compared to not knowing if your glass break sensor works unless you break a window (not that I am actually convinced that the sensors can tell the difference between glass windows and other glass objects). Thanks for the Zigbee suggestion! 

1.6K Messages

@keelyc84​ I have two SS window break in the basement. They only work "supposedly" well with lighly covered and/or uncovered windows of a certain type of glass, normal single pane and double pane glass supposedly.

Thick insulated curtains, SS sensors must be in closer. Who uses thick curtains to keep the cold at bay lol? Especially at night in the winter. This type info is available here on the website, if you can find it.

Shatter resistant glass, probably a no no, burglar resistant sheets, probably no. Etc.

I can't test them either, not breaking any windows to find out. So my own solution still in long term testing.

I'll add more vibration sensors to the basement doors and windows, which are uncovered, soon. SS as backup while it functions.

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