‎Sensors going off line | SimpliSafe Support Home
 
gsk326's profile

Friday, August 25th, 2023 4:41 AM

Sensors going off line

I recently tried to expand my system and add sensors. My home is over 5000 square feet. The sensors furthest from my base station keep going off line.

I have tried moving the base station to different locations and still cannot get the sensors on the west end of the house to stay on line. They work for a day or two, then go off line. Interestingly, if I open and close the door or window where the sensors are, the sensor starts working again for a couple of days. 

Is my only choice to get a second base station?

Thank you.

Community Admin

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3.4K Messages

1 year ago

@gsk326 The Base Station is the brain of the system and all of the devices report back to it. Because of this, there cannot be multiple Base Stations on a single system, there can only be one.

Which sensors are giving you an offline error? Are they Entry, Motion, or Glassbreak Sensors? Generally, an offline error message means that the battery in your sensor needs to be replaced and then put into Test Mode to clear the message. To put your system into Test Mode:

  1. Using your Keypad go to Menu > Enter Master PIN > Test Mode

  2. Press the release the button on your sensor. The Base Station should announce its name

If replacing the battery doesn't help, I would look for sources of interference between your sensors and the Base Station. Interference can be either wireless or physical. Wireless interference comes from devices that broadcast at the same frequency range of the sensors. These would be simpler devices like wireless weather stations or garage door openers. If there are any devices like that around your sensors that go offline, I would try moving them.

Physical interference comes from dense objects getting in the way between the Base Station and sensors. This can be things like thick brick/concrete walls or heavy appliances. If there are any dense objects between your Base Station and sensors I would try changing the placement of your Base Station.

I know you mentioned that you've tried moving your Base Station already, so I would check its current placement. It's recommended to place the Base Station at least 3 feet off the ground, and is on a non-dense surface like wood or glass. If the Base Station is on a thicker object - like a granite countertop or metal - it can weaken its signal. 

Our Support team is also always here to troubleshoot these sensors in real time if the above tips don't prevent them from going offline.

17 Messages

The sensors I am having issues with are all entry level sensors. They are brand new, changing the batteries seems unlikely to be necessary. 

I did move the base station off of the granite counter previously hoping that would help but no such luck.

What is really odd is there are two windows in one of my back bedrooms that are relatively far from the base. The sensor for one of the window works just fine, the other keeps going off line. 

Same thing happens in my office which is further away.

Again if I open and close the windows, the sensors start working again for a day or 2.

When I was asking about a second base station, it was recommended when I called in for support. I know that would mean I would have to have two separate systems but with the size of my house, would that be the only other option?

Community Admin

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3.4K Messages

@gsk326​ No, having two separate systems for your home shouldn't be the only other option - it seems like interference may be at play here. I've opened up a ticket with our escalated support team to help you troubleshoot your system live. A senior specialist will reach out to get to the bottom of this.

17 Messages

@emily_s​ when  should I expect to hear from someone?

Community Admin

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3.4K Messages

@gsk326​ Our escalated Support team is available Monday-Friday. I don't have an exact time they will reach out, but you should expect a call from them soon.

17 Messages

@emily_s​ It has been several days and I have not heard from anyone. I just went into test mode to check the sensors in the back bedroom. They both are being acknowledged by the base station but the one is still off line anyway!

14 Messages

1 year ago

I was having the same problem along with fragmented voice prompts until the recent firmware update. You may want to check out if you have not updated recently.

17 Messages

@raski321​ yes I did a recent update and unfortunately that did not fix the problem.

17 Messages

I did not hear back from support; I went away for the Holiday weekend and of course they called me back several times when I was out of town.

I asked them to call me back today; of course they did not.

Regarding my sensors, now 4 are not working  and are off line.

This is absolutely driving me crazy!

17 Messages

Another day and no call back. I called Simplisafe and they would not transfer me to the escalation department. Does anyone from Simplisafe monitor this community chat?  I am ready to just send back all of the sensors and demand a refund. I am not impressed at all with Simplisafe and especially not their service. Very dissapointed.

Community Admin

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5.7K Messages

Sorry to hear that you've been having so much trouble playing phone tag. I do see the several attempts from a couple of weeks ago to get hold of you. I'll make another request and hopefully we can get this resolved soon.

17 Messages

@davey_d​ I still have not heard back from the escalation department. For no obvious reason, the sensors I have set up are working for the past few days. The only thing that changed was the house cleaners actually move to base closer to the wall on the cabinet where it rests. I would have thought that would make things worse, not better.  I am not comfortable trying to set up the rest of the sensors until I speak with someone. Thank you.

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