‎Camera won't catch images | SimpliSafe Support Home
 
jennymarch's profile

Saturday, May 31st, 2025 2:52 PM

Camera won't catch images

I just installed Simplisafe camera yesterday.  I used Xfinity before.  I thought Xfinity's cameras were bad because Xfinity cameras were unable to catch many activities that happened in my front yard or street.   But after switching to Simplisafe, I realized Simplisafe was no better than Xfinity even worse. I have one wired and one wireless camera installed.  

Two front cameras could not catch an old man who walked his dog to my driveway!? I was watching the old man walking and dragging his dog passed my driveway from my window.  Earlier, I was talking to a Constable in my front yard and both cameras had nothing!!  I was shocked and regretted for signing up Simplisafe.  I am still pretty shocked about how their cameras function. 

Captain

 • 

6.4K Messages

2 days ago

@jennymarch I have a series 1 OD camera in the backyard and a series 2 in the front yard. Both work fine. If you are getting no recordings, I suggest you contact support to troubleshoot. Please post your experience after the call if you get a chance.

Community Admin

 • 

1.4K Messages

2 days ago

@jennymarch There are a few troubleshooting steps we would want to take to get to the bottom of this. 

 

The Outdoor Cameras have the ability to tie their motion detection to your system's armed mode - i.e., you can choose to have it only detect/record motion when the system is armed/disarmed in certain states. We'd first want to check your cameras' settings to ensure that they will record in all the armed modes you want them to. You can do this in the SimpliSafe mobile app by navigating to My System > Cameras > select [your camera] > under Camera Behavior, look through Off, Home, and Away Modes to see if Motion Detection is turned on. If Motion Detection is not on, the camera will not record. 

 

If Motion Detection is on for the cameras, we will next want to investigate how they are physically installed. Our cameras' motion sensors are most sensitive to lateral motion, which means that they detect motion best when subjects move across their field of view rather than moving toward them head on. Due to this, we recommend mounting our cameras to the side of the area you want to monitor. We also recommend mounting the Outdoor Cameras 6-8 feet off the ground. Any higher than 8 feet, and they may have trouble detecting motion. 

 

Finally, we would want to troubleshoot the Outdoor Cameras' connection to WiFi. There is a Connection Check tool in the SimpliSafe mobile app that will run a scan of your cameras' and their WiFi connection, and will provide tips on how to strengthen that connection. In the SimpliSafe app, go to My System > Camera Settings > select [your camera] > Connection Check > Start Connection Check. For more details on the Connection Check tool and what your results mean, see the How to Troubleshoot Your Camera's Connection article in the Help Center.

SimpliSafe Logo
New to the Community? Get started by reading our Welcome Article and please be sure to review our Community Guidelines before posting.