‎Problem with the outdoor camera lens frosting over and/or water droplets building up | SimpliSafe Support Home
 
lilreddevil51's profile

Tuesday, November 29th, 2022 9:40 PM

Problem with the outdoor camera lens frosting over and/or water droplets building up

Why would an outdoor camera be made of a material that doesn't shed water and allows it to frost over??  This location has no overhang as it is mounted on a 6ft fence.  Called and talked to customer service but was told I was the first person who had ever complained of the issue.  Nothing can be done.  What?

Anyone else have this issue?

Edit:  Just got off the Chat where I sent screenshots of the problem.  I was told that "We highly recomment you place a cover on your wireless outdoor camera on your fence please".  Does Simplisafe carry this mystery cover?  I have not seen one.

I cannot seem to get thru any front line people to speak to someone about the problem that can actually help me.  Telling me to cover the camera without providing any type of cover to do that is irresponsible.  That also would not solve the issue of it frosting over in the cold!

Help!

Official Solution

Community Admin

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5.7K Messages

2 years ago

Hi @lilreddevil51 ,

So sorry to hear about your experience. No, that response would not be the correct one for your situation, especially because it doesn't help the state of your camera right now.

The Outdoor Camera is rated at IP65, meaning it should be resistant to rain and humidity. Unless you were immersing the camera in a pool, it shouldn't have any problems with moisture getting inside the lens. Therefore, it sounds like your camera is unfortunately defective, and the correct solution would be a replacement.

Looking into your account, I do see that the agent you spoke with did offer that replacement. If you contact our Support team again, we can definitely get that going for you!

3 Messages

@davey_d​ thanks for responding.  This issue though is not water inside the lens, it is water and frost collecting on the outside of the lens.  This is why I turned down the new camera as this one is brand new and the problem is the exterior surface of the lens.

3 Messages

here are the screenshots I have taken of the issue

4 Messages

The same issue here

Community Admin

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3.4K Messages

@joea​ Do you happen to know if the water is sitting on top of the camera's lens, or is it getting inside the lens itself? 

If it is getting inside the lens, we would want to replace that camera - our Support team can help with that. If the water is sitting on the lens, I have seen other users put some anti-fog spray on the lens to prevent any water from sticking to it.

2 Messages

2 years ago

I am having a similar issue with several of my cameras. Did you ever find a solution? Here is one example:

1 Message

1 year ago

Yes, my camera looks blurry and droplets I. It. 

Community Admin

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3.4K Messages

@smbarrett​ Do you happen to know if there's any condensation that got on the camera's lens? Like rain or morning dew? 

If water is sitting on the lens, I have seen some users put anti-fog spray on the lens to prevent condensation from sticking on it. But if it seems like water has gotten inside the lens we would want to replace that camera. In that case, I would reach out to our Support team for further assistance. 

1 Message

Same problem with moisture on camera lens making them unusable even when under covered porch, patio or roof line.

Community Admin

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1.2K Messages

@hoofan The Outdoor Camera should be resistant to precipitation and humidity. Please reach out to our Support team, as we may need to replace those devices. 

1 Message

2 months ago

Previous comments exactly my issue. What I didn't read was, for me my camera is crystal clear during daylight hours. 

Camera issue?

Another quirk. Installing new camera from warm house to outside 40° weather initially was clear setting up and positioning. Few hours later foggy and glare.

Camera issue?

(edited)

Community Admin

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1.2K Messages

@imflynmac If the fog on the camera lens eventually goes away, it doesn't seem like there's any water in the device itself. However, the camera should not be fogging up. Please contact our Support team, as we may need to replace the device.

52 Messages

2 months ago

Same issue here.

Community Admin

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1.2K Messages

@cornholio Does the fog on the lens eventually go away, or does it remain there? If the fog does go away, that wouldn't indicate any water in the device itself, but the lens should not be fogging up. Please contact our Support team, as there may be a hardware issue with your camera.

1.5K Messages

2 months ago

A nobody user opinion. 😆

Even though I can't see the physical cameras, the pictures going back two years show significant outside lighting.

If they're really wet or fogged or frozen that's one thing.

However, significant light can significantly affect the night vision capabilities of an outdoor camera, often causing a "washout" effect where the image becomes too bright and details are lost due to the camera being overwhelmed by the excessive light; therefore, it's important to avoid directing strong light directly at the camera lens when setting up outdoor security systems.

Or try turning off or to auto night vision and use in full color mode. It seems like it's driving the IR bonkers. If IR is turned off cameras then will require good exterior ambient light to see anything. All of mine are off I provide exterior motion floods.

Most or many night vision cameras use infrared (IR) technology to see in the dark, but even with IR, excessive visible light can still disrupt the image quality if IR is on.  And it's usually gray scale terrible anyhow.

6 days ago

Has anyone else reported repeated “common activity” alert during night time monitoring? I had outdoor camera detect motion and capture heavy pollen at night with IR on. I thought it was termites swarming when one of 3 outdoor camera detected motion every minute from 2:30 am to about 7:30 am. I’m a crazy old lady with a butterfly net outside swinging away trying to catch termites swarming but caught nothing in the net. After trying 2 different nights/early mornings, I walked to my front post light which is dark sky compliant, (shielded for down lighting) and made a phone camera video. Amazingly, same type of moving small specs recorded. Not termites, or fog droplets but pollen! I am relieved!

Now I need to know if there is a way to adjust outdoor camera sensitivity so it does not record every minute during this night time peak pollen event?

Community Admin

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1.2K Messages

@infoefadventures When enrolled in Active Guard Outdoor Protection, certain settings are locked as they are needed for agent intervention during person on property activity and alarm events. Motion sensitivity for the Outdoor Camera Series 2 is locked at medium when enrolled in Active Guard Outdoor Protection, so unfortunately it cannot be modified.

 

If possible, it may help to slightly move the camera so less of the pollen is in frame.

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