Base Station repeatedly disconnecting and reconnecting from WiFi

I am having the same problem.  Rep said move base station closer to router.  Didn't help.  I also rebooted router.  Didn't help.  I also switched to an alternate Wifi system.  Didn't help.  Has anyone been able to resolve this problem?

Recently moved and prior to moving I had no issues, then after moving my base station has been doing this. "Technical support" has been worthless, reading off a script which contains all the troubleshooting steps I've already tried (I have a background in IT)

@cengelhardt95​ Yes, their technical support is very weak.  I had a false smoke alarm, and the rep kept trying to get me to unscrew the detector.  It really just needed to come off the ceiling so you could access the battery, but no matter how many times I told him I had taken the detector off the bracket and down from the ceiling, he kept telling be to unscrew and open the smoke detector.  He clearly had never actually seen one of their smoke detectors.

Reboot the base station fully (unplug from AC power AND disconnect the back up battery found on the bottom of the unit) and/or reboot your WiFi router would be the first thing I'd try.

Just curious, does this happen all day, every day? Or at specific times and/or days? I'm wondering if something is interrupting your Wi-Fi signal and if it's happening at roughly the same days/times then that might tell you who/what might be causing it. It's possible (even if unlikely) that your Wi-Fi is actually having a problem and your other devices are just more tolerant of a blip in Wi-Fi and/or just don't tell you they've lost Wi-FI as aggressively as your base station does.

@greenmymac  I ran into this last summer, called support and did not get it resolved at first. Moved the base, no new electronics etc.  A friend of mine who works as a network engineer suggested I check latency on my broadband and a few other items.  Contacted my vendor (AT&T) and checking and found out there were "quality issues in our area" and they were working on it. About 24 hours later, no further issues.  you may want to reach out to your provider.

Sighhhhhh... Frustration continues. Had the basestation replaced and experienced the same issue. So I created a separate network JUST for the base station, and changed from wifi channel 5 to channel 11 to cut out some of the interference. But the issue still happens. I am at a loss and my only thought now is the most recent firmware on the base station is the cause. 

Thoughts?

Thoughts?

Just curious, does this happen all day, every day? Or at specific times and/or days? How often does it happen? I'm wondering if something is interrupting your Wi-Fi signal and if it's happening at roughly the same days/times then that might tell you who/what might be causing it. It's possible (even if unlikely) that your Wi-Fi is actually having a problem and your other devices are just more tolerant of a blip in Wi-Fi and/or just don't tell you they've lost Wi-FI as aggressively as your base station does.

@worthing​ Its random periods throughout the day. I just find it out out of all the wifi connected devices I have, this is the only one experiencing issues. I have been able to see connection times for my always on devices that stay in the house and none of them have interruptions in connection. In searching this forum, I saw I am not the only one who is having this issue. 

Hi @davidgmillman ,

I have seen this happen before, and we haven't yet been able to pin down what's causing it. But I suspect that, unless there is somehow severe interference that's enough to overcome WiFi (at which point all of the devices on that same network should have trouble!), it's possibly something to do with your WiFi router's settings.

What kind of router/network do you have? And what settings are enabled? The more info you can give, the more I can pass on to our dev team to help figure this out.

@davey_d​  The only things that loses connection on my network is SimpliSafe.  I am using a Google Nest MESH router with 3 connection points.  My wifi signal in my house is EXCELLENT.    All of my other connections are never disconnected.      

@davidgmillman​ ah, then I might be on the right track. It's less about reception, and more likely something to so with how your WiFi network is set up.

One thing that has worked for other users is to try setting up a Guest network with 2.4GHz enabled only, and connect only your SimpliSafe Base Station to it. If that works (i.e. you no longer see these regular disconnects), I would actually suggest moving over all your cameras as well, if you have any.

@davidgmillman​ I’m having the same problems.  Wi-Fi works perfectly in house and with SimpliSafe cameras, but system keeps falling off base station.  I’ve replaced the base station, switched to guest Wi-Fi, switched to hotspot.  Same issues remain.  

I feel like this is a hardware or firmware issue that SimpliSafe is ignoring, as I’ve had SimpliSafe for years and never had this issue. 

@BNSimpli​ when was the last time you had updated your Base Station's firmware? Earlier versions did have compatibility issues, so that might be what's going on here. You can learn more about how to update from this page.

@georhill For full disclosure, I hate, despise two companies. ADT is one of them and, yes, Comcast is the other. Why? Because when I was a customer they treated me, and others I know, like dirt, were expensive, lied etc etc.  If you want details, feel free to direct message me through the SS community, but to give you an example, I have stayed with ATT UVerse with 80 mg down, 20 mg up and I don't share it with anyone unlike Comcast that offers 1 gigabyte. I will never, ever, do business again with either company.  If you have an option, you may want to look for another provider for your internet service.

Hi @georhill ,

From the symptoms you describe, it sounds like the issue might be on the router side; perhaps a feature or setting is preventing the Base Station from staying connected.

It might help to set up a Guest WiFi network locked to 2.4GHz only, which only your Base Station would connect to.

Any resolution? I have same issue.

@Dalink​ While searching via google I stumbled on a post which suggested "port forwarding" as a possible solution to the base station connection problems. In the xFi app, under Connections => Advanced => port forwarding I "port forwarded" port 8890 for TCP/UDP. Also, somewhere during the frustrating waste of my time trying to solve the problem, I assigned a "reserved IP address" to the base station. Anyway, some combination these things apparently fixed the problem since I do not have intermittent connection problems now. HTH

@georhill​ that's great to hear. Sounds like the issue for you was that your WiFi router was blocking the Base Station from reconnecting.

Port Forwarding opens up a channel for SimpliSafe communications to get through.

Reserving a static IP address is a little bit similar, locking down an address for the Base Station that doesn't get reassigned whenever the router needs to reboot.

Both of these are somewhat advanced procedures, and we would suggest contacting your service provider or WiFi router manufacturer for info on how to set up.

I get the notifications on my SS app, but all my other devices that use wifi continue to run.........it's some kind of problem with the upgrade.

Hi @dmomeyer,

I split off your thread since you had commented on a post from 2020, so it's probably unrelated to your current issue.

What version did you update to? Would it be 2.9?

The good news is that the very fact that you're getting those "WiFi Disconnected" alerts means that the cell connection is taking over, and your system is still able to send signals.

Ever since I uploaded the last update my SimpliSafe keeps losing contact with my wifi.   Never had a problem before, now I do.    There are no issues with batteries (each is fully charged) and my base station is only about 20 feet from my wireless router.    Any ideas?  

@dmomeyer​ Sorry to hear about the Wi-Fi issues with your system. Are you receiving any errors when the Wi-Fi disconnects? As a quick step, it might be best to reset your router by unplugging it from power for 30-60 seconds, then plugging it back in. 

Let me know how that goes, and the details after that and I'd be happy to assist you further.

Thanks for the reply.   My router doesn't drop out, computers and streaming tv don't see any issues and I would get an alert from my provider if there was a drop out.   This is a SimpliSafe base station issue, nothing else.

I get the notifications on my SS app, but all my other devices that use wifi continue to run.........it's some kind of problem with the upgrade.

Hi @dmomeyer,

I split off your thread since you had commented on a post from 2020, so it's probably unrelated to your current issue.

What version did you update to? Would it be 2.9?

The good news is that the very fact that you're getting those "WiFi Disconnected" alerts means that the cell connection is taking over, and your system is still able to send signals.

Ever since I uploaded the last update my SimpliSafe keeps losing contact with my wifi.   Never had a problem before, now I do.    There are no issues with batteries (each is fully charged) and my base station is only about 20 feet from my wireless router.    Any ideas?  

@dmomeyer​ Sorry to hear about the Wi-Fi issues with your system. Are you receiving any errors when the Wi-Fi disconnects? As a quick step, it might be best to reset your router by unplugging it from power for 30-60 seconds, then plugging it back in. 

Let me know how that goes, and the details after that and I'd be happy to assist you further.

Thanks for the reply.   My router doesn't drop out, computers and streaming tv don't see any issues and I would get an alert from my provider if there was a drop out.   This is a SimpliSafe base station issue, nothing else.

Hi @randyltodd ,

Please know that this is a public forum, so for your protection, we've removed your email address.

Your Base Station does have its own built-in cellular backup connection (activated by a Monitoring Plan), but it's used only for alarm signals.

The Smart Alarm Camera links with the Base Station for alerts (e.g. to start a recording during an alarm). But the main connection for anything related to video, like when you want to start a livestream, would need to use your home's WiFi. So that means if your WiFi ever goes down, your cameras will not be able to function.

Hello @searssd, 

How far away is the Base Station from your Wi-Fi router? It may help to move it about 5-10 feet away from the router to see if that helps it maintain a stable connection. 

And I know that you have reset your router, but have you tried resetting your Base Station? If you have not, I would recommend doing so by taking the following steps:

1. Remove the power plug from the Base Station, which will reveal the security screw.
2. Unscrew the security screw using a Philips head screwdriver.
3. Twist the entire bottom panel counter-clockwise, and pull away to open the battery compartment.
4. Take out one battery. This will fully power down the Base Station.
5. Wait 3 minutes with the Base Station fully powered down.
6. Reinsert the battery and reassemble the Base Station.

But if both of those troubleshooting steps do not help, you may need a Wi-Fi extender to help the Base Station maintain its network connection. In that case, please reach out to our Support team and they will be able to assist you.

Thank you!

I will reset the base station as you describe.

The network and base station have been working fine for over 3 years in their current positions so I do not believe the distance between the router and the base is relevant.

Thanks again!

I reset the base station as specified. The wifi continues to cycle. I moved the base station within 3 feet of the wifi router and it still continues to cycle. Once every 4-5 hours. Next step is call support yes?

Hello there @searssd​! 

Yes, I would next recommend contacting our Support team so they can troubleshoot further, and send over a Wi-Fi extender if needed.

@hdtvee​ If you haven't already, I would recommend getting up a guest Wi-Fi network locked at 2.4GHz and connect only your SimpliSafe devices to it. But if that doesn't help, I would then recommend contacting our Support team for some live troubleshooting.

@KTsafe​ I agree! I've recently been rudely awakened by my phone notifying me of wifi disconnect and a minute later reconnected. Very annoying that I can't find a way to turn this notification OFF!

@gt9104​ Setting up a guest network for your SimpliSafe devices acts as a dedicated connection so your SimpliSafe devices can function without potentially being disrupted by other devices on your network. I would recommend setting one up to see if that resolves this issue. But if a guest network does not help, the next step would be to contact our Support team for additional assistance.

@gt9104​  Same here, everything else is online and working as should. Unreliable service to go along with those price hikes.

@emily_s​ I did activate the guest network not long aafter my comment. Yes,  that did solve the disconnect issue 100%. I don't like having a guest network active but it is what it is. Still think you guys did something with a software update though for so many people to have this problem.  It's not common for devices to be disrupted. I've added no new devices for years and they all played happily together until one day when SS began disconnecting.