‎Remotely Activate Siren... | SimpliSafe Support Home
 
keolaryan's profile

Tuesday, December 14th, 2021 8:10 AM

Remotely Activate Siren...

Iʻve used Simplisafe at my house for years and itʻs been great - simple and functional.  I recently picked up another system for my jobsite which is prone to vandalism, theft, and homeless activity.  So what I wanted to do was keep eyes on my jobsite and have the ability to remotely activate/trigger the alarm from the app if I see any suspicious activity.  I assumed this was possible since it would basically function in the same way the panic button does, just that it would be activated by the app instead.  However, after looking the app over more carefully it doesnʻt look like itʻs possible - or am I just not looking in the right place?  Does anyone know the answer to this?

And if Simplisafe is not capable of doing this, then they should build it in cause it could be very useful.  Thanks. 

Official Solution

Community Admin

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5.7K Messages

4 months ago

@dunwright we do indeed have currently active request for this feature in the Product Requests section. The issue is really about how it ties into monitoring; the Panic type alarm means that you're actually on the premises, and need help right now. We would encourage all users to still comment in the thread to let our dev team know that you want it to happen.

3 Messages

Please do add this feature! Call it something else… as there’s no immediate risk to your person, but there is risk to the property. 

this feature is much needed and I am also disappointed that this is not available now. 

please enable it asap, or test it out on a few of us. I’d love to be an alpha tester. 

2 Messages

@davey_d​ i would like to see this feature. I just found this thread by googling for a panic button in the app. My doors are all monitored but not my windows. My alarm is on right now and I’m home alone.  i heard something in my basement just now and thought it would be useful to hit a panic button if i heard someone walking up my basement steps. (I’m safe, nobody’s here). I know i could call 911 but if I’m unable to talk then the dispatcher may not have my address plus the siren will scare an intruder to run before hurting me.  

Accepted Solution

739 Messages

3 years ago

You are not missing the feature; it does not exist. Remotely activating the siren (similar to triggering the panic button) is impossible via the app.

1 Message

That should be super clear. It’s the only reason I bought your sysyem

Community Admin

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5.7K Messages

3 years ago

Hi keolaryan,

As shiherlis says, it is currently not possible to remotely trigger an alarm. The Panic Button feature is currently intended for when there is someone physically on the premises and needs immediate assistance - and our Monitoring Service operators would act accordingly.

2.2K Messages

3 years ago

It's not "impossible".  Just a royal pain and involves other technology than SS.

If I were to do it, I'd have some mechanical device which i could control via the internet, and attach a SS sensor to it, so that when I activated it remotely, it would separate the magnet from the sensor.  Best if it would automatically or remotely return the magnet near the sensor as a "reset".  

1 Message

Active burglars in my home while my nannie and special needs daughter are inside sleeping at 5 am. She texted me someone is in the house and I could not find the panic button on the app either because it DOESN'T EXISTS. Are you kidding? How is this NOT important?

Called our security and police but had we been able to remotely trigger the alarm, we would have saved all the stolen items the thieves took because they had 5 min in the house.

Many have asked and Simplisafe has not responded. Well I'm terminating our agreement and going with Vivint

2 Messages

3 years ago

Bummers...thatʻs what I thought.  It would be a great feature to develop SimpliSafe - could you please do it?  Iʻm not sure why you can control every other aspect of the alarm system via the app but not the panic button.

Anyhow, thanks to everyone for chiming in. 🤙🏽

2 Messages

2 years ago

Today I had someone breaking into my house, monitored by Simplisafe

The external CCTV alerted me in advance, whilst they tried to break an entry. 

It was a real disappointment to not be able to activate the siren to scare away the intruder, rather than having to wait for the police dispatch which didnt happen until the thieves had broken into the property, and caused criminal damage

I is very disappointing to see that 1 year later Simplisafe have not created this functionality. 

Really poor innovation SimpliSafe

Community Admin

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27 Messages

Hi Harriet,

 

We are sorry to hear you experienced a break-in at your home today. We hope you're ok.

 

Thanks for your feedback regarding activating the siren via the app, we will pass this onto the relevant team. You can also trigger the alarm via the red button on the Keypad and Key Fob, and a Panic Button could also be added to the system. However, if you have sensors in the area where your home was broken into such as a Motion Sensor for example, this should have triggered the alarm and sounded the siren. I've asked one of our security experts to get in touch to see if there's anything further we can do to help.

 

Again, we hope you are ok and if there's anything else you need please do get in touch.

 

Natalie

739 Messages

@hgraystephens​ It is terrible to read this post. It appears the system was not working, or the thieves had planned to target and defeat the alarm in advance. One of the sensors (i.e., entry, motion, etc.) should have gone off. The above is a scenario where I could see the feature's use.

I have never read of this happening beyond defeat methods, and most criminals will move on unless they know what is in residence. It is just too risky to chance it when so many others are without alarms.

I, too, am sorry this happened. Hopefully, there will be a follow-up post.

2 Messages

Shiherlis,

It isnt a problem with the system but a fault of the system! I had called the police myself and turned off the alarm by the time that the system would have alerted. Really poorly designed

3 Messages

@Natalie90​ 

this is disappointing to see this feature request has been there for two years! Do something SS. I have two systems installed and you need to give a better reason than what you’re giving as a company for why this feature is not available. 

8 Messages

2 years ago

I’ve also discovered intruders prior to breakin and there was no way for me to activate the siren or dispatch authorities with Simplisafe remotely. I had to literally sit and watch them break glass before Simplisafe was useful and then I had to confirm the breakin before anyone was dispatched. The system is lacking so many basic options right now that I’m really considering moving on and just eating the cost of the 4 systems I have 

1 Message

2 years ago

Bad on me for not looking into it, but remote triggering the siren is the only reason I bought it. Aside from being able to do that, I don’t see the point of the siren.

2 Messages

Same here! 

2 Messages

1 year ago

We have had two situations where the siren was activated and there were no intruders, no one was caught on external cameras, no door or window open, nothing that should have trigger the siren. Yet twice we were woken up in the dead of night with the siren blaring. The first time we called the police and they checked the basement where the system said the alarm was triggered. Nothing. Door, storm door and windows still locked, no sign of tampering, no one on camera. Last night the siren was triggered again and after stalking through my home with my weapon, the door that triggered the siren was closed, the storm door still locked, the entry door still locked, latched, secure, no sign of tampering. Nothing on cameras. There was no reason for the siren to be triggered. What is happening? Thanks for any clues I can get.

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This comment has been converted into a post

2 Messages

@Citizen ​ i see your comment is a year old and im curious, did you get it to stop happening? Any idea why it was triggered?

1 Message

11 months ago

We just got SimpliSafe for our business where we have service trucks parked outside. I wish there was a way to trigger the siren remotely so if we caught someone outside trying to break into the vehicles we could trigger the siren to deter them. I'm not sure why this cant be a function of the app, I see no downside to it. 

Community Admin

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3.4K Messages

@lklemcke​ We have submitted a request to our devs to have an option to remotely trigger the Outdoor Camera's siren. But if you create an idea post for this in the Product Requests and Suggestions section of the Community, I can pass along this suggestion as well.

(edited)

3 Messages

Stop asking customers to go to specific places to trigger product requirements! You read it friend, pass it along to your devs vs passing the buck. 

be more accountable. 

3 Messages

10 months ago

It's ridiculous that this feature isn't available, seems like this would be a developer software update. I have a backyard light/camera from Eufy that has built in speakers and a microphone that you can speak through, immediate motion alerts a siren that your can trigger from the app, the light also you can turn on and off through the app, there's no monthly fee, it doesn't require a hub and it was only 100 bucks during Black Friday. Simplisafe is way behind in technology, they need to step it up because there are many other options out there, Simplisafe is like going back to a Blackberry after having an Iphone or Android. 

Simplisafe take this as constructive criticism to improve your platform.

2 Messages

I’m disappointed by this too and regretting the purchase for this along with other reasons.  Looking into another system for my business.  

1 Message

9 months ago

Planning a trip to Europe for an extended time and purchased this system in the expectation that I could trigger the siren if I detected illegal activity on my property. Now, I’m stuck with a system that otherwise seems to work well but can’t do the one thing I bought it for. Shame on me for not being better informed. 

2 Messages

9 months ago

Do competitor systems offer this functionality and if so which ones?

Could a representative or simplisafe comment on whether this is something they can implement in the near future?

Community Admin

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3.4K Messages

@sayeedi2000​ We have submitted a request to our dev team for the ability to remotely activate the Outdoor Camera's siren. But if you'd like to submit a request for the ability to remotely trigger the Base Station's siren, please create an "Ideas" post in the Product Requests and Suggestions section of the Community and we can pass it along to our devs.

1 Message

8 months ago

I bought a Kasa for remote turn on of a rotating fanand got the level 2 motion detector so not just IR motion. I then turn on  the Kasa which starts the fan to move and then it triggers the motion  detection …...got a siren to sound!   Much easier if SimpliSafe just alllows remote siren test!

4 Messages

4 months ago

Folks, I don't know why this is so hard for everyone to understand. SS is a HARDWARE company in the business of selling you HARDWARE. They will *never* develop any software/app features that risk reducing their HARDWARE sales, such as, panic buttons and key fobs. Think about it... years ago I asked for ability to create "tenant" users in the app to be able to only enable/disable the alarm from the app (like ADT has). Of course that will never be developed because they want you to buy an overpriced keypad for every tenant instead! And don't fall for the old "we've created a feature request for you" line of bull... they never actually did. The only way to get the app features you want is to switch to a competitor that has them. 

739 Messages

@dunwright​ 

"Folks, I don't know why this is so hard for everyone to understand."

I think most understand.

2 Messages

@dunwright​ Err, no, it's a service company. I've spent far more on the subscription than the hardware. It's hard to get new customers and sell them stuff. It's much easier to make money from recurring subscriptions. The hardware and software and service need to work together well to keep people wanting to pay the monthly subscriptions, which make way more money for the company than the initial hardware sale. If the company stops improving its platform and services, people will just cancel their subscriptions and use other providers.

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