5 Messages
Absolutely frustrated with SimpliSafe Support
I've had to reach out to support twice in the last month and in both cases, I felt like support didn't pay full attention to what I was telling them and failed to answer questions.
The other issue was with my doorbell. It was failing to stay connected to my wifi. While I was able to resolve that with supports help, connection checks still fail. Support told me they escalated that issue but I have not gotten any kind of follow up or response.
The latest issue was with my CM0B1 outdoor camera. After taking it down to charge the battery it would not power up using the battery and would only power up using USB power (and then could be accessed, and live video viewed). I told this to the support rep. I even asked them if they wanted me to power up the camera with USB power so they could run diagnostics and they didn't respond and instead wanted me to delete the camera and readd it.
If i can't boot with the battery (and is its only power source outside) why would deleting and readding the camera do anything? Further, if the camera doesn't boot how would I add it?
The camera has been inside for several days since it was taken down to be charged. I tried several times between Friday and Saturday to get it power up using the battery without luck.
So nearing the end of the support session, I plugged USB power into the camera one last time to force it to boot. After it booted I removed the usb power and this time it stayed on with only the battery. The camera was able to be re-add and is online.
The root cause of the problem was not determined though. As someone who's worked in IT for 12 years and answered numerous support tickets in my time, a detail like this one would be critical and would absolutely require further diagnostics to determine if the battery was flaking or if perhaps there is an internal fault. Its also important to ensure the issue is truly resolved and not going to return.
Does SimpliSafe not have diagnostic tools? Why do your support reps not acknowledge and act on important details such as in this case? Customers have to rely on your support reps as the system is closed and our ability to determine what is going on is extremely limited. To be honestly, between the rough support experiences and the terrible wifi radio's in these devices, I've considered making a switch to a different system. The only thing that's stopped me is the cost and time it takes to switch. If this camera fails again and support ignores what I tell them and just defaults to remove/re-add the camera then that will likely be the final straw.
simplisafe_admin
Community Admin
•
1.1K Messages
26 days ago
@dopey_microbe We do apologize to hear this - this is absolutely not the experience we want you to have. Please know that we are going to forward your post to our internal teams to improve our processes.
You mention that whenever you use the in-app Connection Check tool for your Video Doorbell Pro, the results fail. After using the Connection Check tool, it will provide troubleshooting tips and tricks to help improve the camera's connectivity. If you see the How to Troubleshoot Your Camera's Connection article in the Help Center, it also provides steps to strengthen the camera's upload speed and signal strength.
Regarding the Outdoor Camera's battery, that is certainly curious, and something we should investigate deeper. We have forwarded your case details to our escalated Support team to look into. A senior agent will be in touch soon to help troubleshoot both your Video Doorbell Pro and Outdoor Camera.
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