Protection against Wi-Fi jamming, congestion, interference

@davey_d​ Thank you for the response.  Could you please define what constitutes "Wi-Fi ever goes down?"  Does this include the conditions I mentioned, including RF interference/jamming and congestion?

I can test the condition of completely dropped/disconnected Wi-Fi by turning off Wi-Fi on my router immediately after triggering an alarm and see if the alerts come through.  What I cannot easily test is the scenario where a burglar jams the Wi-Fi signal or the scenario where there is congestion (from neighbors' Wi-Fi activity) on the specific Wi-Fi channel being used by the base station and router.  Would both of those scenarios also result in the base station immediately realizing that Wi-Fi is not working properly and immediately sending any alerts over cellular?  Or does the base station continue to try to send alerts only over Wi-Fi during these two scenarios because the Wi-Fi itself isn't actually turned off or disconnected?

Also, do any of these three Wi-Fi related conditions (Wi-Fi signal dropped / Wi-Fi signal jammed - Wi-Fi signal congested) trigger any warning push notifications and SMS alerts alerting the user?

Finally, any plans to include an ethernet port in a future version of the base station?  A wired connection to the router would be more secure than a Wi-Fi connection.

Thanks.

@davey_d​ 

That is NOT true because I am out of town currently and 4 of my cameras went down., as well as the wifi to my base station and I was NOtT notified with notifications on.  I have had this system since 2019 and I would NOT recommend it to anyone!. 4 of my automatic door locks don’t work due to a plastic red part and Simplisafe has told me for over 6 months that they don’t have the parts.  A HORRIBLE experience!

I found out that my Simplisafe system wasn’t connected to the WiFi via Amazon Alexa INSTEAD of Simplisafe App push or SMS notifications.  Plus all of the telephone agents live in South America or The Philippines which really scares me!  

@lance843​ As I understand it, the system only notifies when the signal between base station and sensors is jammed.  I don't believe it notifies when the Wi-Fi signal between base station and router is jammed.  Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

As far as Wi-Fi congestion is concerned, the problem there is that the base station connects only at 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, which has very limited number of available channels.  If a neighbor's or multiple neighbors'  Wi-Fi routers are actively using the same channel as your router, it may cause your Wi-Fi to slow down considerably, potentially even preventing your base station from being able to send data/alerts.  The base station may not even realize that the Wi-Fi has been "cut off" for lack of a better term.  And I'm not sure if under such circumstances, the SS system recognizes that Wi-Fi isn't working (alerts can't go out) and immediately sends the alerts over cellular, and if there's any delay.

@Boring_Joe​ congestion shouldn't be too much of an issue. The signals sent by your Base Station are literally just very tiny packets of text data, so it would be easier to push through.

Regarding warning notifications: WiFi Disconnected and Wireless Interference Detected (for radio jamming) are two separate warnings. If WiFi was jammed, cell should be taking over, which is how the WiFi Disconnect signal is sent. So it's super important to keep that backup connection stable.

Sorry i'm behind..so, do I use my cell phone as back up or is there another cell signal already from the base? 

@doggedepot143​ The Base Station has its own built-in cellular backup that can take over and operate on a cellular network in the event that Wi-Fi gets disconnected. 

@lance843​ 

Not true!  I currently had the base station, 4 cameras disconnected and I received NO notifications whatsoever from Simplisafe and the backup wifi didn’t connect either and I am 4 hours away. Simplisafe is UNRELIABLE!!!

@shiherlis​ to clarify, you did see a Wi-Fi Disconnected message on your Timeline exactly when you expected it?

If so, that means the connection between your Base Station and the Monitoring Service was okay. And you might be right, the actual issue is just that the app didn't produce a notification when it should have.

Should there have been an actual alarm event in this scenario, you might not have gotten the popup message on your phone, but you would still get the phone call from Monitoring, and of course we would dispatch the authorities if you were not able to answer.

The not-so-good news is that I haven't heard of any (widespread) issues recently that would affect Push Notifications, so it's harder to pinpoint the cause of this incident. And as you said, our app team is establishing a very regular cadence for app updates, so if there were bugs detected, we can fix them faster.

Since you mention heading for vacation soon, I'm requested a call from one of our Specialists to do a check-up with you. So we can make sure that your system is in good shape before you go away.

@davey_d to clarify, you did see a Wi-Fi Disconnected message on your Timeline exactly when you expected it?

I know this will likely not be read until Monday, but I did not expect it. My Wi-Fi was working the entire time with all other components. I was streaming, accessing Google Home, and using my PC without issue. I honestly would have never known had I not reviewed my Timeline (and within seven days).

Thank you for putting in a request for one of the Specialists to call. I will order extra entry sensors just in case (I will hide some that will trigger in unexpected places).

@Boring_Joe​

SS2 (the previous generation) did have a telephone jack as an alternative to the wireless connection to the Dispatch Service so that one could connect it to a landline. Still, it also did not have Wi-Fi capability (it was cellular only).

I think it is an excellent idea as I prefer an Ethernet port on all of my Wi-Fi devices and have them connected as such, but unfortunately, a new SimpliSafe system will not be coming anytime soon.

Yep - Simplisafe needs to address the jammng thing.  Regardless of base station, my cameras (esp. the doorbell camera) goes offline and there's absolutely no monitoring and record of a break-in (or porch piracy) if that (already unrelaible) doorbell connection going down.  We need optional ethernet connectivity.  Already looking for alternatives.