A:AnswerNo, but all you get without paying for monitoring is real time viewing without the ability to capture or save video. Please read my review carefully, as I point out that you need the $25 / Month monitoring plan to capture continuous video from the app. This fact is not advertised clearly.
A:AnswerYes you can. I just purchased this solely for the cameras (value is ridiculous vs separate purchase!) and was able to link them to my current base station without using the base in the package.
A:AnswerThere's 4 plans that provide different options. Self monitoring is free, so you could buy the system and never pay for any services. To enable recording, that's $10/mo. To get dispatching that's $15/mo. The most comprehensive service is $25/mo. If you don't want to pay but want to monitor things or see recordings of events, Simplisafe is not the way to go for free.
A:AnswerYes, the Outdoor Camera features intelligent motion detection that can tell the difference between humans and other moving objects. It also features a spotlight for color vision even at night!
A:AnswerEven though you can add more devices including cameras, they all work off your home WiFi system and the Bandwidth used may impact all your devices on the WiFi. I have multiple cameras so I reduce the Video quality down a little to save some bandwidth.
A:AnswerFull charge lasts about 2 1/2 to 3 months. Depends on how much usage it gets.
The battery comes out of the camera very quickly and just plugs into a provided cable which plugs into any USB port/ Apple charger box.
It takes a few hour to charge fully.
A:AnswerYes, all of the items in this package communicate wirelessly. But unfortunately no, SimpliSafe is not able to integrate with other camera systems.
A:AnswerRuns on 2.4g
How much internet speed do I need for my camera?
WHY DOES INTERNET SPEED MATTER?
The speed required to operate the cameras depends on the resolution quality that the camera is sending. Higher resolutions require faster speeds. This is especially important to consider for during alarms when all cameras will record simultaneously and therefore require more speed.
You can determine your internet speed by using the Speed Test in the SimpliSafe App on your Smartphone.*
To learn how to improve your upload speed, click here.
RECOMMENDED SPEEDS
Below is a list of recommended upload speeds per camera. If you have multiple cameras streaming at once, the speed requirements go up accordingly. Please click here if you're receiving Video Error messages (No Video, Camera Disconnected, Unable to Stream Video, or Camera Connection Dropped).
Video Resolution
Recommended Upload Speed Minimum
1080p
2 mbps per camera
720p
1.5 mbps per camera
480p
0.75 mbps per camera
*If you run a Speed Test, you may find that your phone's speed test results are faster than the camera's. That is because your phone's wifi chip is able to receive and send enough data to support multiple internet activities simultaneously; however, our cameras' wifi chips are designed specifically for streaming. Streaming requires, at most, 2 mbps for 1080p, which means the camera does not have as high capacity as the phone's wifi chip.
A:AnswerIt depends on your home WiFi system and if you have Unlimited Data, I have the Basic System with 2 Cameras and it works ok but I do notice my WiFi drops more often probably due to the Video Streaming.
A:AnswerI have the sub $5 for all 10 cameras. Can download any clip to phone. Can do from anywhere in the world with internet connection. Phone can get notifications instantly. Images are stored in cloud 30 days I believe
A:AnswerThat T-Mobile internet service may use cell towers, and not cables underground like XFinity. It's possible that wireless communication may not be stable enough to support video streaming. So your SimpliSafe cameras may have trouble.
