This SimpliSafe Outdoor Camera Review analyzes its pros & cons, Installation process, video quality and so on, to help you decide whether it is worthwhile to buy it.

The SimpliSafe Outdoor Camera has clear video and great sound. A siren, zoom, and spotlight are also included. Other than that, this home security camera lacks features that comparable wireless outdoor security camera brands provide.

Anyone who owns (or intends to purchase) the third-generation SimpliSafe Home Security System will do well to consider the wireless outdoor security camera from SimpliSafe. Although it provides clear 1080p video, color night vision, and intelligent alerts, access to the latter and recorded video requires a subscription.

In order to assess how well the SimpliSafe Outdoor Camera performs in comparison to other security cameras, we tested it in a real yard. Keep reading!

About SimpliSafe Outdoor Camera

For its police dispatch service, the SimpliSafe smart alarm system partially relies on security cameras, with monitoring teams checking feeds to see if anyone is inside your house. The new SimpliSafe Wireless Outdoor Security Camera joins the existing indoor camera in recording to your SimpliSafe cloud, assuming you already have a subscription.

Quality daylight video, simple installation, and a mildly irksome dearth of features are all on offer. The ability to add outdoor surveillance without incurring any additional cloud fees, however, may be helpful if SimpliSafe is already installed in your home.

Pros & Cons Of SimpliSafe Outdoor Camera

Pros

• Outstanding sound
• Easy installation
• Wireless Sharp
• 1080p video
• Color night vision
• Intelligent alerts
• Easy to install

Cons

• No motion sensitivity settings
• No privacy zones
• Overactive sensitivity
• Pricey Only works with third-gen
• Simplisafe Security System
• Some features require monitoring plan
• Limited third-party integrations

Features Of SimpliSafe Outdoor Camera

• People-only detection
• Hard to stop the camera from recording
• Integrates with your alarm system

A SimpliSafe Pro Premium subscription plan (£19.99 per month) is required to operate the camera and capture video. This enables you to set up as many as 10 cameras with endless recording. With this subscription, SimpliSafe will monitor your alarm system and automatically call the police if your camera feed reveals that someone has broken into your home. This is more expensive than the comparable Ring plan, but it gives you SimpliSafe’s monitoring instead of Ring’s.

You must enable video verification on the SimpliSafe Wireless Outdoor Security Camera in order for SimpliSafe to check the recorded video.

Control from the app is similar to that of most other security cameras. You can view the action and even engage in a two-way chat with anyone you may have spotted by tapping the Live feed button.

When you click the History button, a list of thumbnails representing each time the camera-captured motion will appear. Though useful for recent events, this list lacks a date filter, making it laborious to scroll through to older events.

The Timeline view, which has a date filter and displays all events (including cameras and alarms), is an alternative.

The Share button allows users to download video clips. The app will then ask you whether the video belongs in the Crime, Funny, Animal Activity, or Other categories. After I selected Funny, SimpliSafe prompted me to share the clip in the hopes that it would be shared on social media in return for two months of free monitoring. It’s a grating message, and I couldn’t find a way to stop the app from presenting it as a choice permanently.

Notably, SimpliSafe only requests authorization to view the video clip in order to provide advice if you select the category of Crime. Still, I’d choose to stay silent and keep my video clips to myself.

The camera is initially set to only detect people, but there is a setting change option to switch this to All Motion. That matches Ring cameras, but Arlo and Nest cameras can also detect moving objects like cars and animals.

For the majority of circumstances, SimpliSafe’s detection is adequate. With only the occasional false positive when there wasn’t actually a person, I found its detection to be accurate. To further cut down on notifications, motion sensitivity can be changed, and activity zones can be added.

However, I wish I had more control over when the camera records. While Arlo cameras offer scheduling and geolocation through their modes, Ring cameras can be set to turn on and off in sync with the Ring Alarm’s mode.

When you don’t want the camera to record anything, the SimpliSafe Wireless Outdoor Security Camera’s motion detection can only be manually turned off. It is also possible to disable notifications, even though the camera will still record.

The SimpliSafe Wireless Outdoor Security Camera, which records in Full HD, provides two choices for night-vision mode. The first option uses IR to capture images in standard black and white, while the second option illuminates the scene and captures images in full color.

The battery will deplete faster in the latter mode because it uses more energy. Depending on how active the camera is, batteries should typically last between three and six months. My findings support that, but I recommend carefully positioning the camera so that it ignores any busy roads or onlookers and only focuses on your property.

Finally, the camera is integrated with the SimpliSafe alarm. The 80dB siren on the camera will sound if the alarm is set off. That is beneficial because it makes your home’s alarm system more noticeable.

Quick Installation Of SimpliSafe Outdoor Camera

To install this grapefruit-sized camera with your SimpliSafe home security system, all you need to do is tap on Add New Camera. The rest will be explained to you by the SimpliSafe app. We completed the installation process in about 10 minutes.

To attach it to a metal post, we merely used the magnetic mount. It will require a little more time if screws are required for mounting.

One of the simplest cameras we’ve ever set up, without a doubt. (Additionally, we have many cameras set up.)

Rugged And Rechargeable

The SimpliSafe Wireless Outdoor Camera has an IP65-rated white cylinder-shaped enclosure that shields it from water and dust. It has dimensions of 3.1 inches by 2.9 inches and is mounted to a metal ball using a round metal mounting ball in a manner akin to the Arlo Pro series of cameras. Additionally, a threaded mounting hole is present for use with an additional screw-in mount. Located on the back are a USB power port and a pairing button.

A 1080p camera with a 140-degree field of view and 8x digital zoom is located on the front of the glossy black enclosure. For night vision in full color and black and white, it uses an integrated spotlight and has two infrared LEDs.

An 80dB siren and a speaker and microphone for two-way audio are also built into the camera assembly. You can program the camera to turn on the spotlight and siren when motion is detected to help deter unwanted visitors.

The camera is powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that can last three to six months between charges depending on usage and connects to your network via an integrated 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio. Simply twist off the front camera assembly to access the battery, take it out, and charge it with the USB cable that is provided. The camera can also be powered by a $49.99 cable, which eliminates the need for battery charging.

Overly Sensitive Motion Sensor

Since this security camera detects motion, we’ll be honest and say that it irritates us. Every few seconds, we received notifications. It gathered leaves, insects, and other unwanted objects. Funny enough, some people were left out. This SimpliSafe video camera doesn’t have the option to lower the sensitivity, which is something we wanted.

To prevent the camera from detecting activity from busy areas like sidewalks or roads, activity zones can be set up. The limitation that only allows you to choose one area to ignore is a problem. You must decide which busy area to ignore if your camera is pointed at several. It’s a real bummer because other cameras, like the Arlo Pro 4, allow you to create multiple activity zones.

Video Quality Of SimpliSafe Outdoor Camera

• Excellent footage during the day
• Slightly soft night-time footage

With its 140-degree lens, the SimpliSafe Wireless Outdoor Security Camera can capture a sizable portion of the outside without having to be overly cautious about where it goes.

It captures video in Full HD, and during the day, the footage is about as good as you can hope for from a Full HD camera: it is sharp and well-exposed, and faces are easily visible in the picture.

I was a little let down by the spotlight and full-color night vision because the camera produces much softer video at night. The video was noisy and lacking in detail even with the garden lights on. Although you can see what’s happening, a lot of the specifics are not present.

SimpliSafe Outdoor Camera Vs. Other Outdoor Cameras

Although it costs a little less than its rivals, the SimpliSafe Outdoor Cam does not support smart home integration like Ring, Arlo, or Google Nest cameras. It doesn’t even provide basic features like privacy zones that stop the camera from recording in specific locations (like over your neighbor’s fence). Controls for motion sensitivity are also necessary.

Given what you get, we believe the $30 premium other brands charge is justified. Ring Alarm balances camera quality with all the benefits of a DIY security system better. Check out our comparison of SimpliSafe vs. Ring.

Final Words on SimpliSafe Outdoor Camera Review

If you’re looking to expand a SimpliSafe system into your yard or driveway, you’re kinda stuck with the SimpliSafe Outdoor Camera.

The SimpliSafe Outdoor Camera, a true outdoor camera with 1080p HD resolution, color night vision, an IP65 weather rating, and a built-in siren is a significant new addition to the SimpliSafe family of products. While we’d prefer to have local storage options, SimpliSafe does offer reasonably priced cloud storage.

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