The SimpliSafe Security System.
How it works.
Simple to choose, set-up and use. Our DIY home security system is a self-installed and self-maintained alarm. Just stick the sensors in place, and pair them to the Wireless Keypad and Base Station. No drilling. No wiring. No tools. Secure your home in less than an hour.
However, we do understand that installing smart home tech can sometimes be daunting. Which is why we have designed this page to explain how SimpliSafe works.
Take a tour of this two bedroom house to see where we recommend placing each sensor.
Setting up your Indoor Camera
Our indoor home security camera is the final piece of the system to install. With our professional monitoring plan, our professional monitoring centre uses the Indoor Camera(s) to visually verify an incident. Therefore we recommend they are placed in key areas an intruder is likely to pass by.
Always have one near your front and back door. And you can add some others around the house too. Let us take you on a walk through…
What is Video Verification?
When signed up to our Pro Premium plan, our professional monitoring centre visually confirms an incident via the Indoor Camera and can request police or fire service dispatch. Here's how it works:
When a sensor triggers the alarm, the Base Station will sound and send a signal through to our professional monitoring centre.
You'll receive a call from a security specialist and they’ll view 30 seconds of footage from the time of the alarm trigger.
If they visually confirm an intruder they will request police dispatch and if they confirm a fire they will request fire service dispatch.
And, with our Pro Premium plan we also offer guard dispatch. This is where a guard will be dispatched to your home to make sure everything is ok when you can't, providing that extra peace of mind. You can enable Video Verification in the app under Camera Settings.
What does the guard do?
The guard will ensure that the perimeter of the property is secure and actively look for any signs of a break in. If the guard finds that there has been a break in and there is damage to the property they will:
Call the police.
Call the keyholder(s).
Wait on site for the police and keyholder to arrive.
Report the findings via the professional monitoring centre automated reporting system.
But when would a guard be dispatched over police?
There are four scenarios:
If our professional monitoring centre can't visually confirm a break-in on your Indoor Camera.
If you can't get to your phone to answer the call from Securitas and if they can't reach other keyholders.
If you can't remember your safeword.
If you ask for a guard to be dispatched.
Worried about having a false alarm with guard dispatch? Don't be, just follow these handy tips:
Make sure you have at least five keyholders that our monitoring centre could call in case of an incident and they can't reach you.
Ensure your keyholders know they are one of your keyholders.
When selecting your safeword, make sure it's something memorable and easy to pronounce.
Frequently asked questions
SimpliSafe System
The Base Station is the 'brains' of the system. It's what controls the home security system and how all of the sensors connect - they are connected via radio frequency. If a sensor is triggered, it would sound its 95dB siren. If signed up to one of our professional monitoring plans, in an alarm event it sends a signal to our professional monitoring centre via its inbuilt cellular connection or WiFi.
Yes, each system comes with a Base Station, Wireless Keypad and Indoor home security camera as its core components. If signed up to our Pro Premium monitoring plan, in an alarm event our professional monitoring centre would call you and access the Indoor Camera (for 15 mins max) to then visually verify an incident (e.g. burglary or fire). If an incident is confirmed, they can request police or fire service dispatch.
The alarm is only triggered by the sensors. The Indoor Camera works as an individual component and it will send an alert to your phone upon it detecting motion.
Yes it is, but when installing Motion Sensors we recommend placing them at different heights as outlined in your setup guide. The Motion Sensor angles left, right and downwards at 45 degrees, but it does not angle upwards. With this in mind, we'd advise to place the Motion Sensor at 5ft with the test button facing down - this way it'd still catch an intruder who is around 5ft tall but ignore everything below.
Another option is to adjust the sensitivity. You can find the sensitivity switch on the back of the sensor next to the battery, it's usually set on medium but move this to the left to reduce it.
The batteries in the Wireless Keypad typically last 18-24 months. The sensors last from 24 - 36 months. The 105dB Siren lasts 12-18 months. The keypad will show when the batteries start to run low.
With Pro Premium monitoring included you can get our Foundation package for under £200 and work up from there.
No, it's only suitable for residential properties.
As it's a DIY system that is self-installed and self-maintained it isn't graded.
Our system communicates to our monitoring centre via WiFi and an inbuilt cellular connection interchangeably. If you have a professional monitoring plan with us and you don't have WiFi, the system will use its cellular back up. The Indoor Camera however, requires WiFi in order to work.
The system has three modes - Off, Home and Away. All sensors are armed apart from the Motion Sensors in 'Home' mode and all sensors are armed in 'Away' mode. You can customise each individual sensor whether it's armed or disarmed in Home or Away to suit what you need.
Our Smoke Detector is not interlinked. Whilst the SimpliSafe Smoke Detector still monitors for smoke and fires, and can work alongside another fire alarm system, it does not meet the new requirements in Scotland.
Indoor Camera
The Indoor Camera only records when it detects motion, in 60 second clips. To enable this feature, you’ll need to sign up to a plan that includes Camera Recording. Find out more here or call our team to discuss.
You can register up to 10 cameras.
Yes, the Indoor Camera costs £69.99. You can use it to view live footage via the app. If you want to record and store footage, you’ll need to sign up to a plan. Call our team to discuss your options.
There is an option for a privacy shutter which you can adjust in your settings.
It's 1080p. This can be lowered to 720p or 480p if required.
This indicates that the camera has connected to WIFI but cannot connect to the internet. If your internet is working fine, make sure your camera isn't too far away from the router. If you don't want to move it, hold down the button on the Indoor Camera for 20 seconds to hard reset and reinstall it.
Monitoring
Professional monitoring is when your property is monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all year round. On SimpliSafe's Pro Premium plan, it works like this: If there is an intruder, the monitoring centre can request police dispatch upon a visually verified incident. If an incident cannot be visually verified, a guard from the professional monitoring centre will be dispatched so they can investigate the alarm event further. SimpliSafe offers monitoring through our third party security company, who are the leading security provider in Europe.
Without monitoring, your system will act as a traditional, standalone alarm system. You will be notified by the siren sounding on your Base Station.
80% of calls will start to be processed within 90 seconds after the 30 second cancellation threshold. If you fail to answer the phone, our professional monitoring centre will leave a voicemail and call your key-holders.
They do not call if the alarm is cancelled within 30 seconds. This is an industry standard best practice approach and only applies to intruder alarms.
On our Pro Premium plan, they will view 30 seconds of footage from the time of the alarm trigger. If they establish a break-in, they will request police dispatch. If they cannot establish visual verification of a break-in taking place, the professional monitoring centre will dispatch one of their guards.
Yes - call the team on 0800-456-1789 and upon confirmation of your safeword over the phone, they can opt you out of guard dispatch.
Our professional monitoring centre will give the primary contact a call. If there's no answer, they will leave a voicemail and go through up to 4 keyholders, leaving voicemails. They will then call the primary contact again 15 minutes after the initial call.
On Pro Premium, they will view 30 seconds of footage from the time of the alarm trigger (you can give the professional monitoring receiving centre approval to do this via the app). If they cannot establish visual verification from the camera(s), they will dispatch a guard to the address.
If they establish visual verification of a break in taking place through the Indoor Camera(s) they will request police dispatch.
Yes, you can call the alarm receiving centre on the number provided on your online account under 'Monitoring' - 01908 580 869. They can then cancel the Guard response.
The numbers in which Securitas call you off are 01908 658 100 and 01908 580 850. You can also call Securitas on 01908 580 869.
No, Securitas would follow the usual procedure of calling you but can dispatch a guard if unable to reach you.
Still have questions? Schedule a call with one of our security experts here, or contact the team directly.
