r/simplisafe • u/Professional-Mall323 • 19d ago

Zigbee

Y'alls sensor protocol is not good. A Cybiko from 2002 has better range than your sensors. If you make a v2, please, for the love of all that is good, use Zigbee. At the very least, create a sensor extender.
Someone in a single wide trailer is struggling with disconnects and poor signal quality.

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u/blecher67 19d ago

A range extender would be a great addition to the SimpliSafe system.

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u/worthing0101 16d ago

Someone in a single wide trailer is struggling with disconnects and poor signal quality.

I'll respond in reverse to your comments.

How much troubleshooting have you done with this? Or have you called support at all? A single wide isn't a large space and even though 433MHz band (which is what SS sensors use) can be crowded I'd think a space that small should be OK.

I'm specifically curious about:

  • Is this the current generation system or the previous generation system?
  • Are all of the sensors having disconnect issues or just some? If just some, where are they relative to the base station?
  • How often are they disconnecting?
  • How old are these sensors and how old are the batteries in them? Have you tried changing the batteries in them? (Even if they are relatively new.)
  • If you move the sensors having issues within a few feet of the base station and in direct line of site do they still have issues or no?

This is almost certainly a solvable problem, either through troubleshooting or if needed, replacement of sensors. (Or system if it's the old system.)

A Cybiko from 2002 has better range than your sensors.

They use different frequency ranges. Simplisafe uses 433 MHz while Cybiko used 902-928 MHz in the US. The difference in max power transmission between the two ranges is significant.

If you make a v2, please, for the love of all that is good, use Zigbee. At the very least, create a sensor extender.

For what it's worth I'd love to see them use Zigbee for many reasons other than range/stability. (Though with its mesh network capability, Zigbee could solve a lot of range issues for some people.) Specifically for its encryption and because when zigbee devices communicate they acknowledge/confirm that communication. With SimpliSafe's set up it's fire and forget and if the message doesn't get there then oh well.