How to Control SimpliSafe with Alexa

The SimpliSafe integration with Alexa can’t do everything—for example, it can’t control your cameras. But enabling the SimpliSafe skill will let you arm your system with your voice and check your system’s status.

You’ll enable the SimpliSafe skill through the Alexa app on your smartphone.

Important note: You have to be subscribed to SimpliSafe’s Fast Protect (formerly Interactive) monitoring plan for the Alexa integration to work. The Fast Protect plan costs $29.99 per month, and you can activate a subscription through the SimpliSafe website or mobile app.

Scroll down on the home screen to find the Popular Skills section, and select Browse Skills. The SimpliSafe skill is free to enable, but you will need to log in to your SimpliSafe account to link it to your Alexa device.

Search for “SimpliSafe” and the skill will pull right up as SimpliSafe Home Control.

Tap the Launch button on the SimpliSafe skill and the Alexa app will automatically direct you to a SimpliSafe login page.

Enter the account login information you created when you set up your SimpliSafe system.

Once you’ve logged into your SimpliSafe account, you should get a confirmation message.

If you don’t have (or don’t want) the Alexa skill on your phone, then you can also set this up through Amazon’s website. Just search for “SimpliSafe” under Alexa Skills and follow the same steps.

To ask Alexa to arm your SimpliSafe system, start with the phrase, “Alexa tell SimpliSafe,” or “Alexa, ask SimpliSafe.”

From there, you can arm your system using several different command phrases, including, “Alexa, ask SimpliSafe to arm my system”; “Alexa, tell SimpliSafe I’m leaving”; and “Alexa, tell SimpliSafe I’m going to bed.”

Note that you can’t currently disarm your SimpliSafe system using Alexa. Some other security systems do let you use Alexa to disarm your system, but SimpliSafe considers it a security feature that you can’t disarm your system with just your voice. (Potential intruders usually have voices too.)

If you want to know your SimpliSafe system’s status without walking all the way over to the keypad, you can ask Alexa to tell you. Phrases like, “Alexa, ask SimpliSafe if my house is secure” will do the job. But you can also say, “Alexa, ask SimpliSafe what’s shakin’?” SimpliSafe won’t be winning any comedy awards for that one, but it works.

You can’t currently ask Alexa to test your SimpliSafe system. You’ll still have to do that manually if you want to make sure all your sensors are working properly.

The SimpliSafe Alexa skill isn’t exactly the most robust one we’ve seen. You can’t ask Alexa to tell you if any doors or windows are open, and you can’t ask Alexa to turn on your SimpliSafe cameras (or show you your SimpliSafe camera live feed on your Echo Show.)

If you have a SimpliSafe smart door lock, you also can’t ask Alexa to lock the door for you.

We’d love to see SimpliSafe add these features in the future, but for now, it’s a bit, well, simple.