SimpliSafe Wireless Outdoor Camera Review

In terms of features, the SimpliSafe outdoor camera is well-rounded—you’ve now got activity zones and motion sensitivity settings that make using the camera a whole lot easier. Its footage is crisp and clear, so you’ll never second-guess whether your neighbor is paying you a visit or a mysterious figure is lurking around your front porch.

Not to mention that this is one of the easiest outdoor cameras we’ve ever had to install.

But the SimpliSafe outdoor camera isn’t the cheapest camera on the block. And it’s still missing some home automation and storage (without a monitoring plan) features that we’d love to see.

Pop the lid on your SimpliSafe outdoor camera kit and you’ll find the following goodies inside:

• A white outdoor camera
• A magnetic base that fits into the bottom of the camera and secures into the wall mount
• A wall mount and screws
• A rechargeable battery
• A USB cable

One important thing to note is that the outdoor camera does not come with a SimpliSafe base station, but you do need one for it to function.

Also missing—but optional—is a SimpliSafe solar panel. You don’t necessarily need this, since the camera comes with a USB cable and rechargeable battery. But the solar panel is nice to have if you’re ever worried about your camera running out of juice or prefer a more environmentally friendly solution.

As far as outdoor cameras go, SimpliSafe’s price is higher than other comparable cams. You’ll find cheaper alternatives with the Blink Outdoor camera and the Arlo Pro 4.

But sometimes paying more is worth it if you get extra features. One of our complaints while testing the SimpliSafe outdoor camera was that it felt barebones when it came to features.

Specifically, the lack of person detection, privacy zones, and options to adjust the motion sensitivity left us feeling a little short-changed, considering the cost of the camera.

You can technically still use SimpliSafe's "intelligent motion detection algorithm" with its cameras, but you'll need to pay for a Fast Protect or Self Monitoring with Cameras professional monitoring plan to use that feature.

We are, however, pleased as punch to see that the SimpliSafe outdoor camera now offers activity zones. You can set these up in the SimpliSafe app to tell the camera which areas in its field of view it should focus on versus which areas it can ignore. The outdoor camera also now has two-way audio, meaning you can talk to anyone near the camera.

By comparison, the Arlo Pro 4 outdoor camera costs about $50 less, comes with a wider field of view, and doesn’t require a hub to work. And if you grab the Arlo Secure plan with the Pro 4, you can set up motion zones so your camera focuses on a specific area in its view, like your front door or mailbox.

The Arlo Pro 4 also doubles as an indoor camera and comes with smoke and carbon monoxide alarm detectors.

On the budget end of the spectrum, the Blink Outdoor camera has a much smaller field of vision than the SimpliSafe outdoor camera. But it comes with adjustable motion zones and up to two privacy zones, which means you can focus on your Halloween candy bucket in case someone decides to get a little greedy. (Hey, it happened to us.)

On the other hand, we found SimpliSafe’s outdoor camera video quality blew Blink Outdoor’s video quality out of the water.

SimpliSafe offers three types of monitoring plans to go with its outdoor camera, and we think they’re worth the cost based on the additional features you get.

Our favorite is the Fast Protect (formerly Interactive) plan. Despite its higher price, it comes with a slew of extras that make it well worth the cost.

Video-verified alarms reduce the chance of false alarms (and the annoyance of clearing up the misunderstanding with police). If an alarm sounds, representatives at SimpliSafe’s monitoring center will look at up to 30 seconds of live footage from your camera. If they spot an intruder, they’ll alert the police on your behalf and provide video evidence.

The 24/7 police, fire, and ambulance dispatch is a reassuring feature in case you can’t dial 911 yourself.

A built-in cellular connection means your security system is still on the prowl even if your Wi-Fi or phone service goes down.

But if those features don’t sound like must-haves to you, you can still go with the Self-Monitoring plan to view live HD footage with smarter motion detection with your outdoor camera.

The SimpliSafe outdoor camera won’t blow your mind with features, but it does offer some necessary functions. Here’s what you can expect from it:

• HD (1080p) video
• 140-degree field of vision and motion detection up to 30 feet
• Motion-activated spotlight
• 80-decibel siren
• Color night vision
• Two-way audio
• Motion alerts
• SimpliSafe’s “intelligent motion detection algorithm” (with a monitoring plan only)
• Magnetic base and wall mount
• Rechargeable battery that lasts 3–6 months (5-hour recharge time)
• SimpliSafe solar panel compatibility
• Android or iPhone app controls
• IP65 water and dust resistance rating

While we weren’t hyped about the lack of features, the SimpliSafe outdoor camera does exceed our expectations when it comes to video quality and ease of installation.

Have you ever squinted your eyes at your camera’s video footage, trying to figure out if that’s your neighbor’s dog or a cougar lurking in your backyard? No thank you.

This is one feature the SimpliSafe outdoor camera gets right. Its video quality is exceptionally clear. Just check out this view from our test where a visitor approaches our front door:

Speaking of clear video footage, the SimpliSafe outdoor camera’s night vision could be used on the next Navy SEAL operation.

Okay, maybe you won’t see it used for national security purposes, but as far as home security purposes go, its night vision is superb.

You can also choose to turn the camera’s spotlight on if it detects motion. When the spotlight is on, you can view all those night-time antics in color. But it does make your battery life drain faster, so keep tabs on your power levels.

The magnetic base and mount means installing your new SimpliSafe outdoor camera is a walk in the park. Plus, it’s truly wireless, so there’s no need to drill holes so it can connect to the hub.

Our experience with the SimpliSafe camera itself wasn’t too bad. A lack of customizable motion detection areas and privacy zones aside, the camera is easy to install and the app is user-friendly.

But the number of notifications we received was off the charts.

Thanks to its extremely sensitive motion detection, the camera’s app pinged us more than a jealous ex who might’ve had too much to drink. The camera sent us a notification nudge every time it picked up leaves and bugs flying across its field of vision.

Annoying. Not to mention that, despite picking up leaves and insects, it somehow missed a few humans skipping across its line of sight.

One workaround we found that might quiet those notifications is to adjust the Motion Detection settings for the camera in the SimpliSafe app. You can change the motion detection sensitivity from low to medium to high and also ask it to detect “All motion” or “People-only” motion.

We mentioned before, but we’ll say it again—Installing the SimpliSafe outdoor camera was a dream. Even getting the technical side of things set up through the app was simple. It was, by far, one of the easiest outdoor cameras we’ve ever set up.

SimpliSafe outdoor camera installation steps:

• First, make sure your battery is fully charged (all three lights on the battery should light up)
• Place your battery in the camera so the three metal dots line up with the three lines—your camera will chime and flash its light when the battery is in the right spot
• Follow the steps for setting up a camera in the SimpliSafe app
• Install the mounting plate by sticking it to a magnetic surface or by screwing it into a non-magnetic surface
• Take the magnetic camera base and twist it into the mounting plate
• Attach the camera to the magnetic base and you’re ready to go

It’s easy to slap the magnetic wall mount up outside, connect your SimpliSafe camera, and go. But just like it’s easy to install, it could be easy for burglars to pull it off the wall and therefore get rid of your eyes in the sky.

This SimpliSafe outdoor camera uses a removable, rechargeable battery. It takes about five hours to charge, and if you're worried about vulnerable downtime during charging, you can purchase a backup battery from SimpliSafe for about $30. Or, if you're not interested in having to recharge or change a battery every few months, you can get a 24-foot power cable to keep your camera fully charged. The cord is water-resistant, so you can even leave it outside for most temperatures.

The SimpliSafe outdoor camera works with Alexa and Google Home. So you can change settings or turn the camera off and on with your voice. That’s a great option if your hands are full pulling dinner out of the oven.

Sad news, friends: The SimpliSafe outdoor camera doesn’t sync with other smart home devices. So if you’re looking for something to pair with your Alexa or set up in your IFTTT routine, you may want to look elsewhere. If you’re hoping for IFTTT integrations, you might want to check out the Canary Pro (All-in-One) or Arlo Pro 4.

The SimpliSafe wireless outdoor camera is a great addition if you already have a SimpliSafe home security system. We’d like to see more features added to the camera, but as it stands it’s a good middle-of-the-road choice as far as outdoor cameras go.

• Price: The SimpliSafe outdoor camera isn’t the cheapest option on the block, but it isn’t the most expensive either. The cost for the features you get is all right—you might find more features, like home automation, if you chip in for a more expensive model.
• Features: We love the camera’s crisp and clear daytime and nighttime video footage. It’s also a breeze to install, both physically and through the SimpliSafe app. Considering the high-ish price, we do wish it had a few more features, like smoke detection and recording storage without a monitoring plan.
• User experience: Using the SimpliSafe outdoor camera is incredibly easy. We did get swarmed by numerous notifications, but you can adjust the motion detection settings to reduce the number of alerts.
• Home automation: Alexa? Check. Google Home? Check. All that the SimpliSafe outdoor camera’s missing on the home automation front is IFTTT, Z-Wave, and Zigby.

To test the SimpliSafe wireless outdoor camera, we did hands-on testing, evaluating the following features and key factors:

1. Installation: Was it easy-breezy or frustrating? SimpliSafe's outdoor camera has super uncomplicated installation. It's wire-free and connects to a strong magnetic plate to hold it in place.  
2. Video quality during the day and at night: The Wireless Outdoor Camera has a crystal-clear night and day camera feed. You'll see just as easily after the sun goes down, thanks to the camera's HD night vision and 8x zoom capabilities.
3. Motion detection: Did it detect people, animals, leaves—or all three? This SimpliSafe camera doesn't inherently come with intelligent motion detection, but SimpliSafe's professional monitoring plans allow you to add this extra feature to your cameras.
4. App settings and notifications: With SimpliSafe's app, you can view a live feed of your camera at any time for no extra cost. You can subscribe to one of SimpliSafe's professional monitoring plans to access recorded motion alerts or scheduled arming.

We also looked at how customizable the settings are in the app, how long the battery lasts, whether the camera needs a hub or wired connection to work, and how well it integrates with smart home assistants like Alexa.

Do you have more questions about the SimpliSafe outdoor camera kit? We can help.