SimpliSafe Outdoor Security Camera 2 review: Barely an upgrade

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SimpliSafe is one of the most venerable smart home security companies, and while it regularly refreshes its hardware, it does so device by device, rather than upgrading the entire system at once. Makes sense, because it has at least 16 different components you can mix and match with your existing SimpliSafe base station or add on to one of its hardware bundles. 

The latest upgrade to the SimpliSafe family is a new version of the SimpliSafe Wireless Outdoor Security Camera, which was released in 2021. The SimpliSafe Outdoor Security Camera 2 keeps the overall look and feel of the original, while making a few changes that offer some compelling upgrades. 

Features and design

Quite a few things remain the same: It’s still—surprisingly—a 1080p camera with IP65 weatherproofing (meaning it’s dust-proof and resistant to water jets sprayed from any direction) and a 140-degree field of view. Infrared night vision is included, along with a small spotlight, built-in two-way audio, and a 90 dB siren, while a magnetic base allows for easy repositioning. The camera can be powered either by its internal battery (SimpliSafe says it will last for up to 3 months), a microUSB power cable, or an optional solar panel ($80). 

Again, none of camera’s core features offer any major changes, and were it not for the sizeable ridge that now juts out beneath the lens housing, you might not notice any difference at all between the SimpliSafe Wireless Outdoor Security Camera 2 and its predecessor. 

Christopher Null/Foundry

Setup

If you already have a SimpliSafe system, setting up the camera is a simple affair that should take only a few minutes of onboarding. I set up a new hub from scratch for this review. Including all the unboxing, setup, tutorials, and upgrades, preparing a small system of hub, keypad, two sensors, and two cameras took about 45 minutes, with only one hiccup requiring an indoor camera to be reset.

The camera still works in conjunction with most other SimpliSafe gear, which means it will automatically record if the system is armed and one of the sensors is triggered. (SimpliSafe last updated its motion and entry sensors in 2023.) My only real complaint is that, bizarrely, SimpliSafe cameras still use dated microUSB connectors and cables for power instead of more modern (and symmetrical) USB-C. 

AI-powered threat detection

The biggest upgrade to the camera is its support for SimpliSafe’s Active Guard Outdoor Protection (AGOP), a new service that uses AI to detect potential threats on video, then alerts live (human) agents to view the camera feed and take action.

Agents can speak to trespassers, sound the siren, or turn on the spotlight—or all three—and dispatch police if the situation warrants it. 

Of course, to take advantage of this new feature, you will need one of SimpliSafe’s upper-tier monitoring plans. The Core plan ($32/month) doesn’t include AGOP. The Pro plan ($50/month) includes the AGOP service but only from 8pm to 6am local time each day. You’ll need the Pro Plus plan ($80/month, gulp) if you want 24/7 monitoring.

Other than that, all the plans are about the same, including unlimited cloud storage for up to 10 cameras, agent intervention on indoor cameras, and emergency dispatch services. 

Performance

I tested AGOP on the new Outdoor Camera 2 by arming the system and walking through the camera’s frame multiple times, as well as having my wife do so. 

What’s supposed to happen, per SimpliSafe, is that a SimpliSafe agent should connect to the camera’s speaker and let the intruder know they’re being monitored and recorded, then ask, “How can I help you?” What did happen during my testing is none of that: Not once did a voice come over the speaker at all.

Christopher Null/Foundry

The videos were, however, successfully monitored by SimpliSafe, as the app’s Timeline indicates when a clip is viewed by the company’s agents. Nearly all of these were categorized within a few minutes as “Common activity” and apparently dismissed as harmless. It wasn’t until I put on a baseball cap and ran through the frame—as suspiciously as I could—that the clip was categorized as “Person on property,” after which I received an email from SimpliSafe to that effect, along with a still from the video. The vetting process takes a few minutes to complete for each occurrence. 

The results might have been different had I run through the frame wielding a machete or repositioned the camera so it could spot me picking the lock. But SimpliSafe formally advises against simulating such criminal scenarios, as their agents can opt to call police directly in the event of serious emergencies. (Besides, there are limits to what I am willing to do for PCWorld.) The bottom line is that while testing AGOP to its fullest extent may not be wholly possible, it clearly doesn’t quite work the way it is marketed. 

AGOP also comes with some caveats. It only works with outdoor cameras (as the name implies) and it makes some mandatory changes to the camera’s settings in the process, notably dropping video quality down to 720 by 1280 pixels (720p), turning on IR night vision, and activating the status light. Medium motion sensitivity and people-only motion detection are also mandatory. As well, cameras with AGOP enabled must also be connected to wall power and can’t be running on battery power or have a solar connection. The only camera feature that the user has any real control over is the activity zone setting, so you can block out areas you don’t want monitored.

Of these constraints, the resolution drop is the most notable: 720p video is grainy and pixilated, and at a distance it’s difficult to make out faces with any level of reliability. Night vision is similarly washed out and murky. 

Should you buy the SimpliSafe Outdoor Security Camera 2?

The $200 asking price for the camera (much less if you shop around) is of course misleading, as you’ll spend a minimum of at least $600 more each year on monitoring.

If you don’t want or need the AGOP service–and it’s tough to say whether it’s worth that outlay–there’s really no reason to upgrade from the older, cheaper outdoor camera, which can be had for as little as $73 at this writing. 

This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best security cameras.