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SimpliSafe alarm signals: beeps, chirps and lights

SimpliSafe’s Smoke Detector is a wireless detector that reports to the SimpliSafe Base Station, and SimpliSafe gives its light in two colours: red for normal running, a recent test and smoke, yellow for something wrong with the detector itself, which it pairs with a chirp. The rhythm of the yellow chirp tells the three yellow states apart: once a minute with a steady light is the tamper switch, once a minute with a flashing light is a low battery, every 20–30 seconds is a malfunction. SimpliSafe’s newer Smoke & CO Detector uses a different set of signals, listed separately further down this page.

If it is sounding a full alarm: the maker’s emergency instruction

Smoke alarm

SimpliSafe: a red flashing light with a shrieking sound means smoke detected; move to fresh air as soon as possible. The Base Station and any Extra Siren sound with it. On a monitoring plan, the first primary contact gets an alarm text and a phone call from the monitoring center; on that call you can cancel a smoke alarm or ask for the fire department, and if nobody answers or cancels at the Keypad in time, the monitoring team asks the local fire department to come on its own. You can also ask for the fire department by replying “H” to the alarm text or from the alarm screen in the SimpliSafe app.

From Smoke Detector LED Status Light Colors and How Does the Smoke Detector Respond During an Alarm?.

The SimpliSafe alarm on these pages senses smoke only. For a carbon monoxide alarm, follow its own maker’s instruction.

Every SimpliSafe signal we could source, side by side

7 signals. Tap what it means to jump to the drawing, SimpliSafe’s steps and the source. If your alarm’s pattern is not exactly one of these, check the manual for your model: SimpliSafe models do not all use the same signals.

What you seeWhat you hearWhat it means
One red flash every 5–6 minutesSilentNormal operation: All is well: SimpliSafe lists a red flash every 5–6 minutes with no sound as the Smoke Detector’s ordinary state.
One red flash about every 10 secondsSilentNormal operation: The detector was tested in the last few minutes.
Red light flashingShrieking alarm soundReal alarm: Smoke detected.
Yellow light, steady (not flashing)One chirp every minuteFault: Tamper switch error: the small button on the back of the detector is not being held down by its mounting bracket, usually because the detector is not seated fully on the bracket.
Yellow light, flashingOne chirp every minuteLow battery: Low battery.
Yellow light, flashingOne chirp every 20–30 secondsFault: Malfunction.
No light at allSilentFault: The detector is not receiving power.

Red flash every 5–6 minutes, no sound

Normal operation · smoke

One red flash every 5–6 minutes; Silent

All is well: SimpliSafe lists a red flash every 5–6 minutes with no sound as the Smoke Detector’s ordinary state.

What you see
One red flash every 5–6 minutes
What you hear
Silent

If it is sounding a full alarm instead: SimpliSafe’s emergency instruction, top of this page

What SimpliSafe says to do about this signal

  1. Nothing to do.

Source:

Red flash every 10 seconds, no sound (after a test)

Normal operation · smoke

One red flash about every 10 seconds; Silent

The detector was tested in the last few minutes. SimpliSafe says the usual flash, every 5–6 minutes, comes back after 5 minutes.

What you see
One red flash about every 10 seconds
What you hear
Silent

If it is sounding a full alarm instead: SimpliSafe’s emergency instruction, top of this page

What SimpliSafe says to do about this signal

  1. Nothing to do; wait 5 minutes for the slow flash to return.
  2. SimpliSafe’s test is a press of the test button for 1 second, which makes the detector chirp loudly 3–4 times and the Base Station announce “Smoke Detector”. Holding the button longer can cancel the test.

Source:

Red flashing light and a shrieking sound

Real alarm · smoke

Red light flashing; Shrieking alarm sound

Smoke detected. SimpliSafe’s instruction is to move to fresh air as soon as possible.

What you see
Red light flashing
What you hear
Shrieking alarm sound

Do this first: SimpliSafe’s smoke alarm instruction, top of this page

What SimpliSafe says to do about this signal

  1. Follow the instructions at the top of this page.
  2. SimpliSafe says the monitoring center treats smoke as a real emergency even when the system is in Test Mode.

Source:

Steady yellow light, chirp every minute (tamper switch)

Fault · smoke

Yellow light, steady (not flashing); One chirp every minute

Tamper switch error: the small button on the back of the detector is not being held down by its mounting bracket, usually because the detector is not seated fully on the bracket.

What you see
Yellow light, steady (not flashing)
What you hear
One chirp every minute

If it is sounding a full alarm instead: SimpliSafe’s emergency instruction, top of this page

What SimpliSafe says to do about this signal

  1. Take the detector off its bracket and press the tamper switch on the back with your finger to check it moves, then put the detector back.
  2. Twist it fully into the bracket until you hear it snap into place; SimpliSafe says the yellow warning should stop at once.
  3. If the light stays on, SimpliSafe says the bracket may be screwed down so tightly that its plastic has warped: take the detector off, loosen the screws slightly and mount it again.

Source:

Flashing yellow light, chirp every minute (low battery)

Low battery · smoke

Yellow light, flashing; One chirp every minute

Low battery.

What you see
Yellow light, flashing
What you hear
One chirp every minute

If it is sounding a full alarm instead: SimpliSafe’s emergency instruction, top of this page

What SimpliSafe says to do about this signal

  1. Take the detector off its bracket.
  2. Press and hold the grey button under the words “DO NOT PAINT” and slide the front panel off.
  3. Replace the batteries, put the front panel back and return the detector to its bracket.
  4. SimpliSafe’s test article gives the Smoke Detector’s battery as a single CR-123A lithium 3 V cell lasting 3–5 years, depending on placement and use.

Source:

Flashing yellow light, chirp every 20–30 seconds (malfunction)

Fault · smoke

Yellow light, flashing; One chirp every 20–30 seconds

Malfunction.

What you see
Yellow light, flashing
What you hear
One chirp every 20–30 seconds

If it is sounding a full alarm instead: SimpliSafe’s emergency instruction, top of this page

What SimpliSafe says to do about this signal

  1. Contact SimpliSafe’s support team, which SimpliSafe says can help troubleshoot further.

Source:

No light and no sound at all

Fault · smoke

No light at all; Silent

The detector is not receiving power. Even its normal state shows a red flash every 5–6 minutes, so a detector that never flashes is not working.

What you see
No light at all
What you hear
Silent

If it is sounding a full alarm instead: SimpliSafe’s emergency instruction, top of this page

What SimpliSafe says to do about this signal

  1. Make sure the battery tab has been pulled out of the detector and fresh batteries are in.
  2. If it still shows nothing, contact SimpliSafe’s support team.

Source:

SimpliSafe Smoke & CO Detector: its own signals

The 2-in-1 Smoke & CO Detector senses carbon monoxide as well as smoke, and SimpliSafe documents its lights in a separate article: its normal state is a green blink, not a red one, and smoke and CO are told apart by the number of red blinks and chirps. If your SimpliSafe detector blinks green, it is this one; the Smoke Detector above has no green light in SimpliSafe’s list.

7 signals, as SimpliSafe lists them for this model only; they are not mixed into the list above.

What you seeWhat you hearWhat SimpliSafe says it means
Red light blinks 3 times rapidly3 chirps, a 1-second pause, 3 chirpsSmoke detected. (Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detector LED Status Light Colors)
Red light blinks 4 times rapidly4 chirps, a 1-second pause, 4 chirpsCarbon monoxide detected. SimpliSafe says that, because carbon monoxide poisoning can be life-threatening, there is no way to cancel a CO alarm. (Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detector LED Status Light Colors, How Does the Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detector Respond During an Alarm?)
Yellow light blinks twice every 4 secondsOne chirp a minuteNot seated on its mounting bracket properly, so the tamper switch is not held down. Twist it fully into the bracket until it snaps into place. (Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detector LED Status Light Colors, What is the Constant Yellow Light on the Smoke and/or CO Detector?)
Blinking yellow lightOne chirp a minuteLow battery. (Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detector LED Status Light Colors)
Blinking yellow lightThree chirps a minuteMalfunction, or no longer working within its intended sensitivity. SimpliSafe’s support team can help. (Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detector LED Status Light Colors)
Green light blinks once every 50 secondsSilentNormal: the detector is working properly. (Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detector LED Status Light Colors)
No lightSilentNo power to the unit. (Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detector LED Status Light Colors)

Sources for this model:

Sources

Every line on this page comes from SimpliSafe’s own documents, read on the date shown. Nothing is taken from third-party code sites or other makes.

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