10/13/2022
Ben Smith
The SimpliSafe doorbell has to be hardwired. So if you have purchased a camera only to learn that you need to have an existing doorbell to install it don’t worry yet! There is an easy option to install the wiring yourself for under \$15. In this article I am going to show you how to run the wiring to install a doorbell camera properly.
In order to install a SimpliSafe doorbell camera without an existing doorbell, you will need to purchase a 18 VAC doorbell power supply adapter that gets plugged into an outlet near the door. From there, you can drill a small hole to run the wiring to the outside of the home.
From there you just follow the instructions like normal for installing the camera.
Here is a quick video of how this youtuber did his.
Here is another good video on how to connect the wires to the doorbell camera itself.
You can use anywhere between a 8-24 volt adapter for this camera. It is recommended to have a 16 volt adapter for the best experience.
You could use this adapter from amazon to power the camera just fine.
If you have an existing doorbell, the SimpliSafe doorbell camera will utilize your existing doorbell chime. There is not additional work needed. However, if you don’t have an existing doorbell then you will need to look at other options if you want something to play a chime within the house.
Yes this camera does need to be hardwired in. There are no options to place a battery inside of the camera. Other cameras, such as the Ring doorbell 3, use batteries so you don’t need to worry about hardwiring it.
If you don’t have an existing doorbell chime, you can use the base station or just depend on the app. The base will be able to play a chime whenever the doorbell is pushed because of a new software update recently put out. The other option is to just download the app and set up alerts to your phone.
Yes, it works even without a chime box. It only requires that it be plugged in and you will need wifi if you want to stream it to your phone. Even if you don’t want to use one of the options above, there is no need to have a chime at all. Although most people would prefer one.
Wiring up the doorbell is a great option to not have to worry about recharging the batteries. Using the techniques above will also help prevent you from having to hire an electrician. For under \$15 you can have the power of the SimpliSafe doorbell camera hard wired into the home.