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Setup

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1. Download Simtek App 

 

   

2. Follow instructions

3. Self-arms itself automatically in 5 seconds when no light, motion or vibration detected. WILL NOT ARM UNTIL 5S ELAPSE AND NO LIGHT, MOTION OR VIBRATION DETECTED.

4. Alerts your phone when any of the sensors trigger. First alert after setup takes up to 10 minutes to receive; subsequent alerts between 20s - 30s, consistently, every time.

IMPORTANT TIPS:

Use the long wired external antenna for initial setup and the first few alerts to ensure maximum signal as it tries to find the best network for the first time. Later, you can unplug the external antenna and it'll auto switch to an onboard internal antenna (using the long external antenna is recommended). Learn how to properly mount your antenna.

Allow up to 10 MINUTES to receive the first alert(s), because it has to find and connect to the best network and do the initial network scan. Subsequent alerts will take 20s-30s every time and be consistent.

There is no visual indication of when your Simtek Sensor is armed. However, it will show the blinking LEDs when transmitting alerts. The green and red LED cellular modem indicator lights blinking (NOT the blue motion detection LED). The blue LED will blink when it detects infrared motion, regardless of sensor status. 

After an alert is sent, the sensor will self-arm when no motion/light/vibration is detected. If it continues to detect one of those conditions, it will not re-arm. For example if you have the sensor in a closet and you leave the light on, it will send you an alert but will not rearm until the light is turned off. 

Simtek Sensors have an internal antenna, but it's not as good as the wired plugged-in antenna. We recommend using the external wired antenna. 

It re-arms itselfs automatically when light or motion is no longer detected after 5s. If it's in an area with constant motion or light, it will never re-arm. It needs to detect zero light and motion to re-arm itself, otherwise it stays awake and will NOT trigger. This is intentional, you wouldn't want to get tons of alerts if you have the safe door open or have the sensor in a high traffic area.  

It will only send 1 alert until it can re-arm itself again. For example, you open the safe and it detects motion, only one alert is sent until you close the safe and the sensor re-arms itself and then the safe is opened again. If you leave the door open for 1 hour, it won't send an alert because it still sees light or motion and won't rearm itself. 

Blue LED is motion detection indicator. This is the hand-motion icon, and lights up when infrared motion is detected. 

Green + Red LEDs are the GSM cellular modem indicators that blink during alert transmission. These flicker and blink during alert transmission. Note: these are very useful to look at! After triggering, these will blink rapidly until the alert is sent over a network. When the red LED "locks" on, it successfully found and connected to a network (good sign!). If the red LED just blinks and never "locks" on this usually means no network was found and you need to use the external antenna, or move the antenna/sensor to a better signal location and try again (rare). 

Light detection has NO LED indicator. You read that correctly. We decided not to have an LED light that indicates when light is detected. We assume when you're looking at the device, light is already detected and motion is the only one that's helpful. Plus, the trigger source in the app tells you which one triggered the alert!

Accelerometer has NO LED indicator. You read that correctly. We do not have an LED to indicate when accelerometer is triggered. If someone shakes your safe with a crowbar, or drags away your luggage, the Simtek Sensor will wake up and send an alert to your phone. The alert itself says which sensor was triggered. 

Using the external long antenna is highly recommended. If using inside a safe, either string the antenna outside the safe or place the long antenna near a seam, gap, hole or opening as close as you can inside the safe. Think very carefully about the best antenna placement for the best signal, and give it a test! Test a few times to make sure it works great, and you may need to move the antenna or sensor around the safe to get the best signal. We've found using the wired antenna and mounting it outside the safe or inside the safe closest to the door gap/seam works best. Many people choose to have their Duo near the safe just in the closet, being a step ahead of the safe.

Turn Off/On the LIGHT or VIBRATION sensors 
There is an option to turn off the LIGHT sensor or VIBRATION sensor. This is needed in a case where you want to monitor access to a place like a storage unit that has overhead lights shining. If you didn't turn off the light sensor, your sensor would never arm. You can turn off the light sensor, and it will trigger alerts for the VIBRATION and INFRARED MOTION. Similarly, you can turn off the VIBRATION. For example, in a case like monitoring a car glove bar that is always in motion, the VIBRATION sensor would trigger constantly. You can turn the VIBRATION switch off. These two switches are onboard the device and you need to email help@simtek.io to get the proper instructions before performing this task.   

INITIAL SETUP

  • Scan the QR code on the bottom of your device, or enter in the unique device id in the app setup screen (unique device id is the 16 digit number located underneath the QR code).  
  • Insert battery (ensure battery is fully charged, or your sensor won't have enough juice to transmit an alert)
  • Insert antenna (we recommend attempting to send an alert with the external antenna first, which is larger and better than the internal antenna) before removing and using only the internal antenna.)  
  • Arm your sensor by placing it in a dark and motionless space. It has to be in a dark AND motionless space. For example, if you have it in the middle of your room with the lights on it will not arm itself. If you then turn off the lights in that room, it will arm only after it detects zero human or animal heat motion. The blue light with the hand motion icon lights up every time it detects motion. Note: There is NO light detection LED that lights up. So, you won't know if your space is dark enough until you try to arm it. We recommend placing it first in a space you know is extremely dark and motionless, like a table drawer, shoebox, or even the box your Simtek sensor came in! Then, when you verify you are receiving alerts and SMS, we recommend you then move it to where you want to. 
  • Always verify you are receiving alerts first. For example, when you want to take your sensor traveling to monitor your luggage, always arm and trigger your sensor in your luggage, before leaving it in there for the day. That way, you'll feel confident it's working and can trust it. 

ON/OFF

    • Remove the battery. There's no ON or OFF button. 

    Using the antenna(s)

    • There is an onboard internal antenna WHICH YOU CANNOT SEE! It works, just not as well as...
    • The long wired antenna is OPTIONAL, but highly recommended. This means if you take out the external antenna, your Simtek sensor will still operate normally and send alerts! However, the internal antenna is simply not as high performing but it's much smaller. 

    Simcard

    • The Simtek simcard is already pre-installed into the sensor. Note: it's against our Terms of Service (TOS) and policies to remove your simcard and attempt to use it for anything other than your Simtek sensor (do not remove and use in any other product; if you do this, we will be notified, and take legal action to seek compensatory damages for any charges). Don't be that person. 
    • Technically, the Simtek simcard can be removed and swapped with any 4G GSM (not CDMA) simcard, however this is not recommended because many of the features won't work and we have designed the sensor and specific features to work with our setup. We do leave that as an option for rare cases. 

    Manual Setup

    Email help@simtek.io if you think you need to do manual setup and let us know why. This method is NOT recommended and used only as a last resort if you cannot download the app for whatever reason. *You risk major complications using this method.

    1. Locate the 16 digit device number on the bottom of your device. This is under the QR code, and is NOT to be confused with the serial number. 
    2. Open up your SMS text on your phone. 
    3. In the TO field, enter the following number +1(240)303-3852
    4. In the MESSAGE field, type Add 123456789
    5. ***NOTE: Remove the quotes from step 4, and replace 123456789 with your specific device number. It should look something like this Add 0004A30B0022D311
    6. Send the text. You will receive a confirmation text reply from our server if successfully registered. 
    7. Triple check digit by digit that you have entered the device number from step 4 correctly. 
    8. Arm and trigger your sensor to see if it worked. Alerts take between 15 seconds and up to 2 minutes the first time to get an alert. Normal operation alerts should come in 10-30 seconds or less after triggering.  

    manual registration

    Debugging

    • I have never received an alert, and I'm subscribed to the sensor - and I triple checked that I subscribed to the right device number! Help!

    Don't panic. Typically, there is an easy to fix here. Let's run through this checklist.

    1. Fully charge the battery using the micro USB cable. 
    2. Make sure the external antenna is plugged in (at least for debugging, it is helpful to have the best signal possible). 
    3. Re-Arm your sensor in a new location. Try placing it in a different space in the house (maybe a closet, or a drawer). And make sure it's dark and fully motionless. 
    4. Did you arm it and did it trigger correctly? You'll know when your Simtek sensor is trying to connect to the network when you see the green and red LED's lighting up on the right side, just under the blue hand motion icon. When it's successful, the two colors blink for about 15-20 seconds and the red LED stays lit for a few seconds, then they both shut off immediately after transmission. If your device can't ever find signal, the green and red LEDs blink constantly and shut off after about 2 minutes of trying to connect. This should be extremely rare. 
    5. Is the simcard inserted and did you, or someone else tamper with it? We do not recommend touching or removing the simcard we have installed, as it can affect the performance if it's not inserted correctly and fully seated. 

    I was receiving alerts, but now I'm not!

    Don't panic. Typically, there is an easy to fix here. Let's run through this checklist.

    1. Do you still have a data plan with Simtek, and your phone carrier? 
    2. Did you move your device to a new location that might not have as good signal?
    3. Did you unsubscribe from alerts and/or delete the app?
    4. Did you get a new phone?
    5. Are you able to get alerts from somewhere else with better service? 
    6. Is our service down? Check our Twitter, Facebook or Instagram or our homepage or blog (sorry, we don't know how we will communicate a situation like this yet so we want to link you everywhere).

    Traveling

    • Remove the battery, and keep the battery separate from any metal objects (place inside a plastic bag or something similar). 
    • Both the sensor and all accessories, including the battery can go in either carry on or checked baggage, but check your country specific laws. Our team has never had any problems traveling domestically in the USA or internationally to several countries.  

    Problems? 

    Make sure you've tried to resolve them on your own first, as we are busy building new features, fixing things, or running the business. Often times, something simple (like battery not being charged, simcard inserted wrong, user not registered to receive alerts) is the case and is easily fixed. All of these are above. If you're still having problems, email help@simtek.io and we'd be happy to help you! We want you to get the most out of your sensor and look forward to your feedback. 

    Check if our service is down. Check Twitter, Facebook or Instagram or our homepage or blog (we haven't had this situation yet, but when we do we likely will email folks, but there is a chance we may post things in one of these places.)

    FAQ's