Exact model-family answer directory
SimpliSafe Water Sensor troubleshooting
SimpliSafe Water Sensor (Water Sensor, which carries a serial number inside the battery compartment instead of a separate model number): where it sits in the system (from SimpliSafe Support); sibling sensor; label and pairing, and a fix for each symptom below.
Confirm the model first
Which units this covers, and how to tell yours is one of them
- Model numbers and patterns
- Water Sensor, which carries a serial number inside the battery compartment instead of a separate model number
- Not applicable to this hardware
- This SimpliSafe Water Sensor does not have the hardware for: will not stay connected to Wi-Fi; does not respond to voice control; will not connect through Matter, HomeKit or another platform.
Published specification
What is true of this model and changes how you fix it
- How it detectsContact with water. It sounds the alarm when water reaches it, so placement is everything — on the floor, at the lowest point, beside the thing most likely to leak. SimpliSafe names dishwashers, hot water heaters and washing machines.
- BatteryOne CR-2032 Lithium 3V cell, included, up to 5 years depending on usage.
- HousingSimpliSafe specifies a water-resistant housing with no battery tab. Water resistant is not waterproof — it survives the leak it is there to detect; it is not a submersible device.
- SitingIndoor use only, 2 x 1 x 2 inches.
- Where it sits in the system (from SimpliSafe Support)SimpliSafe lists the Water Sensor and the Temperature Sensor together in one support topic, and both are battery devices that report to the Base Station.
- Sibling sensorThe Temperature Sensor takes one CR-2032 lithium coin cell and its alert range can be set between 0 and 127 degrees F, which is the setting used for freeze warnings.
- Label and pairingA SimpliSafe water sensor has its serial on the back of the sensor. The base station finds it when you add it in the app. Keep the serial so that support can find the unit.
- Where to put itPlace the sensor on the floor where water first collects, such as under a sink or behind a toilet, with its probes touching the floor. Do not place it on carpet that holds water away from the probes.
- BatteryThe sensor has a battery that lasts a few years. The app tells you when it is low. After a leak, dry the sensor before you reset it.
- Testing the sensorTest the sensor by touching the probes with a damp cloth. The app should register a water alert within moments. Dry the probes afterwards. Test it after any battery change and every few months.
- Sharing alertsEach person with the app can choose their own alerts. Make sure the people who can act on a leak, such as a family member living nearby, have water alerts turned on.
Where these figures were read. simplisafe.com/water-sensor Features list
Manufacturer support for this product line. SimpliSafe Support — Water Sensor Installation Guide. SimpliSafe's own Water Sensor placement article.
Also read for this model. SimpliSafe Support — Water Sensor; SimpliSafe Support — Temperature Sensor not responding.
Exact questions
Questions that only have an answer for the SimpliSafe Water Sensor
Where should the Water Sensor go?+
On the floor at the lowest point near whatever might leak — SimpliSafe names dishwashers, hot water heaters and washing machines. It detects by contact, so a sensor mounted at any height detects nothing until the water reaches that height, by which point the damage is done.
Can I put one outside or in a crawlspace?+
SimpliSafe specifies indoor use only. A crawlspace or an unheated outbuilding is outside specification, and both cold and humidity shorten coin-cell life sharply in ways that show up as an unexplained dead sensor.