CampSecure™ – User guide

1. Introduction

1.1 What is CampSecure™?

CampSecure™ is a smart alarm system for motorhomes, caravans and camping vehicles. The app monitors your vehicle using sensors and notifies you by email or SMS when it detects suspicious activity. The main benefit: in an alarm you always get a full status report with a photo by email, so you can assess the situation remotely.

1.2 Main features

• 🚨 Smart alarm with motion detection and sound analysis
• 📍 GPS location on alarm (one-shot for theft protection)
• 📧 Email notifications with photo and GPS coordinates
• 📱 SMS alarms for critical alarms
• 🔋 Battery monitoring with email warnings
• 📷 Automatic photos on alarm
• 📧 Email remote control (turn alarm off by email, request status report)
• ⚙️ Adjustable sensitivity (motion & audio)

1.3 System requirements

• Android version: 8.0 (API 26) or higher
• Permissions (overview):

2. Installation & first steps

2.1 Install the app

1. Download the CampSecure™ app from the Google Play Store
2. Open the app after installation
3. Grant the required permissions when Android asks:
   • Camera – for alarm photos
   • Microphone – for sound detection
   • Location (precise & approximate) – for GPS on alarm
   • Notifications – for alarm hints
   • Send SMS (optional) – only if you use SMS alarms; without permission no SMS. Some manufacturers do not allow apps to send SMS.
4. Under Settings → Expert mode, tap “Open battery optimisation” and set CampSecure™ to “Don’t optimise” so the alarm runs reliably in the background.

2.2 Initial configuration

After first launch you should:

1. Set device name:
   • Open “Settings” (⚙️ button top right)
   • Enter a name for your device (e.g. “My motorhome”)
2. Configure email:
   • See section 5: Email configuration
3. Adjust sensitivity:
   • Default: 5/10 (suitable for most situations)
   • Adjust as needed (see section 4.2)

3. Dashboard (main screen)

3.1 Overview

The dashboard shows the key information at a glance:

Header area

• Device name: Your device’s name.
• Alarm status: Current alarm state.
• Power mode: Battery management state:
  • 💤 Standby: power-saving mode
  • 🔋 Active: normal mode
  • ⚡ Alert: maximum monitoring

Alarm status section

• Alarm ON / OFF button: Arms or disarms the alarm.
• Countdown: Shows the delay when arming (if configured).

System status tiles

• 📡 Motion: Motion monitoring status.
• 🎤 Audio: Audio monitoring status.
• 📍 GPS: GPS monitoring status.
• 📧 Email: Email configuration status.
• 📱 SMS: SMS configuration status.

3.2 Arm / disarm the alarm

Arm the alarm:

1. Tap the large “ALARM ON” button.
2. If a delay is configured, a countdown runs.
3. After the countdown the alarm is active.

Disarm the alarm:

1. Tap the red “ALARM OFF” button.
2. The alarm is disarmed immediately.

3.3 Open settings

• Tap “⚙️ Settings” on the dashboard, or
• Tap the ⚙️ icon top right.

4. Settings

Settings are split into several areas:

4.1 App settings

Device name:

• Name for your device (e.g. “My motorhome”).
• Shown in alarm emails.

Language:

• German: German user interface
• English: English user interface
• The app uses the system language options (per-app language on Android 13+). Changes apply immediately.

4.2 Sensors & alarm

Sliders are labelled “Low” / “High” (motion & audio) and “Short” / “Long” (delay) so you can see the direction of adjustment at a glance.

Motion sensitivity (0–10):

• 0: Home mode (motion ignored).
• 1–10: Vehicle mode (higher = more sensitive).
• Default: 5/10 (suitable for most situations).
• Low (1–3): Less sensitive (e.g. in strong wind).
• High (7–10): Very sensitive (e.g. on car parks).

Audio sensitivity (1–10):

• 1–10: Higher = more sensitive.
• Default: 5/10 (suitable for most situations).
• Low (1–3): Less sensitive (e.g. in noisy environments).
• High (7–10): Very sensitive (e.g. in quiet environments).

Alarm delay (1–60 seconds):

• Delay when arming the alarm.
• Gives you time to leave the vehicle.
• Default: 30 seconds.
• Recommendation: 30–60 seconds for motorhomes.

4.3 Email notifications

See section 5: Email configuration

4.4 SMS notifications

See section 6: SMS alarms

4.5 Camera settings

This area contains all settings for alarm photos and the camera:

Camera selection for alarm photos:

• Main camera (rear): default, best quality for exterior shots
• Front camera: for inward-facing shots
• Note: Automatic flash (below) only works with the main camera.

Automatic flash in the dark:

• When enabled, the app fires a short flash in low light (below the set lux threshold) before taking the alarm photo.
• Only effective when using the main camera.

Delete alarm images:

• Deletes all stored alarm photos.
• Warning: this cannot be undone.

4.6 Expert mode

See section 7: Expert mode

5. Email configuration

5.1 SMTP server (outgoing)

SMTP server:

• Your email provider’s outgoing server.
• Examples:
  • GMX: mail.gmx.net
  • WEB.DE: smtp.web.de
  • Gmail: smtp.gmail.com
  • Outlook: smtp-mail.outlook.com

SMTP port:

• Usually 587 (STARTTLS) or 465 (SSL).
• Default: 587.

Email username:

• Your full email address or username (depends on the provider).

Email password:

• Your email password.
• For Gmail/Outlook with 2FA: use an app password.

From address:

• Sender email address.
• Should match the account username where required.

To address:

• Email address for alarm notifications.
• Can be the same as the from address.

5.2 IMAP server (remote control)

IMAP server:

• Server for receiving email commands.
• Examples:
  • GMX: imap.gmx.net
  • WEB.DE: imap.web.de
  • Gmail: imap.gmail.com
  • Outlook: outlook.office365.com

IMAP port:

• Usually 993 (SSL).
• Default: 993.

5.3 Enable email remote control

Enable email commands:

1. Turn on the “Enable email commands” switch.
2. Enter at least one authorised email address in the whitelist.
3. Optional: change the PIN (default: 0000).

Email whitelist:

• Comma-separated list of authorised email addresses.
• Only emails from these addresses are accepted.
• Example: me@email.com, partner@email.com

Command keywords (copy exactly): Type these fixed tokens into the subject or body of your email. They must include the double hash marks ## as shown.

Email command PIN:

• Optional 4-digit PIN for extra security.
• Default: 0000.
• If a PIN is enabled, add it as a second token after the command, e.g. ##off## ##0000## or ##status## ##0000## (German disarm with PIN: ##aus## ##0000##).

How to send a command:

1. Send the message from an address on the whitelist.
2. Put the keyword(s) in the subject line or the message text—examples: ##off##, ##status##, or with PIN ##off## ##0000##.
3. The app checks the inbox about every 15 minutes.

5.4 Battery warnings

• Email on low battery: enable/disable the switch.
• Threshold: 5–50% (default: 30%).
• An email is sent when the battery falls below the threshold.

5.5 Send test email

• Tap “📧 Send test email”.
• Checks the email configuration.
• Sends a test email with photo and GPS coordinates.

6. SMS alarms

6.1 Enable SMS alarms

Enable SMS alarms:

1. Turn on the “Enable SMS alarms” switch.
2. Enter at least one phone number.
3. SMS are only sent for critical alarms.

Phone numbers:

• Number 1: primary number (e.g. your phone)
• Number 2: partner number (optional)
• Number 3: security contact (optional)
• Format: include country code (e.g. +441234567890)

6.2 Send test SMS

• Tap “📱 Test alarm SMS”.
• Sends a test SMS to all configured numbers.
• Checks the SMS configuration.

7. Expert mode

7.1 System & operation

Keep screen on:

• When enabled, the screen stays on while the alarm is active
• Default: off (screen turns off)
• Recommendation: off for longer battery life

Open battery optimisation:

• Opens Android battery optimisation settings
• Important: the app should be set to “Don’t optimise” so the alarm works reliably in the background

Open app permissions:

• Opens Android app permission settings
• Check that all required permissions are granted

Camera selection, flash in the dark and deleting alarm images are under Camera settings (section 4.5).

7.2 Emergency

Force stop app:

• Fully stops the alarm monitoring service
• Only use in an emergency!

8. Troubleshooting

8.1 Alarm does not trigger

Possible causes:

• Sensitivity set too low.
• Motion sensitivity at 0 (home mode).
• Alarm not armed.

What to do:

1. Check alarm status on the dashboard.
2. Increase sensitivity in settings.
3. Ensure motion sensitivity is > 0.

8.2 Email is not sent

Possible causes:

• SMTP configuration missing or wrong.
• No internet connection.
• Wrong email password.

What to do:

1. Check SMTP settings.
2. Send a test email.
3. Check internet connectivity.
4. For Gmail/Outlook with 2FA: use an app password.

8.3 SMS is not sent

Possible causes:

• SMS alarms not enabled
• No phone number configured
• Missing SMS permission: Android blocks sending without “Send SMS”
• OEM blocks SMS: some manufacturers restrict SMS from apps
• Alarm not critical (only INTRUSION, BREAKING_GLASS, METAL_IMPACT send SMS)

What to do:

1. Confirm SMS alarms are enabled
2. Confirm at least one number is set
3. Under Android → Apps → CampSecure™ → Permissions, grant “Send SMS”
4. If it still fails: check OEM settings; some devices do not allow third-party SMS
5. Remember: SMS are only sent for critical alarms

8.4 Email remote control does not work

Possible causes:

• IMAP configuration missing or wrong.
• Email commands not enabled.
• No authorised address in the whitelist.
• Alarm not armed.

What to do:

1. Check IMAP settings.
2. Enable email commands.
3. Add your email to the whitelist.
4. Ensure the alarm is armed.
5. Wait up to 15 minutes (polling interval).

8.5 No photo is taken

Possible causes:

• Camera permission missing.
• Camera hardware unavailable.
• Storage full.

What to do:

1. Check camera permission.
2. Check free storage.
3. Test the camera in another app.

8.6 App stops in the background

Possible causes:

• Battery optimisation enabled.
• Android killing the app in the background.

What to do:

1. Open “Battery optimisation” in expert mode.
2. Set CampSecure™ to “Don’t optimise”.
3. Check app permissions.

📞 Support

Questions or issues:

• Website: https://campsecure.app
• User guide online: https://campsecure.app/en/bedienungsanleitung.html
• German version: https://campsecure.app/de/bedienungsanleitung.html

Version: 1.1  |  As of: February 2026