topic Re: Another thread about cameras not picking up motion... in Arlo

Another thread about cameras not picking up motion...

Crushrus — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 01:45:28 GMT

I'm sorry, I'm sure this is the 40,000th thread covering this.... Camera is set to 85% sensitivity. Roughly 40 feet from base station, no walls in between it.

Today I took the dog out twice, mailman came, amazon delivered 2 giant boxes, and a guy dropped fliers for a pizza place. That was the only one captured. Well, that and 3 instances where it went off and captured nothing. I've had it for a month, it's success rate is roughly 10% overall.

So far this camera has been basically worthless. I also have a mount at the back of the house to watch my garage... the camera (same one) will completely miss cars driving 20 feet in front of it or people digging through my garbage at night. Is it possible my camera is bad, or are they really this difficult to set up properly?

thanks for listening to my rant. Next step is to fix it with a hammer.

Re: Another thread about cameras not picking up motion...

steve_t — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 03:50:27 GMT

Why not set sensitivity to 100% and then slowly work your way down to a point where false alerts are minimised while whatever you want to capture is captured?

Re: Another thread about cameras not picking up motion...

Crushrus — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 04:01:40 GMT

I tried that. 100% 95% 90%. I was getting false alerts all day long. Literally every couple minutes. It was completely obnoxious. I'm Assuming it was the leaves, bushes, blinds in the window moving as a result of a ceiling fan etc. I don't know. Best guesses. but I can't understand how something little like that is STILL triggering it at 85%, but human beings are not?
Also, on the rare occasion it does catch me walking out the door.... I step out the door, turn, Insert my key, lock the door. Turn and walk, and it will only record the last 2 feet of me walking under the camera.
I want to like this product, because in theory it's great, but it's not performing well at all for me.

Re: Another thread about cameras not picking up motion...

TomMac — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 11:30:11 GMT

In this case your problem is more a PLACEMENT issue.... than a sense issue

First, the bushes and leaves can reflect a lot of IR which sets off the sensor , so it would be an issue that the greenery causes false trigger events.

IMO, the camera is much to high for a small dark area of stoop/walk and it needs to be lowered... I would say lowered to the top of the lower windows and also then a bit closer to eliminate more of the greenery if able.

Or maybe under the air conditioner.

Good placement makes the world of difference and takes takes a few times to get it right.

Re: Another thread about cameras not picking up motion...

Crushrus — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 17:41:09 GMT

I can't exactly mount the camera on someone else's apartment, also putting it that low would make it easily grabbed by anyone walking past.

That corner is not dark at all, it gets full sunlight all day long, and is incredibly well lit up at night.

So apparently these cameras are only useful for very specific controlled situations? What a joke.

Re: Another thread about cameras not picking up motion...

jguerdat — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 19:09:43 GMT

If you're not willing to try different locations, perhaps with a different mount for added security, we can only help so much. We've told you the issue, now you need to be willing to use some trial and error.

It's not the system, although it certainly has limitations. I have 5 cameras, original and Pro, scattered around the outside of my house and they work fine. I just have taken the time to figure out what I need and how to accomplish it.

Re: Another thread about cameras not picking up motion...

Crushrus — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 20:16:01 GMT

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the help and advice, just seems odd to produce a camera that has such specific requirements and limitations. Set off by a leaf, but not a human carrying boxes?

This morning I changed the sensitivity to 95%. It still only caught the back of my head as I exited the frame. That means I was moving within the very center of the image for atleast 10 seconds before it began recording. I know the sensitivity is 'better' when moving across the frame, but c'mon....

Re: Another thread about cameras not picking up motion...

steve_t — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 22:35:53 GMT

The delay between sensing motion and starting recording is well noted too. This is largely sorted with the Arlo Pro camera. It definitely is an unfortunate flaw which is best addressed by placement