Camera keeps detecting motion

[BHayley]

Hello,

One of our Arlo cameras keeps going off (notification on phone, detecting motion allegedly), sometimes up to 100 times a day. We turned down the sensitivity setting, tried swapping with another camera, but we can't explain why it keeps detecting something when we see no movement on the camera recordings. Could it be audio it's picking up? Any other suggestions? We opened a case months ago and sometimes when it rains, things quiet down, but we are frustrated, and having swapped cameras, we know it isn't a faulty camera that's causing this.

Thank you.

[jguerdat]

Are you adjusting sensitivity in your modes and rules, not in the motion detection test? That's also where you can adjust or disable audio detection.

[Dannybear]

If it is audio triggering the event you should get an indication of this from the cloud library.
Sensitivity settings in the camera rules is the place to adjust these values.
If you’re getting false motion triggers look at relocating to a different location to see if it improves. If you’re getting tree shadows causing this you can alter the schedule to use custom modes with different sensitivity to dull the alerts during the worst part of the day.

I have had similar false motion triggering and it can be caused by something as simple as a dead palm branch swaying slightly in the breeze.
I also have false audio triggering where it sounds like something is eating the camera from inside. I suspect that it is just the battery connections getting corroded and needing a clean.
Hope this helps.

[Pawebb]

My system did a firmware update this morning and ever since one of the camera (pro2) has been registering false motion almost every 2 mins. I have tried disabling activity zones and restarting but no good. Just another Arlo firmware bug!!

[BHayley]

Can you give an example of the types of changes to be made in modes/rules, possibly a screenshot? I see it is “Motion” that’s detected, not audio. I literally see nothing going on in the library videos. No shadow, no nothing.

[Dannybear]

Create a new custom mode for the problem period, add rules for cameras that you normally use. Edit the rule for the problem camera in the new mode and adjust motion sensitivity to lowest value, test the mode for false triggering. If this setting stops them then re-edit the rule and increase by 10% each time testing until they begin again, then back track by 1% steps. Once you find the best setting then add the mode into the schedule for the time period required.

If you can’t get it to stop triggering on lowest sensitivity then do the camera remove and resync.

Worst case is to perform a factory reset of the base station and start all over again. Read the FAQs for factory reset process.

[BHayley]

Thanks for your helpful reply. When we decrease regular sensitivity from 80 to 70, the camera barely detects any motion except 2 feet away. We want motion to be detected 15-20 feet away but we also don’t want these annoying triggering notifications. should we still proceed with what you said? Is what I want unreasonable?

[BHayley]

Camera remove and resync has not helped. I think we reset the base station a few months ago when on phone with support. We have 4 other cameras and have had 0 issues at their locations.

[Dannybear]

Sensitivity should work down to minimum value, my sensitivity at 1% still picks up movement up to six feet away as an example.
I must admit I have not tested this recently since all the firmware bugs arlo has released.
There’s been some weird behaviours occurring since April and yours could be a result specific to your system. E.g. One user was not able to get triggered recordings on a camera but everything was set correctly, a factory reset was required to correct it.

Has your issue only appeared recently? If so you may want to wait for the next update before using the factory reset.

Hope this helps.

[BHayley]

Thanks for your reply. My 2 foot estimation was a bit inaccurate. It was probably closer to 5 feet, but I'd like to see motion 15 or 20 feet away. I will try 1% and move up from there if no motion detected several feet away.

The issue has been ongoing since early this year, probably January or February. I download all updates available on iOS (is this the firmware update you are referring to?).

[Dannybear]

I was referring to the last two base station firmware updates, jury is still out on the one just forced out earlier today.

Just confirm you are not using smart activity zones or if powered camera, basic activity zones.

I have seen reports of sun angled reflection off grasses causing same issues, hence changing the camera view point can help.

[BHayley]

Are the station firmware updates automatic? How do I confirm they were downloaded? How do I learn of their release?

We are not using any of the zones mentioned below. The camera is facing our patio and as mentioned before, detects motion about 5 feet away.

Still, I should focus on creating a rule if the problem persists and drop the sensitivity to lowest level possible? Disappointing it won’t detect motion 20+ ft away.

[Dannybear]

Look for the firmware release notes board on this forum.
You only know when they are released as the base or cameras go offline. If the release is unsuccessful you get locked out with a notification on your app that says the system needs an update and forcing you to action the upgrade. Then when it fails it just repeats the process. In the end a power cycle of the base is required and the update completes if your lucky, if not the base is bricked and your off to battle arlo support.
To find out what firmware version you have, look under the device settings for base and each camera for device information.

If you wish to take a snapshot of the patio and post here, we can review it in case there is something we can see that may not be obvious.
Hope this helps.

[BHayley]

Thanks for your replies. See attached. From the videos, I think it may be the sun beaming off the patio. We love this camera location though and would really like to leave the camera there. We are getting patio furniture delivered in several days. Could the furniture help divert the sun’s rays? Any advice is appreciated.

[Dannybear]

I’m not an expert but some infrared sources I would suggest are the shiny stones, that plus the reflective walls either side of the camera. The fly screen looks like a candidate.

Some things to try are as follows,
Connect power to the camera so you can apply the basic activity zones. Theory is that when the PIR detects infrared it will look at the camera video for frame changes and so not give a notification. If this works then you have to keep the camera on power or pay for smart notifications on battery only.

If you want to find the exact source causing the false triggers you can use an infrared camera or if you have an old iPhone you can use the reverse camera to detect infrared. Test using the tv remote infrared LED.
Hope this helps.

[BHayley]

Thanks. I am really not strong on all these technical terms. It is a wireless camera so I can’t plug it in and use it actively at the same time.

What does paying for smart notifications on battery only mean?

[Dannybear]

Regards the smart notifications

https://kb.arlo.com/000056589/How-do-I-set-up-the-Arlo-Smart-cloud-activity-zones

I don’t use them myself but they are advertised to work on battery only cameras. You will have to plug the camera in to set the zones initially I believe. Beware they will drain the camera battery just as much as you will still get recordings, just not unwanted notifications.
Hope this helps.

Plugging power into the camera and trying the basic activity zones initially would let you know if it will work before deciding to use the smart plan at a monthly cost per camera.

[BHayley]

Thanks. If my entire patio is an activity zone, what’s the purpose of the feature? I guess if the screened door is triggering the motion, I can exclude that. What’s the activity zone cost?

[BHayley]

Why is the activity zone only for wireless cameras, and how do I plug my wireless camera in?

[Dannybear]

The pro cameras can be battery or externally powered with or without battery.
Based on your description you’re patio camera is battery only.
Basic activity zones are only available when the camera is externally powered using the supplied arlo cable and charger or using an outdoor cable.
The basic zones require external power so they can continually monitor the camera’s video stream and provide the 3 second look back recording feature.
Naturally this is not available on battery only cameras as the battery would require recharging daily.

Smart notifications is a feature to allow battery only or powered cameras to upload the video to the cloud for analysis and so provide tailored notification but you don’t get the 3 second look back on battery only. The camera still records when the PIR is triggered so not ideal for high traffic areas as the battery soon depletes.
The cost on the first camera is about $4 a month.

[BHayley]

Thanks. This is a bit confusing. I confirmed that my camera is battery online (cannot be plugged in). So, is the Smart notifications the only option? Should I disregard the zones you mention?

[Dannybear]

Just confirming you are using a arlo pro 2 camera for the patio. Correct?

[BHayley]

Correct.

[Dannybear]

So I was suggesting that you connect the arlo camera charger to the patio camera for a day or two so that basic activity zones would be enabled, then set an activity zone from the camera settings to cover the whole camera view and monitor for false notifications.
If this works then consider smart notifications that should work on battery only cameras that aren’t plugged in.

[BHayley]

Thanks. I am not sure what connecting the Arlo camera charger to the patio camera means. Isn't the only way to charge the camera by manually removing the battery and charging the battery?