Weak Alert Sensitivity on Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight

[RLJ2020]

A6 Hardware - Firmware 1.080.26.5_5B_3b3ef75,  serial# A7W5237EA14ED

I have the Arlo Secure plan and my Arlo system has performed flawlessly for several years. But, I recently added a Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight that I mounted on a backyard storage shed and pointed it toward my backyard doors and windows for security in those areas.  The spotlight is mounted 7 feet high and about 30 feet from the house, and the wyfi signal is strong.  

The problem is that even with the motion detection sensitivity at 100%, I do not get an alert when a person is approaching the back door.  That area is well within the activity zone, about 35 feet from where the camera is located.  The alert doesn't activate until the person continues to walk along the back side of the house and reaches an area that is 25 to 30 feet from the camera.  Again, even though it clearly falls within the area covered by the activity zone.

Very frustrating, as I was hoping this one camera would cover the back side of the house.  Given its current limitations, it would take 2 cameras to cover the windows and doors on one side of my 40 feet long house.

Any help would be appreciated.

[StephenB · Accepted solution]

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@RLJ2020 wrote:

The problem is that even with the motion detection sensitivity at 100%, I do not get an alert when a person is approaching the back door.  That area is well within the activity zone, about 35 feet from where the camera is located.  The alert doesn't activate until the person continues to walk along the back side of the house and reaches an area that is 25 to 30 feet from the camera.  Again, even though it clearly falls within the area covered by the activity zone.

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Arlo cameras (generally all battery-powered surveillance cameras) use passive infrared (PIR) detectors for motion detection.  These have limited range, and Arlo specs the motion detection at 25 feet.

• https://www.arlo.com/en-us/images/pdf/Arlov4SupportDocs/ArloPro3Floodlight/Arlo_Pro_3_%20Floodlight_...

So the camera is working as designed.  You might be able to get a bit more range if you use the outdoor power adapter - not sure.  Or of course add a second camera, which could be set up to cross-trigger the floodlight when it detects motion.

[RLJ2020]

Thanks for the response Guru, that makes perfect sense.  I will need to reposition the camera to a spot closer to the house, or get another camera to cover the whole back yard. I should have read the camera specks in more detail.  Thanks so much.