Many more videos on local storage than cloud

[fig_wright]

I have just bought the Pro4 and a Smart Hub Vmb4540 for USB local storage. After one day I find 6 clips recorded in the cloud feed - as expected when people leave and enter - but about 50 or so in the local storage, being triggered by activity in the street. This isn't great, because it will obviously use the battery much faster, and sure enough it has used 10% of full charge already.

It seems to me that the Activity Zone is not applying to the local storage, is this true? Also, I have applied a "pinch zoom" to the video settings, to reduce motion detection. I noticed the manual says that motion detection applies only to the lower 2/3 of the view, but it is unclear whether this applies before or after the pinch-zoom has been applied to the view?

How do I reduce the amount of false alarms recorded on the local storage?

[DannyBearAgain]

Is the camera connected to the Ac power ?

The activity zones rely on the camera to record motion after detection and upload to the arlo cloud server for determination if inside the zone.

These recordings will get backed up to the base storage device regardless of outcome.

The cloud server then decides if it needs to store the recordings and send you notifications.

yes, high volume triggering will deplete camera battery life hence the need for Ac power.

Alternatively repositioning camera location or lowering the angle further down away from unwanted activity can help reduce the issue.

[StephenB · Accepted solution]

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@fig_wright wrote:

Also, I have applied a "pinch zoom" to the video settings, to reduce motion detection. 

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This doesn't matter.  Motion detection doesn't use the video at all.  There is a passive infrared (PIR) sensor on the camera face that detects the motion.

Also, as @DannyBearAgain says, the activity zones are applied in the Arlo cloud.  The camera always streams with motion detection occurs, whether it is in-zone or out-of-zone.

The behavior is different when the camera is connected to AC power (not solar).  Then the camera does trigger off the video, and not the PIR sensor.  This requires too much power to do on battery.

I suggest repositioning the camera to exclude as much of the extraneous motion as you can.  After you've done that, find the best motion detection threshold using the motion detection test in the app

• https://kb.arlo.com/41/How-do-I-change-the-motion-sensitivity-on-my-Arlo-camera

Walk around in the area of interest while running the test, and find the lowest threshold that detects you reliably.

Then go into the camera rules, and set the detection to use that threshold (or something slightly above it).

• https://kb.arlo.com/42

[fig_wright]

Thanks both for your advice, I have made some adjustments and will see how much local recording drops as a result.

[fig_wright]

I'm getting some local recordings when the neighbours shut their front door. There is no visible movement in the frame and sound is not set as a trigger, so either the local recording is picking up the noise and ignoring the sound setting, or the camera is somehow noticing the vibration through the *wall* of the door being shut. Neither seems very likely, but which is more likely?

[fig_wright]

Also, I can only find the display of local recordings for 'Today'. That's of no use if, for example, I get back at 10 past midnight. Where do I see the rest?

[StephenB]

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@fig_wright wrote:

Also, I can only find the display of local recordings for 'Today'. That's of no use if, for example, I get back at 10 past midnight. Where do I see the rest?

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Do you see "Feed" in your app?  Or do you see "Library" instead?

(Guessing "Library", but want to be sure).

[jguerdat]

To address the issue of getting a recording when the neighbors shut their door, check your modes and rules and disable audio detection or at least turn it down.

[StephenB]

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@jguerdat wrote:

To address the issue of getting a recording when the neighbors shut their door, check your modes and rules and disable audio detection or at least turn it down.

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I am guessing this is an apartment/flat deployment, and the neighbor's doorway shares a common area with yours.  Perhaps a hallway or a porch???

Go into the smart notifications and make sure that CO/Smoke detection is disabled - as that is done with the camera mic (listening for chirps from a nearby detector).

If audio detection is already off (sounds like it is), then I'd check to see if the camera is vibrating/shaking a bit when the neighbors shut the door.

If the camera is in the common area, then perhaps there are thermals when the neighbor opens the door.  That can trigger the passive infrared (PIR) sensor in the camera.  Another possibility is that the neighbors are briefly entering the detection area, but the camera isn't waking up in time to catch them in the recording.

If you suspect audio detection is happening anyway, you could try setting the motion sensitivity to 0, and see if you still get the recordings.

[fig_wright]

Apologies, but I cannot find a way to include the quote-text in my replies 🙁

To StephenB: I see the 'Feed' - I have the new app. However, local recordings can only been seen by going into the Devices --> base-station --> Storage settings. That's fiddly, but okay; but the list is only "Today", which is of almost zero use.

[fig_wright]

to Jguerdat: 

The Active mode is Arm Home, the rule says "When motion, notify"; "Audio detection" is set to off. I dot want to turn down sensitivity, because when I Arm Away I want sound detection to be on...

[jguerdat]

Have you tried using the calendar icon to change dates? I don't have to but it's worth a try.

Reducing the audio detection sensitivity doesn't turn it completely off, even if you reduce it as much as possible. 

And you can quote text by using the " icon above the text box when replying.

[StephenB]

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@fig_wright wrote:

To StephenB: I see the 'Feed' - I have the new app. However, local recordings can only been seen by going into the Devices --> base-station --> Storage settings. That's fiddly, but okay; but the list is only "Today", which is of almost zero use.

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I see previous days when I scroll down.  Can be tedious if you have a lot of local recordings.

@jguerdat:  I don't see any calendar icon on the local storage page - that only shows up on Feed. As you know, I am using the iOS app. 

[fig_wright]

To StephenB:
This is a terraced house - the neighbour's door is 1 foot away on the other side of a wall that stick out a foot. The front wall shaking is unlikely, IMO, but I'm running out of options. Thermals are possible, I guess; although they have no heating (don't ask) so it won't be much as the house must be at ~15C.

"Smoke/CO Alarm" and "All other Audio" are set OFF.

I might try setting motion to 0 to see if it still detects.

[fig_wright]

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@jguerdat wrote:

Have you tried using the calendar icon to change dates? I don't have to but it's worth a try.

Reducing the audio detection sensitivity doesn't turn it completely off, even if you reduce it as much as possible. 

And you can quote text by using the " icon above the text box when replying.

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WoW! You got it - yes, when in the hub storage settings I need to change the date using that calendar icon to the date I want to see. That's the least intuitive system I've ever seen...but thankyou for explaining it.

Also thankyou for explaining about the quote - I had to first "expand" the toolbar, so that the " appears, then I can get it. About as intuitive as the Arlo menus 😄

[jguerdat]

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@StephenB wrote:

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@jguerdat:  I don't see any calendar icon on the local storage page - that only shows up on Feed. As you know, I am using the iOS app. 

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I have a calendar icon which may only show if there are other recordings. Android, of course. Frankly, I'd rather have the scrolling list like Feed, even though that can be tedious, as you say.

[fig_wright]

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@StephenB wrote:

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If you suspect audio detection is happening anyway, you could try setting the motion sensitivity to 0, and see if you still get the recordings.

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I've been unable to limit the numerous spurious recordings being saved on the hub, so I've been doing more testing. I've set the motion sensitivity down to minimum (which is 1%, not 0), and yes I still get over a dozen recordings per day:

(I live on a noisy road.) Here, audio detection is set to medium, but in the Routines -> Modes for "Arm Home" it is set to ignore audio:

So there is no doubt that Arlo is ignoring the "Camera Audio" setting above. I guess I could set "Audio Detection" in the first screen to "Low", but this would mean that in the "Arm Away" rules (where audio is enabled) it would effectively not be enabled.

How can I resolve this? Is it a bug?

[StephenB]

Try setting the default audio detection threshold to 0.

[fig_wright]

Amazingly, I still get recordings even with both video and audio set to zero sensitivity!

[StephenB]

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@fig_wright wrote:

Amazingly, I still get recordings even with both video and audio set to zero sensitivity!

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Try removing the camera from the account, and then do a factory reset.

Do the reset by removing the camera from the shell, and then pressing on the sync button until it flashed amber (about 15 seconds).

Then add the camera back to your account.

[fig_wright]

Thanks for those ideas. That sounds like quite a lot of hassle and will have to be an "after Christmas" task 😄

Will let you know how it goes.