Activity Zones missing from video settings after firmware update

[TwinCitiesJHawk]

My doorbell updated to firmware 1.14.3.0_557_7a263ee_58dd815 and I am no longer seeing activity zones function under the video settings.  I am on the latest iOS app 2.15 on an iphone 11 pro.   

Anyone else seeing this?  Anyway to fix this issue?  Ive tried logging out and deleting the app and still no luck.

[TwinCitiesJHawk]

So no one else is having this issue? 

[JamesC · Accepted solution]

TwinCitiesJHawk,

Activity Zones are a function of Arlo Smart. Check your subscriptions to make sure the Arlo Video Doorbell is participating in your Arlo Smart plan. You can do this by logging in to your Alro account and navigating to Settings > Subscription > Manage Cameras

JamesC

[PeteRose]

I just experienced the same thing. After updating the Motion Detection Test settings because of many unwanted alerts despite configuring the Activity Zone, the entire Activity Zone setting disappeared from the device settings menu. I have the same firmware version as the initial post in this thread and an active 3-month trial subscription on the doorbell. Is this a bug?

[NKYAggie]

Am I misunderstanding something? This article implies that Activity Zones don't apply to the Arlo Video Doorbell: https://kb.arlo.com/1001908/What-are-activity-zones-and-how-do-I-create-them

Should they be working or not?

[JamesC]

PeteRose,

With an Arlo Smart subscription, your Arlo Video doorbell should have access to Activity Zones. What client are you experiencing this on? If you log in on a PC using the web client, do you experience this behavior?

JamesC

[TwinCitiesJHawk]

I’m on a 3 month trial until June 4th. I have the activity zone options on a web browser, just not on the iPhone app anymore. It was taken away after the firmware update to the doorbell

[PeteRose]

I have been using it on the iPhone XR mobile app. I will try on the web app tonight and revert.

[NKYAggie]

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@JamesC wrote:

PeteRose,

With an Arlo Smart subscription, your Arlo Video doorbell should have access to Activity Zones. What client are you experiencing this on? If you log in on a PC using the web client, do you experience this behavior?

JamesC

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Personally, I see the activity zones in the iOS app and it lets me set them. I was asking my question because that KB article implies that, even if you can set them, the AVD ignores them. I know that my AVD doesn't seem to honor them. It picks up activity on the front sidewalk and in the street, even though I've designated zones just for my front porch and driveway.

[StephenB]

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@NKYAggie wrote:

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@JamesC wrote:

PeteRose,

With an Arlo Smart subscription, your Arlo Video doorbell should have access to Activity Zones. What client are you experiencing this on? If you log in on a PC using the web client, do you experience this behavior?

JamesC

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Personally, I see the activity zones in the iOS app and it lets me set them. I was asking my question because that KB article implies that, even if you can set them, the AVD ignores them. I know that my AVD doesn't seem to honor them. It picks up activity on the front sidewalk and in the street, even though I've designated zones just for my front porch and driveway.

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The KB article just needs to be updated to include the AVD in the list.  Small oversight on Arlo's part (hopefully @JamesC  will take care of it).

However, my own doorbell also ignores them (and shouldn't).   I suggest contacting support, as it would be good to have more people reporting this problem to them.  It's particularly annoying with the doorbell, because you can't reduce the unwanted notifications by changing the camera position.

[NKYAggie]

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@StephenB wrote:

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The KB article just needs to be updated to include the AVD in the list.  Small oversight on Arlo's part (hopefully @JamesC  will take care of it).

However, my own doorbell also ignores them (and shouldn't).   I suggest contacting support, as it would be good to have more people reporting this problem to them.  It's particularly annoying with the doorbell, because you can't reduce the unwanted notifications by changing the camera position.

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I have tried dropping my sensitivity way down to 40. That seemed to help this evening. I'll see how many alerts I get tomorrow from traffic and kids. I don't really NEED the activity zones functionality per se. I just don't want a motion detected notification every time a car drives past my house.

[DumbAsADoorbell]

I am having the same issue since the firmware update. Also have tried deleting, resetting, re-adding the doorbell to my smart subscription etc. These steps will temporarily add the activity zone option back to the doorbell within the app, but minutes or hours later it will again disappear and I begin to get 100’s of notifications.

I’ve sat in queue for tech support for hours today but got the same instructions above w no success. Very frustrating!!

[PeteRose]

I checked the web app on my laptop and could set the Activity Zone.  Soon thereafter I checked the mobile app on my iPhone and the Activity Zone setting is back.  Hopefully, the doorbell will respect the activity zone I created.  I initially tried to change it because I was getting motion alerts outside of the zone.  

[TwinCitiesJHawk]

I have activity zones on the website but not the iOS app. I even deleted and reinstalled the app and still no luck.

[DumbAsADoorbell]

I did as suggested and was able to set the activity zone using the website on a laptop, and the “activity zones” button came back to my iPhone app. ...However, even now it’s showing the zone on the app, it is not actually working. Getting constant alerts from cars passing by way outside the zone.

[NKYAggie]

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@DumbAsADoorbell wrote:
I did as suggested and was able to set the activity zone using the website on a laptop, and the “activity zones” button came back to my iPhone app. ...However, even now it’s showing the zone on the app, it is not actually working. Getting constant alerts from cars passing by way outside the zone.

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I will say, cutting my sensitivity way done seems to have done the trick. I had to pull my sensitivity all the way down to 40 but I've only received 3 false-positives today. They were all when relatively large vehicles drove down the street (trash truck and delivery vehicles). They have not triggered on people walking the sidewalk or regular cards driving past.

[TwinCitiesJHawk]

I still don’t have the option to choose zones even after using the desktop site.

[GregTR]

I'm having the exact same issue. The activity zones are set and configured (I always had the option, I'm on Android with a 10 camera smart subscription) but they are not being taken into account. I am getting 100s of notifications of cars driving by which I used to block out. Super annoying and making it unusable.
I opened a ticket, reduced sensitivity, deleted re-added zones both on the phone app and via web to no avail. They are simply ignored. The issue started around end of April, I didn't realize it was also the same time a firmware upgrade was rolled out.

[JamesC]

Is anyone still experiencing this issue after installing the latest version of the Arlo mobile app from the app store? Please let us know.

JamesC

[NKYAggie]

I have access to activity zone definitions within the app, but they still don't work. I constantly get alerts triggered by pedestrians on the sidewalk and cars in the street.

Here is a picture of my zone definitions.

As you can see, they are clearly defined, but it triggers on any activity observed anywhere in the picture.

[DumbAsADoorbell]

Same for me. The Activity Zones feature no longer disappears from the app, but it still doesn’t work. I get nonstop alerts from well beyond the defined zone.

[JamesC]

NKYAggie,

Try deleting these existing zones and set up new ones. With the new zones, do you still experience this issue?

JamesC

[TwinCitiesJHawk]

I ended up removing the link between the arlo ultra base station and the video doorbell, making the video doorbell work without a base station, and then resetting the doorbell - that fixed the issue for me. 

[NKYAggie]

I have deleted the zones, completely exited the app, and then added them back.

I will have to monitor for a few hours to see if I get notifications. If I get some time, I'll try test mode if I can figure out how that works.

[NKYAggie]

After deleting and recreating the activity zones, I still received a motion warning triggered by a car passing in the street.