Arlo HD Doorbell - activity zone not working

[kingliam]

Model Version: AVD1001Ar1.2

Firmware: 1.14.0.0_1189_4e1d685_8173366

Like the subject says, about 6 months ago all the motion alerts for my doorbell camera have started registering as "packages." Prior to that period I never ran into this issue. I think your ML model needs some tweaking or needs reverted since its nearly 100% false positives now. I've donated tons of the false-positive videos. Here are two screenshots of the alerts as well as what my front door area looks like.

Additionally activity zones don't even remotely work on the doorbell. I get "package" alerts literally everyday, many many times a day, and when I check the videos its just cars driving past in the areas that aren't in any activity zones. Here's a screenshot of my zone setup.

Any thoughts, tips, or advice? Thanks!

[Doumat]

I have a Arlo HD doorbell and have no choice but to have it face down the curved stairs from our home and  to the street.   I am getting overwhelmed with the number of motion and people alerts from the road 30ft in front of the house, even though I set an activity zone that is only showing the stairs, not the street.   I thought that specifying the activity zone would stop the alerts for areas out of the activity zone.   It is like Arlo is ignoring the activity zone.    Any ideas and suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Doug

[ShayneS]

Is this a new occurrence? May I ask which troubleshooting steps you have performed so far? I don't want to suggest anything you have previously performed.

[ShayneS]

May I ask which troubleshooting steps you have performed so far? I don't want to suggest anything you have previously performed.

[Doumat]

Thanks  - this is a new doorbell.   I set it up with the activity zone on the bottom 1/3 of the video as that is feet coming up the stairs, but I am getting motion alerts every time a car drives by on the street or someone walks down the street and those activities are on the top 1/3 of the screen and not in the activity zone.

No troubleshooting -don't know where to start.

[kingliam]

No too sure why our threads got combined. Like I said in my message -- a few months ago the alerts worked fine, but now nearly everything registers as a "package" regardless of what is actually happening. I can't change the physical exterior of my house. Are there other troubleshooting steps I can take? It seems like you may have updated your ML model and now its incompatible with the shapes on my front porch.

[kingliam]

In terms of activity zones, they literally have never worked on the camera since day 0. I keep hoping for a firmware or software update, but I haven't received a single one in the last year (unless the doorbell is auto-updating). The troubleshooting steps I've taken include resetting the doorbell camera and re-adding it to the app.

[StephenB]

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@kingliam wrote:

(unless the doorbell is auto-updating). 

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FWIW, it does auto-update.  @JamesC generally posts something in https://community.arlo.com/t5/Firmware-Release-Notes/bd-p/arlo-release-notes whenever new firmware is pushed.

Which doorbell do you have (AVD1001 or AVD2001)?  What firmware is it running?

[kingliam]

Oh, thanks @StephenB! I didn't know it auto-updated. My firmware version is 1.14.0.0_1189_4e1d685_8173366 (which looks like its from March of 2022). It was around March that all my alerts changed to "packages" detected. So this kind-of add up. It must have been that update that messed up the smart detection features. I'm running AVD1001.

[StephenB]

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@kingliam wrote:

My firmware version is 1.14.0.0_1189_4e1d685_8173366 (which looks like its from March of 2022). It was around March that all my alerts changed to "packages" detected. So this kind-of add up. It must have been that update that messed up the smart detection features. I'm running AVD1001.

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That is current (my own AVD1001 is also running that firmware).

But the package detection (like all the smart notifications) is actually done in the Arlo Cloud, not in the cameras.  Activity zones are also processed by the Arlo Cloud, and not in the doorbell.  So more likely a back-end change in their cloud that was made about the same time.

I'm not seeing this myself, so the AI isn't mis-detecting anything in my field of view.  I have noticed that when there is a package detected on the porch that all alerts are classified as package.

Personally I wish they would apply multiple tags (at least in the recordings), so I could remove "packages" from the library filter (for example), but still search on other tags (like people).

[kingliam]

Thanks @StephenB! I seem to always learn things from you. Based on what you said, I'm sure you're right--most likely a back-end change and not much that I can do other than hope that they sort things out for people with "package" looking architecture.

In terms of detection zones, I have paid really close attention recently and it does seem like its not catching every car outside of the zone, but it does catch a good number of them resulting in tons of false positive motion alerts. Maybe I can try shrinking the detection zone even smaller and see if that helps. Other than that I'm not sure what to do other than hope for some detection zone upgrades in the future.

[StephenB]

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@kingliam wrote:

not much that I can do other than hope that they sort things out for people with "package" looking architecture.

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Just guessing here, but I am thinking the "package" is likely one of the concrete pillars, but it could potentially be the edge of the welcome mat that shows up on the bottom left.  You could try removing the welcome mat, and see if that makes a difference.

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@kingliam wrote:

In terms of detection zones, I have paid really close attention recently and it does seem like its not catching every car outside of the zone, but it does catch a good number of them resulting in tons of false positive motion alerts. Maybe I can try shrinking the detection zone even smaller and see if that helps. Other than that I'm not sure what to do other than hope for some detection zone upgrades in the future.

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Are you seeing any video corruption in the false detections?  That generally affects the entire picture, and the Arlo cloud does seem to confuse that with motion.

Reducing motion sensitivity might help too.

If you get glare from headlights or emergency vehicles on the walls at night, that can also result in false detection - not much that can be done about that.