Too Many Motion Alerts From the Wireless Outdoor Security Camera

If you find that your Wireless Outdoor Security Camera is detecting too much motion, there are some recommended placement and settings changes you can make to minimize the amount of motion it detects.

Adjust the Placement of the Camera

If your Outdoor Camera is facing a high traffic area like a busy street or sidewalk, we recommend angling the camera down to remove this area from its field of view, as seen in the image below.

Change the Camera’s Settings

If you cannot change the angle of the Outdoor Camera, there are settings you can adjust in the SimpliSafe® Mobile App to minimize the amount of motion it detects.

Sensitivity

By default, the Outdoor Camera’s sensitivity is set to Medium, but you can adjust this setting to Low to limit the amount of motion events you receive. 

You can adjust the sensitivity of your Outdoor Camera by taking the following steps:

SimpliSafe® Mobile App

1. Open up the SimpliSafe® Mobile App (opens in new tab) on your mobile device or tablet

2. Choose My System from the bottom navigation bar

3. Select Camera Settings (opens in new tab) from the list of available menu options

4. Choose the Outdoor Camera you’d like to adjust

5. Tap Motion Detection

6. Under Sensitivity, move the slider to Low

7. Tap Save in the top right corner to save this change

SimpliSafe® Online Account

1. Login to the SimpliSafe® Online Account (opens in new tab) using the browser of your choice

   1. If you manage multiple properties, choose the location you wish to update from the list by clicking on the Base Station Serial Number or Property Address

2. Select Devices from the navigation bar on the left side of the screen

3. Select the camera you want to update

4. A pop up menu will appear on the right hand side of the screen

5. Scroll down to Motion Sensitivity and move the slider to Low

6. When you are done, click Save Changes on the bottom of the pop up to save your selections

Motion Detection Type

The Outdoor Camera has two motion detection options: All Motion and People Only. When set to All Motion, the camera will record any motion it senses - which may cause excess motion events. However, if the camera is set to People Only it will only respond to people-shaped objects.

To minimize the amount of motion your Outdoor Camera detects, you can change its motion setting to People Only by following these steps:

1. Open up the SimpliSafe® Mobile App (opens in new tab) on your mobile device or tablet

2. Choose My System from the bottom navigation bar

3. Select Camera Settings (opens in new tab)

4. Tap the Outdoor Camera you’d like to adjust

5. Choose Motion Detection

6. Under Motion Type, select People Only

7. Tap Save in the top right corner to save this change

Activity Zones

By setting up Activity Zones (opens in new tab), you can block unnecessary sources of motion from the camera’s view, like tree branches, sidewalks, or busy streets.

To create Activity Zones, take the following steps:

1. Open up the SimpliSafe® Mobile App (opens in new tab) on your mobile device or tablet

2. Choose My System from the bottom navigation bar

3. Select Camera Settings (opens in new tab)

4. Tap the Outdoor Camera you’d like to adjust

5. Choose Motion Detection

6. Under Activity Zone, tap the boxes in the frame where you do not want your camera to record

7. Tap Save in the top right corner to save this change

Additional Troubleshooting

If you’re still getting too many motion alerts when your camera is set to People Only mode, we recommend trying the following tricks:

• Change your camera’s motion detection setting to All Motion

• Turn your camera’s sensitivity down to Medium or Low

• Set up Activity Zones (opens in new tab) around the perimeter of the camera’s field of view