‎Small dog setting off motion sensors | SimpliSafe Support Home
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L
leguller

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Wednesday, January 29th, 2020 2:28 PM

Small dog setting off motion sensors

Recently installed SS with 2 motion sensors covering two rooms. Initial install was with motion sensors about 6 ft off ground, button side up. My 20lb dog (also have a 10-lb cat) triggered the motion sensor getting off a couch best I can guess. Alarm went off, call center called to confirm if police should be dispatched. Changed the motion sensor to be about 4-5 ft off ground, button side down (as suggested by SS install guide though my dog is much smaller than what they look for). Seems like the motion was triggered still (as seen with mobile notification) though no alarm was triggered.
Questions:

* What are optimal sensor positions to avoid these issues with pets, yet still detect people?
* Are the sensors really doing what they are advertised to do: ignore small pets, or is this just a marketing gimmick and I should not bother?

Right now I have very little confidence in the sensors, and it bothers me a notification was sent for detection but no alarm triggered...
Thanks

Question

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Updated 

4 years ago

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undeleted

1.2K Messages

4 years ago

You're going to get many different people suggesting many different things, such as putting the sensors upside down and lower.  But here's what works.  I've been doing this for years.  Place the sensors as high as you can on the wall, near the ceiling.  Put the sensor switch on low.  This will stop triggering from the cats for sure, dog probably.  You'll have reduced coverage in the room for humans, but you can put it in test mode to find out.  Add additional motion sensors to the room to fill in the gaps.  We've always had cats in the house and have not had a false alarm in years since taking this approach.

I would also suggest putting the motion sensors in secret alert mode for a while until you are sure the problem is solved.  This way you'll get a text message that the sensor went off, but won't sound the alarm.

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jordan613

49 Messages

4 years ago

I have a 7 lb dog and a 50 lb dog and have never had a false alarm.  Make sure the sensors are not pointed anywhere that an animal can jump (cough, chair, bed, etc).  Also make sure that it is not pointed towards a window or other heat source.  Also try to change sensitivity on the back and then run a couple tests with a human.  Lastly if you have a camera put it pointing the same direction so you can pin point what is setting it off.

As for the notification, but no alarm was this from a camera or from the motion sensor itself?

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