No one likes coming home to sad news, especially a break-in.
Thankfully, ring cameras can help you keep an eye on your home while away and alert you of any suspicious activity.
However, it can be stressful if the cameras you entrusted with your home’s security fail to detect motion, begging the question, “Why is my Ring Camera not detecting motion?”
When a ring camera fails to detect motion, it may be caused by inappropriate camera positioning, low sensitivity, disabled motion alerts, or a faulty sensor. Solutions include enabling motion alerts, repositioning the camera, and resetting the sensitivity.
In the rest of this article, I’ll discuss the common reasons your ring camera is not detecting motion.
Furthermore, I’ll elaborate on how to fix these issues and get your ring camera to detect motion in no time. Let’s get started!
The Camera Is Fixed Inappropriately
The ring camera’s positioning is crucial if you want it to detect motion.
Your ring camera will only work well and detect motion if mounted at the appropriate height from the ground, both inside and outside.
Moreover, you must consider the camera’s distance from the target position.
The target can be your front door or main gate.
A ring camera mounted in a place with obstacles like glass windows or doors will have a more challenging time detecting motion.
The glass can block the camera’s view, making it fail to detect movement.
How To Fix
When positioning your ring camera, mount it at an appropriate height from the ground.
Your outdoor camera should be about nine feet (2.74 meters) from the ground.
The indoor one can be at least seven feet (2.13 meters) from the ground.
These heights are ideal as they enable your camera to focus on the target and capture any slight motion.
Mounting your ring camera too high or too low obstructs its operating angle.
Therefore, it won’t capture people’s faces, an ideal consideration for motion detection.
You should also check to ensure the camera’s distance from the target point, which can be your front door or gate, is ideal.
According to Ring, these cameras have a detection range of up to 30 feet (9.14 meters).
Exceeding this distance reduces your camera’s ability to detect motion.
Finally, check to ensure the camera has a clear view with no obstacles.
There should be no glass window or door in front of the camera as they can block its view and hinder motion detection.
Low Heat Sensitivity
Ring cameras have sensors that use infrared heat triggers to detect motion.
Infrared heat triggers in ring sensors detect temperature changes in an environment to know when there is someone in the area.
Most ring cameras have their heat sensitivity set to “Standard,” and most users don’t bother to change the setting.
However, changing the setting to fit your situation is essential so the camera can detect motion effectively.
If you live in an area with many insects like moths or flies, they may cause false motions, hindering your camera’s accuracy.
The same goes for areas with intense sunlight that produces heat waves.
This explains why it’s crucial to reset your camera’s sensitivity for efficiency.
How To Fix
Your ring camera won’t detect motion if its heat sensitivity is set too low.
The solution to this is to increase your camera’s sensitivity.
Here is the procedure to enhance your ring camera’s sensitivity:
- Launch the ring app on your phone.
- Navigate to “Motion Settings.“
- Select “Zones and Range.”
- Increase your camera’s heat sensitivity using the slider on the top.
- Select the areas you want to monitor.
You can test if this procedure solved the problem by having someone stand in front of the camera.
Motion Alerts Are Disabled
Ring cameras initiate alerts to notify you when someone is at your door.
However, these alerts only work when enabled.
You can disable the alerts when you don’t want to monitor the area.
By default, the motion alerts are usually on.
However, you may have switched them off unknowingly while trying to fix another problem.
When the motion alerts are off, your ring camera may detect motion but it will not notify you.
In this case, you might think the camera doesn’t detect motion.
How To Fix
All you need to do is enable the motion alerts, and your camera will notify you of any movement it detects.
You should also check your phone’s app settings to ensure notifications for the ring app are enabled.
The following is the procedure to enable motion alerts on your ring camera:
- Launch the ring app on your phone.
- Navigate to “Connected Devices.”
- Select “Ring Doorbell” from the displayed devices.
- Scroll to “Motion Settings.“
- Choose “Motion Zones.“
- Scroll to “Add a Motion Zone.“
- Select and add the area for which you want to receive alerts.
- Save your changes.
Expert Tip: Ensure the zone you just added is within 30 feet (9.14 meters) of the camera. You won’t receive alerts if the zone is beyond this distance, as the camera’s detection ability can’t exceed 30 feet (9.14 meters).
Faulty Camera Sensor
Your camera’s motion sensor might have developed some issues if it still doesn’t detect motion by now.
Like other electronic devices, exposure to the elements can damage your camera’s sensor.
How To Fix
The best way to fix this is by contacting Ring support and requesting a technician to check your camera.
The professional will diagnose and fix the issue with the sensors or request for a replacement.
It’s also essential to take precautionary measures to ensure your camera doesn’t get damaged in the first place.
These include:
- Installing your camera under an awning or eaves.
- Avoiding placing your camera in direct sunlight.
- Checking the connections and making sure they’re tight.
- Ensuring there’s no water or condensation inside the camera.
Software Bugs and Glitches
Any device that uses software is bound to have some bugs and glitches.
Although ring cameras are of high quality, they’re not perfect.
A software bug or glitch can cause your camera not to detect motion.
How To Fix
Restarting your ring camera should fix software bugs. Here are the steps for this:
- Locate a black button on the camera.
- Press and hold the button for about 15 seconds.
- After releasing the button, the camera should flash light to indicate that it’s restarting.
- Wait for the restart process to end and try detecting motion with the camera.
If all the above fixes fail, contact the Ring customer support team for assistance.
Why my Ring camera is not detecting motion? Final Thoughts
A ring camera that doesn’t detect motion indicates there’s an issue that must be sorted out to continue keeping your home safe.
Some of these issues include inappropriate camera distance and software bugs.
However, you should contact ring customer support if all the above fixes fail to restore your camera’s ability to detect motion.
