Amcrest Geofencing Not Working? Let's Fix It.
Geofencing is a powerful feature in the Amcrest ecosystem, allowing your security system to automatically arm or disarm based on your smartphone's location. When it works, it's incredibly convenient. When it doesn't, it can be a source of real frustration, either bombarding you with unwanted notifications when you're home or failing to protect your property when you're away. This troubleshooting guide will walk you through the most common reasons why Amcrest geofencing fails and how to resolve them.
The problem rarely lies with the Amcrest cameras themselves. Almost all geofencing issues stem from the settings on the smartphone running the Amcrest Go app.
The Core of the Problem: App Permissions and Location Services
The Amcrest Go app needs two critical things from your phone to perform geofencing: unrestricted access to your location and the ability to run in the background.
1. Check Location Services
- Turn It On: First, ensure that your phone's main Location Services (GPS) are enabled.
- Set to High Accuracy: On Android, set the location mode to 'High Accuracy' which uses GPS, Wi-Fi, and mobile networks for the best possible positioning.
- Verify GPS Signal: Open a mapping application like Google Maps or Apple Maps. Does it show your location accurately and quickly? If not, you may have a hardware or signal issue with your phone's GPS.
2. Grant the Correct App Permissions
This is the single most common point of failure.
- For iOS: Go to
Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Amcrest Go. You must set the location access to "Always". If it is set to "While Using the App," geofencing will not work when the app is closed. - For Android: Go to
Settings > Apps > Amcrest Go > Permissions > Location. You must select "Allow all the time". The "Allow only while using the app" option will prevent geofencing from functioning correctly.
Optimising Your Phone's Settings
Modern smartphones are aggressive in closing background apps to save battery. You need to tell your phone to make an exception for the Amcrest Go app.
### Disable Battery Optimisation
- Android: The steps can vary by manufacturer, but you are looking for a setting like
Settings > Apps > Amcrest Go > Battery. From here, you should select an option like "Unrestricted" or "Don't optimise". This prevents the Android operating system from putting the app to sleep. - iOS: iOS manages this more automatically, but ensure that
Settings > General > Background App Refreshis turned on for Amcrest Go.
### Ensure a Stable Data Connection
Geofencing requires your phone to communicate its location to the Amcrest servers. If your phone has a poor or intermittent mobile data (4G/5G) or Wi-Fi connection when you are leaving or entering your geofence zone, the trigger may fail.
Checking Your Amcrest Go App Configuration
Once you've confirmed your phone settings are correct, let's review the setup within the app itself.
- Geofence Radius: Is the blue circle, or geofence, correctly placed over your home? Is the radius appropriate? A radius that is too small (e.g., less than 100 metres) might cause issues if your GPS signal drifts slightly. Try increasing the size.
- Device Association: Ensure your cameras are correctly associated with the geofencing rule.
- Mode Configuration: Double-check what the 'Home' and 'Away' modes are supposed to do. Is 'Away' mode set to enable motion detection and push notifications? Is 'Home' mode set to disable them?
Still Not Working?
If you have followed all of the above steps and geofencing is still unreliable, try these final actions:
- Log Out and Back In: Sign out of your Amcrest Go account and then sign back in. This can sometimes refresh the connection to the server.
- Reinstall the App: Uninstalling and reinstalling the Amcrest Go app can resolve any corrupted data or settings. You will need to set up your geofence again after reinstalling.
- Check for App Updates: Make sure you are running the latest version of the Amcrest Go app from the App Store or Google Play.
By ensuring the app has constant access to your location and is protected from battery-saving features, you can solve the vast majority of Amcrest geofencing problems.