How to Fix Ineffective Arlo Activity Zones
Arlo's Activity Zones feature is a powerful tool designed to reduce unwanted motion alerts by focusing detection on specific areas within your camera's view. However, when zones don't work as expected, it can be very frustrating. You might get alerts from areas you've excluded or, even worse, miss important events within your designated zones. This guide will help you troubleshoot and resolve the most common issues with Arlo Activity Zones.
## The Most Important Rule: Mains Power is Required
Before diving into any other settings, you must understand the number one requirement for Activity Zones to function: the Arlo camera must be connected to a mains power outlet.
- Why? When running on battery, Arlo cameras use a passive infrared (PIR) motion sensor to conserve power. This hardware sensor detects heat and movement across a wide area and cannot be limited to a custom-drawn zone. When plugged in, the camera switches to using video-based analysis, constantly scanning the pixels within your defined zones for changes.
- How to Check: If your Activity Zones are greyed out or you can't create them, it's almost certainly because your camera is running on battery power. You must use an official Arlo outdoor power adapter to enable this feature.
## Troubleshooting Steps for Ineffective Zones
If your camera is plugged in but the zones are still not working correctly, work through the following steps.
### 1. Check Your Arlo Secure Subscription
Activity Zones are a premium feature included with an Arlo Secure subscription plan.
- Action: Log in to your Arlo account on the web portal. Navigate to the subscription section and ensure your plan is active and has not expired. If you are on the free basic plan, Activity Zones will not be available.
### 2. Verify Your Modes and Rules
Simply drawing a zone is not enough; you have to tell Arlo what to do when motion is detected within that zone. This is done via Modes and Rules.
- Open the Arlo app and tap on the Routines tab.
- Select the Arm Away or Arm Home mode (whichever you are using).
- Under the 'Rules' section, tap on the device you want to configure.
- You will see a trigger condition, likely "IF Motion is detected". Tap the pencil icon to edit it.
- Here, you will see your created zones. Ensure the specific zone you want to monitor is ticked. If no zone is ticked, the camera will default to detecting motion everywhere.
- Under the 'THEN' section, ensure an action is set, such as "Record video" or "Send push notification".
- Tap Save.
This is a critical step. Many users draw zones but forget to link them to a rule, which causes the zones to be ignored.
### 3. Optimise Zone Placement and Size
The way you draw your zones can impact their effectiveness.
- Avoid Edges: Try not to draw your zones right up to the very edge of the camera's field of view. Leave a small buffer.
- Make Them Large Enough: A zone that is too small (e.g., just a tiny square on a path) might not contain enough pixel data for the algorithm to reliably detect motion. Make the zone slightly larger than the area of interest.
- Simplify Shapes: While you can create complex shapes, a simple rectangle or square is often more reliable.
### 4. Adjust Motion Sensitivity
If you are missing events inside your zones, the camera's overall motion sensitivity might be too low.
- In the Arlo app, go to Devices, select your camera, and tap the settings cog.
- Go to Device Utilities and select Motion Detection Test.
- Adjust the sensitivity slider. A higher setting makes the camera more reactive. Find a balance that detects you walking through the zone without being triggered by minor things like leaves blowing.
By ensuring your camera is on mains power and correctly configuring your subscription, rules, and zone placement, you can dramatically improve the accuracy and reliability of your Arlo Activity Zones.