Is Your Blink Camera Failing to Detect Motion?
A security camera that doesn't detect motion is a serious blind spot in your home's protection. If you've noticed that your Blink camera is missing events—like a person walking up your path or a car pulling into your drive—it's crucial to address the problem immediately.
This guide will take you through a complete checklist of settings and potential issues to diagnose why your Blink motion detection isn't working. From simple app settings to more advanced configurations, we'll help you get your camera back to being the reliable watchdog it's meant to be.
## Common Symptoms of Detection Failure
First, let's confirm the problem. Are you experiencing any of these issues?
- No Motion Clips Recorded: Your clip list is empty, even when you know there has been activity in the camera's view.
- No Push Notifications: You are not receiving any alerts on your phone when motion occurs.
- Obvious Events are Missed: You can review live view and see everything clearly, but the camera simply doesn't trigger a recording when people or cars go past.
- Inconsistent Detection: It seems to work sometimes but not others, with no obvious pattern.
- The "Man Running" Icon Never Appears: The motion indicator icon in the camera's corner never shows up, even during live view.
## Step-by-Step Fixes for Blink Motion Detection
Let's start with the most common and easiest-to-fix issues.
### 1. Ensure Your System is 'Armed'
This is the number one reason for missed motion. The Blink system has two main states:
- Armed: Motion detection is active. All enabled cameras will detect motion and record a clip.
- Disarmed: Motion detection is inactive. No cameras will record based on motion.
At the bottom of the Blink app's home screen, you will see a toggle for 'Armed' and 'Disarmed'. Make sure your system is set to 'Armed'.
### 2. Check Individual Camera Settings
Even if the whole system is armed, motion detection can be turned off for individual cameras.
- From the home screen, tap the settings icon (a slider) above the camera you want to check.
- In the camera's settings, make sure the 'Enable Motion Detection' toggle is switched on.
- Also, check the 'Sensitivity' setting. If it's set too low (e.g., 1 or 2), it may not be sensitive enough to pick up movement. A setting of 5-7 is a good starting point.
### 3. Configure Activity and Privacy Zones
Blink's zones can prevent detection if not set up correctly.
- Activity Zones: These are areas where you want motion to be detected. If you have an activity zone configured, the camera will only detect motion inside the selected grey squares. If the area you're interested in is not selected, no motion will be detected there.
- Privacy Zones: These are areas that are blacked out for privacy. The camera will never detect motion in these zones.
Go to the camera's settings and check your Activity Zones. Ensure the areas you want to monitor are active (greyed out). If in doubt, try resetting the zones to the default (all active).
### 4. Adjust the Re-trigger Time
The 're-trigger time' is the period the camera waits after finishing a recording before it can begin detecting motion again.
- You can find this setting in the camera's main settings page.
- It can be set from 10 to 60 seconds. If your re-trigger time is set to 60 seconds, the camera will be 'blind' for a full minute after every event.
- For critical areas, set this to a lower value, like 10 or 15 seconds, to minimise the chance of missing a follow-up event.
### 5. Check Camera Placement and Signal
Finally, physical factors can play a role.
- Wi-Fi Signal: A poor connection between the camera and the Sync Module or your Wi-Fi can prevent clips from being uploaded. Check the 'Camera to Sync Module' signal strength in the settings.
- Field of View: Ensure the camera is aimed correctly and not obstructed by walls, leaves, or other objects.
- PIR Sensor: The motion sensor works best when motion happens across its field of view, not directly towards it. If possible, position the camera so that subjects walk side-to-side in its view.
By systematically working through these five areas, you can identify and correct the reason your Blink camera isn't detecting motion.