Troubleshooting Cove Vehicle Detection Failures
The vehicle detection feature on your Cove security camera is a powerful tool, designed to alert you to specific, important events while ignoring general motion. When this feature fails, you might miss a crucial notification about a car pulling into your driveway. This guide will help you diagnose and resolve the common issues that prevent Cove's vehicle detection from working correctly.
Why Isn't My Camera Detecting Vehicles?
Several factors can interfere with the smart AI that powers vehicle detection. Understanding these can help you quickly pinpoint the problem.
- Feature is Disabled: The setting may simply be turned off within the app for that specific camera.
- Incorrect Subscription Plan: Advanced features like vehicle detection are often tied to specific subscription tiers. Your plan may not include this functionality.
- Poor Camera Placement: The camera's angle, height, and field of view are critical. If it can't see the vehicle clearly, it can't identify it.
- Obstructed View: Trees, bushes, garden ornaments, or even a dirty camera lens can block the view and prevent the algorithm from working.
- Software Glitches: The camera's firmware or the Cove app might have a temporary bug that needs to be cleared.
- Lighting and Weather: Very low light, glare from the sun, or heavy rain can sometimes impact the accuracy of the detection.
Step-by-Step Guide to Fixing Vehicle Detection
Follow these steps to get your Cove camera's vehicle alerts working as they should.
1. Check Your Subscription and Settings
First, let's confirm everything is enabled correctly in your account.
- Open the Cove app on your smartphone.
- Select the camera that is having the issue.
- Tap the gear icon to go into its settings.
- Look for a menu related to Motion Detection or Smart Detection.
- Ensure the toggle for Vehicle Detection is switched to the ON position.
- While you're there, check your notification settings to make sure you've chosen to receive alerts for vehicle events.
- If you cannot find this option, you may need to check your billing or subscription page on the Cove website to confirm your plan includes smart detection features.
2. Optimise Camera Positioning
A clear view is essential for the AI to work accurately.
- Height and Angle: Mount the camera between 2 and 3 metres above the ground. It should be angled downwards to provide a clear, slightly top-down view of the entire area you want to monitor (e.g., your whole driveway).
- Clear Line of Sight: Trim any tree branches or bushes that might be blowing in the wind and obscuring the view. Make sure there are no pillars or walls in the way.
- Clean the Lens: A surprisingly common issue is a dirty lens. Wipe it gently with a soft, clean microfibre cloth to remove any dust, water spots, or cobwebs.
3. Adjust Motion Detection Zones
Configuring your motion zones properly tells the camera where to look for activity.
- In the camera's settings within the Cove app, find the Motion Zones or Activity Zones section.
- Ensure your zones are drawn to cover the areas where vehicles will be, such as the driveway or the road in front of your house.
- Avoid including areas with constant irrelevant motion, like a busy public footpath or a flag waving in the wind, as this can confuse the system. Try deleting the old zones and drawing new, more precise ones.
4. Reboot and Update
A simple refresh can often solve underlying software problems.
- Power Cycle the Camera: Unplug the camera from its power source. Wait for 30-60 seconds, then plug it back in. This will force it to reboot and re-establish its connection.
- Check for Updates: In the Cove app, navigate to the camera's settings and look for a Firmware Update option. Manufacturers regularly release updates to improve performance and fix bugs related to detection accuracy. Also, check your phone's app store for any updates to the Cove app itself.
If you have completed all these steps and your camera is still not detecting vehicles, it would be best to reach out to Cove customer support for more advanced assistance.