A Guide to Setting Up and Optimising Fermax Motion Detection
Your Fermax video intercom does more than just let you see who is at the door; it can also act as a proactive security camera, alerting you to activity on your property even when no one rings the bell. This is achieved through its motion detection feature. However, if not configured correctly, this can lead to a flood of irrelevant notifications. This guide will help you set up and fine-tune your Fermax motion detection for optimal performance.
## Understanding How Motion Detection Works
Fermax systems, like most modern security cameras, use a software-based approach to detect motion. The system constantly analyses the video feed, and when it detects a significant number of pixels changing in a specific area from one moment to the next, it registers this as a motion event. This event can then be used to trigger actions like sending a push notification to your phone or starting a video recording.
The key to success is teaching the system what constitutes a "significant" event while ignoring background noise like moving shadows, rain, or rustling plants.
## Step 1: Enabling and Basic Configuration
First, you need to ensure the feature is turned on. You can usually do this in one of two places: the indoor monitor's settings menu or the Fermax BLUE mobile app.
- Access Settings: Navigate through the on-screen menu on your monitor or in the app to find
Settings,Events, orCamera. - Locate Motion Detection: Find the 'Motion Detection' option.
- Enable the Feature: Toggle the switch to turn it on.
- Set a Schedule (If Available): Some models may allow you to set an "arming schedule." This is very useful. For example, you can set motion detection to be active only when you're away from home or during the night, preventing alerts while you're in the garden.
## Step 2: Reducing False Alarms with Activity Zones
Simply turning on motion detection will monitor the entire camera view, which often leads to false alarms from things outside your property. Using "Activity Zones" or "Detection Areas" is the most effective way to solve this.
- What are Activity Zones? They are custom areas that you draw on the screen to tell the system precisely where to look for motion.
- How to Configure: In the motion detection settings menu, select 'Detection Area' or a similar option. You will be presented with the camera's live view, often overlaid with a grid.
- Draw Your Zone: Select the grid squares or draw a box to cover only the area of interest. For example, draw a tight box around your front path and porch. Crucially, you must exclude areas that cause false alerts, such as:
- Public footpaths or roads
- Neighbours' driveways
- Bushes or trees that move in the wind
- Areas where car headlights might sweep across at night
## Step 3: Fine-Tuning Sensitivity
The sensitivity level determines how much change is needed to trigger an alert.
- High Sensitivity: Will detect very small movements, leading to more false alarms from things like birds or even heavy rain.
- Low Sensitivity: Requires a much larger or more significant movement to trigger an alert, reducing false alarms but slightly increasing the risk of missing a subtle event.
Start with a medium setting. If you find you are still getting too many notifications for irrelevant events, lower the sensitivity. If you find the system is failing to detect people walking up your path, you may need to increase it slightly. Finding the right balance often requires a few days of testing and tweaking.
## Troubleshooting: No Notifications or Recordings?
If you have motion detection enabled but nothing is happening, check the "Linkage Actions". When motion is detected, you need to tell the system what to do. In the settings, ensure you have ticked the boxes for:
- Push Notification: To send an alert to your phone.
- Record: To save a video clip of the event. Note that recording requires either a local SD card to be installed in the monitor or an active cloud storage subscription, depending on your Fermax model.
By carefully defining your detection zones and adjusting sensitivity, you can turn your Fermax intercom's motion detection into a precise and valuable security feature.