## Guardzilla Motion Detection Too Sensitive? Reduce False Alerts
A Guardzilla security camera should provide peace of mind, not a constant source of annoying notifications. If your camera is triggering an alert every time a leaf blows past or a car drives down your street, its motion detection settings are too sensitive. This flood of false alarms can cause you to miss a real security event.
This guide will walk you through the simple but effective steps you can take within the Guardzilla app to reduce unwanted notifications and make your alerts meaningful again.
## Why Your Guardzilla Is Sending So Many Alerts
Your camera identifies motion by detecting changes in the scene it's monitoring. It can't inherently distinguish between a potential intruder and other common sources of movement, including:
- Passing Vehicles: Headlights and the physical movement of cars are very common triggers.
- Trees and Plants: Branches and bushes swaying in the wind.
- Shadows and Light: Changes in lighting from the sun and clouds or outdoor lights turning on.
- Pets and Animals: Your own pets or neighbourhood animals wandering into view.
The solution is to tell your camera what kind of motion to ignore and where it should be focusing its attention.
## How to Calibrate Your Guardzilla Motion Settings
Follow these steps to take control of your notifications.
### 1. Lower the Motion Sensitivity
This is the most straightforward adjustment you can make. A lower sensitivity requires a more significant event to trigger an alert.
- Go to Settings: Open the Guardzilla app, choose the camera you wish to adjust, and enter its 'Settings' menu.
- Find Sensitivity Control: Locate the 'Motion Sensitivity' option.
- Select a Lower Level: You'll typically have options such as 'High', 'Medium', and 'Low'. If you're getting inundated with alerts, your setting is too high.
- Action: Reduce the setting by one step (e.g., from 'High' to 'Medium').
- Test and Evaluate: Allow the camera to run with the new setting for a while. If you're still getting too many false alerts, reduce it again to 'Low'. The goal is to find the sweet spot where it ignores trivial movement but still catches important events.
### 2. Define Custom Activity Zones
This is the most powerful tool for eliminating predictable false alarms, especially from traffic. Activity Zones let you specify the exact parts of the camera's view that should be monitored for motion.
- Locate the Activity Zone Menu: In your camera's settings, find the menu for 'Activity Zones' or 'Motion Zones'.
- Draw Your Zones: The app will allow you to draw one or more boxes over the camera's view.
- Be Deliberate with Placement:
- To Stop Traffic Alerts: Draw a zone that covers your property, your walkway, and your front door, but make sure the zone does not overlap with the street or public pavement. This will instruct the camera to completely ignore the movement of passing cars.
- To Ignore Pets: If your pet is triggering alerts indoors, try creating zones that cover doorways and furniture, but not the open floor where the pet usually walks.
- By being precise, you can surgically remove the sources of your false alarms.
### 3. Position Your Camera Strategically
Sometimes, a small change in the camera's angle can make a big difference.
- Angle it Downwards: Point the camera slightly downwards to focus on the immediate area you want to protect and reduce the amount of public space (like roads and footpaths) in its view.
- Avoid Direct Light: Try not to point the camera directly at a streetlamp or porch light, as the light turning on and off can sometimes trigger an alert.
By combining a lower sensitivity setting with carefully drawn Activity Zones, you can make your Guardzilla's alerts smarter, more relevant, and infinitely more useful for your home security.