Honeywell Facial Recognition Not Working? Let's Fix It.
Honeywell's facial recognition feature adds a powerful layer of intelligence to your home security, allowing you to receive alerts that tell you who has been detected, not just that a person was seen. When this feature isn't working correctly, however, it can be puzzling.
This troubleshooting guide will help you diagnose and solve common problems with Honeywell's facial recognition, from setup issues to poor detection accuracy.
Common Issues with Facial Recognition
You may be experiencing one of the following problems:
- The camera isn't recognising or learning new faces.
- It fails to identify people who are already in your 'Familiar Faces' library.
- You are not receiving the specific 'Familiar Face' notifications.
- The feature seems to be disabled or unavailable.
These issues are often caused by poor camera placement, lighting conditions, or incorrect software settings.
How to Troubleshoot Honeywell Facial Recognition
Follow these steps to improve the accuracy and reliability of the feature.
1. Check Camera Placement and Lighting
This is the most critical factor for accurate facial recognition. The system needs a clear, well-lit view of a person's face.
- Optimal Height: Install the camera at or slightly above head height. A camera positioned too high (pointing down) will only see the top of people's heads.
- Good Lighting: Ensure the area is well-lit, especially where people's faces are likely to be. Strong backlighting (e.g., a camera pointing towards a bright window) can create silhouettes and make faces impossible to see. Consider adding a porch light for nighttime performance if the camera's night vision isn't sufficient.
- Clear View: Make sure there are no obstructions like plants or decorations blocking the camera's view.
- Clean the Lens: A smudged or dirty lens can blur details and severely hamper the camera's ability to recognise faces. Gently wipe the lens with a soft microfibre cloth.
2. Configure Settings in the Honeywell Home App
The problem might be rooted in your app's configuration.
- Enable the Feature: Navigate to the specific camera's settings in the Honeywell Home app. Find the 'Detection Settings' or 'Notifications' area and ensure that both Person Detection and Facial Recognition (or 'Familiar Face Alerts') are turned on.
- Manage Your Library: Go to the section for managing people or familiar faces.
- Name New Faces: The app will show you snapshots of unidentified people. Give them names to help the system learn.
- Merge Duplicates: Sometimes, the system might create multiple entries for the same person under different lighting conditions. Merge these entries to improve accuracy.
- Delete Incorrect Entries: Remove any incorrect snapshots (e.g., a picture of a pet mistakenly identified as a person) from the library.
3. Allow for a Learning Period
Facial recognition is an AI-based technology that improves over time. It needs to see a person multiple times, from different angles and in various lighting conditions, before it can recognise them with high accuracy.
- Be patient during the first few weeks of use.
- Regularly manage your face library in the app to help the AI learn faster.
4. Ensure Your System is Up to Date
- App Version: Check for and install any updates for the Honeywell Home app from your phone's app store.
- Camera Firmware: Ensure your camera's firmware is up to date. These updates often include performance improvements for features like facial recognition.
By optimising your camera's physical setup and fine-tuning the software settings, you can resolve most issues with Honeywell's facial recognition and start receiving the smart, specific alerts you expect.