Are You Getting Incorrect Person Detection Alerts from Honeywell?
The person detection feature on your Honeywell smart camera is a powerful tool. It's designed to filter out the noise of everyday motion—passing cars, swaying branches, or family pets—so that you are only alerted to the presence of a person on your property. However, when this feature sends a stream of false alerts or fails to detect an actual person, it can undermine your confidence in your security system.
If you're dealing with inaccurate notifications, don't worry. There are several effective ways to troubleshoot and calibrate your camera's settings within the Honeywell Home app to dramatically improve its performance.
The Most Powerful Tool: Configuring Activity Zones
By default, your camera analyses its entire field of view for motion. This is the primary cause of false alerts. Activity Zones are the solution.
How to Set Up Effective Activity Zones
Activity Zones allow you to draw specific shapes on the screen, telling your camera to only pay attention to motion that happens inside these zones.
- Open the Honeywell Home app and select the camera you want to configure.
- Go to the camera's Settings (usually a gear icon).
- Find and select Motion Detection Settings, then Activity Zones.
- You will see the camera's live view. Tap to create and resize one or more zones.
- Be specific. Draw your zones tightly around critical areas. For a front door camera, create a zone that covers your porch and walkway, but exclude the public pavement and the street. For a garden camera, include the lawn and patio, but exclude the neighbour's fence and any large trees that move in the wind.
By ignoring motion in irrelevant areas, you give the person detection AI much less data to process, drastically reducing the chance of it making a mistake. You can set up multiple zones for each camera.
Calibrating Motion Sensitivity
After setting up your Activity Zones, the next step is to adjust the sensitivity. This setting determines how much movement is required to trigger a recording and analysis.
- High Sensitivity: The camera will react to very small movements. This is a common cause of false alerts, as it might pick up on subtle shadows or rain.
- Low Sensitivity: The camera will only react to significant movements, which might cause it to miss a person walking at the edge of its range.
Start with a medium sensitivity setting. If you are still getting false alerts, lower it one level at a time. If you find the camera is missing events, increase it. It may take a few days of testing to find the perfect balance for your specific environment.
Optimising Camera Placement and Environment
The physical installation of the camera plays a huge role in its accuracy.
- Height and Angle: Mount your camera high (2-3 metres) and angle it downwards. This gives the AI a clear view of a person's shape and reduces the chances of it being confused by pets or cars.
- Lighting is Key: The person detection algorithm works best in good, even lighting.
- At night, ensure the area is well-lit. Relying solely on the camera's built-in infrared (IR) LEDs can sometimes create harsh shadows or wash out details, making detection harder. A motion-activated floodlight can work in tandem with the camera to provide excellent light for both the camera and for deterring intruders.
- During the day, be aware of long, moving shadows from trees or buildings, which can sometimes be misinterpreted as a moving person.
Keep Your Firmware Updated
Honeywell periodically releases firmware updates for their cameras and updates for the Honeywell Home app. These updates often contain improved AI algorithms and bug fixes that can directly enhance the accuracy of person detection. Always ensure both your camera and your app are running the latest versions available.
By combining precise Activity Zones with the right sensitivity level and optimal camera placement, you can fine-tune your Honeywell camera's performance, ensuring you receive only the alerts that truly matter.