Are Your Lorex Activity Zones Not Working Correctly?
The activity zones feature on your Lorex camera is a powerful tool. By drawing specific areas on the screen, you can tell your camera to focus only on the motion that matters—like your driveway or front path—and ignore irrelevant movement, such as cars passing on the street or a neighbour walking their dog.
However, when this feature doesn't work as expected, it can lead to either a flood of false notifications or, even worse, missed events that you needed to capture. This guide will help you troubleshoot and configure your Lorex activity zones for optimal performance.
Common Problems with Activity Zones
If your zones are ineffective, you're likely experiencing one of two main problems:
- Detecting Motion Outside the Zone: You receive alerts for people, vehicles, or general movement in areas you have specifically excluded.
- Not Detecting Motion Inside the Zone: A person or vehicle moves clearly within your designated activity zone, but no alert is triggered and no recording is made.
Often, these issues are not due to a faulty camera but rather a conflict in the settings.
How to Configure Your Lorex Activity Zones Effectively
Follow these steps to ensure your zones are set up for success. These instructions apply generally whether you are using a Lorex NVR or a standalone Wi-Fi camera, though the menu names may vary slightly.
1. Differentiate Between Motion Detection Types
Lorex systems often have two types of motion detection, and this is the most common source of confusion:
- General Motion Detection: This is a more basic, pixel-based system. It triggers an alert when it detects a certain amount of change in the pixels on the screen. It can be triggered by anything—shadows, rain, moving trees, etc.
- Smart Motion Detection (Person & Vehicle): This is a more advanced, AI-based system that specifically looks for the shapes of people and vehicles.
The key to effective activity zones is to apply them to the Smart Motion Detection settings. If you have general motion detection enabled and its sensitivity is high, it will ignore your smart zones and alert you to everything.
Solution: In your camera's settings, find the "Motion Detection" menu. Lower the sensitivity of or completely disable "General Motion Detection." Then, go to the "Smart Motion Detection" menu to configure your zones there.
2. Draw Your Zones Correctly
How you draw the zone matters.
- Don't Make it Too Small: The zone needs to be large enough for a significant portion of the object (person or vehicle) to enter it. A very thin line might not be enough to trigger a reliable detection.
- Cover the Area of Interest: Ensure the box or grid squares cover the entire area you care about. For a driveway, for example, cover the whole space from the pavement to your garage.
- Clear the Grid: Before drawing a new zone, it's often a good idea to "Clear" or "Delete" all existing zones to ensure you're starting with a clean slate.
3. Check and Adjust Sensitivity
Each detection type has its own sensitivity setting.
- If you are missing events inside the zone: The sensitivity for Person or Vehicle detection may be too low. Try increasing it slightly.
- If you are getting false alerts inside the zone (e.g., a shadow is detected as a person): The sensitivity might be too high. Try lowering it.
Make small adjustments and test the results before making further changes.
4. Crucially, Save Your Settings
This is a simple but surprisingly common mistake. After you have drawn your zones and adjusted the sensitivity, you must click the "Apply," "Save," or "OK" button. If you navigate away from the screen without explicitly saving your configuration, the changes will be lost, and the system will revert to its previous settings.
5. Update Your Firmware
Ensure your Lorex NVR or camera is running the latest firmware. Lorex frequently releases updates that improve the performance and accuracy of their detection algorithms. You can typically find the "Check for Updates" option in the system's maintenance or information menu.
By focusing on using the Smart Detection features and ensuring your settings are correctly saved, you can transform your activity zones from a source of frustration into a highly effective tool for reducing false alarms.