How to Stop False Notifications on Your Lorex Security System
A Lorex security system provides powerful surveillance, but its value is diminished if your phone is constantly buzzing with false alerts. Notifications for swaying trees, bugs, or changing sunlight can cause you to ignore a genuinely important security event.
This guide is designed to help you take control of your Lorex notifications by properly configuring your system's settings to filter out the noise and only alert you to what truly matters.
Why Your Lorex System Sends False Alerts
Understanding the root cause is key to solving the problem. Most false notifications stem from a few common issues:
- Overly Sensitive Settings: The default motion detection sensitivity is often set too high for dynamic outdoor environments.
- No Detection Zones: Monitoring the entire scene for any pixel change will inevitably lead to alerts from irrelevant movement.
- Environmental Factors: Wind, rain, insects, shadows, and even car headlights are common triggers for standard motion detection.
- Not Using Smart Detection: Many modern Lorex systems have advanced AI features to detect people and vehicles, which may not be enabled by default.
Your Step-by-Step Guide to Reducing Lorex False Alerts
Follow these steps on your Lorex NVR, DVR, or in the Lorex app to fine-tune your system. It's best to make one change at a time and then monitor the results.
1. Enable Smart Motion Detection (SMD)
This is the most effective tool for eliminating false alerts. SMD uses AI to analyse movement and identify whether the object is a person or a vehicle.
- Navigate to your main menu and find 'Events' or 'Event Settings'.
- Select 'SMD Settings' or 'Smart Motion Detection'.
- Choose the camera you want to configure.
- Enable SMD for that camera. You will often see separate options to enable detection for 'Person' and 'Vehicle'. Make sure these are checked.
- Crucially, ensure that in your notification settings, you choose to be alerted for 'SMD' events instead of just 'Motion' events.
2. Configure Motion Detection Zones
Tell your camera exactly where to look for motion. This prevents alerts from things happening outside your area of interest.
- Go to the 'Motion' or 'Motion Detect' settings for the specific camera.
- Select 'Area' or 'Region'. You will see a grid overlaying the camera's view.
- Deselect all the squares that cover areas you don't care about. For example, if your camera overlooks your driveway and the street, deselect the squares covering the street and your neighbour's property.
- Only leave the grid active over the specific ground you want to monitor.
3. Adjust Sensitivity and Threshold
If you don't have SMD or still get false alerts with it, adjusting the sensitivity is the next step.
- In the same 'Motion Detect' menu, you will find sliders for 'Sensitivity' and 'Threshold'.
- Sensitivity: This determines how much movement is required to trigger an alert. The default is often high. Lower this value in small increments (e.g., from 80 to 70) and test.
- Threshold: This determines how many pixels need to change in the scene to trigger an alert. A slightly higher threshold can help ignore small objects like insects or raindrops.
- Finding the right balance may require some experimentation over a day or two.
4. Use Advanced IVS Features (If Available)
Some higher-end Lorex systems have IVS (Intelligent Video System) features like 'Tripwire' and 'Intrusion'. These are even more precise than SMD.
- Tripwire: You draw a line across a specific point (like the entrance to your porch). An alert is only triggered when something crosses that line.
- Intrusion: You draw a box around a protected area (like your back garden). An alert is only triggered if someone enters that box and stays for a set amount of time.
- Using these rules tells your system to look for specific behaviours, which is far more accurate than general motion detection.
5. Keep Your System Updated
Finally, ensure your recorder (NVR/DVR) is running the latest firmware. Lorex frequently releases updates that can improve the performance and accuracy of their detection algorithms. You can check for updates through the system's main menu under 'System' or 'Maintenance'.
By implementing these configuration changes, you can significantly cut down on unwanted notifications and make your Lorex security system a much more effective and reliable tool.