How to Stop False Notifications From Your Netatmo Camera
Netatmo's smart security cameras, like the Presence and Welcome, are designed to be intelligent, alerting you to people, cars, or animals. However, if not configured correctly, this intelligence can lead to a flood of notifications for events you don't care about, such as your neighbour's cat or a car driving past.
This guide will show you how to use the powerful settings within the Netatmo Security app to dramatically reduce false alerts and make your security system much more effective.
Understanding Netatmo's Detection System
Netatmo cameras don't just use simple motion detection. They use AI to try and identify what is moving. The key to reducing false alerts is to tell the camera where to look and what to look for. The main reasons for excessive alerts are:
- No Alert-Zones Defined: By default, the camera monitors its entire field of view.
- Notifications Enabled for Everything: You are receiving alerts for animals and cars when you only care about people.
- Ignoring the Schedule: The camera is sending you alerts even when you are at home and don't need them.
- High Sensitivity: The detection algorithm is sensitive to minor events.
Your Guide to Taming Netatmo Notifications
Make these changes in the Netatmo Security app. The settings are found by tapping the three dots in the top right corner of the app's home screen, then selecting 'Alert and recording settings'.
1. Create Precise Alert-Zones
This is the most important step. Alert-Zones tell your camera which specific areas to monitor.
- In the settings menu, select your camera.
- Go to 'Alert-Zones'.
- You will see your camera's view with a grid. Tap and drag to select only the areas you are interested in. For example, select your private driveway but do not select the public pavement or the road.
- You can create multiple, specific zones. Be precise. The smaller the zone, the more accurate the alerts.
- Once a zone is defined, you can choose what to do with events inside it. For example, you can choose to 'Record and Notify' for people, but only 'Record' for cars.
2. Customise Your Alert Preferences
Next, tell Netatmo what you actually want to be notified about.
- In the 'Alert and recording settings', you will see categories for People, Cars, Animals, and Other Motions.
- Tap on each one. You will see a dropdown menu with options like:
- Record and notify: You get a push notification and a recording is saved.
- Record only: The event is recorded, but you don't get an alert.
- Ignore: The camera does nothing.
- For example, to stop alerts about your neighbour's cat, go to the 'Animals' category and set it to 'Record only' or 'Ignore'. To stop alerts about passing traffic, do the same for the 'Cars' category.
3. Set Up a Schedule
There's no need to receive notifications when you're at home. Use the scheduling feature to manage this.
- In the settings, find the 'Schedule' or 'Auto-Adapt' feature.
- You can create rules based on time of day or your location (geofencing).
- For example, you can set the system to only send notifications for 'People' between 11 PM and 6 AM, or only when the app detects that you are away from home.
4. Adjust Monitoring Sensitivity
If you find you are still getting false alerts, particularly for 'Other Motions', you can adjust the sensitivity.
- In the settings for 'Other Motions', you will often find a sensitivity slider.
- Lowering this will make the camera less likely to trigger an alert for non-specific events like swaying trees or shadows.
By using a combination of these four settings—Alert-Zones, custom preferences, scheduling, and sensitivity adjustments—you can transform your Netatmo camera from a source of constant interruptions into a highly accurate and intelligent security monitor.