Understanding and Using Ring's Person Detection Feature
When researching smart security cameras, the term 'facial recognition' often comes up. It is a feature many users look for, hoping their camera can identify specific friends and family members. However, it is crucial to understand precisely what Ring devices offer to avoid confusion and get the most out of your camera's smart features.
This guide will clarify what Ring's 'person detection' is, how it differs from true facial recognition, and how to set it up and troubleshoot it for better, more relevant notifications.
Ring Person Detection vs. Facial Recognition
Let's clear this up first. Ring devices do not offer facial recognition. They cannot identify your partner, your children, or the postal worker by name.
What Ring does offer on most of its modern cameras and doorbells is Person Detection. This is a powerful A.I.-driven feature that can differentiate between a person and other types of motion, such as a passing car, a swaying tree, or a pet. This feature is often referred to as 'Smart Alerts'.
Receiving a 'Person Detected' notification is much more useful than a generic 'Motion Detected' alert, helping you filter out the noise and focus on what matters.
Common Problems with Person Detection
- You are not receiving person-specific alerts, only general motion alerts.
- The feature is turned on, but it is not working correctly.
- You are getting alerts for people, but also for other things like animals or vehicles.
- The 'Smart Alerts' or 'Person Detection' option is missing from your Ring app.
How to Set Up and Optimise Ring Person Detection
To use this feature, two things are required: a compatible Ring device and an active Ring Protect subscription plan.
1. Enabling Smart Alerts in the Ring App
Assuming you have a subscription, turning the feature on is straightforward.
- Open the Ring app on your smartphone.
- Tap the menu (☰) icon and select "Devices".
- Choose the camera or doorbell you want to configure.
- Tap on "Motion Settings".
- Look for "Smart Alerts". Tap on it.
- Here, you can enable alerts for Persons. You may also see options for 'Other Motion', which you can disable if you only want to be notified about people.
- Tap "Done" to save your settings.
2. Troubleshooting When It's Not Working
If you have enabled the feature but it is not performing as expected, here is what to check.
Confirm Your Subscription
First, double-check that your Ring Protect plan is active. Go to the Ring website, log into your account, and check your subscription status. If it has expired, person detection will be disabled.
Update Your App and Firmware
Ensure you are running the latest version of the Ring app from your phone's app store. The device's firmware updates automatically, but it needs to be online with a good Wi-Fi connection to do so.
Optimise Motion Zones
Person detection works within the Motion Zones you create. If your zones are poorly configured, the performance will suffer.
- Draw specific zones: Avoid covering the entire view. Draw zones that focus on key areas, like your walkway, porch, or garden gate.
- Exclude busy areas: Make sure your zones do not include a busy street or a neighbour's property. While person detection should filter out cars, reducing the total amount of motion the camera has to analyse will improve its overall performance and battery life.
Check Camera Placement
For the best results, your Ring device should be mounted at the correct height (around 4-4.5 feet for doorbells, higher for floodlight cams) and have a clear, unobstructed view. The algorithm is best at detecting people when they are walking towards or away from the camera, rather than straight across the field of view.
By properly configuring Smart Alerts and optimising your motion zones, you can transform your Ring notifications from a constant stream of irrelevant alerts into a focused and effective security tool.