Troubleshooting Ineffective Unifi Protect Activity Zones
Activity Zones are one of the most powerful features in Unifi Protect for reducing unwanted motion alerts. By defining specific areas for the camera to monitor, you can filter out irrelevant movement from public spaces, swaying trees, or busy roads. However, when you still get alerts from outside these zones, or no alerts from within them, it can be incredibly frustrating.
This guide will help you diagnose and fix common problems with Unifi Protect Activity Zones, ensuring they work precisely as you intend.
## The Core Principles: How Activity Zones Work
To troubleshoot zones effectively, you need to understand how they function. An Activity Zone tells the Unifi Protect system: "Only create a motion event if the movement originates inside this defined polygon."
The accuracy of this feature depends heavily on two other settings:
- The Motion Detection Algorithm: Unifi offers 'Time-based' and 'Enhanced' options. The 'Enhanced' algorithm is significantly more accurate at respecting zone boundaries.
- Motion Sensitivity: This determines how much change is needed within a zone to trigger an event.
## Common Problem 1: Alerts from Outside the Zone
This is the most frequent complaint. You've carefully drawn a zone around your front path, but you still get an alert every time a car drives by on the road you excluded.
### Solution A: Switch to the 'Enhanced' Algorithm
The older 'Time-based' algorithm is very basic and prone to "bleeding" motion from outside the zone. The modern 'Enhanced' algorithm is much more precise.
- Open Unifi Protect and select the camera you want to configure.
- Go to Settings → Detections.
- Under Motion Detection, make sure the selected algorithm is Enhanced. If it's on 'Time-based', change it immediately. This alone solves the issue for many users.
### Solution B: Lower Motion Sensitivity
If you are already using the 'Enhanced' algorithm, the issue is likely sensitivity. A setting that is too high can cause shadows or light changes from outside the zone to trigger an event inside the zone.
- Go to the camera's Settings → Activity Zones.
- Select the zone you want to adjust.
- You will see a Motion Sensitivity slider.
- If you are getting unwanted alerts, lower the sensitivity. Try reducing it by 10-15 points (e.g., from 80 to 65).
- Save the change and monitor the results. It may take a few adjustments to find the perfect balance.
## Common Problem 2: No Alerts from Inside the Zone
The opposite problem is when legitimate motion inside your zone—like a person walking up your path—fails to trigger an alert.
### Solution A: Increase Motion Sensitivity
This is the direct counterpart to the problem above. Your sensitivity setting may be too low, causing the camera to ignore all but the most significant movements.
- Go to the camera's Settings → Activity Zones.
- Select the relevant zone.
- Increase the Motion Sensitivity in small increments.
- Test by walking through the zone yourself to see if an event is triggered.
### Solution B: Check Zone Placement
Ensure your activity zone is drawn correctly. A common mistake is to draw the zone too small, so that a person is only partially inside it when they trigger motion. Enlarge the zone slightly to ensure it fully covers the area where you expect to see people or vehicles.
## Best Practices for Effective Zones
- Be Specific: Draw zones tightly around the areas you care about. Don't just draw one large box over your entire garden. Create separate, smaller zones for walkways, driveways, and doorways.
- Exclude Constant Motion: Your number one priority should be to exclude things that are always moving. This includes trees, bushes, flags, and any areas with highly reflective surfaces that might shimmer in the sun.
- Combine with Smart Detections: The ultimate setup is to use a well-drawn Activity Zone combined with Smart Detections. This tells the system: "Only notify me if a Person or Vehicle is detected inside this specific zone." This is the most effective way to eliminate almost all false alerts.
By ensuring you are using the 'Enhanced' algorithm and taking the time to fine-tune your zone placement and sensitivity, you can make your Unifi Protect system's motion detection incredibly accurate and reliable.