Unifi Motion Zone Settings Not Working? Here's the Fix
Configuring motion zones in Unifi Protect is a powerful feature that allows you to define specific areas where you want to detect movement, ignoring irrelevant activity elsewhere. When it works, it dramatically reduces false positive alerts. However, when your zones don't behave as expected, it can be a major source of frustration.
This guide will help you diagnose and fix the most common problems with Unifi Protect motion zone settings, from alerts outside your zones to settings that simply won't save.
Understanding How Unifi Motion Zones Work
Before troubleshooting, it's important to understand a few key concepts:
- Pixel-Based Detection: Unifi cameras detect motion by analysing changes in pixels between video frames. This means anything that causes a significant visual change—a person, a car, shadows, or even heavy rain—can trigger an alert.
- Multiple Zones: You can create multiple zones for a single camera, each with its own sensitivity level. This is useful for having a high-sensitivity zone on your walkway and a low-sensitivity zone over a busy street.
- Sensitivity is Key: The sensitivity slider determines how much change is required to trigger an event. A high setting means even small changes (like leaves blowing) will be detected. A low setting requires a much larger change (like a person walking by).
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting for Zone Setting Issues
Let's address the most common problems you might be facing.
1. Receiving Motion Alerts from Outside Your Defined Zones
This is the most frequent complaint. You've carefully drawn a zone around your driveway, but you're still getting alerts for cars on the street.
- Check for Other Zones: The most common cause is having a second, default zone that covers the entire screen. Go to the camera's Motion Zones settings. Make sure you delete any unwanted zones, leaving only the specific ones you want to monitor.
- Reduce Sensitivity: Even if the motion is outside the zone, rapid changes in lighting (like headlights sweeping across the scene) can cause pixel changes inside the zone. Try lowering the sensitivity of your defined zone.
- Use Smart Detections: For compatible G4 and G5 cameras, use Smart Detections (for people and vehicles) instead of standard motion zones. This AI-powered feature is far more accurate at ignoring irrelevant motion. You can even define a zone where smart detections should apply.
2. Not Receiving Alerts for Motion Inside a Zone
You see a person walk right through your motion zone, but you get no alert.
- Increase Sensitivity: The sensitivity might be set too low. The person's movement might not have caused enough pixel change to cross the threshold. Gradually increase the sensitivity slider and test again.
- Check Recording Schedules: Go to the camera's Recording settings. Ensure that 'Detections' is set to 'Always' or is active during the time the event occurred. If it's set to 'Never', no alerts will be generated.
- Night Vision Issues: At night, poor IR illumination can lead to a grainy image with less detail, making it harder for the camera to detect motion. Ensure the area is well-lit by the camera's IR emitters or supplementary lighting.
3. Motion Zone Settings Are Not Saving
You draw your zones, hit save, but when you return, they have reverted to the default.
- Browser Issues: This is often a web interface glitch. The first step is to clear your browser's cache and cookies. If that doesn't work, try accessing your Unifi Protect controller from a different web browser or from the official mobile app.
- Restart Unifi Protect: A simple restart of the Unifi Protect service can resolve many temporary bugs. You can do this from the console settings of your UDM Pro, Cloud Key, or other Unifi OS host.
- Check for Updates: Ensure your Unifi OS console and the Protect application are fully up to date. Bugs related to saving settings are often fixed in new releases.
By systematically checking these settings, you can fine-tune your Unifi motion zones for accurate, reliable alerts and put an end to notification fatigue.