Is Your Xiaomi Camera Missing Your Furry Friends?
You bought a Xiaomi smart camera for its clever features, especially the promise of keeping an eye on your pets. So, it's incredibly frustrating when the pet detection feature doesn't work as expected. Whether it's failing to spot your cat napping in their favourite spot or bombarding you with false alerts for a dust bunny, these issues can undermine your camera's usefulness. This guide is here to help you troubleshoot and resolve the most common problems with Xiaomi's pet detection, ensuring you get the reliable pet monitoring you need.
This guide will walk you through simple, effective steps to diagnose and fix the problem, helping you get your camera back to being a helpful pet-sitter.
Common Causes of Pet Detection Failures
Before diving into the fixes, it's helpful to understand why the feature might be failing. Often, it's not a fault with the camera itself but rather an issue with its setup or environment.
- Poor Camera Placement: If the camera is too high, too low, or angled awkwardly, it may struggle to recognise the shape and movement of a pet.
- Inadequate Lighting: The AI algorithm needs a clear image. In very low light or areas with harsh shadows and bright spots, the camera's ability to distinguish a pet is significantly reduced.
- Outdated Software: Both the camera's internal software (firmware) and the Xiaomi Home app on your phone need to be up to date to benefit from the latest performance improvements and bug fixes.
- Incorrect Settings: Motion detection sensitivity might be set too low to pick up a small animal or so high that it triggers for every little thing.
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting for Pet Detection
Work through these steps methodically to identify and solve the issue. We recommend testing the detection after each adjustment.
1. Check Camera Placement and Angle
The position of your camera is critical for effective AI detection. It needs a clear, unobstructed view of the area you want to monitor.
- Optimal Height: Place the camera between 1.5 to 2.5 metres (5-8 feet) off the ground.
- Clear Line of Sight: Ensure that furniture, plants, or other objects are not blocking the view of the floor or areas where your pet spends most of its time.
- Avoid Angling Down Too Sharply: A camera pointing straight down may only see the back of your pet, making it harder for the AI to identify it as an animal. An angle of 15-30 degrees is often more effective.
2. Optimise Your Lighting Conditions
Good lighting is your camera's best friend. Consistent, even lighting helps the AI algorithm work correctly.
- Daytime: Avoid pointing the camera directly at windows, as the bright backlight can create silhouettes and confuse the sensor.
- Night-time: Ensure the camera's infrared (IR) night vision is enabled and working. Check that there are no close objects reflecting the IR light back into the lens, which can create glare and obscure the view. If the area is very large, an external IR illuminator could help.
3. Update Firmware and Xiaomi Home App
Manufacturers regularly release updates that improve feature performance and fix known bugs.
- Update Firmware: In the Xiaomi Home app, go to your camera's settings, and look for a "Firmware update" or "Check for updates" option. Install any available updates.
- Update the App: Visit the App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android) to ensure you have the latest version of the Xiaomi Home app installed on your smartphone.
4. Adjust Motion Detection and AI Settings
Fine-tuning the in-app settings can make a huge difference.
- Enable Pet Detection: Double-check that the specific "Pet detection" or similar AI feature is actually turned on within the camera's settings page.
- Adjust Sensitivity: Navigate to the detection settings. If you're getting no alerts, try increasing the sensitivity. If you're getting too many false alerts, decrease it. Test each level to find the right balance for your environment.
- Define Activity Zones: If your camera supports it, draw a specific zone around the area you want to monitor for pets (e.g., their bed or food bowls). This tells the camera to ignore movement outside this zone, reducing false positives.
5. Reboot Your Xiaomi Camera
The classic "turn it off and on again" can often resolve temporary glitches.
- Power Cycle: Unplug your camera from the power source, wait for about 30 seconds, and then plug it back in. Give it a few minutes to fully restart and reconnect to your network before testing it again.
Still Not Working?
If you've tried all the steps above and your pet detection is still unreliable, there might be a more complex issue. Consider performing a factory reset on the camera as a last resort. Remember that this will erase all your settings, and you'll need to set up the camera from scratch. If even that fails, it's time to reach out to Xiaomi's customer support for further assistance.