How to Fix Yi Motion Detection Not Working
One of the most critical features of your Yi Home Camera is its ability to detect motion and alert you to potential intruders or activity. When this feature fails, your security is compromised. This troubleshooting guide will help you diagnose and solve the common reasons why your Yi camera might not be detecting or alerting you to motion.
## Understanding How Yi Motion Detection Works
The process involves several steps, and a failure at any point can cause the entire feature to stop working:
- Detection: The camera's software analyses the video feed for changes that indicate movement.
- Recording: Upon detection, the camera records a short video clip to the microSD card or the Yi Cloud.
- Alert: The camera sends a push notification to your smartphone via the Yi Home app.
We need to check the settings related to each of these stages to find the problem.
## Step 1: Check the Core Settings in the Yi Home App
Most motion detection issues are caused by a simple misconfiguration in the app. Open the Yi Home app, select your camera, and go into the Settings menu.
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Is Motion Detection On?
- Navigate to Camera Settings > Smart Detection.
- Ensure the main toggle for 'Motion Detection' is switched ON. It's easy to accidentally turn this off.
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Check the Sensitivity Level:
- Within the same 'Smart Detection' menu, you'll find 'Sensitivity Level'.
- If the sensitivity is set to 'Low', it may not pick up subtle movements. If it's set too high, you might get false alarms. For testing purposes, set it to 'High' to see if it starts detecting anything. You can fine-tune it later.
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Review Your Activity Zone:
- The 'Activity Zone' feature is a great way to reduce false alerts, but it can also be the cause of your problem. This feature tells the camera to only monitor a specific, user-drawn area of its view.
- Go to Settings > Activity Zone. If it's active, ensure the zone you have drawn covers the area where you expect to see motion. Any movement outside this box will be completely ignored. To test, try turning the Activity Zone feature OFF entirely.
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Check the Alert Schedule:
- Yi allows you to set a schedule for when you receive alerts.
- Go to Settings > Notifications. Check if you have a schedule enabled. It's possible that motion detection is working perfectly, but you've told the app not to notify you at the current time.
## Step 2: Investigate Notification and Recording Issues
If the settings above seem correct, the camera might be detecting motion but failing to notify you or record properly.
- Check Phone Notifications: Go into your smartphone's main Settings menu, find the 'Apps' or 'Notifications' section, and select the Yi Home app. Ensure that it has permission to send you push notifications.
- Check Your Storage: If your microSD card is full (and loop recording is off) or corrupted, the camera may fail to save the motion clip. In the app, check the status of your SD card. It's a good practice to format the SD card from within the app every few months to prevent issues. If you use Yi Cloud, ensure your subscription is active.
- Stable Wi-Fi Connection: The camera needs a stable internet connection to send you a notification. If your camera is frequently disconnecting from your Wi-Fi, the motion alert may fail to be sent. Check the camera's signal strength in its network settings.
## Step 3: Final Troubleshooting Steps
If you're still having trouble, it's time for some final resorts.
- Reboot the Camera: The simplest solution is often effective. Unplug your Yi camera from its power source, wait for 30 seconds, and plug it back in. This will restart its software and can clear temporary glitches.
- Update Firmware: In the camera's settings, check for a firmware update. Manufacturers often release updates to fix bugs, and your issue might be a known problem that has already been solved.
- Reset and Re-pair: As a last resort, perform a factory reset on the camera (usually by pressing a small reset button with a paperclip). This will erase all your settings, and you will need to delete the camera from your app and add it again from scratch.
By systematically working through these settings, from the app's configuration to the hardware itself, you can identify and fix the reason your Yi camera's motion detection is not working.