Doorbell camera foggy at night causing all motion to trigger

Hi @janic3w86, 

Just so I have this right, the camera is only foggy at night? It clears up during the day?

Are you able to inspect the camera to see if there is dew or some other form of condensation on its lens? If there is, that could be the root cause of this foggy picture.

Assuming it's outside and not looking thru glass? IR lights glare on glass. And assuming it sorta worked before? And this is a new problem?

No large white walls along side the doorbell?

I would try in camera settings, 720p, people only, medium, medium and flipping the night vision toggle from auto to off and save, then back again to auto and save. IR lights may be stuck off or something. Worth a try. Failing that a reset isn't out of the ordinary or replacement.

Daytime works ok?

It looks dark outside but if you have ambient outside light, porch light etc. I'd turn that on and test.

Good luck, you'll have to work it out with Simplisafe. Possible replacement if problem continues.

One more suggestion/question, what do you see with night vision off?

Update: technical support didn’t provide an answer for the issue. They did however provide a replacement doorbell. The replacement was a refurbished that didn’t turn on. They send a new doorbell and install went ok. The night vision issue persists. I changed night vision from “auto” to “off” so that I can try and at least catch some walking motion at night. No night notifications yet, but at least the camera view is visible in “off” mode. 

If night vision off works, and your getting notifications if you step out in front of it. I'd stay with that myself. Looks like enough ambient out there to leave it off.

If like me, it has to work correctly. Lol

I'll turn mine off and see what they look like tonight and function test.

Easy night test. In one photo, that white wall is bright white when it looks foggy photo. Tape a piece of dark paper over the wall to test so the camera only sees dark wall.

Put night back in auto to test.

Failing that.

Harder test. I don't know if this would even help, or if it's the cause, because I have porch lights on all night, both doorbells stay full color all night.

My porch lights are 8 feet away from each doorbell. Approximately.

That street lamp in one photo at the top, evening photo, "could" be driving the camera nuts.

Typically, SS sends an angle wedge in the box that might angle it down enough to remove the light from direct camera view.

It's a bit of pain as it will require removal and mounting the wedge and then doorbell on top of that.

Mine are in auto night vison, look straight out and never change even with porch light glare. And this may not help. I have had that pink stuff between light and dusk. But toggling from 720 to 1080 and then back again usually makes it go away.

Or to test just loosen the screws in the doorbell mounting bracket and let it dangle down a little.

About all I can suggest. At the moment.

What Google Gemini said. 😂 

A white wall can absolutely cause a foggy look in a doorbell camera's night vision footage if the IR light is reflecting off the wall. Here's why:

* **IR Light Reflection:** Infrared (IR) light is invisible to the human eye, but it's what doorbell cameras use for night vision. When the IR light hits a reflective surface, like a white wall, it can bounce back towards the camera instead of illuminating the area beyond the wall.

* **Blurry or Foggy Effect:** This reflected IR light can overwhelm the camera's sensor, creating a washed-out or blurry effect in the footage. It might appear foggy because the camera is picking up the bounced light instead of the actual scene details.

Here are some solutions to consider:

* **Adjust Camera Angle:** Try tilting the doorbell camera slightly downward so the IR light doesn't directly hit the white wall. This can help minimize reflection and improve night vision clarity.

* **Increase Distance:** If possible, mount the doorbell camera a little farther away from the white wall. This can give the IR light more space to spread out and reduce the chance of a direct reflection.

* **Consider Different Placement:** If adjusting the angle or distance isn't feasible, explore alternative mounting locations where the IR light won't directly hit the white wall.

* **Weatherproof Housing (Optional):** Some doorbell cameras come with weatherproof housings that have built-in visors or shades. These can help block the IR light from reflecting off nearby surfaces.

By following these tips, you can hopefully reduce the fogginess in your doorbell camera's night vision footage and get a clearer view of what's happening outside your door at night.

Just to follow up, I did test without night vision in auto and there's absolutely no difference for me. There is a tiny spot of glare probably from the bright lights.

I leave it in auto in case the LED porch light bulb fails, at least then it will have night vision, which isn't very effective in some cameras (these) 😆 and gets washed out at about 6-8 feet. I run all the outdoor cameras night vision off, this brand anyhow, with motion floodlights for full color.