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viney's profile

Saturday, January 1st, 2022 11:34 PM

No motion detection through glass pane

I have indoor camera installed indoor that looks outside through a glass window. The motion detection doesn't work. I tested the camera within the room and motion detection works fine but when it is facing outside through the window glass, it will not detect any motion outside. Live feed works fine and image is pretty clear. Does detection rely on infrared or image processing? I ask because I have to turn off night vision (if you do not turn it off, IR reflection from glass makes the live feed very washed out).  I have set shutter to be open in all modes and sensitivity to be high.

Accepted Solution

2.2K Messages

3 years ago

They use PIR (Passive IR) for motion detection.  And glass is a pretty good insulator for IR.

2 Messages

3 years ago

Thanks. That's unfortunate - for my use case, SimpliSafe's $99 camera is unusable :-( I will back to my 4 years-old camera (bought for just $30 on Amazon) that doesn't have such limitation, can record videos when motion is detected (and sends me email with 5 photos).  

Community Admin

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5.7K Messages

3 years ago

Hi viney,

Unfortunately yes, that's why we call it the Indoor Camera - it's really not meant for pointing to the outside. That's why we came out with the dedicated Outdoor Camera, which is even fully battery-powered so it doesn't need to be plugged in.

10 Messages

@davey_d​, What about an OUTDOOR  camera?  Will the SimpliSafe OUTDOOR camera motion sensor work if it is installed looking out through a glass window pane? 

Community Admin

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5.7K Messages

Hi @fschwartz72,

 

The Outdoor Camera's motion sensor works in the same way, by detecting infrared. So yes, it will also not work through a window.

 

But the Outdoor Camera is already designed to be mounted outside, so that would be the best way to set it up.

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