Wyze Camera Not Detecting Motion? – Easy Ways To Fix It.

Many people rely on the Wyze camera to secure their property, making it one of the most popular devices in the smart home security industry and its popularity is due to the features it offers despite its low price.

Wyze Cam owners may face issues with this device and one of the most reported issues by users is that the camera is not detecting motion.

There are many causes that can prevent the Wyze camera from detecting motion, including improper camera placement, low motion sensitivity, dirty camera lens, poor lighting conditions, connectivity issues, or ineffective motion detection area.

How To Fix Wyze Camera not Detecting Motion?

Now let’s move on to the solution and the things you can do to get your camera working again and detect motion without any problem.

Note: All the tips and tricks that I will mention in the following sections are easy to implement and you can do it yourself without the help of a professional.

One: Turn On the motion detection feature.

The first thing you need to check is if the motion detection feature is enabled on the Wyze app, when this feature is disabled your camera will not be able to detect motion or send you alerts on your smartphone about what is happening in your house.

Follow the next steps to enable the motion detection feature on the Wyze cam:

  1. Open the Wyze app on your mobile or tablet.
  2. Choose your Wyze camera.
  3. Go to the camera settings.
  4. Tap on Events Recording.
  5. Then Toggle Detects Motion on.

Two: Boost motion sensitivity level.

Motion Sensitivity determines how drastic a change in the camera view must be to trigger a clip and allow the camera to record.

Generally speaking, there are 3 levels of motion sensitivity levels, High – The camera records videos when it detects a small motion, Medium (default) – The camera records videos when it detects a normal daily motion, such as people walking around the house. Low – The camera records videos when it detects a large motion, such as children chasing or jumping around.

If the sensitivity level is too low your camera will not detect motion, so follow the next instructions to boost the motion detection level of your Wyze cam:

  1. Launch the Wyze app on your smartphone.
  2. Select your camera.
  3. Go to the camera settings.
  4. Click on Detection Settings.
  5. From here you can move the slider to increase the motion sensitivity level.

Three: Clean your camera lens & sensors.

When the Wyze camera lens is full of dirt and dust it will be hard for it to see what’s happening around and detect people and motions, so it’s important to clean the lens and sensors to allow the device to do its job perfectly.

Use a soft cloth with the right amount of liquid (99% Isopropyl Alcohol and distilled water) – one or two drops are enough, Putting more liquid on the cleaning cloth than necessary can damage your camera’s optics, as the excess liquid can leak inside.

Four: Modify the motion detection zone.

The Detection Zone feature let you define a specific area that you want your Wyze Cam to monitor and detect motion. Everything outside of the zone is ignored and will not trigger an Event recording.

So when you notice that the camera is not detecting motion, go and check the motion detection area, you may have set a bad detection zone as all motion happens outside that area, which reduces the effectiveness of the device.

You can follow these steps to set up a Detection Zone:

  1. Open the Wyze app.
  2. Choose the camera you would like to adjust.
  3. Go to Settings.
  4. Select Detection Settings.
  5. Then tap on Detection Zone.
  6. Toggle Detection Zone ON.
  7. When Detection Zone is on, drag the corners of the box to set your motion detection target area.

Five: Power cycle your Wyze camera.

If the previous solutions did not work, you can try to turn on your Wyze camera, I always recommend this tip as it is effective in solving problems that any electronic device can encounter.

To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Unplug the Wyze camera from its power source.
  2. Allow 30 to 60 seconds to pass for the camera to completely discharge.
  3. Plug the camera back into the power source and allow it to reinitialize.

Six: Fix connection issues.

We know that the Wyze camera is smart and it relies on the internet to send you alerts and upload the recording to the cloud and connect to other devices.

Sometimes your camera detects motion normally, but the problem is that it cannot alert you on your phone or upload the recordings to the cloud due to connectivity issues.

So in this case you have to fix the connection problems to receive notifications again, and here are some tips you can implement in order to troubleshoot your network:

  1. Reboot the router.
  2. Improve Wifi Strength.
  3. Reduce radio frequency interference.
  4. Connect to the 2.4GHz channel.
  5. Update the router firmware.
  6. Reset the router.

Seven: Fix Lighting conditions.

The Wyze camera uses a night vision feature to allow it to see and detect motion at night, but when the camera is surrounded by poor lighting conditions, it may prevent the device from detecting motion or seeing what is happening around.

Here are some tips you can do to fix the lighting issue:

  1. Add external infrared lighting.
  2. Keep bright lights out of the camera’s view.
  3. Make sure your camera is switching to night mode.
  4. Clean the camera’s lens or glass dome regularly to prevent light reflections.

Eight: Change your Wyze camera placement.

If all features are enabled and the motion sensitivity level is at the best level and the connection is working properly, but you still notice that the camera is not detecting motion, it may be due to poor positioning and placement of your camera.

We want our Wyze camera to cover as wide an area as possible. More importantly, it would be best if you covered areas where intruders are most likely to gain access.

Here are some best practices on where to install and how to position your camera:

  1. Don’t install the security camera too close to tall shrubs.
  2. Don’t install the camera too close to a light.
  3. Don’t position your camera too high.

Nine: Update the firmware.

We always recommend updating the firmware to fix potential bugs, prevent the decrease in camera performance, and avoid all potential problems and keep your device running smoothly.

To update your Wyze Cam firmware:

  1. Open the Wyze app.
  2. Tap on your Wyze Cam.
  3. Then the Settings gear is on the top right.
  4. Tap Device Info > Firmware Version.
  5. If you don’t see the option to upgrade, Then your firmware is already up to date!

Ten: Reset the Wyze cam.

A factory reset is also recommended to fix this kind of problem but make sure to let it at the end because this process will delete all your data, settings and preferences.

Here are the instructions to follow in order to factory reset your Wyze Cam:

  1. If you have a MicroSD card inserted, remove it.
  2. With the Wyze Cam plugged into power, press and hold the setup button on the bottom of the camera for 10 seconds. This will reset the camera.
    • For Wyze Cam v1 only: Press and hold it for 20 seconds.
  3. Wait at least 30 seconds for the unit to initiate.
    • This process can take up to 5 minutes. It’s rare, but it’s possible.
  4. The LED status light on the device will change from Solid Yellow to Blinking Yellow.
    • For Wyze Cam v3 only: The light will turn red.
  5. The device is now ready to be set up again.

Eleven: Contact Customer support.

The last thing you can do when all previous solutions didn’t work with you is to contact Wyze customer support and they will provide you with more information about your case, you can contact them directly on their website.

The Bottom Line.

I wish that this article has helped get your Wyze Security Camera back to detect motion, don’t hesitate to visit other articles to get more info about this device.

Adam B