How To Fix Nest Camera Not Detecting Motion & People?

I can’t tell you how much I love the design of the Nest camera, but not just the design that makes this camera great, the features are also so appealing such as motion detection alerts, ability to control to distance, two-way conversation and without forgetting its affordable price, etc.

The Nest Cam is still an electronic device like any other so it can run into issues and one of the most reported problems is that the camera is not detecting person or motion in general.

When this issue occurs and your camera does not detect motion, you will not be alerted when someone enters your home and hence the device will be ineffective.

Why The Nest Camera is not detecting motion?

The Nest camera loses its ability to detect motion and people for many reasons, including a dead battery or damaged adapter, internet connectivity issues, improper placement, disabled notification features, outdated firmware or app.

How To Fix Nest Cam Not Detecting People and Motion?

Look in this chapter, I will guide you through all the solutions or tricks you can try so that your camera detects all movements and sends you notifications on your phone so you don’t miss anything.

Tip 1: Turn On the notification feature.

Maybe your camera works and detects all kinds of movements without any problem, but you don’t get any alerts when these movements are detected, and you wonder why?

Simply put, the problem is with the camera settings and your notification option is disabled, so make sure you turn notifications on and see if the Nest camera is sending alerts again.

Here’s how to enable the notification on the Google Home app:

  1. Go to the Home app.
  2. Select the camera you want to modify.
  3. Then go to settings.
  4. Choose Notifications.
  5. Then turn on the notification type you want to receive.

And here’s how to turn on notifications on the Nest app:

  1. Open the Nest app.
  2. On the app home screen, tap the Settings.
  3. Select Notifications.
  4. Select the camera that you want to change alert settings for and select the notification type you want to receive.

Tip 2: Turn off the Do Not Disturb mode.

If you have enabled notifications for your Nest camera and the issue still persists, then perhaps Do Not Disturb mode is enabled on your smartphone so go and disable it so you can receive alerts.

Follow the next instructions in order to disable this mode:

iOS Users:

  1. Go to Settings on your phone.
  2. Tap “Do Not Disturb”.
  3. Ensure “Do Not Disturb” is disabled.

Android Users:

  1. Open the Settings app on your phone.
  2. Tap into Sounds.
  3. Verify that “Do Not Disturb” is set to “off”.

If activating this mode didn’t solve the problem jump into the next solution.

Tip 3: Power cycle your camera.

I always recommend this solution when someone has a problem with their electronic device because it can fix the problem very quickly and it’s easy to implement and doesn’t require you to be tech-savvy to do it, it also worked for me and it worked for many people.

This process helps your Nest Camera reinitialize its set of configuration parameters or recover from an unresponsive state of its mission-critical functionality, such as in a crash or hang situation.

All you have to do is to unplug the device from the socket (for a battery-powered model, you must remove the battery), wait a few seconds and then plug it back in (or put the battery back in).

Tip 4: Fix your connectivity issues.

The Nest Cam relies on the internet to do many things like upload clips to the cloud, let you access the live stream and also send you alerts and notifications when motion is detected.

So we understand that without the internet the camera loses many important features and connectivity issues may be the reason why your gadget is not detecting motion and people at this time.

You can try the following tips to fix your connection failure:

  1. Power cycle your router & update its firmware.
  2. Enable the 2.4Ghz frequency channel.
  3. Reduce Wifi interefernce.
  4. Increase Wifi signals.
  5. Reset the modem.

Tip 5: Check the Nest cam power source.

The Nest camera requires power to operate and perform all of its security tasks efficiently, but if there is a problem with the power source, your camera may stop working and also detect movement and people.

So if you have a battery-powered version, it works with a built-in rechargeable 6Ah, 3.65V lithium-ion battery that can last up to seven months (this duration varies depending on your usage), so be sure to recharge the battery when you receive a notification telling you that the battery is low.

If you have a wired version that uses an AC adapter to run the necessary power, I recommend here that you plug the device into another outlet and test your gadget. If it does not work, you need to replace the AC adapter with a new one.

Tip 6: Update the firmware and the app.

The firmware is used to run user programs on the Nest camera and can be thought of as the software that allows hardware to run, any bugs or issues within the firmware decrease the performance of your device so make sure to update it any time a new update is released.

Generally speaking, the Nest camera is updated automatically when it has a reliable internet connection, you can go to the device settings on the Google Home app or the Nest app to check the firmware version that’s running your gadget.

The Google Home app and the Nest app are the platforms where you can manage your camera get notifications and access recordings and live views, and these apps also need to be updated to avoid all issues that may occur.

Tip 7: Change the camera placement.

The placement of your smart camera is one of the most important things for it to do its security job effectively, so make sure the camera’s field of view is positioned over the area you want to monitor and where the most things happen.

Make sure there are no objects blocking the view of the camera, also the device doesn’t need to be so far from your router in order to get a reliable internet connection.

Tip 8: Configure your Activity Zone.

Simply put, an Activity Zone focuses motion detection on a specific area within your camera’s field of view which may increase the efficiency of alerts you get on your phone and reduce the number of inefficient notifications.

You can create custom Activity Zones for your Nest camera for different types of activities that you want to be notified about, use the app to draw a zone around a specific area in your camera’s view.

Here’s how to create a new Activity Zone on the Nest app:

  1. Select the camera that you want to make an Activity Zone for.
  2. Tap Settings, then select Activity Zones.
  3. Tap Create Zone.
  4. Turn your phone to go into landscape mode for a full screen of your camera’s view.
  5. Tap and drag inside the zone to move it.
  6. Tap and drag any of the 8 points on the sides of the zones to change its shape.
  7. On the bottom of the screen, tap one of the colored circles to change the color of the Activity Zone.
  8. At the top of the screen, tap the pencil Pencil icon to give your zone a descriptive name.
  9. Then, tap the check mark app confirm icon to save the zone name.
  10. Tap the check mark app confirm icon to save the zone.

And here’s how to do it on the Google Home app:

  1. Select the camera that you want to make an Activity Zone for.
  2. Tap Settings, then Events, then Seen Events.
  3. Choose + Add a zone.
  4. Change the shape of the zone to capture what you want.
    • Turn your phone to go into landscape mode for a full screen of your camera’s view.
    • Tap and drag inside the zone to move it.
    • Tap and drag any of the 8 dots on the sides of the zone to change its shape.
  5. To change the color of the Activity Zone, tap Zone color.
  6. Under the camera view, tap on the Zone name to give your zone a descriptive name.
  7. Under Event History, you can choose which types of events you want to record in that zone and which notifications you want to receive.

Final Words.

As the last word I can tell you that this article can be a real guide for you each time your Nest camera is dealing with issues related to motion detection, all the tips provided can get your cam back to work.

Adam B