ecobee's product page says the doorbell offers motion, person and package detection with Advanced Radar Verification, and you can set an Activity Zone, a customized area on your porch or walkway where the camera focuses for motion and person detection. If it misses events or gives false alerts, check detection is enabled in the ecobee app, that the doorbell is online and that its view is clear. Adjust the Activity Zone to include where visitors walk and exclude the street, since traffic and swaying trees cause false alerts.
The checks in more detail
Radar verification helps confirm real movement, so if you get false alerts from headlights or shadows, make sure it is enabled. Check sensitivity and detection types. Detection and notification settings are covered in ecobee's detection and notifications article, and richer notifications with image or video snapshots need the Smart Security subscription. Clean the lens, since dirt, water spots and spider webs cause false triggers and blur at night.
Check the mounting angle and height, since a doorbell pointed at the street sees every car. If detection stops entirely, restart it and check power and wifi. Review the recordings in the app to see what the camera saw. Walk the route a visitor would take and check recordings afterwards, since a test at one distance says little about the walkway. Check again at a different time of day, since sun glare, shadows and headlights change what triggers detection.
Adjust one zone at a time and check the result after a day of activity. Treat tuning as a two-week project: adjust, wait, review recordings and adjust again, since one busy day and one quiet day give very different pictures of how the zone behaves. Because radar verification helps confirm movement, a doorbell that alerts on shadows may have it disabled or set low, so check the detection settings before assuming the camera is faulty.
Differential
Likely causes of “ecobee Smart Doorbell Camera misses motion or records too many events”, and how to tell them apart
- 1
An Activity Zone that is too wide
What separates it You get false alerts from the street because the Activity Zone is too wide
How to confirm Narrow the Activity Zone, so that it covers the porch or path and not the road
- 2
An Activity Zone that is too tight
What separates it Visitors are missed because the Activity Zone is too tight around the door
How to confirm Widen the Activity Zone, so that it includes the path a visitor takes to reach your door
- 3
Detection types off
What separates it You get no person or package alerts because those detection types are switched off
How to confirm Enable the detection types you want in the app, meaning motion, person and package
- 4
A dirty lens
What separates it The video has false triggers and blur because the lens is dirty
How to confirm Clean the lens with a soft cloth, then look at the picture again in the app
- 5
An offline doorbell
What separates it There is no detection because the doorbell is offline
How to confirm Fix the power and the wifi, so that the doorbell comes back online and can detect movement
Before you touch a setting
Record this first — changing settings destroys the evidence
- What the doorbell missed, or what it wrongly reported
- Which detection types are switched on
Try in this order
0 of 7 completedCheck it is online
ReversibleCheck that the doorbell is online and powered, since it cannot detect anything without both.
Enable detection types
ReversibleEnable the detection types that you want, meaning motion, person and package detection, in the app.
Adjust the Activity Zone
ReversibleAdjust the Activity Zone, so that it includes the path to the door and leaves out the street.
Clean the lens
ReversibleClean the lens and check the angle, because a dirty lens or a poor angle causes misses.
Review recordings
ReversibleReview the recordings, to see what the doorbell saw when it missed something or raised a false alert.
Restart the doorbell
ReversibleRestart the doorbell if it stops detecting, which often clears a stuck state and restores detection.
Contact ecobee
ReversibleContact ecobee if the problem persists, and tell them what it missed and what the zone looks like.
Model-specific
What is true of this model and not of its siblings
- Radar
- Advanced Radar Verification reduces false alerts.
- Zones
- Activity Zones limit detection to chosen areas.
Stop boundary
When this stops being a self-service repair
- !If detection never works when online and clear, contact ecobee support
- !If the alerts are false, refine the Activity Zone until it covers only the area you need
- !If a feature is missing, check Smart Security
Evidence ledger
Sources behind this answer
Product page, detection and radar.
Features, integrations and chime.
Subscription and notifications.
Troubleshooting topic.
The company and its products.
Exact questions
Common questions
What detection does it offer?+
The doorbell offers motion, person and package detection, together with Advanced Radar Verification.
What is radar verification?+
Radar verification uses radar to confirm that movement is real, which cuts false alerts.
Do notifications with images need a subscription?+
Yes, notifications that include images need the Smart Security subscription, which comes for one year.
Can cars cause false alerts?+
Yes, passing cars can cause false alerts, if the Activity Zone includes the road.
Can I review recordings?+
Yes, you can review the recordings in the ecobee app, to see exactly what the doorbell saw.
Where do I find recordings?+
Recordings are in the ecobee app, where events from the doorbell are listed and can be played back.
Can family members use the doorbell?+
Yes, other people can be given access through ecobee Home members, so they get alerts and can see the video.
Does it record all the time?+
No, it records events, such as motion and button presses, rather than a continuous recording all day and night.