Utilizing Motion Detection with Ring Video Doorbell 3 Plus

Ring is always working toward improving your home security experience. Beginning October 2020, we’ve begun releasing a new feature for battery-powered devices called Customizable Motion Zones. Customizable Motion Zones have been a standard feature on wired Ring devices but are now an option for Ring neighbors using battery-powered devices.

To find out more about Customizable Motion Zones for Ring battery-powered devices, tap here.

What Are Motion Zones?

Motion Zones allow you to define a specific area that you want your Ring device to cover while ignoring everything outside that area. By selecting Motion Zones to cover only areas you want the Ring device to monitor, you can effectively monitor the area you want as well as reduce the number of “false positive” motion alerts (such as cars driving by).

This article will help you set up your Motion Zones in the Ring Video Doorbell 3 Plus and give you some tips in making them more effective.

Setting Up Motion Zones For your Ring Video Doorbell 3 Plus

In order to set up Motion Zones on your Ring Video Doorbell 3 Plus, follow these steps:

• Open the Ring app.
• Tap the

  Menu

  (≡)

  on the top left.
• Tap

  Devices

  .
• Select your Ring Video Doorbell 3 Plus.
• Tap

  Motion Settings

  .
• Tap

  Motion Zones

  .
• The Ring app will walk you through optimizing your motion zones.

Note: When using the slider to adjust your motion zones, ensure that busy streets do not intersect with the blue zones.

Pro Tips: Making the Most of Your Motion Zones

Utilize the Near Zone feature: You can use the Near Zone feature to activate a horizontal Motion Zone in areas only 5 to 15 feet in front of the camera. This means you can still cover a broad area with less motion alerts caused by vehicles.

Look for high traffic areas: When adjusting your Motion Zones, take note of any high traffic areas, such as busy streets or sidewalks. If you receive too many motion alerts from your Ring device, you may have to adjust the motion zone so it does not include these areas.

Get familiar with the Motion Settings control in your Ring App: In addition to the Motion Zones control, there are two other tools there that can help you adjust the number of motion alerts you receive:

• While you have a Motion Schedule active, you will not be able to turn on your Motion Alerts (during the time the Motion Schedule is set to turn them off). You will have to disable the Motion Schedule to enable the Motion Alerts for that time again.
• This is strictly for the alert. If you set up a Motion Schedule, you will not receive an alert during that time frame, however, the Ring device

  will

  still record.
• Motion Scheduling:

  The motion scheduling control allows you to schedule coverage to avoid receiving alerts triggered by a regular occurrence. For example, if you know your garbage always gets picked up between 7:30 AM and 7:45 AM on Tuesdays, you can schedule your motion detection to turn off during that time.
• Motion Frequency

  : Motion Frequency allows you to tweak your motion detection protocols to provide a balance between consistent alerts and preserving battery life. Ring's Smart Alert algorithm is an internal program that runs inside of your Ring device. It analyzes the traffic patterns of detected motions, looking for repetitive patterns. When it detects such a pattern, it essentially "sleeps" your device for a certain period of time, cutting down the number of motion alerts you'll get from the same set of stimuli. The more times a repetitive pattern of motion continues, the longer the time between issuing motion alerts. There are three settings to choose from:
• Frequent:

  Your Ring device will capture all events. This option has the shortest battery life.
• Standard:

  Captures and notifies you about motions less often. This option has standard battery life. We recommend starting here if you are unsure of which option to choose.
• Light:

  Captures and notifies you about motion even less often. This option has maximum battery life.

For more information on Motion Frequency, please tap here.