Utilizing Motion Zones with your Ring Devices

Motion Zones are a feature in the Ring app that can help you reduce the number of "false" motion alerts (such as cars driving by). By drawing your Zones to exclude high-traffic areas like public paths and roads, you can greatly increase your Ring device's effectiveness.

How to Set Up Motion Zones for the First Time

If you've already set up Motion Zones before, scroll to the next section for steps for how to adjust or add to existing Motion Zones.

1. Open the Ring app.
2. Tap the three lines (≡) on the top left of the Dashboard.
3. Tap Devices.
4. Tap the specific device you want to adjust.
5. Tap Motion Settings.
6. Tap Advanced Settings.
7. Tap Advanced Motion Detection.
8. On the resulting screen, toggle the button for Advanced Motion Detection so it turns blue. When it's blue, that means the feature is on.
9. On the resulting popup screen, tap Adjust Motion Zones.
10. Follow the directions to drag the points of the colored box around the area you want your device to monitor.
11. Once your Motion Zone is in place, tap the black space around your Zone. A Done button will appear. Tap Done.
12. If desired, tap Add Zone and repeat Steps 10-11 to create up to three Motion Zones.
13. Want to customize your Motion Zone names? Tap the white button with the Zone's name ("Default Zone", "Zone 2", etc.), then enter the new name in its place. Tap Save.

If you have a battery-powered device and your Motion Settings don't look like the screenshots above, click here instead. 

How to Adjust or Add to Existing Motion Zones

1. Open the Ring app.
2. Tap the three lines (≡)on the top left of the Dashboard.
3. Tap Devices.
4. Tap the specific device you want to adjust.
5. Tap Motion Settings.
6. At the top, tap Edit Zones.
7. To adjust an existing Motion Zone: tap the Zone you want to adjust, then drag the points of the Zone to do so. Then tap the black space around the Zone and tap Save.
8. To add a new Motion Zone: tap Add Zone and drag the points of the Zone, then tap the black space around the Zone. Then tap Save.

Tips to Optimize Your Motion Zones

Redraw your Motion Zones. Note the potential paths people take to approach your device. Then redraw your Zones to exclude areas where you rarely see people such as behind locked gates, hedges, or walls.

Be sure to have at least one active Motion Zone. To receive motion alerts, you need at least one active motion zone or have a default zone in place (if you have a battery-powered device).

Other Tools in the App That Can Help with Motion Settings

Motion Scheduling: Schedule timeframes in which you can turn off alerts. For example, if you know your garbage always gets picked up between 7:30 and 7:45AM on Tuesdays, you can schedule your motion detection to turn off during that time.

During the time that motion alerts are turned off due to motion scheduling, you can’t turn on motion alerts manually without cancelling the motion schedule.

Motion Sensitivity Slider: Fine tune the area your devices covers to trigger a motion event.

To adjust the Motion Sensitivity slider for battery-powered devices:

1. 1. 1. Tap the three lines (≡) on the top left of the screen.
      2. Tap Devices.
      3. Tap the device you want to view. 
      4. Tap Motion Settings.
      5. Tap Motion Sensitivity.
      6. Adjust the Motion Sensitivity Slider. 
      7. Tap Save in the upper right.

To adjust the Motion Sensitivity slider for wired devices:

1. 1. 1. Tap the three lines (≡) on the top left of the screen.
      2. Tap Devices.
      3. Tap the device you want to view. 
      4. Tap Motion Settings.
      5. Adjust the Motion Sensitivity Slider from Less Motion to All Motion. 

Note: The instructions below are valid for Ring app version 5.32.0 or later. If you have a different version, you may need to update your app in order to follow them correctly. To see your version, tap on the three lines (≡) at the top left of the screen, then scroll down the pop-out side menu until you see the app version number.

• Learn how to update iOS apps at the Apple App Store here.
• Learn how to update Android apps at the Google Play Store here. 
• • •  

Tip: Make Your Ring Device's View as Clear as You Can

Motion detection can sometimes trigger false alerts because of moving trees, lightning, the rising or setting sun, reflections off a shiny object, headlights, shadows, and more.

To reduce false alerts, you may need to remove shiny objects, cut back tree branches that create moving shadows, or angle your device to avoid the sun.