I thought I would take advantage of the automation feature, and set a rule for a couple of cameras in a room where the light switch is at one end and the entrance is at the other end. The cameras are in place to watch our dogs.
I set the rule if motion was detected on the camera, then turn on the light for 5 minutes. Unfortunately, it takes at least 8 seconds before the light turns on, often longer. Also, the lights does not stay on for 5 minutes, often turning off and on again, despite no movement in the detection zone.
The time lag is unacceptable, so I will be looking for an alternate solution unless there is a way for instant detection. I accept there is some internet lag, but never 8+ seconds. The cameras in use are an old v2 and a new PanCam v3. The lights are plugged into indoor Wyze plugs.
We are also concerned that the lights do not stay on for the full 5 minutes, which makes us wonder if there are any settings which will overule the automation.
I appreciate your taking the time to share some relevant images, and I wonder about a few things:
In the first two images, “5 minutes” is written as “5minutes” (no space). I don’t know if this is a known peculiarity or bug in the iOS app (I’m an Android user and don’t see this) or if it actually indicates a different underlying problem, and I don’t have any way to answer that myself.
How are your Cam Pan v3’s Detection Settings set? I did a test myself with a Cam Pan v3 and original Wyze Plug (current firmware on both). I have Motion Detection Sensitivity set to 50 and Detection Zone set to Off. When I triggered the first event by walking in front of the camera, the lamp powered by the Wyze Plug came on within a few seconds (maybe 2-3?) and stayed on for 5 minutes; however, within a few seconds of turning off it turned back on again because the light was in the camera’s field of view and the change in pixels was enough to trigger another motion event and start the Automation again. I’d consider these settings and think about tweaking some things to see what works best in your environment:
Motion Detection Sensitivity (might be set too low)
Detection Zone (might be excluding areas you actually want to watch for the trigger)
Motion Tagging (useful to enable temporarily for troubleshooting even if you don’t want it full time)
Track Motion (may not play well with a Detection Zone if you’ve set one)
How are you recording events, if at all? (I’m not a subscriber and use microSD cards for continuous recording.) This might help with troubleshooting, because you can get an indication of if/when motion is/isn’t triggering the Automation, especially if you enable Motion Tagging.
What does the Automation History (from the app’s Home screen, tap the Automations tab and then the house with the clock icon to the right of My Automations) say? You might want to review that along with event videos to get a handle on what’s happening.
Does your camera view include the light controlled by the smart plug, and is it possible that the lighting changes could trigger the Automation to restart? This is one area where adjusting Motion Detection Sensitivity and/or Detection Zone could be important and might require some trial and error.
Does your camera view include adequate lighting to detect enough pixel changes to turn on the plug/light as desired in the first place? I didn’t even think about your Night Vision Mode settings until just now, and that could also be a factor. (I leave this off because I like the color night vision and provide adequate ambient light for my Cam Pan v3s, but that may not be feasible in your situation.)
Do you use a Cam Plus subscription where it would be possible to enable pet detections instead of generic motion? (I don’t use a subscription so have no direct experience for how well this works.)
I understand that the lag you’re experiencing is part of the frustration, and I don’t know if changing any of the settings will allow the system to determine more quickly that a motion event has occurred, but in your situation I’d definitely evaluate the settings (both the camera configuration in the app and the physical setting of the environment where you’re employing the Automation) and do some testing to see how the results change.
~8 second time lag sounds about right. My lights on the driveway react approximately around the same time whenever my Cam V3 detects a person.
For a quicker response time, you might need to look into local based smart home systems like Hubitat / Home Assistant.
Or you could install a PIR motion light sensor like from Lutron or Leviton. I have heard the Lutron have a lot of good reviews and most electrician recommend it. I have one Lutron motion light installed in my garage and it’s been very good. It can detect 30 feet away from me when I open the door.
Using one of my old v2 cameras seems to have reduced the lag by a few seconds. Will have to see if it resolves the less than 5 minute operation too. I gave up with using the PanCam v3 for automation, since at one point, walking about in front of the camera didn’t register any motion!
Yeah, that’s the experience I described in a test with Cam Pan v3 earlier. Since I was just doing a simple test, I didn’t spend a lot of time trying to tweak it by changing things like Motion Detection Sensitivity and/or Detection Zone, but perhaps fiddling with those could produce the desired result with some trial and error.
