Motion Detection Not Working
Ring Smart Doorbell
Severity:What Does This Error Mean?
Ring motion detection that is not working is almost always caused by low sensitivity, a motion zone that excludes your area of interest, or the doorbell being in Disarmed mode. Increase sensitivity and confirm the mode is set to Home or Away.
Affected Models
- Ring Video Doorbell 4
- Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2
- Ring Video Doorbell Wired
- Ring Video Doorbell 3
Common Causes
- Motion sensitivity set too low
- Motion zones not covering the target area
- Ring alarm or mode set to Disarmed — disables motion alerts
- Motion Snooze active — temporarily pauses alerts
- Battery critically low — reduces detection to save power
How to Fix It
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Increase motion sensitivity.
Open the Ring app, tap the doorbell, go to Motion Settings > Motion Sensitivity. Increase the slider — test by walking in front of the camera. A setting of 70 or above is recommended for typical doorstep coverage.
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Check and expand motion zones.
In Motion Settings > Motion Zones (or Smart Alerts), confirm the detection area covers your driveway and path. Draw zones that include the approach to the door, not just the doorstep immediately in front of the camera.
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Check the Ring mode.
In the Ring app, tap the three lines (menu) and check the current Mode. In Disarmed mode, motion alerts are turned off by design. Switch to Home or Away mode to re-enable motion detection.
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Disable Motion Snooze.
Motion Snooze temporarily pauses all motion alerts for a set period. In the Ring app, tap the doorbell and check if Snooze is shown as active. Tap to cancel it if it is.
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Charge the battery.
Battery-powered Ring doorbells reduce motion detection frequency when the battery is low. Charge to above 50% and test whether detection returns to normal.