How to reduce the number of unwanted Roku Smart Home notifications
Your Roku® Smart Home camera or doorbell automatically notifies you through the Roku Smart Home app when sound or motion is detected. When you set up your Roku Smart Home camera or video doorbell for the first time, Roku gives you a 14-day free trial of a Roku Smart Home Subscription. During your trial, take advantage of smart detection and see how it intelligently differentiates between people, packages, pets, and cars when motion is detected. Customers who select to only be notified when a person is detected see about a 70% decrease in notifications.
If your home is crowded for a family gathering or there is loud construction on your street, you may receive more notifications than you would like. This article explains what to do to reduce unwanted notifications.
- Choose the right location to install or mount your device
- Adjust detection settings
- Adjust notification settings
- Get a smart home subscription
Choose the right location
Proper placement of your device reduces how many notifications you receive.
- Tilt the camera down slightly. The area you want to record and detect motion should be in the bottom 2/3 of the image
- Avoid general traffic. Reduce false-positives and extend battery life by adjusting the angle of your camera to avoid heavy-traffic areas such as the street
- Avoid passive movement. Position the camera to avoid passive movement such as waving branches or a clothesline
- Mount the camera high. Mount the camera between 7 to 10 feet from the ground to detect people and reduce alerts from vehicles and other movement off in the distance
Adjust detection settings
If you are getting too many unwanted notifications, follow the tips below to reduce your number of notifications.
Adjust detection settings
Lower the motion and sound detection sensitivity of your device to reduce notifications.
- Open your device from the Home screen and tap Settings
in the corner - Select Detection settings
- Lower your Motion Detection Sensitivity and Sound Detection Sensitivity by moving the slider to the left
Set detection zone
A detection zone allows you to create a specific area where you want your device to detect motion. Any motion events outside of this area are ignored.
- Open your device from the Home screen and tap Settings in the corner
- Select Detection settings
- Tap Detection zone
- Touch and drag your finger on the grid space to create a detection zone
Adjust notification settings
Turn off motion or sound notifications
Choose to not be notified if motion or sound is detected. If you live in a noisy area, you may want to only receive notifications if motion is detected. Your Roku Outdoor Camera SE and Roku Video Doorbell SE only offers notifications when sound is detected.
- Open your device from the Home screen and tap Settings in the corner
- Select Notifications
- Toggle Motion events or Sound events to the left to turn off motion or sound notifications
Turn off all notifications
To turn off all notifications for your camera or doorbell, follow the steps below.
- Open your device from the Home screen and tap Settings in the corner
- Select Notifications
- Toggle Send notifications to the left to turn off all notifications
Purchase a smart home subscription
When you sign up for a Roku Smart Home Subscription, you get smart detection, which specifically notifies you if people, packages, pets, and cars are detected moving. Smart detection lets you reduce your notifications giving you a better idea of what is happening in and around your home when motion is detected. Without a subscription, you get notifications for any motion or sound event, but with smart detection, you can pick and choose exactly what motion events to be notified about. Only get notified when you want to keep an eye on your pet or when you want to see if a package arrived.