Falsing Motion Detector?

I am convinced that the motion detector is faulty. I moved it to an inside hallway high above where our dogs would walk and it still false alarmed. It is a RE210P.

Can I return it for a replacement?

Please let me know. This is driving us nuts!

If it’s defective then yes, it would be covered by the manufacturer’s 1 year warranty. I have a few questions though… See the RE210P manual:

http://resolutionproducts.com/Websites/resolutionproducts/files/Content/3751921/RE210P+_New_Honeywell-Compat_PIR_Instructions.pdf

  • Mount at 7.5 foot height for optimum performance between: Catch performance, Pet Immunity and False Alarm prevention.
  • Motion Sensitivity:
    • Jumper on BOTH PINS for Normal sensitivity
    • Jumper on ONLY 1 PIN for High sensitivity

Do you have it on normal sensitivity or high sensitivity? There is a jumper on the circuit board that you use to control that setting. See the picture in the manual.

At what height is it mounted?

Is it pointing toward any heating vents? Heat gives off infrared light and changes in heat from a heating vent can cause PIR motion detector false alarms.

How many dogs do you have and how much do they each weigh?

I recommend changing that sensor to “no response type” in 2GIG programming and just using Alarm.com sensor activity monitoring to see if it false alarms while we’re troubleshooting to avoid dispatching the police on a false alarm. Do you know how to do that? If not, we can do that for you remotely.

Hi Ryan, its mounted at a little over 7 foot. This is the 5th location that I mounted it at, at the end of a hallway with really limited sight line, in order to test if it was placement or the detector. The dogs are a cocker spaniel (~30 pounds) and a springer spaniel (< 50 pounds.) The dogs are not really active, and in any case would be far below the detector. There is no heating or AC (Hawaii). Initially I thought maybe hot temperatures were causing the problem but temps have been in low 80s. It false alarms once a day. I think jumper is correctly installed across both pins (see photo). I am currently not using “away” mode and monitoring in “stay” mode. Let me know your thoughts…thanks, David

photo

A sensor tripping that regularly could very well be defective with regard to pet immunity, but is unlikely to be tripping without cause. Out of curiosity, have you done any testing with the dogs? Setting the alarm, waiting five minutes, and then calling the dogs to run through the hallway to verify?

Regardless, at face value it does seem to be operating outside of expectation. You can find instructions and info on the return policy here.

Hi there, The replacement sensor is MUCH better - the prior one was falsing 1-2X per day, this one has not falsed once, until yesterday. Which is right after I ordered 2 more to cover the rest of the house :frowning:
So…what now?
I was thinking of exchanging the new sensors (ready to pick up at the Post office) with camera sensors, but it doesn’t look like Alarm.com monitors the photos? Should I install a video camera to be able to screen out false alarms without my wife leaving work in a frenzy to see if the alarms are real? More reliable sensor? Suggestions? How much reliability should I expect out of the 2Gig sensors? Would a garbage truck or Harley set them off? I have called the dogs from outside and they are right under the sensor which didn’t set it off.
We have all louvered windows (as most homes in Hawaii) otherwise I would install window sensors instead.
thoughts?

Well the next step up from an RE210P is a dual tec motion detector that uses microwave in addition to infrared to help filter out false alarms. They’re quite a bit more expensive though.

Are you talking about glass break sound detectors being set off by a garbage truck or Harley? The 2GIG glass break detectors and very sensitive and more likely to false. The Honeywell glass breaks are less prone to falsing and can be adjusted down to a lower sensitivity.

Hi Ryan, Sounds like I need to step up to the dual tec. In your experience, would you anticipate that this would solve the issue?
Re: Garbage truck, no, I don’t have glass break, but was wondering if vibration would cause the motion sensor to trigger. I assume not but I am at a loss for why it falsed.

The dual tec detectors are definitely better than just a PIR detector at pet immunity but I can’t say for sure whether they will solve this problem. They cost twice as much and PIR’s work for most people with dogs so the dual tecs aren’t usually necessary. I usually recommend dual tecs for people with cats since cats tend to jump up into the motion detection field.

No, a garbage truck or motorcycle outside won’t set off a PIR motion detector.

The other 2Gig motion sensor false alarmed again this evening.

My two dogs are less than 45 pounds each and not very active. The sensor is placed 7.5 feet up and there is nothing that they could jump on in front of it.

This is driving us nuts and is making it impossible to use the alarm. I will try the dual sensor and hope that will resolve it. Any other suggestions?

Keep in mind that just because the pet immunity works sometimes, it doesn’t mean that no situation could occur to set it off, especially with two medium sized dogs. However, it is not necessarily the dogs that set it off.

Even a quick burst of sunshine in a room, if the detector is pointed at it, can warm the spot to the point of setting off the detector. Make sure the detector does not face windows.

Also, past cases that were frustratingly difficult to pinpoint were sometimes caused by insects. When landing on or crawling across the front face of the detector, they can warp the background temperature due to their relative size when so close.

Would the dual sensor prevent the scenarios you describe?

It will certainly protect against non-solid object heat signatures. It also allows more in depth sensitivity and balance adjustment to filter out specific triggers like pets.