Motion sensor false trips

I’ve been having false alarm reports via motion sensors. At first I believed them to be due to my cat. I no longer have any pets and still have false alarms. Does this seem to indicate defective sensors or maybe issues with heat via solar light changes??

What model of motion detector is causing the issue?

How high are they mounted on the wall (as exact as possible)?

Are they facing windows where sunlight can shine across the lens?

Are there vents nearby?

Motion sensor models are the IQ QS-1200-P01
Bottom of one is 4’-7" and other is 5’-2"
One is facing away from a window and towards a vent.
The other face towards doors w/glass.

One potential issue is the height. Most motion detectors are designed to be mounted at a fairly specific height to best handle detection and range. Improper mounting can cause false alarms to be more likely from certain causes.

That model of detector must be mounted at 6.5 feet per the manual. I would first try moving them up to the height in the manual and test over a period of time to see if alarms continue.

ok…so moving it up didn’t work…i’ve swapped the motion sensor with another one to see if the sensor is acting up or the room conditions are the issue.

That is a great test as a next step if you have a detector that hasn’t experienced these issues. If the same one keeps tripping in an area where you haven’t experienced issues before it is a pretty solid bet the device itself is malfunctioning.

happened again in the new location. It went off earlier in the day which make me think it’s sensitive to solar changes…swapping out again and moving to another room.

The same detector in a location that hadn’t experienced false alarms?

Or the new detector in the location that had experience alarms before?

Old detector in new location.
The 2nd location also just tripped. So it seems the sensor is defective. The other old detectors have been moved to the location where the old problematic detector had been and they have not experienced any trips.

Yep, that’s a good definitive result. Check on the warranty eligibility of that sensor, but a replacement would be recommended one way or another.

I doubt the sensor is still under warranty; it’s about 5 years old. I ordered the a new PG9984 sensor. Hopefully it’ll work better when I get a new pet.

Dual tech microwave and PIR detectors are very good at filtering environmental false alarm triggers. That said, the PG9984 has pet immunity up to 40 pounds, so larger animals will still cause false alarms.

For what it is worth, I have been using the PG9914 with my IQ2+ with great results. No known false triggers since install. I installed these to replace my 2Gig compatible Honeywell 5898, which I also had fine experience with.