Your Blink camera captures motion based on either Passive Infrared (PIR) or Pixel Difference Analysis (PDA). Your camera's Motion Sensitivity setting adjusts how much input it takes to send you a notification. Learn more about how Blink cameras detect motion. Most Blink cameras use a numbered slider (1 to 9). Blink Mini 4K+ and Blink Mini Pan-Tilt 2K+ use named levels that set how far away the camera detects motion. See Motion sensitivity for Blink Mini 4K+ and Blink Mini Pan-Tilt 2K+ below.

Low sensitivity is less responsive, so a larger amount of heat or motion is needed to trigger a notification. The highest setting may cause alerts from blowing leaves or even shadows.

If you are receiving too many notifications with nothing interesting, try reducing the Motion Sensitivity by two levels (or one level on Blink Mini 4K+ and Blink Mini Pan-Tilt 2K+). If that is effective, test by arming the system and walking in the field of view when Motion Detection is on, to make sure a human-sized object will trigger a notification.

Be careful if you tap the notification and enter Live View with your microphone or speakers on, as significantly loud feedback may occur. In this case, tap mute speaker in the upper right corner of the Live View.

Each camera has an individual sensitivity setting, which you can find in the Device Settings for each camera in your system.

Choosing High or Low Sensitivity

The motion sensitivity setting on your camera not only depends on what is making the movement, but how long the movement is occurring. 

• High sensitivity (values of 6–9) means less motion over a shorter period of time will create a notification.
• Low sensitivity (values of 1–4) means more movement over a longer period of time will create a notification.

Note: Default sensitivity is normally a value of 5, except for Outdoor 4 cameras, which have a default sensitivity of 6. Blink Mini 4K+ and Blink Mini Pan-Tilt 2K+ do not use numbered values; their default is Medium.

The motion can be a big or small object, or a lot of small objects. Motion detection depends on where the object is in relation to the camera lens. For example, a bird flying close to the camera can be perceived as bigger than a person walking on the pavement in the distance. A person walking directly towards the camera will produce less motion than a dog walking left to right across the camera's field of view. It's about the amount of motion occurring within the camera's detection zone, not necessarily how large the object is.

Motion sensitivity for Blink Mini 4K+ and Blink Mini Pan-Tilt 2K+

Blink Mini 4K+ and Blink Mini Pan-Tilt 2K+ use a Motion Sensitivity slider with named levels instead of numbers. The level you choose sets the detection range: how far from the camera it looks for motion. Lowering the sensitivity shortens the detection range, which helps reduce false alerts. If your camera is missing motion events, try increasing the sensitivity.

Motion Sensitivity settings for both cameras are:

• Off: Motion detection is disabled.
• Min: Detects motion at a shorter range.
• Medium: The default, balanced detection range suitable for most environments.
• Max: Detects motion at the maximum range.

To adjust motion sensitivity:

1. In the Blink app, tap More (...) on your camera's thumbnail.
2. Tap Device Settings > Motion Settings.
3. Use the Motion Sensitivity slider to select Off, Min, Medium or Max, then tap Save.

Note: Motion Detection must be turned on and your system must be armed for motion alerts to be sent.

Testing sensitivity for your home camera

1. Tap More (...) on your camera's thumbnail and select Device Settings.
2. Select Motion Settings.
3. On Motion Sensitivity, move the slider two or three increments to the left for a lower numeric setting (on Blink Mini 4K+ and Blink Mini Pan-Tilt 2K+, move it one level lower). Tap Save to save this setting and walk out of this camera's field of view.
4. From the main screen of the Blink app, set your system to Armed to enable Motion Detection.
5. Test the camera sensitivity by introducing movement.
6. If the sensitivity is not right, reduce the slider further, save and try again.
7. Once you have adjusted the sensitivity to your liking, test with a larger moving object, such as yourself. Walk in front of your camera and check whether the setting gives the desired motion alert.
8. If the lowest sensitivity continues to cause unwanted Motion notifications, you may need to create an Activity Zone instead. Learn more about setting Activity Zones.