iPhone 14 Pro Max Logitech Circle View Doorbell Camera Motion Detection Nightmares

[bwhite8889]

Just bought the Logitech Circle View Doorbell Camera. When it works, it’s amazing. Unfortunately every 24 hours it randomly stops detecting/recording motion. What I’ve tried thus far:

• resetting all hubs (I have four HomePod Minis, two generation 2 HomePods, and two Apple TVs)
  • This typically gets it working again for about a day
• Resetting ONLY the hub it’s connected to
  • Again, it will work for about a day
• Moving my Eero Pro6 mesh router extender closer to the doorbell

Anyone had this issue and know a permanent fix? It seems to be related to the hubs as every time I reset the one it’s connected to, it is temporarily resolved.

 

[rambo47]

I went with the Nest Hello video doorbell. There were issues with WiFi connectivity until I upgraded my routers as part of getting Verizon FiOS Gigabit Ethernet. Once we had the Gigabit network my connection was more robust and reliable.

I received a Nest thermostat as a gift, did the self-install (very easy) and the Nest bug bit me. Our smoke detectors all began to crap out at about the same time - they were old and reached their natural end of life. So I ponied up for Nest Smoke/CO2 alarms and set up 8 of them to replace every smoke detector in the house. I set up a wireless security camera in the driveway next and of course stuck with Nest. But the key to it all, which might apply to you, is the strength and bandwidth of our router.

 

[bwhite8889]

I’ve got a Eero Pro 6 mesh router and extender with 1 GB down. Actual speeds typically range from 400-600 Mbps everywhere so internet shouldn’t be the culprit

 

[StumpyBloke]

Are your devices up to date, specifically your HomePods and ATV?

The issue you're having I can almost guarantee is a HomeKit one as I've had massive variations in camera responsiveness with my Google Nest doorbell (via Starling hub).

 

[bwhite8889]

My HomePods definitely are. I notice a lot of issues start right after updates go through. I’ll double check the Apple TVs when I get home

 

[bwhite8889]

One of my ATVs was running 16.4.1 instead of 16.5. The other was running 16.1 and would not update until I factory reset it. Now they are both running 16.5.

As of today, no issues with the doorbell camera detecting/recording motion. Will report back with any updates.

 

[shakopeemn]

Just bought the Logitech Circle View Doorbell Camera. When it works, it’s amazing. Unfortunately every 24 hours it randomly stops detecting/recording motion. What I’ve tried thus far:

• resetting all hubs (I have four HomePod Minis, two generation 2 HomePods, and two Apple TVs)
  • This typically gets it working again for about a day

Anyone had this issue and know a permanent fix? It seems to be related to the hubs as every time I reset the one it’s connected to, it is temporarily resolved.

The fact that you're resetting all or one of the hubs it's "connected to", leads me to believe that your Apple devices are all functioning as hubs (turned on). Homekit best practice is to have only ONE device functioning as the hub for the house.

I have my Google nest doorbell bridged into Homekit and changing my ATVs to one hub functioning - solved my connectivity issues. After the issue was solved, I also reserved IP addresses on my router for my Apple hub and doorbell camera to make them effectively static.

Good luck!

 

[StumpyBloke]

Just to clarify: you CANNOT chose which device acts as a hub and it's also been proven that static IPs do NOT necessarily help with HomeKit reliability.

Also, I've just had a delivery at the door. The guy did not ring the doorbell but I received no motion notification via HomeKit but Google home picked it up. That is proof that Apple's integration is still piss poor!

 

[bwhite8889]

Just to clarify: you CANNOT chose which device acts as a hub and it's also been proven that static IPs do NOT necessarily help with HomeKit reliability.

Also, I've just had a delivery at the door. The guy did not ring the doorbell but I received no motion notification via HomeKit but Google home picked it up. That is proof that Apple's integration is still piss poor!

This is correct. There used to be a way to turn off the Apple TVs as hubs but I believe this was taken away. However, as StumpyBloke states, there is no way to turn off HomePods as hubs. Additionally we’re able to view which hub is connected to via the HomeKit app. The unconnected ones all say “Standby.” I have never once seen it show more than one hub connected simultaneously.

StumpyBloke I think your experiment with Google Nest says it all. Why Google‘s app is able to pick up the motion in the exact moment that HomeKit is beyond me. I don’t know that I’d use as harsh of language, but the problem is clearly on the Apple software side.

I’m reserving some of my ire because I like to believe that a lot of the problems Apple deals with are related to having end-to-end encryption embedded into HomeKit. I have no way of verifying this but I will say that it’s one of the biggest selling points for me to use Apple’s home automation compared to the other players. I’ve got to imagine this complicates software development to some degree, which is why I’m willing to extend quite a bit more grace to Apple on software glitches compared to their competitors. They’re giving themselves more work to protect the end-user and I respect that.

As of right now, my doorbell is still detecting motion. I’m wondering if the software updates on the ATVs / HomePods over the last couple of days did the trick.

 

[shakopeemn]

Too bad with the homepods not being able to turn off (I don't have any Apple speakers). However, the ability to turn off ATV is still in 16.5. You owe it to yourself to eliminate ATVs as the source of your connectivity issues. On the ATVs go to homekit and select disable. That stops the ATV from functioning as a hub.

IMO, I think Apple's "smart" homekit is so far behind Amazon Alexa and Google Home. Apple's simplicity approach prevents users from adding much automation. That's another thread!

 

[bwhite8889]

Doorbell is still functioning as it should on Day 2

 

[bwhite8889]

Figured I’d provide an update on this. My doorbell fails to detect/record motion on an almost daily basis. The only fix appears to be resetting the active hub. It will then work again for about 24 hours before breaking again.

Every time it breaks, I submit feedback to Apple that it’s broken again. I’d imagine they’re getting quite annoyed at this point but honestly it’s quite frustrating that I have a doorbell that I cannot rely on for security purposes.