A Safer, More Secure Home with “Motion”

We’re excited to unveil a brand-new category in the SmartThings Dashboard today that’s designed to keep your home safer, smarter, and more secure: “Motion.” Here’s everything you need to know…

Today, you’ll be able to find the new “Motion” category in your SmartThings Dashboard directly below the “Damage & Danger” category. This category will make it easier than ever for you to get alerts when there’s unexpected motion inside or outside your home, or to receive valuable notifications that keep you informed when there is expected motion–such as when young kids go to sleep, when pets return from walks, or when loved ones come home.

To get started, tap on the gear icon to the right of the word “Motion.” You’ll then be asked to name the area that you’d like SmartThings to keep an eye on (ex: “Living room,” “Back patio,” etc.).

The next screen asks you which of your different motion sensors you’d like to use to monitor motion. The SmartSense Motion sensor is a great option to monitor movement inside your home, while the Aeon Labs Multi-Sensor is perfect for anyone who wants to monitor movement in an outdoor setting like a driveway, porch, or patio.

The final screen lets you customize what happens when there is motion in the area you’ve selected. You can choose to get a push notification, text message, or both; and also opt to get notifications only during certain times of the day, on certain days, or when you’re in a specific Mode.

Once you tap “Done” and have set up the Motion category, you’ll be able to monitor movement in and around your home directly from your Dashboard. Simply scroll to the Motion category and you’ll see a live newsfeed that shows you what’s happening at your home now, and what has happened recently. Green means there’s no motion, and yellow means that there is motion:

And… that’s it. It just got easier to keep an eye on your home from anywhere.

Note: You can also trigger an alarm to flash and blare if unexpected motion occurs in your home. To do this, simply go into the “Damage & Danger” category and follow the easy steps listed in the prompt: “Unwanted Access to Valuable Items.”