How to Use a Security Camera's Night Vision Through a Window By Josh Hendrickson Published Mar 16, 2019, 2:40 AM EDT Josh Hendrickson was the Editor-in-Chief of Review Geek and a former How-To Geek Staff Writer with over a decade of experience. Before writing for How-To Geek, Josh did project management, quality assurance testing, and sysadmin work at IDM Computer Solutions, which makes the popular UltraEdit text editor. His years of project management experience included a focus on Linux and macOS applications and troubleshooting, giving him intimate professional knowledge of all three major desktop operating systems. Josh also built and maintained PCs and servers for IDM, and was responsible for maintaining local and offline backups for the company. Josh worked for Microsoft for several years, specializing in computer repair of both hardware and software. He took apart laptops, troubleshooted the Windows operating system, fixed programs like Microsoft Outlook, and removed viruses from customers' laptops. While working for Microsoft, he helped create a shared knowledge repository for all Microsoft employees repairing computers and developed a training process for catching new employees up to speed. During that time, Josh achieved a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) certification. Even before working directly in Information Technology, Josh had a passion for technology. He rooted Android phones and flashed custom ROMs on them; gamed on all major consoles and with his PCs; and built his own computers. That passion continues today. Josh has outfitted his house with a wide variety of smart gadgets, ran Ethernet cables everywhere, assembled Plex servers, and even built a smart mirror with just a frame, some electronics, a Raspberry Pi, and open-source code. His work has been covered by news websites like Digital Trends, Stacey on IoT, Daily Tech News Show, and USA Today. Sign in to your How-To Geek account Add Us On Jump links Jump Links Night Vision and Window Panes Don't Mix Consider Leaving the Porch Light On Turn Off or Cover the IR LEDs Either Turn Your Camera Slightly or Move It Closer Instead of Traditional Lights, Use an IR Illuminator Check Your Camera For Pixel-Based Motion Detection follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap Wi-Fi cameras rely on infrared (IR) for night vision. But IR bounces off glass---so, if you're using your camera behind a window, you'll only see a blurry reflection at night. Here's how to get a clear image. Night Vision and Window Panes Don't Mix Credit: Josh Hendrickson / How-To Geek Night vision on most Wi-Fi cameras uses a relatively simple trick of physics. One or more IR LEDs blast out as much light as possible, acting as a floodlight. Because infrared isn't visible to the human eye, you don't even notice, and your camera can use that IR light to record video at night. If you've ever tried to point your Wi-Fi camera out a window, you've probably found that it works perfectly during the day. But, at night, it's a blurry mess of video, showing mostly just the reflection of your camera and smears of light. This completely defeats the point of even having a security camera. If your camera did see someone outside, you'd never know what they looked like or what they were doing. If you want your camera's night vision to work through glass, you'll want to provide exterior lighting. You can use either traditional outdoor lighting or IR lighting. You must also either turn off or cover the camera's built-in IR lighting. Finally, you will either have to move the camera as close as possible to the window or angle it slightly instead of using a direct-on angle. The best thing to do, of course, is to use an outdoor camera. An outdoor camera will bypass issues with glass and still benefit from most of these suggestions. But, if you can't use an outdoor camera for any reason, consider these options to improve the video you do get from your indoor camera. Consider Leaving the Porch Light On The first goal in gaining a better picture is to take the built-in IR lights out of the equation. Traditional lights are the simplest way to accomplish that goal. If you have a porch light, leave it on. You can then turn off night mode on your camera. The options here vary from camera to camera. Some cameras, like the Wyze Cam, only let you turn off everything. When night mode is off, the IR lights won't turn on. Depending on the camera, your video may be in color. As you can see above, the picture is clear enough that you would see the face of anyone who approached your door at night. But this has an obvious downside: You're using electricity all night and potentially annoying your neighbors. Motion-activated lights are a better solution. You can find battery-operated lights that are easy to attach to your door or wall, like the Overlight. Or you co...