Complete Guide to Pairing CoopCams: How to Set Up Your Smart Coop Cameras for the Best Experience
Our Smart Coop cameras, powered by Eggstein AI, are designed to give you the best in flock protection through real-time monitoring and precision detection. To make sure you’re getting the most value from your cameras, this guide will walk you through the setup. Whether you’ve got a Smart Coop kit, standalone cameras, or pre-installed cameras, following these steps ensures your system works as it should—keeping your flock safe and your notifications accurate.
Step 1: Check Your WiFi Coverage
Let’s start with WiFi. Our cameras rely on a strong signal to deliver real-time alerts and monitor your coop 24/7. Testing the WiFi signal where your coop will be set up helps ensure smooth performance:
- Use your phone or a speed test app to confirm that your WiFi signal reaches the coop area outside.
- Once you’re confident the signal is strong, you’re ready for the next step.
Step 2: Pairing Indoors for Best Results
After confirming your WiFi coverage, bring your cameras indoors to pair them with the Coop app. Pairing works best when the cameras are close to your router. Once they’re successfully paired, you can move them back outside for installation.
Step 3: Charge Your Cameras for Long-Lasting Monitoring
Before mounting your cameras, make sure they’re charged to 100%. Here’s how to check:
- Orange light: Charging
- Green light: Fully charged
For continuous, reliable monitoring, it’s important that your cameras start fully charged. If you don’t see a light when charging, reach out to us for help.
Step 4: Naming and Mounting for Optimal Performance
The way you name and mount your cameras is key to getting the most accurate detection from Eggstein AI. Here's how to make sure your cameras are set up correctly, depending on whether you have a Smart Coop kit, standalone cameras, or pre-installed Smart Coop cameras.
For Smart Coop Kit and Standalone Camera Customers:
- Mounting Best Practices: The way you mount your cameras directly impacts their ability to monitor movement and detect potential threats. To get the best detection and avoid missing key activity:
- Place your exterior camera at an angle that captures the full frame of the coop door and chicken movement.
- Keep the camera level, avoiding steep downward angles.
- Mount it no more than 8 feet off the ground and no more than 8 feet away from your coop perimeter. This positioning ensures that the AI can detect activity accurately without interference.
- If you’re unsure about your setup, feel free to send us an email for personalized recommendations.
- Naming: For kit and standalone setups, we recommend using the "Other" label in the app for your cameras. This lets the camera learn its environment and respond based on what it detects, rather than relying on a precision-trained model for a specific zone (like roost or run). This flexibility gives you the best overall performance as the camera adapts to your setup.
For Smart Coop Customers (Pre-Installed Cameras):
- Your cameras come pre-installed in roost and run locations, so you won’t need to worry about mounting them. The key here is making sure they stay in the correct location after charging.
- Naming: When using our Smart Coop with pre-installed cameras, it’s essential to name them correctly:
- Name the interior camera "Roost" to focus on nighttime, inside-the-coop activity.
- Name the exterior camera "Run" to monitor daytime outdoor activity and predator detection.
- Important: If you bring the cameras inside for charging, double-check that you remount them in their correct locations afterward (roost inside, run outside). Swapping their positions by mistake will confuse the AI and cause inaccurate detections.
Step 5: Why Correct Naming and Placement Deliver the Best Value
Naming and placement may seem like small details, but they directly affect how Eggstein AI works for you. Our cameras use edge computing, which means they analyze activity in real time, right on the device. By setting up your cameras correctly, you’ll ensure that:
- Accurate detections are delivered, focusing on the right areas and activities.
- Battery life is optimized, avoiding unnecessary processing of irrelevant data.
- False alerts are minimized, so you’re only notified about what matters most—your flock’s safety.
Think of it like setting up a smart security system for your home: a camera that’s trained to detect packages at the door won’t work as well if it’s looking for the wrong things. Correctly naming your cameras ensures they monitor exactly what they need to—whether it’s chickens resting inside or predators lurking outside.
Step 6: Additional Tips for Best Results
- Other Auto & DIY Coop Doors: Our system is currently training to detect the open and close status of non-Smart Coop doors, including DIY or custom setups. You’ll start seeing status updates, but they may not be as precise as with a fully integrated Smart Coop door. For automatic doors that operate based on light sensitivity, our cameras will still display the door's status, though they aren't directly connected to the door hardware.
Step 7: Troubleshooting and Support
If you need to change networks or transfer camera control to someone else, double-tap the power button to reset the camera into configuration mode. This will allow you to re-pair it without losing your settings if you re-pair with the same account.