We want to help keep your monthly bill at a manageable level, so feel free to call us if you have any questions. There are several reasons for a higher-than-expected bill:
-
Check your settings. To limit data usage, check the following settings:
- Motion Capture - set this for photo only, as videos use more data
- Motion Sensitivity - reducing sensitivity will trigger fewer pictures
- Motion Delay - Try 5 minutes or more
- Timelapse - turn this off or lengthen the interval
- Thumbnail resolution - change to SD to use the least amount of data
- HD requests - depending on your data plan, limiting you HD requests can help you keep your data to a minimum
- Check your data plan. Often times, selecting the wrong data plan can result in a bill being higher than you expected. To check this in your Command Center app, click "Cameras" in the bottom left corner. Each camera will show the camera name, and below that, a green bubble indicating which plan that camera is on (Starter, Pro, or Outfitter). If your camera is on the wrong plan, click on the three dots to the right of that camera and scroll down to the very bottom. Click the dropdown menu next to the"Plan" and select your desired plan.
- Keep tabs on your data. In your Command Center app, the "Cameras" page will display the total number of megabytes for each camera (which is based on your data plan), as well as how much of this data has been used (eg: 34/360 MB). It is good practice to keep an eye on data usage and ensure that you have used about half (or less) or your allotted data halfway through the month. For example, on May 15, a Starter plan user should be at about 30/60 MB.
- Check your email. Once you reach 80% and 100% of your data usage allotment, you will receive an email from images@yellowstoneai.com alerting you that your data allotment is almost up. At this point, you can make setting changes or pause your data plan to ensure you do not get an overage charge.