In the previous article, we looked at how to integrate Ezviz cameras into Home Assistant and how motion detection works in practice. One of the most useful next steps is turning simple motion events into rich mobile notifications with snapshots and quick access to live video.

This is where the system becomes significantly more powerful. Instead of just receiving a text alert like “Motion detected”, you can receive:

• A push notification with an image snapshot
• A direct link to live camera view
• Context-aware alerts (only when you are away or at night)

This guide walks through how to build that setup using Home Assistant and Ezviz cameras.

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What You Need for This Setup

Before we build the automation, it helps to understand the components involved.

1. Camera Entity

Your Ezviz camera appears in Home Assistant as:

• camera.front_door (example)

This entity provides:

• Live stream (if supported)
• Snapshot capability
• Stream URL (used in notifications)

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2. Motion Sensor

Most Ezviz cameras expose:

• binary_sensor.front_door_motion

This is the trigger for our automation.

Important: This only works when motion detection is enabled in the Ezviz app.

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3. Snapshot Service

Home Assistant can capture still images using:

• camera.snapshot

This saves an image locally that can be attached to notifications.

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4. Mobile App Notification Service

To send notifications with images, you need the Home Assistant mobile app:

• notify.mobile_app_<your_device>

This supports:

• Images in notifications
• Action buttons
• Deep links into Home Assistant

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5. Stream Access (Live View)

To open live camera view from a notification, we use:

• Home Assistant internal URLs
• Camera entity stream view

This allows tapping a notification to open the live feed.

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Building a Useful Motion Notification System

Let’s design a practical scenario:

When motion is detected at the front door, send a notification with a snapshot.
If the user taps the notification, they can immediately open the live camera feed.

We’ll also make sure it only triggers when nobody is home.

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Step 1: Create Snapshot Storage Path

First, ensure Home Assistant can store images:

/config/www/snapshots/

This folder is accessible via:

https://your-ha-url/local/snapshots/

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Step 2: Automation Overview

We will:

1. Detect motion
2. Check if someone is home
3. Take snapshot
4. Send notification with image
5. Add action button to open live stream

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Full YAML Automation

alias: Front Door Motion with Snapshot and Live View
description: Send snapshot notification and allow live view on tap

trigger:
  - platform: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.front_door_motion
    to: "on"

condition:
  - condition: state
    entity_id: person.household
    state: "not_home"

action:
  # 1. Create timestamp variable for unique filename
  - variables:
      filename: "/config/www/snapshots/front_door.jpg"

  # 2. Take snapshot from camera
  - service: camera.snapshot
    target:
      entity_id: camera.front_door
    data:
      filename: "{{ filename }}"

  # 3. Send notification with image and action button
  - service: notify.mobile_app_phone
    data:
      title: "Motion detected"
      message: "Motion detected at the front door."
      data:
        image: "https://your-ha-url/local/snapshots/front_door.jpg"
        actions:
          - action: "URI"
            title: "View Live Camera"
            uri: "https://your-ha-url/lovelace/camera"

mode: single

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How This Works in Practice

When motion is detected:

1. Snapshot is captured

Home Assistant grabs a still image from:

• camera.front_door

This gives you a real-time visual of what triggered the event.

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2. Image is attached to notification

On your phone, the notification will show:

• Title: “Motion detected”
• Image: snapshot from camera

This is extremely useful because you can immediately see context without opening the app.

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3. Tap to open live video

The action button:

• “View Live Camera”

opens a dashboard or direct camera view inside Home Assistant.

This gives near real-time video streaming.

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Improving the Experience

1. Add Night-only Notifications (Recommended)

To avoid spam during the day, you can restrict alerts:

condition:
  - condition: time
    after: "22:00:00"
    before: "06:00:00"

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2. Add Multiple Cameras

If you have several cameras:

trigger:
  - platform: state
    entity_id:
      - binary_sensor.front_door_motion
      - binary_sensor.driveway_motion

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3. Add Light Automation

Combine with smart lighting:

• Turn on outdoor lights (e.g. 300–500 lm brightness)
• Keep lights on for 5–10 minutes

This improves both security and visibility.

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4. Energy Awareness (Optional)

If your home setup includes energy monitoring (kWh), you can:

• Avoid turning on lights if consumption is already high
• Or limit automation during peak electricity price hours

For example:

• Only activate lights if consumption is under a threshold (e.g. 2.5 kWh ongoing usage)

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Limitations of Ezviz Integration

It’s important to understand a few constraints:

• No true “alarm system” mode exposed
• Motion depends on Ezviz app settings
• Live stream reliability depends on network and model
• Not all cameras support snapshot via Home Assistant

But despite these limitations, the integration is still very useful when combined with automations like this.

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Real-World Example Setup

A typical working setup might look like:

• Front door camera → motion detection
• Snapshot sent to phone
• Notification received within 1–2 seconds
• Tap opens live feed
• Outdoor lights turn on automatically
• System only active when away or at night

This creates a simple but effective home security layer without needing a full alarm system.

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Final Thoughts

By combining motion detection, snapshots, and mobile actions, you turn your Ezviz camera from a passive viewer into an active security system inside Home Assistant.

The key takeaway is:

The real power is not the camera itself, but how Home Assistant reacts to it.

Once you have snapshots and live view working, you can extend the system further with presence detection, alarm logic, or even energy-aware automations tied to kWh consumption and temperature (°C) conditions.