diff --git a/machinery/src/computervision/main.go b/machinery/src/computervision/main.go
index 8828efc..b6f1f7c 100644
--- a/machinery/src/computervision/main.go
+++ b/machinery/src/computervision/main.go
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ func ProcessMotion(motionCursor *packets.QueueCursor, configuration *models.Conf
 
 	if motionDisabled {
 
-		log.Log.Info("computervision.main.ProcessMotion(): motion detection disabled (pixelChangeThreshold set to 0), skipping.")
+		log.Log.Warning("computervision.main.ProcessMotion(): motion detection is DISABLED because pixelChangeThreshold is set to 0 (nil/unset would default to 150). If motion detection is expected to be running, set capture.pixelChangeThreshold to a positive value (150 recommended) or AGENT_CAPTURE_PIXEL_CHANGE, then restart/update the agent.")
 
 	} else if continuousMode && !hasMotionRegion {
 
diff --git a/machinery/src/config/main.go b/machinery/src/config/main.go
index 3b93828..b3589b5 100644
--- a/machinery/src/config/main.go
+++ b/machinery/src/config/main.go
@@ -648,6 +648,17 @@ func applyAgentEnvVars(configuration *models.Configuration, prefix string, apply
 		}
 	}
 
+	// Motion sensitivity: nil/unset must still resolve to the default (150), not
+	// be left nil. An explicit 0 (temporary "disable motion detection" switch
+	// from the UI) is a real, non-nil value and must NOT be touched here. Only
+	// applied for the effective configuration (applyDefaults), not for the
+	// separate global/custom views, so a missing value in one layer can still be
+	// inherited from the other instead of being masked by this default.
+	if applyDefaults && configuration.Config.Capture.PixelChangeThreshold == nil {
+		defaultPixelChangeThreshold := 150
+		configuration.Config.Capture.PixelChangeThreshold = &defaultPixelChangeThreshold
+	}
+
 	// Signing is a new feature, so if empty we set default values. Only applied
 	// for the effective configuration (applyDefaults), not for the separate
 	// global/custom views.