If that detector is a recent purchase, might want to see if there’s any sort of manual included in the packaging or try looking up a brand name and model number. Most (if not all) that I’ve used have you start by holding the device to the wall to establish a baseline before doing a sweep across the area of interest. I usually try a few spots as the initial calibration point and also tap on the wall to listen for hollow/solid areas to see if the device readings are sane.

Yeah I mean the stud detection part isn’t the issue. That works just fine. It’s the wire thing that has me uneasy. My model works the same as most…hold it against the wall to calibrate and then slowly sweep.

This stack exchange post has some useful tips as well. One specifically mentions touching the wall for grounding to reduce false positives, sounds like it could be related to what you’re seeing. There’s also a suggestion about adding layers of paper to decrease sensitivity so you’re filtering out the weak results that may be another source of false positives.

So I was reading some things about this online which is why I tried the hand thing. The thing is that the manual states for me to NOT put my hand on the surface being scanned. While it makes the warning go away, I’m wondering if it now makes it a false negative.