Are Hue Motion sensors fast?

@BrianX I have the HS-MS100+ and the ZSE18 motion sensors, both z-wave, and they both have very fast motion response times. There is a built-in driver for the zooz.

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I only have the two ecolink, and a ZSE29, all outside. The Hue Outdoor looks promising because of the outdoor part. I'm hoping it will turn on the driveway and entry lights sooner than the Ecolink, which often have me walking in the dark for a while before they come on. And yes, they are set to maximum sensitivity. The ZSE18 look promising if/when I ever think about putting any indoors -- or the Xiaomi. I'm just using doing outdoor/entry lighting so far.

For what it's worth, I also have both and they just aren't that fast compared to my Zigbee sensors. :man_shrugging: Usually the difference ranged from abound a few hundred milliseconds to one second slower. Theoretical aside, in real life, I replaced one in my pantry with an Iris v2 and have been much happier.

@bertabcd1234 Agreed, they aren't as fast as zigbee. My hue motion sensor seems quicker than the z-wave ones too.

Something else to consider for how "fast" motions sensors react - your RF environment. I had completely written off Z-Wave motion sensors until I mapped out my Z-wave network. I noticed that message latency was considerably lower when my Z-wave sensors were talking directly to the hub. I tested this with my Fibaro motion sensor, which suddenly was as fast as my Iris V2 Zigbee sensors. (<200ms)

Z-wave routes change frequently depending on various things (usually when the sensors wake up every 12 hours or so), so there's no guarantee that your Z-wave motion sensors will keep talking directly to the hub. In my testing, when the same Fibaro motion sensor started hopping through a repeater, latency went up and I went back to hating the thing again.

I've also noticed that Zigbee sensors are pretty adamant about changing routes, so you can use this to your benefit if you're smart about it. I have no idea how much zigbee message hopping affects latency, as I haven't gotten around to mapping out my zigbee mesh yet. Would be fun to test though.

I should note that in my second round of tests, I used a C5 hub dedicated entirely to the purpose of testing. There were no devices or apps on the hub except the ones I used for testing. I used no repeaters, so everything would have been talking directly to the hub. (Again, I know this leaves open the possibility of RF dead spots, as unlikely as that should be with everything in the same room and line of sight, but I want to be very careful to admit any possible shortcomings here.)

I've found that to be an almost universal truth. Battery powered sensors, zigbee is generally better.

Update: so I got the Hue last night and hooked it up this morning. It is a serious improvement over the Ecolink for me. Testing the Ecolink (which was set on "pet 1" -- 1 step down from most sensitive), I would get out the front door, two steps across the porch, down two steps, and about another 2-3 steps before the lights behind me would come on. When I did the same thing with the Hue, the lights came on before I got to the steps -- at most 1-2 steps out the door before the lights were on. (Both sensors were mounted just above the door, the Ecolink tilted slightly down).

On the other end, coming from the driveway (30 ft?), the Ecolink turned on the lights when I was about half way to the front door. The Hue (set at 2: mid sensitivity), turned on the lights as soon as I came around the corner of the garage into view of the door. And the temp and Lux sensors are new toys for me to play with also.

I'm definitely going to get one to replace the Ecolink I have over the garage door.

Maybe this should be a separate topic, but do any of you know how to change the batteries in this thing? It came with them already installed, but just out of curiosity I was going to open it up. I'm not sure I can open it without breaking something. I removed all 4 screws in back, but it wouldn't just slip apart. I played with it a bit and finally gave up because I didn't want to break it, but boy it seems tight.

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So just to clarify. Seems the Hue sensors fsrilt consistent feedback for both response time, and more important to me is the distance as my SmartThings sensors don't seem to make it a cross a room reliably (they are reasonably fast though.. Oh and cheaper).

Question , are the outdoors hue motion sensors noticeably better than the indoor ones? Shame, as they are loads more expensive compared to the indoor ones (almost 2x) and 3x the SmartThings ones and I only need them in places where they will be inside

from a functional perspective they are the same, i wouldn't have any issues mounting the indoor sensor out side as long as it was under an eve or the like.

You mean the detection range is the same? As in same internals? If so I don't need any ip ratings as I'll only use them inside. The SmartThings motion just doesn't cut it in a medium to large room in my experience.

I don't know about that

I have 3 of the hue outdoor, one in my garage. I got it instead of the indoor because I was concerned about range. It quickly picks me up from 30 feet across the garage. I seem to remember that the range of the indoor was less. Yes, they are expensive, but they work. I haven't regretted it. Don't know about putting one inside the house though. It would really look out of place

Yeh right. I may need to look at them in person. Also see whether the black parts can be painted white..

Personal experience. Not saying I have hard data. I have the Hue Outdoor. Love that sensor. Solid and yes, fast. I also have a Hue indoor sensor. I found it slow on Hue and I found it slow on Hubitat. To me, it's just doesn't seem as fast as the outdoor and the IRIS, Centralite or Sylvania Lightify (also Centralite) are the best for speed. I put it back on Hue because for the particular way my bathroom lights work, it was just better suited there.

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Home Depot and Best Buy carry them in stores. BB just had the outdoor $10 off last week.

Just a short flight over ha ha.

I'm in Australia, but our JB Hifi stocks them and so do Bunnings. Outdoor ones are on special at 71 AUD... Which is cheaper than normal at least.

So the outside hue motion are definetly for outside appearance. And it seems the inside ones aren't any thing that special.. However most people seem to focus on speed rather than distance which is where my SmartThings motion lacked.. So hopefully someone can recommend a reasonably long range (more than 15 feet or 5m reliably) for internal use that they know are better than the SmartThings (I've yet to check my xiaomi motion so perhaps they are better (as my mesh is good for xiaomi).

I should note that my SmartThings motion work really fast and reliable... Except for range of detection is quite limited

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If you’re able to get the latest Samsung SmartThings, they are fast and have good detection. They seem to be very stable too. I just tested mine and it detects me 20 feet away. Are you talking about the older ones?

Xiaomi are very short range. Around 13 feet. If you’re looking for longer indoor range in Zigbee, the Samsung are good.

Yeh I have the latest SmartThings motion, v5 off memory. I find the range doesn't cover a 4m x 3m room when in the corner of the ceiling (2.7m ceiling) and I'm in the other other corner. That's more like 15 feet and really the detection is less than that.

They respond quickly, just I don't find I get anywhere near 20 feet reliably.