Help! WAF is falling fast!

Perhaps just a separate credit card would work?

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There are no "built in" drivers - these were written by @chirpy. Exactly which xiaomi or aqara motion sensor do you have?

Just to be pedantic, there is no exclusion/inclusion process for zigbee (it's a zwave concept). You need to delete/remove the device and re-pair. This is generally only needed if you are looking to change the placement of the device as xiaomi sensors don't generally re-route themselves.

What other zigbee devices do you have in operation? How far away from the hub are these xiaomi sensors located?

Losing connection is almost always due to excessive distance from the hub or an intermediate device/router that the sensor does not like (the list is numerous and includes many power plugs, bulbs and other mains zigbee devices)

Alternative zigbee devices are hue motion sensors (excellent but pricey) or sonoff. In the US you do have a bit more choice (eg plenty of used but excellent iris sensors from a certain ebay seller)

I've switched over mostly to Tuya repeaters (@aaiyar will vouch for these too) as these seem to work better then ikea's (the ikeas tend to suffer from poor range) and a couple of home built CC2530 based repeaters (which include a CC2591 RF amplifier) for reaching down the driveway).

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I prefer wired. Seem to be in the minority there though.

Curious as to what you have / would consider wiring?

Not considering WiFi, Hubitat has no capability for wiring sensors.

Honestly I gave up on mine after a week. Ended up getting Sonoff and they've been fine.

i like the Hue 4-in-1 sensor. it uses AAA batteries as well, so no watch batteries to power it

I always liked the ST motion sensors, which I see Aeotec is now producing. For more money.

Initially I did, too. But they seem to go through batteries (CR2450) really quick: I get 6 months out of them. Same thing with their Multipurpose Sensor. I get about 6 months in either device. Maybe it's the CR2450s I got from Amazon causing the problem.

If you are up to a larger project, here is a custom made environmental sensor which includes motion that can be hard-wired into smoke detectors. Quite a few monitoring options, you can PM @iharyadi and purchase the sensors if he has them available.

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I have not had that issue. Perhaps I am more of a couch potato?

I keep a spreadsheet of battery replacement dates so I can tell. The ST Motion sensor is next to a Iris v2 Motion sensor; I've replaced the battery in the ST 3 times since I last replaced the CR2 battery in the Iris. I have a Multipurpose Sensor that's on but not in use -- just sitting there reporting temperature. It also doesn't last lone. I'm willing to chalk it up to the CR2450s I buy at Amazon - they are certainly cheap. I've got 3 left from the last 10 pack I bought, and I will try another brand.

Check out Linkind Motion sensors and contact sensors. Available on Amazon.

A fix is coming shortly for their motion sensors (Mike Maxwell promised a fix for an issue where some Likind motion sensor FW versions currently aren't working). Contact sensors work fine evidently. Contact sensors have a nice small form factor. Motion sensor is a little larger.

9 months or so on genuine Panasonic batteries.

I have found the Hue Zigbee motions sensors to be reliaable and have reasonable battery life. If I need a new motion sensor, that is what I will get.

Remember that 4-in-1 sensors are reporting multiple data. That drains batteries quickly.

If you want to use Aqara devices, the repeaters I arecommend are Luntak Zigbee Smart Plugs. I just purchased some a few days ago, but they are now out of stock.

I replaced some older Centralite and Smartthings plugs that would not repeat Aqara signals. The Luntak plugs use eWelink technology and work well. Unfortunately, they do not report power usage.

They are reliable but I hate their mounts.

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Returned the 3 Aqara sensors (oddly enough, there is a 4th, by the sink, and it never fails to detect motion) and put the 3 Zooz sensors back. So far, she hasn’t complained about the lights. :grinning::+1:.

Sorry in the earlier post about including and excluding ZigBee. The Zooz sensors are Z-Wave. Was frustrated and not typing clearly.

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I'm getting a couple of styles of fresh Panasonics (in bulk) from Mouser to feed my devices.

I have one ST Multipurpose Sensor in service (the other one is on the shelf because it triggers on what I would call "no motion at all" ; thus my constant wish the driver allowed setting an x, y, z offset threshold).

The one in service is in the extremes of summer heat and winter cold (sheltered from rain) about 100' from the nearest repeater. There's a wall and maybe a piece of sheet metal partially in the line-of-sight.

I get about 3 months now, thought it was more early on, so you getting 6 makes me feel better in the odd way that it's not just where I have it located that taxes the battery.

That said, I sure wish there was a dashboard style view with bar graphs showing radio statistics for all my ZigBee devices over some reasonable time to help with a relative assessment of how demanding their respective locations are on their communications link and thus an inference on the battery taxation.

Hummm, don't tell that to the three Ikea repeaters I have in service. Granted I live in a pretty quiet 2.4GHz area but one of mine is pushing 170' with a few walls and almost line-of-sight otherwise.

I find that the ability to separate the wall outlet from the actual radio (with a USB cord extension) allows me to put that radio module up high and reach further before encountering ground interference. I would think folks with a second story could plug a few of those things right into the wall and cover a good chunk of their home AND the typical suburban yard.

The key to your success is "almost line of sight".

Zigbee does a pretty good job of penetrating sheetrock walls and vinyl siding, but brick walls, chimneys, aluminum siding, HVAC ducts, and large trees are a problem.

I love your suggestion of using an extension cord to elevate the radio. I have my Hubitat on top of a 7 ft tall entertainment center in a room with an 18 ft ceiling. I get great signals in most of the house.

I have also used the extension cord trick with various repeaters. For example, in my garage, the outlets are about 4 ft off the floor. When vehicles are parked in the garage, they would be between the outlets and the sensors on the garage doors. Using an extension cord to elevate the repeaters above the vehicles and placing the door sensors near the top of the doors makes them far more reliable.

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