My goal is to create near 100% reliable solid hands-free automations.
Goal is basically achieved except for the two sensitive/critical places: Bathroom and Kitchen.
These two locations required very fast turning ON lights and extremely reliable presence detection. So, mmWave Sensors sounds like a way to go but so far I have not found any reliable mmWave Sensor. Next is a summary of my experience with mmWave Sensors I tried.
Bunch of different square-shaped 5.8GHz Sensors all are near 100% garbage.
Aqara FP2 near always leaves many ghosts. Therefore, it is absolutely impossible to use them in automations. (Yes, I updated firmware and spent enormous time to fine tune them. All my effort was unsuccessful).
Linptech Sensor works about right but reqires to recycle power every 2-3 weeks. Somebody is "fixing" these issues by adding a controlled on/off switch and a related rm rule. This is somewhat working but makes no sense for myself.
Meross MS600 USB-powered. I had 3 of them. They worked for couple month and then 2 simply died. (one is still alive and it works just fine).
Meross MS605 Battery-powered. These are randomly losing Thread Connection almost on a daily basis. Bringing them back online is a nightmare. My Thread Network is not considered as a solid mesh. There is only one TBR (HA+ZBT2) which is not good. But I am not using (and not planning to use) any Apple/Google/Alexa devices. So, I am not sure how to improve Thread Network in my case.
Switchboot BT mmWave Sensors are too slow. Usually there is a very long delay for turning ON lights but otherwise seems to be OK.
(Maybe I forgot to mention some other mmWave sensors I have tested.)
So, it looks like there is no single reliable mmWave snsor (but I could be wrong, I will be very happy if I am wrong).
My current solution is two sensors:
Old reliable and fast PIR for the speed (fast turning lights on);
Plus, Switchboot mmWave Sensor for the presence (keep lights on).
PS,
This post is a short description of problems related to the mmWave Sensors. I doubt there is a solid solution for the problem but all idea are very welcome.
Someone suggested changing the sensitivity then changing it back will keep the Linptech running. I have 3 of them and I'm using that technique and it seems useful.
FWIW this is a YMMV solution, at least in my case it didn't keep one of my Linptech's I tested w/this approach from going offline. But if it works it's dead simple to set up and doesn't require any additional HW, which is great.
I have seen this option (@danabw mentioned this as well) and tested it with 3 at that time Linptech sensors. Unfortunately, this "fix" did not work. All my 3 Linptechs required a power cycling in order to bring them back online. Frankly, I don't like these types of solutions (i.e. power cycling, periodic reboots and even watchdog timers, my EE brain simply cannot accept them).
Let me see how Switchbot BT mmWave sensors will work overtime. So far they are OK, except too slow for the turning lights ON. They have built-in PIR but somewhat this PIR is not helpful (at least visually). That is why my "fix" to use a standalone PIR just for improving initial response time.
Funny you should ask...just re-initiated my rule to change sensitivities...was weekly, moving it to daily like yours. One sensor set to low and then back to high, another to low and then back to medium high, a third set to low and then to medium. I'll watch and learn...since I don't remember which of my sensors used to fall off I'm going to test the first three and if they all stay connected for a month or more I'll then try the setting changes w/the remaining four Linptechs I have.
5.8GHz is not within mmWave spectrum. Did you mean 60GHz? In my testing, I found that the 60GHz are far superior to the 24 GHz. Your list above contains a mix of both.
My SwitchBot BT mmWave Sensors connected to the Home Assistant: HA->HADB(C7)->C8Pro(HubMesh). This was done before C8Pro anabled BT support. I have a spare SwitchBot sensor. Shoud I try to connect it directly to the C8Pro? Sure, I can try this.
PS,
Historically I hame many BT Devices connected to the C8Pro the same way (HA->HADB(C7)->C8Pro(HubMesh)) and the responce seems to be resonably fast.
I tested that earlier models, they all were 5.8GHz. No, after very bad initial experience I did not try anymore these square-shaped toys (too many went into trash).
This very strange and surprising statement. I am using HA the way how I explained for many (4+) years and so far, did not have any noticable problems. For instance, i am using a Shelly BT Button for unloking and physically open my apartment door. The responce is near instant (There is a visual LED indicator for confirming the command was accepted. Of course, unlocking and opening the door takes some noticable time. But this indicator LED turns ON near instantly).
From a purely performance standpoint, if you’re experiencing latency and I’m not, the difference must be related to how the device is connected or integrated.
Agree. But please keep in mind 2.4GHz band in my case is extremely noisy. I am surprized, the BT and Zigbee devices actually working in this invironment.
I used to used Linptech sensors all over the house. I have since replaced them all with the Aqara FP300 sensors.
I have 5 of the FP300 connected through an Aqara M3 hub bringing them to HE via matter. The rooms that I have these sensors in I still have a PIR for that initial light turn on then I use the FP300 to keep the lights on. It is working great if you don’t mind the extra sensor. As you stated with the mmWave you tried the FP300 through the Aqara hub isn’t as fast as the initial detection as a PIR.
However, I have one room controlled by an FP300 that is connected directly to HE via zigbee and using @ogiewon community driver. This driver appears to break the states up a little differently than the Aqara hub connected devices and the direct to HE sensor seems almost as fast as a PIR sensor.
This is true. They are microwave. They do perform very well and penetrate better so you can have sensors behind things like drywall. They behave differently for sure. These are in fact often marketed as Mmwave so a common person may understand them as Mmwave not really knowing the meaning or distinction.
So many things are brand and sensor board dependant. Things like poor shielding impact performance. Many sensor manufacturers have nothing to do with the sensor board firmware etc and are only interfacing with it using basic commands.
That is what I use, and what I do to keep them active.
Google just threw this at me:
Drivers/Firmware: In Hubitat, switching to the latest Tuya Multi Sensor driver has helped resolve connection stability issues.
I just switched one of mine over to the Tuya Multi Sensor 4 in 1 driver. It has all the attributes updating, including LUX. Looks like it works well as a driver, I am going to disable the auto-power-cycle schedule and see if it stays connected.
