Is Aquara température and humidity sensor any good?

I’m looking to get a few thermometers and humidity sensors. I found the Aquara but it is only available through amazon USA. Well not true.... from Amazon canada they cost 75$ before they get here. They are 16USD on amazon USA. So before I order a bunch of them, I would like to be sure they are ok.

Anybody using them in HE?

Aquara/Xiaomi/Mija use a non standard protocol and may be difficult to keep connected and/or will mess with your mesh. I know that the motions can be a bear, but maybe someone can weigh in on the humidity. Most people that run this brand do so knowing what the challenges are and connect these on a dedicated hub separate from their other devices.

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They work well for many people, but they are not standard devices and require special care in how you build your Zigbee network to keep the happy. Specifically, you have to use only known "compatible" repeaters or risk that your devices might choose one that doesn't work well.

This thread is good reading:

Personally, I got rid of almost all of mine but did use them with mostly good luck for a long time. The temperature/humidity sensor is all I use anymore because I haven't found another device I like quite as much, but I've also stopped caring about what repeaters I use and consider myself lucky they still work. :grinning:

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Omg, ok thanks for the hint. I don’t want that then. I’m trying to replace WirelessTag and get free of internet. WirelessTag are pretty solid. So I will haunt for something better. I liked the small size though.

Thanks again

These work great and also provide barometric pressure and illuminance data, in addition to temperature and humidity. They are also good zigbee repeaters, and do not require batteries. They are not the prettiest devices, but they work great!

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OMG! Yes! I have one. Love it. Very responsive, but know it's a board connected to a usb plug. So it's not buttoned up in a pretty package, but it's an awesome little device

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Hum.... i need a little bit more portability. Thanks.
Any other suggestion anyone?

The Konke temperature and humidity sensor works well with Hubitat - no special repeaters needed. However, it is restricted to zigbee channels 15, 20, and 25.

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With a cell phone charger, you can plug it in anywhere. I wasn't really clear on that point. Unless you're looking for battery powered. Then yah ... there's that.

@Guytas, I play around with my sensors and others that has temperature an humidity measurement as well. It turn out that in monitoring room temperature and humidity, the placement of the sensor is much more flexible compared to where you have to place a motion sensor. Obviously, contact sensor need to be place at specific location.

I do not want to hijack this thread by adding too much specific information about my sensor here. But, if you like to talk more about it, please feel free to PM me. In any case, I and many of the community member will help you regardless your choice.

@ogiewon, @april.brandt Thank you for the recommendation. I really appreciate the help.

Thanks
Iman

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I've had 3 Aquara Temp/Humidigy/Pressure sensors for almost a year. I've had absolutely no issues with them. I don't have many Zigbee devices so my Zigbee network is very small, or at least not well populated.

I love Iharyadi's board and found it to be very stable. But I must say I am disappointed in the performance of the on board BME280 sensor. In my arduino experience it was always very accurate without any offsets needed. The iharyadi board I have requires significant offset for the temperature.

Ho they are probably very good sensors @iharyadi but we do have green houses and when my wife prepare the plants, she keeps moving them in and out almost every day. We have right now the WirelessTag sitting on one of the shelf on each moving tray shelves. I cannot imagine unplugging all of that, and using extension cords... No, it is easier for me a portable one. Thanks anyway.

I've used the Konke sensors for about 7 months with Hubitat. They work flawlessly. Bought them for about $10 each on AliExpress. They're about $15 on amazon.com

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The Aqara temp/pressure/humidity sensor are definitely stable IF you have a carefully laid out Zigbee mesh AND you don't use any incompatible repeaters, and definatley NO Zigbee lightbulbs on the same Zigbee mesh (Sengled are the exception). They won't mess with your mesh because they're end devices, but they will certainly drop if you don't have the position of the repeaters just right (definitely trial and error) and they also will drop as they start to approach 50% battery (which granted is several months). I had mine performing perfectly for months. Moved one repeater to an outlet just 4 feet closer to the hub and it began to drop regularly. Moved the repeater back to its original location and the stability returned.

I have only one of the Aqara temp/pressure/humidity sensors, but I have Aqara leak sensors and one remaining Mijia motion sensor still directly paired. Only the temp/pressure/humidity sensor ever drops and it's only when the battery nears 50%.

However, if your greenhouse isn't attached to your house (e.g. You need to get that signal to travel more than 30 feet open air from either the hub to from the last powered repeater, and you need a few of them, I'd tend to agree with @aaiyar's recommendation for the Konke. The guys that have them say they are very solid.

It's going to be a lot less restrictive to set your Zigbee radio to channel 15 or 20 and use the Konke then it is going be, having to use ONLY Xiaomi compatible repeaters like I have to (I'm using three IKEA Trådfri repeaters - Two outlets and one dedicated repeater). I understand the need for portability and battery power in a greenhouse, but if you have a situation that you can use one of @iharyadi temp/pressure/humidity/luminance sensors, those are excellent. I'm using one as the reference humidity for my Xiaomi Aqara temp/pressure/humidity sensor in my bathroom, so that the exhaust fan turns on automatically when someone is in the shower, but still takes the sticky summers we have here in Toronto into account.

I wouldn't ever buy the Xiaomi Aqara or Xiaomi Mijia devices from Amazon unless the price was much better than you're seeing. I have always bought from either Bangood or Gearbest. During non-pandemic times, I have chosen the Canada Priority Line delivery option for just a few bucks. I almost aways received them within two weeks. Right now, don't know what you'll get. Some buy from AliExpress too, but I personally don't like using them because they don't take PayPal. Since you're in Canada delivery is going to be a problem from China and Hong Kong right now.

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Ouch! $53 CAD to get them from Amazon.com right now. :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

Screen Shot 2020-05-29 at 5.51.32 PM

That's why ya buy them from China and not Amazon....

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Right. But the pandemic has caused Canada Post to reject at least speedpak items from China and Hong Kong right now. He's in Quebec, so the options are more limited than US buyers.

You need a friend in the US you can visit periodically. I have amazon prime and for me they are $15.99 + state tax (~7%)

Also I have no love or hate for the Aquara. I bought them a while ago from banggood (or gearbest) when they were on special. I think they were about $10 each.

I go to Quebec often, they are limited on many things - including signs in English.

har har har That was a joke in case it wasn't clear. Quebec is a great place to visit (between April and October).

The last batch of 12 Konke temp/humidity sensors I bought, I got for $11/ea including shipping from AliExpress.

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I have my parents in Oregon (no tax), and siblings in California, but the cost gets to be close to the same after shipping from there to here. I've stopped sending stuff to my parents because I don't know when I'm going to be able to get there again at this point in time.

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