Currently, I have wyze cameras detect a person at my front door and trigger a dog barking skill on my alexa echo speakers. Since all this goes through the cloud, by the time the dogs are barking, the person has already moved on, making one wonder if it's a false position.
So I wanted to find an offline alternative. I have eufy speakers that I can use RM to play local dog sounds to via DLNA. For motion, I just got the Philips Hue Outdoor Motion Sensor (I don't have a philips hub). But it would trigger motion every minute. It's above my front door, under an awning and it's sunny. I set the motion sensitivity to low but it's still trigger-happy. I set motion retrigger to 10 minutes, which reduces the triggers, but seems pointless if its motion status usually shows as active.
So I set motion=disable as well and after a few hours, it finally showed as inactive. But then a few seconds later, it showed active again. By then, it's night time. Perhaps triggered by my motion-activated porch lights. But why is it triggering at all with motion=disabled? Also, my events still gets readings for lux/temp even when those are disabled. Am I misunderstanding what 'disable' means for this device?
Is there some secret initiation or firmware update that requires the Philips Hue Bridge? I bought two of these and they both have similar issues. Also, if it matters, the outdoor temp here is 16F.
These are the device details hubitat gathered:
Firmware MT: 100B-011B-02003506
Manufacturer: Signify Netherlands B.V.
Model: SML004
Software Build: 02003506
However I and a few others had issues getting them to work. For me it paired successfully, no errors. Once paired it went ‘active’ once, reported it but stayed active permanently and never sent another state change/report for anything. I gave up and returned it to Amazon.
The big issue with outdoor motion sensors is location. I have an elevated deck. The motion sensor I have mounted under the deck works perfectly as it is in shade. The one I tried mounting above the deck was not reliable as it was in partial sun a few hours of the day. If you can find an appropriate location for your motion sensor, it can work well.
All signs seems to indicate that these sensors are meant for night-time usage and for controlling lights. Maybe it doesn't help that my lawn is white with snow.
I have a Philips Hue Outdoor motion sensor on my front porch (no awning, no overhang at all.) My house faces NNW, so not much direct sunlight, especially this time of year. It has worked amazingly well for year connected directly to my C8-Pro hub. No false activations. It only triggers when an animal, person, or vehicle is in range. Truth be told, I am still surprised at how well it works and how long the pair of AA batteries last. In over 4 years, I have only replaced the batteries once.
It does appear than my sensor is one of the older generation (SML002), so maybe that is the difference?
+1 for these (SML002). I use two inside a three car garage set up in a motion zone. 3 yrs battery life on one, 4 yrs on the less active one. Literally have never skipped a beat. Paired directly, not via a Hue hub.
No issues here with the 002's on a C8 Pro and the 004's on a C7.
The 002's were on a C5 for several years and now on a C8 Pro.
I wouldn't say they have never had problems as I do remember having to re-pair once or twice after going to the C8, but more than acceptable performance.
The 004's have been rock solid on my C7 for about a year.
I do have the 002's set up using the Zone Motion app for my front deck/door to minimize false triggers.
