Just wanted to add some data here. I have a motion sensor above the doorway of my "Cat Room" pointing downward. This room has their food bowls and litter boxes, so they're in and out of there all the time.
I used to turn off Motion lighting for that room in Away/Sleep modes so it wouldn't be constantly triggered when I wasn't at home or was sleeping. After putting a piece of scotch tape on the lens, this is what that motion detector picks up now:
They include two sensors - passive infrared and microwave. Instructions are included to set up and balance the two systems. I had to turn down the sensitivity of the microwave sensor - probably because it is placed in the potty closet and is sensing at short range in a small space.
Yup, I got tripped up on the lockout for both the Bosch and the Sonoff sensors. I tried to re-use some automation rules that were written for Philips Hue Outdoor Motion Sensors, which can re-trigger after 10 seconds. Nothing like waving your hand in front of a sensor in the dark to make you question life choices.
Yep I'm having similar issues. Mine is in the garage. I can't seem to find the balance between Microwave and PIR.
A 6 pound cat did set it off.
I can't quite figure out why it shows 0% battery when it has a brand new set of batteries
Why, when I add it to the dashboard, it shows a ? in the icon (there may just be some more tweaking I need to do with them).
I can also definitively say these are not nearly as fast as the Zooz Zse18 they were intended to replace. This puts that whole ZigBee motion sensors are faster than Zwave argument to rest for me. Based on this experience, they are not.
Of the three I bought , (all new, sealed in box) one was defective out of the box (the adjustment head and screw fell out), but I don't fault the seller with that, just a defective manufacturing.
I'm not downplaying the sensor, I knew it could be flakey when I bought them, and I'll find a use for the other one, I just wanted to relay my experience for someone who may be considering them.
Edit
I realized this sounded more negative than intended.. So some positives: Easy to install, and pairs easily with a native driver.
@Hal3 is correct, the lockout is on purpose. The Bosch device is closer to a security sensor, so the lockout makes sense (for Sonoff, it makes no sense to me). My fix was a small adjustment to triggers, i.e. check if motion has been inactive for 5 minutes or more.
I recall a similar observation after install, and I have seen this on other devices, as well. I am not sure what triggers it to eventually update, but both of mine are now reading battery = 100 a few months after install.
Hopefully someone else can advise what the ? icon means. I don't use the HE dashboard.
Again, consider the nature of the beast. It is tuned to minimize false triggers, not for fastest trigger. Hence, the multiple sensors that must all agree before it declares that motion was, in fact, sensed. It doesn't make a good test case for the speed of a particular protocol.
Something is seriously wrong, then. Our 90 lb dog only rarely triggers one sensor. Our cats (9 lb and 12 lb) have never triggered, despite their zoomies and vertical antics.
One tip on tuning the microwave/PIR: Consider the one or two most important triggers and tune for those. For one sensor, the most critical case is motion approaching from the stairs, so I tuned that first. Then I just checked a couple of other directions to ensure that they are tolerable. Tuning was minimal. Our first sensor is in a much easier location - I recall testing, but I don't believe that I made any adjustments.
I agree. That is why i was careful to point out that I probably need to to work with it some more, and even noted that I may have come across as more negative that I had i intended. I have been playing with it and a few things have changed:
The battery level updated and was sowing 100% this morning.
I think the Icon issue was because I had inadvertently selected the device type as multi sensor instead of motion. Switched to motion and I got the motion sensor icon on the tile
I like that the temperature is reported to that tile as well. I have the first sensor in the garage, so it will be interesting to see what the temps in there do over the summer.
I wanted to use this so that if either the outside garage door, or the utility room door into the garage open it would turn on the light. When I was doing the walk test, any movement by the utility room door was activating the sensor, but in production you actually have to walk a few feet into the garage to trip it. I'm thinking the sensor are must just be a little bit off that it doesn't actually cover the door. The garage door going up doesn't trigger it, but once up it will pick up someone approaching the open garage door and trigger the lights. I get the end result i was looking for either way.
Can't say why the cat triggers it, but he certainly does.
I doubt i would use these through out the house as I had originally intended, but for certain, applications they certainly do have a place. They are well built, and seem to do what they were designed to very well.
Doors will be hit-or-miss, particularly for the PIR sensor. If the door and walls are at the same temperature, then no movement of infrared heat will be detected. It will never replace a contact sensor as a reliable and timely door sensor.
Just to make sure - let me ask two questions.
Is your "look-down" tab intact? If the tab was somehow damaged or removed, then the sensor would be much more sensitive to pets.
How high is the sensor mounted? Even though Bosch recommends 7.5 feet (2.3m), I have one that is just under 6.5 feet to cover a blemish on the wall
As an instinctive "tab puller" I did pull the tab before I read the instructions . That did not turn out to be the issue and I have three more "unpulled".
I am so impressed by the technology and design of this device but it is not what most people are looking for in a motion sensor.
