6mo ago

Aqara Unveils New Presence Senr at CES 2025 - SmartHomeScene

Aqara Unveils New Presence Sensor at CES 2025

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Neat multi-sensor gizmo. I just started with ZigBee stuff in home automation and this seems like it has a lot of possibilities. However, I passed over Aqara in general as they seem to work only with their own hubs. If I'm wrong, let me know, but I try to avoid product lock-in.
- I have about thirty Aqara sensors that work with the Zigbee dongle for Homeassistant. I just pressed the sync button on the Aqara sensor and it shows up in my HA when I try to add a new Zigbee device.
  I can confirm that the magnet sensor, temperature/ humidity sensor and vibration sensors work without an Aqara hub, and directly with the HA ZigBee dongle.
  
  Oh thanks! That's great news. Every box I've read says it needs the Aqara hub or doesn't work with 3rd party hubs. Especially on Amazon.
  
  Their ceiling light (T1M) works but you lose some functionality - basically can’t use animations for the ring light. Besides that it’s been solid for me.
“As the mmWave sensor enters a low-power state when no motion is detected, it allows the Aqara FP300 to have a 2 year battery life while being powered by a pair of button cell CR2450 batteries.”
Reading through the marketing bullshit since this is the only number mentioned: It’ll last 2 years if there’s nobody ever in that room. In reality, it’ll last a few months at best and probably less than that if there’s people constantly in the room, as the mmWave sensor will need to be powered non-stop.

10 comments