@@AutomateYourLife thank you 🙏 I almost did a TH-cam video on it but wasn't sure if during the beta I was able to talk about it. They usually are pretty strict with beta programs. But great review :) it also comes up in google and when someone enters a zone it will have a notification from Google so it's pretty useful for that
This was a great video and helped me immensely. Now that I have a few of these setup I truly feel like my "Smart Home" is smart. I would make one correction: The Aqara app isn't the only app that allows you to use time during the creation of automation. Homekit also allows you to add "time delays" when creating an automation. In Homekit when creating the automation, scroll to the bottom of the page when selecting "Accessories and Scenes" and click on convert to shortcut. On the new screen add a "wait" command and choose how long then add the item being controlled again to turn it off. ex: Set "Office light" On - "Wait" 3 min - Set "Office light" Off.
Excellent review! I really appreciate all the detailed set up steps and comparisons between Aqara, Google, Amazon, and Apple configurations. The walk around testing after configuration was really helpful
Love how Alexa work with time delays, let's hope Google Home adds presents detecting so we can do automations, eventually. A fantastic video tells us everything. Very in-depth.
I'd be very surprised if they did at this point. Considering how long they've had to catch up to Home Assistant / Smartthings, etc, Google's smart home offerings are embarrassingly behind.
Having finally been able to get this sensor it was great to find a review with detail setup info which I mentioned in my Amazon product review. Followed you for years and find you to be one of the best tech channels on UTube.
Great review, Brian! Thinking of getting those for my grandparents who are 89 and 94 especially for the fall detection as they won’t let me put cameras in their house so I could check on them. This gives them privacy AND me a peace of mind.
You could mention that the cameras will allow you to talk to each other so if they do fall you can communicate and ascertain their condition, as to whether you drive over, or hare over while calling EMTs. You can get hypothermia if you fall and are immobile for too long, and in the ancient that's a gateway drug to pneumonia and hospital induced broken hips (or if you're really unlucky, like my gran, a murderous junior doctor. She was flu to corpse in 20 minutes).
@@AutomateYourLife Hey, i just wanted add that I'm a huge fan of your content. It's awesome to see how tight-knit the TH-cam community can be, and it's clear that you and your fellow TH-camrs have a great relationship. I gotta give you guys props because you've really helped me get into this hobby, and I can always find a video that addresses my problem. Without you, I never would've started messing around with home assistant, and I probably would've given up pretty quickly. You guys make it easy for people like me who aren't super experienced with coding but are more visual learners. Keep up the great work! Thanks a ton!
Finally, It's here...thanks for the great video on release day! You've saved me hours of exploring the device and settings with this video. Also, I've been able to add it to Home Assistant via the Homekit integration but haven't had time to set up an automation yet, but HA is seeing it and responds quickly.
Excellent! Thanks Brian, Now I have to spend more money to get one of these. Need to go stand on the corner with my sign. "Will work for smart home devices"
It is tough to do the corner setup because everything is oddly angled. Another point I think it's good to add is that the breath of the detection is 16 squares vs the depth that's 20 squares. For a large room, I would place it somewhere in the middle that's not so wide but pretty deep.
@@AutomateYourLife I'm more team Z-Wave personally but I'll take zigbee over WiFi. I had the FP2 in my cart last night but changed my mind after seeing it was WiFi
Brian, thanks for showing off this amazing device. I appreciate your detailed breakdown and all the time you put into doing a thorough analysis on how this works with different platforms. As a Google user, I think this isn’t ready for me yet but I have hope for the future!
I haven’t tested this because I don’t have the sensor yet. However, I’m pretty sure you could detect presence in a zone in Apple Home and have it run a Siri Shortcut, which can have a time delay. Something to look at for HomeKit users.
Yep! I think the drawback there is that now. You're waiting on Siri shortcuts and that can be a whole different ball game in terms of reliability and speed. A time delay also doesn't stop an action from executing multiple times. It just means a time delay, So it does depend on your use case
I love the Yzerman figure. I love that after a certain part in Ontario it flips to wings country. Maybe next year we'll finally make it back into the playoffs
great video as always. Question : Does this work with smart things? if not, what are the work around for this? I am assuming someone will b making an edge driver for this sensor soon
@@AutomateYourLife I think Smartthings hub v3 only supports Zigbee and Z-Wave - no wifi for automations. So I am skeptical if an edge driver can be created for this.. Since FP2 only supports wifi, the automations will always be through cloud even if an edge driver is created.. What are your thoughts / comments on this?
It is the first time I hear that picking a zone type changes sensitivity in that area. I really wish Aqara would bring out some sort of "how to do it right". I read that the zone types don't change anything, except when picking a sleeping zone the target is permanently retained until it is detected left. I don't even know if that is true, but the chart someone created about the possible settings is so detailed, that it just seems correct... The problem with one of my use cases I have is that the sensor is not accurate enough: I would like to turn on a LED stripe underneath the bed. So when somebody get's up at night, it should turn on. But people in bed trigger the light from time to time. All in all it is a great idea and can save lot's of sensors. But somehow it is not quite there yet.
@AutomateYourLife Sorry, without kidding: If a company brings out something with this complex configuration, they should officially explain it better. You just claim that the zone type changes the sensitivity, even though there is an extra option to do that for each zone. So no, no one really knows what to do and what is right. The chart I got, for example states the zone sensitivity basically is seconds for how long precense in that zone can be undetected. Is this correct? I don't know. Do you mention this? I don't think so. Hence, no you video is nice, but not what I meant when i said, i would like to have something from aqara.
Great review Brian! I might need to look into one of these, and I'm waiting for the new Inovelli switches that they're working on with Linus that will incorporate mmwave sensors into them!
This looks amazing! And I guess it's going to be more readily available than the Everything Presence Sensor One made by Lewis of Everything Smart Home 😂
Well, and it's doing zone detection. It's a bit more sophisticated in terms of UI and overall finish. But I have seen EP1 being in stock more often lately!
Oh ok, that's interesting! I really thought that the Aqara sensor would only be available in the China market. Pumped that it's now available outside China 🎉 Keep up the excellent work Brian!
For now I'm using IFTTTT with the aqara sensor and Phillips hue bulbs, I need a homey pro or home assistant to keep lights on if I come back into the room within the delay timeframe, I have a ceiling fan and it's detecting it no matter what I do, I just got it and I'm still learning
@@AutomateYourLife I think I'm making progress, I was suppose to set the timer in the aqara app and not in the IFTTT app, now if there is absence for 10 min constantly than it will turn off the lights and AC
@@TornadoBarrage Hi Tornado, just curious, how you got it away from the ceiling fan interference? When ceiling fan is turned on in my living room, there are false detection. While I walk away from my living room, it doesn't switch off the light and ceiling fans, it is due ceiling fan interference... could you share with me how you overcome this interference. I have move the sensor away from my ceiling fan, it doesn't seem work for me...
Hi I realise the post is one year old but I recently created automations with time-delayed trigger within ios using homekit in combination with shortcuts.
@@AutomateYourLife the automation is reliable. It turns off the light after 10 min of absence. This needs some if then functions to stop the automation if presence is detected within the delay period. I could share screenshots through instagram should you find this interesting
@@AutomateYourLife perhaps a deeper dive into dialing in the settings. Zone settings vs room settings. Could be a shorter video. I'm just struggling with getting consistency out of this sensor and I've been messing with the settings blindly to see what works...
@@F-Rod13 I'd hoped this would do it for you. Honestly, making a shorter video would probably confuse more people. It's a truly tough device Frankie and you've got to let it settle into the situation you have put it in for a bit. Try to let it learn, and also try to learn yourself what the situations are that are causing it issues. I sent myself notifications for the first 5-6 days everytime it sensed me in a zone. I had a LOT of notifications and it was annoying, but it helped me figure things out.
Thanks for the information! Your videos are great, look forward to new videos every week. What would be your recommendation for the smartthings users? I currently use a hybrid of amazon and Smartthings however I prefer using smartthings for more in-depth automation options.
Amazing detailed review ❤❤ I'd love to know how well would it work in front yard/ backyard. Does it detect a visitor/person approaching and announce on smart speaker? Does plants/birds/moving vehicles on road create false alerts?
The FP2 almost eliminates the need for PIR's with how fast it responds compared to other mmWave sensors. The zones are an amazing upgrade. Can it be setup without the need of the Aqara app, or do the zones have to be setup in the app?
Thank you for the video. 10:0911:54 Unfortunately the background music is a bit distracting. I think it’s better if you can reduce it a lot or maybe don’t use the background music at all. 😊 cheers.
All that works if you have an open floor plan. I have a separate living room with a door into my tiny kitchen (that takes me 4 steps to cross), a small bathroom and a single bedroom just big enough for a queen size bed and a small chest of drawers. Also, the electricity doesn't support too much electronics, so I'm limited in what I can run here.
Very good video thank you for this. Since the Xiaomi Mi Home app is able to use some Aqara sensors i wonder if it would be able to work with something like this..
I wonder if Aqura makes it to sync 2 FP2 to make it more accurate like a mesh… And than maybe it can run automation by also the direction you walk. As if i walk out of the living space into the bedroom and it turns on the bedroom lights as I walk in and if i appear from the bedroom back into the living room it turns off the bedroom lights
My first FP2 arrived this morning. Could not get it to bind to my network. And it stopped working at all. Could not reset or factory reset. Sending it back to Amazon. I ordered two more devices on the same day as this one. Those two are two arrive on Thursday. Waiting patiently.
I don't believe it's going to do well in that situation. I can't answer you for sure cause I haven't tested it extensively, but I have never seen it know I'm on the other side of a pane of glass
Can you please ask aqara when they are launching more internationally? There are not alot of aqara products in Australia and no info for this sensor to be released
@Automate Your Life yeah it's annoying for people in country's like Australia that watch these great TH-cams like yours with great reviews on a great range of products and we can only purchases a 3rd of them here. Worse country to try and do smart home automation.
Hey...thanks for your reviews. Helpful. So...I have over 70 smart devices running in my smart home. Hue, Aqara, Eufy, and Kasa. I also have a hub for SmartThings, Aqara, and Hue. Everything is handled pretty well on my Asus GT-AXE16000 router with a Gig line. I planned to integrate three FP2's. How can I best integrate Agara automations to interact with my Kasa...or Hue lighting and switches?
I think the best way is to use HomeKit based on what you're saying. It's a solid integration. The only problem you'll have is that Apple just is "Presence" or "Absence" with no time delays. You'll need a HomeKit hub for that though. Also, good job on the 70 smart devices! Otherwise, Aqara allows integration through HomeKit into Home Assistant if you're running that. Finally, there should be Matter on this device soon, so...maybe just wait a bit :)
I think it's both, but mostly people not knowing how to work with Presence Detection at this frequency just yet. People are also sometimes expecting perfection, and it's not perfect.
Thanks for video. Did you integrate this into your home security system you previously did the Smarthings video on? If so anything to bear in mind for that use case?
One more question! I believe the zones are just two dimensional, but wanted to verify? Trying to zone out a fan that is right over a sitting area! If only 2D I guess positioning and some sort of metallic shield (my tinfoil hat!) over the top of the sensor to prevent it from detecting the fan.
I don't know that you'll be able to shield it with a tinfoil hat 🤣🤣, but that's a neat idea! My shelf has worked this far with my air purifier, so your idea isn't bad. But yes the maps are 2D so it takes in a whole area. Fans are tough!
Can you help with an example of an automation between the sensor and the lights? Please. If I have normal lights I need a smart relay or a smart switch to work with the sensor? Thank you. You have my subscribe :)
I'm using regular switches and smart bulbs. Then you just leave the switch on and use this sensor the ways I was showing to turn on and off lighting based on presence in a zone. 😃👌
Brian, curious if you tested the fall detection (I'm old!!). What have they said about the Bluetooth usage and the potential for future Matter inclusion, is ever?. Anything with Hubitat or Home Assistant coming? Great review and thanks for the coupon heads up.
Hey Gerry, I wanted to put together a video or two on solutions for some older folks and that was going to be a test I'd complete then, so I can't tell you much now unfortunately. Hubitat, yes ;)
@@AutomateYourLife Thanks Brian. That idea of older automation solution would be a great idea. Have not found much out there on that, just a few articles (no depth) and no YT videos!! That is my current quest - to automate as much now while I can, with a view to stay in place for as long as possible with the assistance of automaton. Can send you articles (framework) if interested.
This presence sensor is very good, I want to change my motion sensors for this one, but I have all the automations of my sensors, lights and plugs on SmartThings. After 1 year since they launched it until now, Has there been any update? Aqara is supposed to have had a very close collaboration with Samsung for just over a year, to integrate all their products into SmartThings. Is the FP2 sensor already compatible with SmartThings to be able to do automation there?
It's a local WiFi device, so it's just fine and will continue to operate. And that'll get to be cross platform after the Matter update. In the Aqara app, you could run automations locally with other Aqara products as long as you had a hub for them (since most are ZigBee)
After 1.2.5 update it allows corner installation which is great but ..... sensor area drops to 7 when before was 11 meters. So, now I need 2 sensors when before I had enough with 1 :-(
@@AutomateYourLife I have again installed it at the center of the room (even though it is in a corner) and it seems I have again 11 meters. More tests to be done.
Hello, thanks for the informative video My sensor is showing on home kit but as not responding. So I can’t do any automations. Any ideas how can I fix that ? I want to be able to do automation and turn on and off lights Many thanks in advance for your response
Love this Brian! My one challenge I’ve been trying to deal with is having my lights stupidly turning off when I’m in a room and not moving. Will this work with Alexa for that since it’s automation says motion not presence? 29:30
Hi, thanks for the extensive test on the zones. If there’s a ceiling fan just above bed/couch and fp2 ignores those interference. Would it still detect people sitting/lying down in that area?
So I just added this to my house for testing. One interesting thing I notice is that it will still show my presence in a room long after I left, ending up with sometimes 2-3 copies of myself in rooms I am longer. Last sometimes 1-4 minutes. Is this something that can be re-calibrated to be more accurate?
There's a setting that basically allows you to tell the sensor that you're no longer in the room. It's somewhere in this video but it's very important for teaching the sensor the conditions it needs to recognize as no one is present
@@AutomateYourLife Yep found it... Under the Sensor > Elipses > Function Setting > Reset to Absence Status. Just didn’t know if that will fix the “ghost” presence when I actively leave the room or it clones 3 of me randomly. Lol. Thank you so much for all your help!!
What if I want it to detect a person going up a stairwell. In other words, can that sensor sense the presence of a human on a rectangular hole going upstairs or downstairs and turn on the stairwell lights. Remember this time stairwells are out of “flat one floor surface” (we’re talking three dimensional motion away from a single floor where the sensor is located) No one can ever answer me that question which is what I need the sensor for.
I just purchased this FP2 sensor and managed to set it up correctly in the Aqara app. HOWEVER, when adding it to Google Home, I can only use it as a motion sensor, in a very weird way: When entering a zone, it triggers both device.state.MotionDetection motionDetectionEventInProgress true and false, and when exiting a zone, it triggers device.state.MotionDetection motionDetectionEventInProgress false. Is there any way I can use this sensor in Google Home as a presence sensor and not just as a broken PIR motion sensor? (device.state.OccupancySensing is not showing up for a zone, only device.state.MotionDetection)
Brian, I set up the FP2 in my garage to turn on the garage lights when I enter, the sensor is set up and is showing my movements on the Aqara app, but the routine I set up in the Alexa app does not turn on the lights, the switch is a Kasa, if I try the routine in Alexa app it turns on the lights, but does not work when I enter the garage, please help
That sounds like something with Aqara sending information to Alexa. Not sure what's gone on there, but I'd give it a day and try it again. If things don't clear up, I'd redo your Aqara integration with Alexa if that's not too painful. And then I'd talk to Aqara directly and ask what's going on. Could be the server chosen in your account (Aqara App).
Couple of days ago I've seen some news about Wiz lights. Apparently since some update they now have so called SpaceSense functionality which allows to detect presence with only just the lights being connected to Wifi. I was unable to find any coverage about this. Do you have some Wiz lights where you could test this? It would be nice to let the community know about this! :)
I bought this but I have Broadlink smart lights. How do I get this to work directly through the Aqara app as I don't find the Alexa functionality that great?
@@AutomateYourLife thank you. I’m thinking of setting up Home Assistant (if I can get my hands on a Raspberry Pi). That will work with BroadLink bulbs and the FP2 right?
You'll likely have to do that through a 3rd party app. However, Smart Life AND Aqara will both get Matter compatibility, so there could be an opportunity coming for you. Today I'd put them all in Alexa and use it that way. HomeKit won't work because most of Smart Life doesn't go into that app.
I added the sensor to the Aqara app and then I connected my Aqara account to Google Home. I have some lights (not aqara) that I want to turn on/off when someone is in the room/is leaving the room. The issue is that the status of the sensor does not refresh on google home app (the only way I managed to see the status changing was by repeatedly clicking the sensor icon or refreshing the device page). The status updates correctly in the Aqara app. Are you able to help? Really I need google to refresh by itself more often. Is there a way to do this?
There's no way to control that within the Google Home app or Aqara's app. This is all back end cloud services. Sorry! I find that Alexa is a little quicker, so you could probably use that even without a speaker in the house.
Hi Brian, will FP2 work with SmartThings in order to create routines, I got it working with Alexa, but having some reset delays with longer turn off time than I set in the routine. Have it set to turn off in one minute after leaving, but it takes Alexa 5 minutes to reset to No motion detected in order to turn off.
Hi Brian, do you know if you can power this or other sensors using POE? I’m renovating and rewiring so I have the chance to run Cat cabling or other cables around my house in the walls. I’m thinking Cat is probably the most flexible and I could use it in conjunction with a Poe power supply to power all the sensors etc. Thanks
I think what you'll have to be careful of is how many little converters you'll need. Most things are coming with 5 V DC at 1A as a requirement, and you'd need converters depending on what you run over POE right?
Thanks for your reply - I don't know a whole lot about PoE but my understanding is that the switches are suitable to power lots of different devices from IP Cameras to telephones and somehow detect and deliver the appropriate power@@AutomateYourLife
Hi, I'm using Smartthings, if I set it up in aqara app do I need a hub ? also, can I set it up in aqara app and then create automations in google home ? cause all my lights are in google home and in smartthings
Hey Brian great review! First time looking into home automation - wondering if you are aware if the movement data from aqara fp2 can be mined / accessed for further software development - If so, are they collected in a hub? which hub is most software developer friendly?
I think you will want to look into home assistant if you're looking for a system that is software developer friendly. As for the movement data I think it's actually pretty locked down and because this isn't connected to a hub there's no logging going on outside of the Aqara app. As far as I know they aren't keeping anything except the base data that says you're in a room or in a zone and they're only using that for the graphs in the app
Can this be used for my office space that has a rolling chair for presence detect or would be there better solutions? I’m kinda sitting at a desk for hours and get up every once in a while.
@@AutomateYourLife Thanks! Looks actually pretty good. I also just watched a video from another creator, who said it detected even better than the Aqara.. I was an early adopter and imported Aqara/Yeelight/Xiaomi-ecosystem products years ago, but in the last 1-2 years i have found the Tuya products unbeatable for the price, while Xiaomi and its affiliated brands are just as expensive as Philips etc. nowadays..
I was part of the beta program and got to try it for months it's great and I use it to pause and unpaused my tv
Oh that's a great use!
@@AutomateYourLife thank you 🙏 I almost did a TH-cam video on it but wasn't sure if during the beta I was able to talk about it. They usually are pretty strict with beta programs. But great review :) it also comes up in google and when someone enters a zone it will have a notification from Google so it's pretty useful for that
How do you do it?
Hey can you please share how you configured that?
This was a great video and helped me immensely. Now that I have a few of these setup I truly feel like my "Smart Home" is smart. I would make one correction: The Aqara app isn't the only app that allows you to use time during the creation of automation. Homekit also allows you to add "time delays" when creating an automation. In Homekit when creating the automation, scroll to the bottom of the page when selecting "Accessories and Scenes" and click on convert to shortcut. On the new screen add a "wait" command and choose how long then add the item being controlled again to turn it off. ex: Set "Office light" On - "Wait" 3 min - Set "Office light" Off.
Nice! Thank you!
Excellent review! I really appreciate all the detailed set up steps and comparisons between Aqara, Google, Amazon, and Apple configurations. The walk around testing after configuration was really helpful
Thanks Frank! This is a tough one to work with so I wanted people to be ready. :)
Love how Alexa work with time delays, let's hope Google Home adds presents detecting so we can do automations, eventually. A fantastic video tells us everything. Very in-depth.
Thanks!😃😃
I'd be very surprised if they did at this point. Considering how long they've had to catch up to Home Assistant / Smartthings, etc, Google's smart home offerings are embarrassingly behind.
Oh! Presents detecting would be perfect for the holidays. Presence detecting would be good for the other months.
This is the review I’ve been waiting on! And the channel I’ve been waiting on to do it. Clutch!
😃😃😃
Having finally been able to get this sensor it was great to find a review with detail setup info which I mentioned in my Amazon product review. Followed you for years and find you to be one of the best tech channels on UTube.
Thanks so much Roy! I thought I'd make a video that helped us get this one working right and I'm glad it's helped you!
Great review, Brian! Thinking of getting those for my grandparents who are 89 and 94 especially for the fall detection as they won’t let me put cameras in their house so I could check on them. This gives them privacy AND me a peace of mind.
It's a really impressive device! I didn't get to try out the fall detection yet, but I'd love to hear back how it works in your experience.
Same, let us know how it is like please
You could mention that the cameras will allow you to talk to each other so if they do fall you can communicate and ascertain their condition, as to whether you drive over, or hare over while calling EMTs. You can get hypothermia if you fall and are immobile for too long, and in the ancient that's a gateway drug to pneumonia and hospital induced broken hips (or if you're really unlucky, like my gran, a murderous junior doctor. She was flu to corpse in 20 minutes).
The fall detection needs to be ceiling mounted. Radius 2 meters. So for 100 m² surface you'll be needing 50 fp2 sensors.
Excellent overview. The FP2 is one of the best and most frustrating devices I have seen in a while. Great video!
It's the best and the worst...but the best when you get it right Mike! Good luck man!
Wow, I'm going to be using this sensor, and this video on setting it up, a LOT. Thank you Brian!
Thank you Brian!
Totally love the subtle Paul Hibbert reference. 🤣👍
😁😁😁 Thanks Sander!
@@AutomateYourLife
Hey, i just wanted add that I'm a huge fan of your content. It's awesome to see how tight-knit the TH-cam community can be, and it's clear that you and your fellow TH-camrs have a great relationship. I gotta give you guys props because you've really helped me get into this hobby, and I can always find a video that addresses my problem. Without you, I never would've started messing around with home assistant, and I probably would've given up pretty quickly. You guys make it easy for people like me who aren't super experienced with coding but are more visual learners. Keep up the great work! Thanks a ton!
Fantastic review. Thanks for taking the time to explain this sensor.
My pleasure!
Wow, that sensor looks amazing. Great detail in the video.
Thanks Keith!😃
Nice Predator sound effects. Every time I see IR imaging, I always hear that sound in my head.
Great movie, even today!
Thanks Brian. This video helped me solve some issues!
Oh great! 👍👍
Finally, It's here...thanks for the great video on release day! You've saved me hours of exploring the device and settings with this video. Also, I've been able to add it to Home Assistant via the Homekit integration but haven't had time to set up an automation yet, but HA is seeing it and responds quickly.
Nice! Hopefully everyone will see what you've done!
Excellent! Thanks Brian, Now I have to spend more money to get one of these. Need to go stand on the corner with my sign. "Will work for smart home devices"
Nice haircut BTW!
Ahahahaha sorry Joseph! And see! I did!
@@AutomateYourLife 🤣🤣🤣
Does this integrate at all with Home Assistant Brian?
Yep, through HomeKit Controller integration :)
Honestly should have watched this before experimenting myself!
Hope it still helps!
It is tough to do the corner setup because everything is oddly angled. Another point I think it's good to add is that the breath of the detection is 16 squares vs the depth that's 20 squares. For a large room, I would place it somewhere in the middle that's not so wide but pretty deep.
I hope the Google integration develops to allow sensor and zone automation
Looks great, but not being z-wave plus or zigbee is pretty disappointing. I'm trying to have less WiFi devices not more😆
It's interesting to hear folks respond to the wifi vs ZigBee thing with this one. 😃
@@AutomateYourLife I'm more team Z-Wave personally but I'll take zigbee over WiFi. I had the FP2 in my cart last night but changed my mind after seeing it was WiFi
Brian, thanks for showing off this amazing device. I appreciate your detailed breakdown and all the time you put into doing a thorough analysis on how this works with different platforms. As a Google user, I think this isn’t ready for me yet but I have hope for the future!
We can dream together Jay! Thanks too for watching and the great comment!
I haven’t tested this because I don’t have the sensor yet. However, I’m pretty sure you could detect presence in a zone in Apple Home and have it run a Siri Shortcut, which can have a time delay. Something to look at for HomeKit users.
Yep! I think the drawback there is that now. You're waiting on Siri shortcuts and that can be a whole different ball game in terms of reliability and speed.
A time delay also doesn't stop an action from executing multiple times. It just means a time delay, So it does depend on your use case
I love the Yzerman figure. I love that after a certain part in Ontario it flips to wings country. Maybe next year we'll finally make it back into the playoffs
Me too! Booooo leafs!
Awesome work thank you very much.
Thank you!
great video as always.
Question : Does this work with smart things? if not, what are the work around for this?
I am assuming someone will b making an edge driver for this sensor soon
You're right, we should be able to get an Edge driver done. But nothing today
@@AutomateYourLife
I think Smartthings hub v3 only supports Zigbee and Z-Wave - no wifi for automations.
So I am skeptical if an edge driver can be created for this..
Since FP2 only supports wifi, the automations will always be through cloud even if an edge driver is created..
What are your thoughts / comments on this?
This is one of the best smart home products I've seen in a while !
😃😃😃
Great info Brain. Thank you.
Thank you sir!
It is the first time I hear that picking a zone type changes sensitivity in that area. I really wish Aqara would bring out some sort of "how to do it right". I read that the zone types don't change anything, except when picking a sleeping zone the target is permanently retained until it is detected left. I don't even know if that is true, but the chart someone created about the possible settings is so detailed, that it just seems correct...
The problem with one of my use cases I have is that the sensor is not accurate enough: I would like to turn on a LED stripe underneath the bed. So when somebody get's up at night, it should turn on. But people in bed trigger the light from time to time.
All in all it is a great idea and can save lot's of sensors. But somehow it is not quite there yet.
They did bring out a How to do it right! it's this video :)
@AutomateYourLife Sorry, without kidding: If a company brings out something with this complex configuration, they should officially explain it better.
You just claim that the zone type changes the sensitivity, even though there is an extra option to do that for each zone. So no, no one really knows what to do and what is right. The chart I got, for example states the zone sensitivity basically is seconds for how long precense in that zone can be undetected. Is this correct? I don't know. Do you mention this? I don't think so. Hence, no you video is nice, but not what I meant when i said, i would like to have something from aqara.
Great review Brian! I might need to look into one of these, and I'm waiting for the new Inovelli switches that they're working on with Linus that will incorporate mmwave sensors into them!
We'll see about those light switches. I'll be interested in them too.
Hey cutie, thanks for the very thorough and informative video, top quality as usual.
Thanks for watching!
This looks amazing! And I guess it's going to be more readily available than the Everything Presence Sensor One made by Lewis of Everything Smart Home 😂
Well, and it's doing zone detection. It's a bit more sophisticated in terms of UI and overall finish. But I have seen EP1 being in stock more often lately!
Oh ok, that's interesting! I really thought that the Aqara sensor would only be available in the China market. Pumped that it's now available outside China 🎉 Keep up the excellent work Brian!
Oooooh this looks exciting
You look exciting!😍
@@AutomateYourLife I’m a big interference source
LOL
For now I'm using IFTTTT with the aqara sensor and Phillips hue bulbs, I need a homey pro or home assistant to keep lights on if I come back into the room within the delay timeframe, I have a ceiling fan and it's detecting it no matter what I do, I just got it and I'm still learning
Good luck! Sometimes it's just not going to work in a room. However, you should be able to mount it low and maybe get away with the fan being there
@@AutomateYourLife I think I'm making progress, I was suppose to set the timer in the aqara app and not in the IFTTT app, now if there is absence for 10 min constantly than it will turn off the lights and AC
@@TornadoBarrage Hi Tornado, just curious, how you got it away from the ceiling fan interference? When ceiling fan is turned on in my living room, there are false detection. While I walk away from my living room, it doesn't switch off the light and ceiling fans, it is due ceiling fan interference... could you share with me how you overcome this interference. I have move the sensor away from my ceiling fan, it doesn't seem work for me...
@@yeekhoon78 when no one is around, in the app I press and hold on what is being sense then press the trash can icon then select set interference
Hi I realise the post is one year old but I recently created automations with time-delayed trigger within ios using homekit in combination with shortcuts.
Great! As long as it can run reliably for you!
@@AutomateYourLife the automation is reliable. It turns off the light after 10 min of absence. This needs some if then functions to stop the automation if presence is detected within the delay period. I could share screenshots through instagram should you find this interesting
Would love to see a follow-up video on the FP2!
What would you want to see in that video? :)
@@AutomateYourLife perhaps a deeper dive into dialing in the settings. Zone settings vs room settings. Could be a shorter video. I'm just struggling with getting consistency out of this sensor and I've been messing with the settings blindly to see what works...
@@F-Rod13 I'd hoped this would do it for you. Honestly, making a shorter video would probably confuse more people. It's a truly tough device Frankie and you've got to let it settle into the situation you have put it in for a bit.
Try to let it learn, and also try to learn yourself what the situations are that are causing it issues.
I sent myself notifications for the first 5-6 days everytime it sensed me in a zone. I had a LOT of notifications and it was annoying, but it helped me figure things out.
Its cool, but app needs alot of love. And definitely needs work as a sensor in small rooms. Probably great for big rooms
It'll work better in small rooms actually!
Thanks for the information! Your videos are great, look forward to new videos every week. What would be your recommendation for the smartthings users? I currently use a hybrid of amazon and Smartthings however I prefer using smartthings for more in-depth automation options.
I think just hold till we get this into ST, but I have some other options coming in a series of ST tutorials. Thanks Joe!
Awesome Thank you!
Amazing detailed review ❤❤
I'd love to know how well would it work in front yard/ backyard. Does it detect a visitor/person approaching and announce on smart speaker? Does plants/birds/moving vehicles on road create false alerts?
I imagine outdoors it's not going to do super well. I'd use cameras outdoors with proper ratings too. I didn't get to test it though!
Since you make such long videos can you start including chapters super informative but kinda want to get to parts that matter the most when rewatching
I usually do :). Just forgot here...which I should fix
The FP2 almost eliminates the need for PIR's with how fast it responds compared to other mmWave sensors.
The zones are an amazing upgrade. Can it be setup without the need of the Aqara app, or do the zones have to be setup in the app?
Yeahhhh you gotta setup the zones in Aqara's app. Then they go out from there
My edge never configured will be putting in manually
Yeahhhh, I had to do that too for some configurations!
I've said it for years, RoboRock do the best robo vacuum cleaners. They just don't have the marketing budget that Roomba has.
👌
Thank you for the video. 10:09 11:54 Unfortunately the background music is a bit distracting. I think it’s better if you can reduce it a lot or maybe don’t use the background music at all. 😊 cheers.
Sorry we will try
Didn’t notice music. Had to turn up volume to realise it was there! 🤷🏻♀️ great video
No doubt.. it’s a great and very detail video. Really appreciate your amazing efforts 👍🏼👍🏼 helps a lot. 👏🏼👏🏼👍🏼👍🏼
All that works if you have an open floor plan. I have a separate living room with a door into my tiny kitchen (that takes me 4 steps to cross), a small bathroom and a single bedroom just big enough for a queen size bed and a small chest of drawers.
Also, the electricity doesn't support too much electronics, so I'm limited in what I can run here.
Yeah sounds like you need to look at this a bit differently. For small spaces, I think motion sensors are going to work most of the time.
Brian great video, does this fp2 work with home assistant, I was able to ordered 2 on Amazon waiting to come in couple weeks. Thank you
They can but it's only through the home kit integration at the moment
Very good video thank you for this.
Since the Xiaomi Mi Home app is able to use some Aqara sensors i wonder if it would be able to work with something like this..
I kinda doubt Aqara's going to let that happen actually...
@@AutomateYourLife just checked in the mi home app and it's not there 😢
I wonder if Aqura makes it to sync 2 FP2 to make it more accurate like a mesh… And than maybe it can run automation by also the direction you walk. As if i walk out of the living space into the bedroom and it turns on the bedroom lights as I walk in and if i appear from the bedroom back into the living room it turns off the bedroom lights
Yeahhhh, I really hope they give us this option. Like the thinking
Hey brian! Any smartthings driver for the fp2 out there?
Hey Alex 😃
I didn't see one yet, but I'll be asking a dev who did the FP1
@@AutomateYourLife nice! If he could just add the support for fp2 will be awesome
My first FP2 arrived this morning. Could not get it to bind to my network. And it stopped working at all. Could not reset or factory reset. Sending it back to Amazon. I ordered two more devices on the same day as this one. Those two are two arrive on Thursday. Waiting patiently.
Oh no!!! So terrible.
Great video. How do I add an existing HomeKit Eve switch to the Aqara app?
I'm going to answer sarcastically...
By watching another video ;)
Thanks for your help.
Hi, can this sensor pass through glass? I have a glass divider in my house between my living room and bed room.
Thank you
I don't believe it's going to do well in that situation. I can't answer you for sure cause I haven't tested it extensively, but I have never seen it know I'm on the other side of a pane of glass
@@AutomateYourLife Ok thank you, I will think of other ways.
Can you please ask aqara when they are launching more internationally? There are not alot of aqara products in Australia and no info for this sensor to be released
That's one of my questions always! But I'll keep on it!
@Automate Your Life yeah it's annoying for people in country's like Australia that watch these great TH-cams like yours with great reviews on a great range of products and we can only purchases a 3rd of them here.
Worse country to try and do smart home automation.
Hey...thanks for your reviews. Helpful. So...I have over 70 smart devices running in my smart home. Hue, Aqara, Eufy, and Kasa. I also have a hub for SmartThings, Aqara, and Hue. Everything is handled pretty well on my Asus GT-AXE16000 router with a Gig line. I planned to integrate three FP2's. How can I best integrate Agara automations to interact with my Kasa...or Hue lighting and switches?
I think the best way is to use HomeKit based on what you're saying. It's a solid integration. The only problem you'll have is that Apple just is "Presence" or "Absence" with no time delays. You'll need a HomeKit hub for that though.
Also, good job on the 70 smart devices!
Otherwise, Aqara allows integration through HomeKit into Home Assistant if you're running that. Finally, there should be Matter on this device soon, so...maybe just wait a bit :)
oh this might be what i have been looking for. As normal sensor usually never work great in my experiences.
Check it out and see if it fits, Finn! It's a tough one to get right but worth it if you do!
@@AutomateYourLife my only question might be animals?
@@Finns-Projects and I couldn't test that, but I would say that a smaller animal is not going to be a problem on lower settings of sensitivity
@@AutomateYourLife thats great :) Might just order one to test and return it if it dont work out. But really great video Brian. really detailed.
Thank you as always Finn!
It’s been receiving a lot of bad reviews. Is that due to lack of proper configuration or the sensor software just isn’t there yet?
I think it's both, but mostly people not knowing how to work with Presence Detection at this frequency just yet. People are also sometimes expecting perfection, and it's not perfect.
Nice video. Is there access to an API so that I can create more sophisticated Python automation with data gathering?
Not that I know of
Thanks for video. Did you integrate this into your home security system you previously did the Smarthings video on? If so anything to bear in mind for that use case?
I didn't yet, because these two are not yet working together. When Matter comes, I will!
Not more or less, but actually radar. It's 60GHz (mmwave) radar, which happens to be effective for detecting humans.
Such a powerful device but no ST is a no go. HA is welcomed but I haven't made the switch yet til next year.. lame.
Someone will make an edge driver
Now Brian, if you can just get it sorted out so we can use all of that in Home Assistant ..... 🙂
Through Homekit and Apple Home Hub integration. My job here is done!
@@AutomateYourLife I won’t use HomeKit - it never seems to work on my network 😂
@@AutomateYourLife PS - ordered one. VERY expensive - £80!
One more question! I believe the zones are just two dimensional, but wanted to verify? Trying to zone out a fan that is right over a sitting area! If only 2D I guess positioning and some sort of metallic shield (my tinfoil hat!) over the top of the sensor to prevent it from detecting the fan.
I don't know that you'll be able to shield it with a tinfoil hat 🤣🤣, but that's a neat idea! My shelf has worked this far with my air purifier, so your idea isn't bad. But yes the maps are 2D so it takes in a whole area. Fans are tough!
How that all the furniture fit in a space of 6x8 meters? Your room look bigger. Did you scale it?
I didn't scale anything! Most of what you see are kitchen cabinets and the kitchen island. I think my dining table is smaller than shown
It’s unavailable on your amazon link and I can’t find where to buy it anywhere else, even on their website.
It went out of stock on day 1. Watch for it in the next week!
Can you help with an example of an automation between the sensor and the lights? Please. If I have normal lights I need a smart relay or a smart switch to work with the sensor? Thank you. You have my subscribe :)
I'm using regular switches and smart bulbs. Then you just leave the switch on and use this sensor the ways I was showing to turn on and off lighting based on presence in a zone. 😃👌
LOL @2:33 - Quick! Get to the Coppha!!!!
and I want 1!!!!! Now!!!
wonder how it will work with HA. Anyone got any info on this? Cheers
I haven't tried it but I imagine...it'll be amazing. It's the right setup for HA
@@AutomateYourLife will all of the sensors be detected by HA? Please do give us an update once you've tried it. Thanks
It works through a HomeKit Hub. So integration through Apple Homekit controller with an Apple Home Hub
Brian, curious if you tested the fall detection (I'm old!!). What have they said about the Bluetooth usage and the potential for future Matter inclusion, is ever?. Anything with Hubitat or Home Assistant coming? Great review and thanks for the coupon heads up.
Hey Gerry, I wanted to put together a video or two on solutions for some older folks and that was going to be a test I'd complete then, so I can't tell you much now unfortunately.
Hubitat, yes ;)
@@AutomateYourLife Thanks Brian. That idea of older automation solution would be a great idea. Have not found much out there on that, just a few articles (no depth) and no YT videos!! That is my current quest - to automate as much now while I can, with a view to stay in place for as long as possible with the assistance of automaton. Can send you articles (framework) if interested.
This presence sensor is very good, I want to change my motion sensors for this one, but I have all the automations of my sensors, lights and plugs on SmartThings. After 1 year since they launched it until now, Has there been any update? Aqara is supposed to have had a very close collaboration with Samsung for just over a year, to integrate all their products into SmartThings. Is the FP2 sensor already compatible with SmartThings to be able to do automation there?
They were waiting for Matter to deal with the integrations, but so far we don't see that being rolled out. So it's not in SmartThings today.
Brian? Because this device doesn’t use the Aqara hub, what will happen when the internet goes down? Will the FP2 still keep working?
It's a local WiFi device, so it's just fine and will continue to operate. And that'll get to be cross platform after the Matter update.
In the Aqara app, you could run automations locally with other Aqara products as long as you had a hub for them (since most are ZigBee)
Does the Canadian version feature moose detection zones with voice warning or perhaps voice welcome if it's a pet moose?
Yes. 100%. Moose are always a special setting in Canada! 🤣
Thats great. Does it have to be an all closed room ? I have an open space, of way more than 430 sq f ...
No, just understand that it's only going to go so far right? Test boundaries and even set edges and you'll be fine
After 1.2.5 update it allows corner installation which is great but ..... sensor area drops to 7 when before was 11 meters. So, now I need 2 sensors when before I had enough with 1 :-(
Oh really? I'll have to look into that.
@@AutomateYourLife I have again installed it at the center of the room (even though it is in a corner) and it seems I have again 11 meters. More tests to be done.
Hello, thanks for the informative video
My sensor is showing on home kit but as not responding. So I can’t do any automations.
Any ideas how can I fix that ?
I want to be able to do automation and turn on and off lights
Many thanks in advance for your response
I'd just reboot stuff related to HomeKit. It's a local device so all that should be internal to your home :)
@@AutomateYourLife
Thanks for your response
A reboot like logging it and out ?
Is there like a reboot option on the home kit
App ??
Physically reboot. Power on and off
@@AutomateYourLife great, will do
Does the sensor/features work when I’m not home? Can I still see what’s going on while being away
Yep!
Thank you I don’t use home kit and my devices are used with a Vera plus hub. I have most devices on Alexa also. Would I be able to use this device ?
Not with Vera Plus, sorry. However, with Alexa, yep! Watch the Automations segment and you'll see the possibilities.
@@AutomateYourLife cool I will try the Alexa ability
Do you happen to know if multiple Aqara's can be used in one home?
Yep! Tough to use multiple in one space right now and not have that be a bit of a problem, but otherwise, absolutely
Will this game-changing sensor fully integrate into SmartThings, without an Aqara hub?
So far not yet, but I'm gonna ask a dev who produced an integration with FP1.
Hi. Can it be used through Mi Home app? In any way, linking the aqara account or something. Thanks.
I don't see any connection options for Aqara -> Mi, sorry
Love this Brian! My one challenge I’ve been trying to deal with is having my lights stupidly turning off when I’m in a room and not moving. Will this work with Alexa for that since it’s automation says motion not presence? 29:30
Yep! Even though it says motion, it represents presence :)
You're good to go Hisham, and it works well with Alexa.
Hi, thanks for the extensive test on the zones.
If there’s a ceiling fan just above bed/couch and fp2 ignores those interference.
Would it still detect people sitting/lying down in that area?
Nope! Interference areas are ignored
So I just added this to my house for testing. One interesting thing I notice is that it will still show my presence in a room long after I left, ending up with sometimes 2-3 copies of myself in rooms I am longer. Last sometimes 1-4 minutes. Is this something that can be re-calibrated to be more accurate?
There's a setting that basically allows you to tell the sensor that you're no longer in the room. It's somewhere in this video but it's very important for teaching the sensor the conditions it needs to recognize as no one is present
@@AutomateYourLife Yep found it... Under the Sensor > Elipses > Function Setting > Reset to Absence Status. Just didn’t know if that will fix the “ghost” presence when I actively leave the room or it clones 3 of me randomly. Lol. Thank you so much for all your help!!
How do you do a full reset?
The button on the device does it. I believe it's 10 taps for a full reset...or maybe 10 seconds?
Do you think this sensor will ever be natively supported in Hubitat?
When Matter comes to both, yep
What if I want it to detect a person going up a stairwell. In other words, can that sensor sense the presence of a human on a rectangular hole going upstairs or downstairs and turn on the stairwell lights. Remember this time stairwells are out of “flat one floor surface” (we’re talking three dimensional motion away from a single floor where the sensor is located) No one can ever answer me that question which is what I need the sensor for.
You won't know direction, but I see no issue with it. I had it detecting me coming down stairs at one point.
Will it be perfect? Not likely
Im wondering if it will detect my hamster running around the room in her hamster ball..
Nope, I think that's too small
I just purchased this FP2 sensor and managed to set it up correctly in the Aqara app. HOWEVER, when adding it to Google Home, I can only use it as a motion sensor, in a very weird way:
When entering a zone, it triggers both device.state.MotionDetection motionDetectionEventInProgress true and false, and when exiting a zone, it triggers device.state.MotionDetection motionDetectionEventInProgress false. Is there any way I can use this sensor in Google Home as a presence sensor and not just as a broken PIR motion sensor?
(device.state.OccupancySensing is not showing up for a zone, only device.state.MotionDetection)
I'd send this to Aqara. It's a bug.
Brian, I set up the FP2 in my garage to turn on the garage lights when I enter, the sensor is set up and is showing my movements on the Aqara app, but the routine I set up in the Alexa app does not turn on the lights, the switch is a Kasa, if I try the routine in Alexa app it turns on the lights, but does not work when I enter the garage, please help
That sounds like something with Aqara sending information to Alexa. Not sure what's gone on there, but I'd give it a day and try it again. If things don't clear up, I'd redo your Aqara integration with Alexa if that's not too painful.
And then I'd talk to Aqara directly and ask what's going on. Could be the server chosen in your account (Aqara App).
Sorry if I missed it! But if I ceiling mount it, will I still get all the features of the device? (If I don’t turn on the fall detection)
No you didn't miss that! I didn't talk about it because it does change the device. All the other stuff changes
@@AutomateYourLife oh ok! So what features do you get if it’s ceiling mounted?
Couple of days ago I've seen some news about Wiz lights. Apparently since some update they now have so called SpaceSense functionality which allows to detect presence with only just the lights being connected to Wifi. I was unable to find any coverage about this.
Do you have some Wiz lights where you could test this? It would be nice to let the community know about this! :)
I don't have any Wiz lights. I was trying to get some in but the functionality hasn't been available in Canada yet.
I bought this but I have Broadlink smart lights. How do I get this to work directly through the Aqara app as I don't find the Alexa functionality that great?
You can't. That's a limitation of Aqara and Broadlink using their own apps. You need an aggregator like Alexa
@@AutomateYourLife thank you. I’m thinking of setting up Home Assistant (if I can get my hands on a Raspberry Pi). That will work with BroadLink bulbs and the FP2 right?
Do you know if the Aqara app will be able to communicate with smart devices already controlled by the Smart Life app?
You'll likely have to do that through a 3rd party app. However, Smart Life AND Aqara will both get Matter compatibility, so there could be an opportunity coming for you.
Today I'd put them all in Alexa and use it that way. HomeKit won't work because most of Smart Life doesn't go into that app.
I added the sensor to the Aqara app and then I connected my Aqara account to Google Home. I have some lights (not aqara) that I want to turn on/off when someone is in the room/is leaving the room. The issue is that the status of the sensor does not refresh on google home app (the only way I managed to see the status changing was by repeatedly clicking the sensor icon or refreshing the device page). The status updates correctly in the Aqara app. Are you able to help? Really I need google to refresh by itself more often. Is there a way to do this?
There's no way to control that within the Google Home app or Aqara's app. This is all back end cloud services. Sorry! I find that Alexa is a little quicker, so you could probably use that even without a speaker in the house.
Hi Brian, will FP2 work with SmartThings in order to create routines, I got it working with Alexa, but having some reset delays with longer turn off time than I set in the routine. Have it set to turn off in one minute after leaving, but it takes Alexa 5 minutes to reset to No motion detected in order to turn off.
Nope, sorry George. Maybe when matter comes to it
What would be the best way to mount this to the ceiling and it still gets power?
I think just get a longer cable and run it with a channel or cover so it looks nice!
@@AutomateYourLife great
Will it work with smart things?
Not yet, stay tuned
Hi Brian, do you know if you can power this or other sensors using POE? I’m renovating and rewiring so I have the chance to run Cat cabling or other cables around my house in the walls. I’m thinking Cat is probably the most flexible and I could use it in conjunction with a Poe power supply to power all the sensors etc. Thanks
I think what you'll have to be careful of is how many little converters you'll need. Most things are coming with 5 V DC at 1A as a requirement, and you'd need converters depending on what you run over POE right?
Thanks for your reply - I don't know a whole lot about PoE but my understanding is that the switches are suitable to power lots of different devices from IP Cameras to telephones and somehow detect and deliver the appropriate power@@AutomateYourLife
Hi, I'm using Smartthings, if I set it up in aqara app do I need a hub ? also, can I set it up in aqara app and then create automations in google home ? cause all my lights are in google home and in smartthings
Have a look later in the video Nir. I've put timecodes below now so you can watch that Automation Segment around 27 minutes
Hey Brian great review! First time looking into home automation - wondering if you are aware if the movement data from aqara fp2 can be mined / accessed for further software development - If so, are they collected in a hub? which hub is most software developer friendly?
I think you will want to look into home assistant if you're looking for a system that is software developer friendly.
As for the movement data I think it's actually pretty locked down and because this isn't connected to a hub there's no logging going on outside of the Aqara app. As far as I know they aren't keeping anything except the base data that says you're in a room or in a zone and they're only using that for the graphs in the app
@@AutomateYourLife I see, Have you tried connecting fp2 to a hub e.g. hubitat? and maybe the hub can log?
There is no connectivity direct to any hub
Can this be used for my office space that has a rolling chair for presence detect or would be there better solutions? I’m kinda sitting at a desk for hours and get up every once in a while.
It would work perfectly for that kind of environment Avery.
Can't purchase in Australia so it must be rubbish....
Gotta be
Hello,how do I set up the AqaraFP2 to work with Alexa, I have set up the Aqara App first
Hey George, connect the Aqara skill from the Alexa skill store to Alexa.
@@AutomateYourLife Thanks, I will try that, all your videos are a great help for a smart home old timer like me 76 years old
What about the much cheaper Tuya alternative for 25€??
Check out my comments on that and the Everything Presence One sensor here: th-cam.com/video/VqQExUqo6kU/w-d-xo.html
@@AutomateYourLife Thanks! Looks actually pretty good.
I also just watched a video from another creator, who said it detected even better than the Aqara..
I was an early adopter and imported Aqara/Yeelight/Xiaomi-ecosystem products years ago, but in the last 1-2 years i have found the Tuya products unbeatable for the price, while Xiaomi and its affiliated brands are just as expensive as Philips etc. nowadays..
Why does it gave to be wifi based though...😢
It's going to do a lot of communication, like we are seeing with most presence sensors coming