Aqara FP2 mmWave Presence Sensor Review - The good, the bad and...

[@Marco-v1j]

The FP2 is a pain in the behind. So much ghosting, the sensor too often does not recognize the room is empty and a terrible app (not intuitive at all) Also, it is built upside down, the cable comes out in the wrong place. Hint about kids: leave your kids out of video’s, it will hurt them later in life.

[@digiblurDIY]

No hint needed. He and I enjoy it.

[@ParodieHecker-mobile]

It's all about knowing how to use the app. It's important to create entry/exit zones, that way there can't just "spawn" ghosts in the room. Since I created the enter/exit zones there are no "ghosts" anymore. It rarely happens that it doesn't catch me leaving a room, but after 30 seconds or so, it will set the status to "clear".

[@MIchad231]

Please, post video on ESP DIY route! I've tried several microwave and mmwave sensors and failed-- couldn't get consistent results. One of the MW sensors i used went thru walls, and if two people were 1 foot apart, it would even detect on my upper level. Aitrip rcwl-0516 module is junk, solder mask comes off way to easy. Read that seed studio has good sensor, but gave up before I bought one. Good video, thanks!

[@digiblurDIY]

Will do. Seedstudio one was a failure for me. Stays triggered all the time.

[@calebjpryor]

Lord it would be nice to have the multi-zone mapping on a single sensor. For all the devs out there... make ESPHome happen on this device!

[@alconaft4343]

+ ceiling mount version

[@digiblurDIY]

Yes that would be slick! No cloud app or homekit stuff to deal with. Just esphome goodness

[@ericapelz260]

The cloud requirement is a deal breaker for me.

[@jmr]

I'm not impressed for the price. 😢

[@digiblurDIY]

Yeah when I saw the price it let the wind out the sails big time.

[@geo5162]

I had that same problem with the Fan interference Zone and not being able to detect anyone smaller than myself.. I ended up mounting all of my Fp2's in corners about 8' up with 12' ceilings and a 5 to 10 degree down angle, low sensitivity and Far settings. Deleted the interference zones and all works perfect now. I run the usb wire up a trench, easy to patch back up in the corner to either the attic or ceiling joist area and power the Fp2's with Poe. I haven't experienced any of the slow downs yet. I pay no attention to the Aqara app, only use it for setup then uninstall, It's buggy trash.

[@digiblurDIY]

I have attic access and I just cut in electrical boxes for things.

[@K-politic]

Funny about the fans. I have a EP1 and an open case computer, the cpu fan triggers the mmwave. Also have one in the kitchen, if I am boiling water (kettle or cooking pasta) that will also trigger the mmwave. I don't mind the kitchen one so much but the computer fan o had to move something in front to block it.

[@vctgeek]

In my room almost all problems has been fixed after I install entrance/exit area (there are a category to do that in app). If the sensor didn't detect you're at entrance/exit, so it knows you're somewhere at the room. Maybe it can improve your kid usage

[@digiblurDIY]

I will try that. Seems odd the setup doesn't talk about that. Just the edge stuff for room size.

[@Razor_Burn]

Thanks for sharing the honest review as the price and cloud make it a pass for me but maybe things will change if somebody gets it setup for ESPHome natively!? 👍

[@digiblurDIY]

I hope so too

[@FACTSWITHANTHONYJAMES]

Been trying to set this up for a day now. I have placed it all over but it doesn't show me the person icon so I can map my room. Any solutions?

[@zyghom]

honestly speaking: watching your channel and thinking: "let me buy of the shelf" don't not match - yes, I will build my own ;-) I have never seen climbing barefoot ;-)

[@digiblurDIY]

Informed decisions for all based on their time, money, and needs. Me either. The guy suggested and it damn it works. He had some of those barefoot toes shoes on and could nail it. Those guys in your profile photo are smarter than us in this aspect.

[@zyghom]

@@digiblurDIY you mean gorillas? I met them in Rwanda - awesome guys believe me ;-)

[@EmilePolka]

this sensor only works great if fans is/are not present in the room. just like the fp1 or any mmwave sensors out there, sensor placement is always the key.

[@digiblurDIY]

Yeah I had high hopes it would totally get rid of the fan problem but that doesn't seem to be the case. It is a good start.

[@theattorney6072]

I Guess you talk about ceiling fans ?

[@auad]

Came for the tech, got heart-warmed by the family :) You're a great guy!

[@digiblurDIY]

Thanks! The OG (the kid) has been in many outros and a few videos. I did an outro roundup on April 1st if you get bored.

[@auad]

@@digiblurDIY will check for sure! Thanks for answering and letting me know. I have kids myself and my son recently asked why "that thing" behind his door blinks when he closes it. I was super happy to talk about the sensor and he was interested to learn that we have a smart home. He is young, but I can see you having a new viewer in a couple of years. :) Keep the good work going, have fun!

[@digiblurDIY]

He's been interested in it as well and amazed at the stuff we can do. Save you from digging ... It's a long one and I kept the things in order with all the outros he's been in. I cut back like the airplane and helicopter ones kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpzEnaagprdnba8

[@Tntdruid]

I made my own for like 20$ 😄

[@digiblurDIY]

Yup. Definitely my way I am going after playing with a few different ones.

[@Tntdruid]

@@digiblurDIY Hi-Link New HLK-LD2410 whit BLE, HA picket it up :)

[@unlock-er]

please do make vids on them Travs!

[@digiblurDIY]

Oh you know I will! I am toying with a couple in my bathrooms to replace my ceiling mounted PIR and humidity sensors.

[@firstdown80]

I moved my FP2 to a different location hoping that it would have a better sensor behavior, it started off well, but after a few days it "degraded" and triggers (Alexa) now turns off/on lights inconsistently. I decided to turn off FP2 and hope they will have a update that corrects this. I think it works a lot better if it's centered in a room, this allows setting of zones a lot better. The FP2 does not seem to update the app with correct person location causing 'ghost' figures and disappearing 'figures'.

[@digiblurDIY]

Curious to see if they can fix this as well. Definitely better than the FP1

[@firstdown80]

@@digiblurDIY I switched it off for about 3 weeks. Just turned it back on and they have an update. Also I can now setup automation in the Google Home app, before I had it on Alexa. Giving this another try. It’s still doing that “ghost” figures and seen to also slow to update the person presence location.

[@firstdown80]

I just switched it off again, the latest firmware update somehow messed up the sensor. Now I don't see any "person" icons even when I am in the detection area. And it randomly turns on/off.

[@firstdown80]

Another update, this time is working very well. This latest update looks to have fixed the ghosting issue with the AI Learning feature.

[@K-politic]

I got the EP1 when they came out. Mmwave works great. I ddi add a voc and co2 censor to them as an expansion board. I would love for some local ability to do location sensing in a room. I wonder how hard that would be to code. Sadly it would have to be someone smarter than me.

[@austinsmixh]

Obviously it didn’t pick your son up while on the couch because you had an interference zone sit up directly in front of him……….

[@digiblurDIY]

It does pick me up on the couch. It is a strange sensor.

[@FengYe-r8u]

you can use edge to instead of the interference, the fan area can be put in edge.

[@digiblurDIY]

Interesting idea. I will try that.

[@CarAudioInc]

thumbs up for 5 am showers in the dark, this guy knows how to party

[@digiblurDIY]

Best thing ever!

[@chrisbond8725]

Thanks for the honest review

[@digiblurDIY]

Always trying to find the best and worst of things to share it with others so they can make some sound decisions. Thanks for watching!

[@vaughanza]

Awesome video thanks, see you guys had great holiday , excellent

[@digiblurDIY]

Thanks! Little weekend getaway a couple hours away. Fun times for sure.

[@Zonaxer]

nice video! thanks!

[@largepimping]

Re: your butchering of "Aqara" - I've never been madder about anything.

[@digiblurDIY]

Triggered. Can we name the next one the Tchoupitoulas sensor? I can pronounce that one.

[@largepimping]

@@digiblurDIY No, sorry. But we would have accepted "Antetokounmpo."

[@fretzy9999]

Love the t-shirt 😂oh yeah, and the video!

[@digiblurDIY]

Thanks!

[@ronm6585]

Thanks Travis. A bit steep for me.

[@digiblurDIY]

Indeed!

[@petertaylor7134]

Hopefully this will bring down the price of the FP1.

[@digiblurDIY]

Looks like it is back in stock at $82 still.

[@petertaylor7134]

@@digiblurDIY I was hoping the Fp2 would bring down the price of the fp1.

[@algre977]

But with the DIY version you can't do the zones and multiple people detection, or can you do any of these two things ?

[@digiblurDIY]

I don't need the zones thing as the light covers the room and even the Aqara one doesn't expose that. I just need what they expose, is someone there or not.

[@theattorney6072]

Hi did it get any better ?

[@digiblurDIY]

Not really. I went to using some DIY HLK1125 sensors in the bathrooms.

[@alanfields5136]

What led lights work this hub thin- receded lighting

[@digiblurDIY]

There's no Hub. It is just wifi.

[@TristynRusselo]

AQUA-RA

[@eugsmiley]

A-CAR-A

[@digiblurDIY]

Now we have a third way to say it.

[@AndrewDee]

Wifi is also local come on

[@digiblurDIY]

It can be with the right setup like mqtt. This one forces the cloud pairing with their app to be setup.

[@AndrewDee]

@@digiblurDIY after setting it up in the app, you can restrict it completely, and only use homekit which is local. It works

[@digiblurDIY]

Right but you still need the app to change stuff. I don't think you understood what I meant by the comparison of mqtt, zigbee etc.

[@michaels5167]

Everything Presence One -vs- FP2? Any comparison or obvious winner?

[@digiblurDIY]

I do have the DF robot sensor that one uses. It is a little dated now with how quickly mmwave has evolved. Can I say none? 😎

[@michaels5167]

@@digiblurDIY grabbed a EP One recently to check it out and compare to my DIY. Still looking for a ESP Home code that allows for distance management. Perhaps that is something that should reference in the automation instead?

[@digiblurDIY]

I thought I read somewhere they posted the yaml? I was using the one that someone made before they put it on their PCB. I assume this is where the idea came from in Jan 22. community.home-assistant.io/t/mmwave-presence-detection-esphome-style/382778

[@sjwright2]

A car, rah!

[@digiblurDIY]

That just sounds so wrong to me. A car? Where? I promise I looked both ways.

[@badandyg]

Can we see it's accurate with out fan?

[@digiblurDIY]

I did most of the testing without the fan. I turned it on in the middle as I walked around then turned it off for the motion timing stuff.

[@davidbeiler6364]

yes we know.... where can we buy it?

[@digiblurDIY]

They had some resellers on Ali for $100 but those are gone now. Nothing on Amazon yet as those went out of stock the first day.