Long Range Smart Home Sensors with LoRa // YoLink

In this video, we will introduce you to the exciting world of long range smart home sensors with LoRa technology from YoLink. These devices allow you to remotely monitor and control parts of your home from up to 1000ft away!
We will be looking at one of the starter kits from YoLink, which comes with: a hub, 2x door/window sensors, a water leak sensor, a smart plug, a motion sensor and a siren! I also put the sensors to the test and see if they truly work at 1000ft!
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▶ Timestamps ⌚:
00:00 - Opening
00:29 - LoRa Introduction
01:55 - Introduction to YoLink
02:06 - Unboxing/Features
06:09 - Application Overview
08:04 - Home Assistant Integration
08:52 - Device-to-Device Connection
10:44 - L.O.S. Range Test
12:36 - Real-World Test
14:02 - Final Thoughts
▶ Product Links: (When available, we use affiliate links and may earn a commission!)
YoLink Smart Home Starter Kit - amzn.to/3uwCjnP
YoLink DIY Water Shutoff Starter Kit - amzn.to/3PegdQl
YoLink Water Leak Starter Kit - amzn.to/3PegdQl
YoLink Small Starter Kit - amzn.to/3Y8Z0fq
YoLink Amazon Store - amzn.to/3iRZPJ2
My Main Home Automation Gear (Kit.co): tshouse.link/homekit
My Z-Wave Home Automation Gear (Kit.co): tshouse.link/zwave
▶ Links in Video 🔗:
Home Assistant YoLink Integration - tsh.li/yolink
More Information on YoLink Products - shop.yosmart.com/
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[@Eat_More_Possum]

I have a YoLink door sensor INSIDE my metal mailbox 400 feet from the hub. Works great!

[@Joseph-ko2kl]

I originally started using Yolink for my mailbox automation, now I have 8 different devices I use all for outdoor applications. I have been super happy with them and so far I would say it is a solid platform.

[@ThisSmartHouse]

That is great to hear! I was really surprised at how well they work, and they really aren't too much more expensive than other brands. I can't wait to try out the water shut off and the gate sensors!

[@Joseph-ko2kl]

@@ThisSmartHouse I use the gate sensor- works great.

[@ThisSmartHouse]

Thats awesome. My main use case is to make sure the gates aren't left open so the dog (or the kids) can't get out.

[@ypark2877]

I got the outdoor sensor for my driveway. Works great. It really is amazing more do not use yo link items. I also put sensors in freezer. Only temp sensor i found that will work thru freezer and garage walls. Like the audio announce on their one hub and alexa. Had success so added a an outdoor plug (needed 15 amp) paired it to the fob to turn on hot water recirc pump for three minutes. Save energy not running it all the time.

[@RobertWomack]

the out door motion sensor is pretty good too.

[@Jorge-qf4fs]

You are so clear explaning things. Congrats.

[@ronbrown4551]

I just received my Yolink hub and motion sensor. I put the motion sensor on the back wall of my mailbox ( A group of Mail boxes ) it's about 150 feet from my house and set it up with Home assistant and so far it's working great. I thought maybe it might have a problem going through the aluminum box, but it didn't. Thanks for the recommendation.

[@rslbrg]

I've been using YoLink devices for almost a year now. Been very happy with the outdoor gate sensor. I have it set for their speaker hub to chime when the gate opens and closes. Connected to Home Assistant to turn on a flashing light when the gate is open and send an announcement to our smart speakers when the gate stays open for longer than someone passing through. The gate is not in view of the door we let the dogs out...so this has saved us numerous times. I've also got some indoor door sensors that work great. The other thing that impresses me is the temperature sensor that I have in the freezer in the garage. Rock solid! I had trouble with one of my refrigerators, so now I've got temp sensors in my kitchen fridge/freezer, basement fridge/freezer and garage freezer. I've been pretty happy with YoLink.

[@ThisSmartHouse]

That is so awesome! They seem like really well engineered products. That lower frequency really helps pushing through objects.

[@RobertWomack]

I've been using YoLink about a year too. It's not perfect but for a DYI alarm system, its pretty darn good. I have been using Alexa, YoLink and ReoLink 4k to have a complete surveillance and home security system.

[@dukeplc]

Love this and love the presentation. Great work!

[@ThisSmartHouse]

Thank you! I am glad this one got traction.

[@rishabMehta7]

Awesome video as always!! You know i have been busy but a huge congratulations for crossing the 10k. Coming to this video. This is definitely interesting, i live in an apartment complex where all our utility meters are in the basement and i live on 5th floor, so no way for me to read the devices. I'd very much love to have the ESP project (don't remember the name) that counts pulses for calculating ur electricity usage made using LoRa, that way i can have total energy monitoring!

[@darkop6405]

YoLink is awsome. dont understand why is not more popular

[@ThisSmartHouse]

Same. I don't know why I hadn't heard of them before.

[@RobertWomack]

YoLink is pretty awesome. Once they come up with a home alarm keypad to be integrated with their system, they'll blow their competition out of the water

[@MatthewN8OHU]

I might consider it when it gets a local mode, since my smart home is going to be mostly offline.

[@kenkrick7596]

Could you please review the speaker hub? The only thing it exposes in Home Assistant is the volume. I can't figure out how to get it to make any sounds through Home Assistant.

[@PtolemyInventedThePSVita]

You keep coming up with videos that are on my projects list. I have a few a fish tanks that I want to create water temp thresholds for HA alerts. But I've also wanted to measure humidity in the room as well as water leak sensors by the pumps. Turns out YoLink makes all three sensors.

[@ThisSmartHouse]

Awesome! That is good luck then! I had never heard of them until they reached out. They have a lot of really well thought out smart home gear.

[@louisviciedo]

another great video! curious if I can leverage the LoRa technology for the door/window sensor without the Yolink hub on Home Assistant. i.e. mailbox alert automation.

[@ThisSmartHouse]

I don't think so. You need something to bridge between LoRa and your network. I haven't seen any LoRa sticks for home assistant.

[@luis-iy9qr]

Hi great info 👍.. What sensor would you say would work best inside a garage? I'm planning on using the siren alarm.. Thanks

[@ThisSmartHouse]

Funny you should ask. I just finished filming a video with YoLink on their smart garage devices. Are you looking to detect the status of your garage door? There garage sensor is a great tilt sensor.

[@luis-iy9qr]

@@ThisSmartHouse I just need to detect when someone breaks in.. Would the door sensor be OK or would the motion sensor work better?

[@billybassman21]

Mine save me from a water leak the other morning in my attic when my water heater started leaking. It was a rude awakening at 4:40 am, but the water shut off automatically and I was able to go in the attic and see the issue. Installed a new water heater the same day.

[@thelockpickinglebowski633]

Great video!👍

[@ThisSmartHouse]

Glad you liked it!

[@coachafella]

Tried two of the motion sensors in my mailbox. Neither worked well. The indoor one is only rated to 32 deg, and one night it got down to 30 and it went offline. Also, it didn't always detect the mailbox being opened even when online. So tried the outdoor motion sensor which is rated to -22 deg, but it only detected the box being opened about half the time. I now have the outdoor gate sensor installed and so far it's working fine. The signal strength is good from the mailbox which is 180 ft from the hub inside the house, with trees, cars, and a brick wall to penetrate, so that's a plus. Also the app is good with numerous options. Battery life is supposed to be excellent. Time will tell but at this point I'd recommend the gate sensor for mailbox alerts, or doors opening.

[@RobertWomack]

Thank you for this informative video. I did not know you could pair two devices together. I want to do that with the smoke detector and siren. Thank you.

[@ThisSmartHouse]

It is a pretty unique feature for LoRa!

[@RobertWomack]

@@ThisSmartHouse I've connected Alexa, Reolink 4k cameras with YoLink. I feel like I have a pretty decent home security system for a fraction of the cost of subscription based products. Even then, I couldn't find any outdoor motion detectors that can rival YoLink. We have cats and I didn't want the cats to set off the motion detectors. If anyone steps on the property, it sets off the alarm system. I've also added door and window sensors for good measure. I've created a routine to turn on the TV and switch to a HDMI port to view the Realink video surveillance when motion or window/door sensor is activated.

[@Vested_Investor]

Great video! How can cameras be linked so that in addition to notification of an event evidence is also collected please?

[@ThisSmartHouse]

Hi John, so you want to know how to use a sensor (like one from YoLi nk) in home assistant to grab an image from a camera?

[@Vested_Investor]

@@ThisSmartHouse Yes, so I'd have a record of events if needed. I found your video "Easily Get Wyze Cam Into Any App // Wyze Docker Bridge" and I understand Home Assistant can run on a PC. So, I'm thinking I could dedicate an Edge browser window and M.2 drive to Home Assistant control to cameras and devices. Then if a device/camera is triggered during set hours it could record to the M.2 drive. Am I on the right track?

[@dukeplc]

One question. How quick does the device "wake up".... IOW, can I use the outdoor sensor on my mailbox if the postman/woman opens the flap and closes it quickly?

[@ThisSmartHouse]

It would definitely register. Because when you open the contact sensor it typically will wake up the radio and then transmit the open signal even if they were super fast. Just make sure you put a sticker on it explaining what it is so your mail carrier doesn't get freaked out.

[@dukeplc]

@@ThisSmartHouse lol. Will do. Thanks. Already used your link to purchase. I had toyed around with using an esp32 and a solar charging, but this will be a much cleaner solution for me.

[@shandradm911]

Will it only work locally if the internet goes down?

[@ThisSmartHouse]

Any automations you set up on the hub will work if internet is down. But you cannot access without the Internet. I think they are working on a local version.

[@fordemon835]

I've been using yolink for a few months now for my gate approximately 500 ft away and only complaint I have so far is sometimes the hub goes offline and refuses to reconnect and it's hard wired other than that it's been good. I contacted yolink and they said possibly 2023 they will have local control for their hub as well!!

[@genrs13]

Can you tell me how you hooked it up to your gate ?

[@fordemon835]

@genrs13 I have a mighty mule gate opener and it has a location for trigger I just connected the relay side of the opener to it and the power I get from a 12v to usb adapter so it has 5v and the sensor I just mounted vertical on the pole under a outlet cover and always send the open command for opening and closing it and got a outdoor gate sensor to see the state of the gate.

[@FrankGraffagnino]

integration is cloud push... really? i have zero interest in taking data that is going around on my network and being forced to use some vendors web service in order to access it. why do vendors continue to not provide a local control option for people who don't want to use their cloud?

[@ThisSmartHouse]

While I completely understand (and agree with you). I have worked on similar projects and opening up a local API does introduce an increased risk and development costs. All of that for very little in the way of profit for the company. I will pass on the feedback to YoLink. At least they had a cloud integration available, most vendors don't even give us that.

[@rslbrg]

@@ThisSmartHouse Around a year ago Eric @ YoLink was talking about trying to develope a local option via a dongle for their hub. Last I heard, I thought it was still something he was pushing his developers to do...but it is a lesser priority than other tasks they currently have in their development pipeline.

[@ThisSmartHouse]

Interesting. I will have to ask them about it. Also going to ask them about kids nice to be able to use your own devices and sensors with their communication protocol.

[@KennethLavrsen]

Excellent video. But as a home assistant user you should have put emphasis on the lack of local control. This totally disqualifies the product for most Home Assistant users. When you think about it. How many hours would it take to add an MQTT client to the hub? I have coded such clients myself and it takes a few hours to setup in code. All you need is a setup UI for mqtt server, username and password. And then you subscribe to a few documented topic for control (like turning on sirens) and you publish simple JSON messages to mqtt topic when a sensor changes status. That is it. With that it will take days before communities in Home Assistant, OpenHAB, Homey, Smartthings, and Hubitat will be able to work with their products. It would massively increase the interest.

[@ThisSmartHouse]

While most of the enthusiasts Home Assistant users care about local control, the vast majority just want it to work. I agree that local control is paramount to a solid smart home, it is VERY rare in the industry. It sounds easy for us to set up MQTT or other method, but there is time and money that has to get put into developing and secure it. We were working on a product, the engineering group was ADAMANT about having local control as an option, it got cut for cost reasons.

[@dwtyler100]

Too bad they don't have an in-line lamp dimmer.

[@ThisSmartHouse]

I will pass on the suggestion!

[@major_west]

I'll skip using their products until they offer a hub that operates fully local, no Internet required.

[@christopheralanfields]

Do you know, sign language? If not, why are you, constantly moving your hands?

[@ThisSmartHouse]

Are asking a real question or do you just take pleasure in trying to nitpik people?