NEW Aqara Motion & Light Sensor (with Matter & Thread)!

[@ShaneCreates]

Get 15% OFF the Aqara P2 Motion & Light Sensor (April 9 - April 13) US Code - USMSP2SH UK Code- MLSP2SHW US - www.amazon.com/dp/B0CT8W9NRB?maas=maas_adg_744E09CD6AF86324BF207836D6A1021C_afap_abs&ref_=aa_maas&tag=maas UK - www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CT8W9NRB?maas=maas_adg_518396D623A2E232B700696438491094_afap_abs&ref_=aa_maas&tag=maas

[@timothymason5545]

Any code for Canada?😢

[@pedropaulo7922]

Any code for Spain?

[@jamieshutter6616]

the links just show an error and I cannot find any place to buy this item?

[@RaudiRaul]

Were all drooling over that M3 hub review 🤤

[@pedropaulo7922]

Great well structured video. Will get this for sure for my light nursery automation. Should be handy for the night period.

[@johncooney1942]

Yes for sure we want a M3 review as soon as it drops

[@Vegan-notVegan]

Is the M3 out yet. I feel like I check every other day to try and order it

[@johncooney1942]

@@Vegan-notVegan not yet I hope he gets an early release

[@JoshFisher567]

​@@Vegan-notVeganNo, it's still just "this spring" which means sometimes this summer if they can't give a release date. I could be wrong. Just speculation but it's April, so..... I'm not buying any matter/thread devices until they fix the mesh network issues. Right now, every new border router (ecosystem) creates a new different network. They said they are going to fix it but no info on how they will handle existing devices or when it will be fixed. If you join a device to every ecosystem you end up with 4 thread networks which explains the battery life. That would be like running 4 Zigbee controllers.

[@jhardy0786]

Shane thank you you always do videos that are very helpful and congratulations on the new back deck it looks great

[@ShaneCreates]

Thank you!

[@technovangelist]

I heard you say a few times that the p1 required an aqara hub. i have about 15 of the first motion sensors and 10 door sensors and have no aqara hubs.

[@jaredmorse9957]

Thanks for the review Shane. I really love the Aqara ecosystem and products. I personally use them with Home Assistant and they work great. I wonder if the sensitivity and time-out configurations will be exposed in HA..?

[@EdgarsHomeTech]

Great review, Shane. I'm getting it today to test it out. 😎

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks for watching Edgar!

[@sugarchef738]

Thanks for the video review! Was wondering why this would be a big deal. I think I actually will get one now.

[@apb0703]

What is the device on the right in the video, under the tv, that is glowing like flames?

[@GoFastGator]

Great sensor, could be my first Aqara purchase!

[@gswhite]

Great overview and review Shane thanks so much. Over here in UK I am looking to buy a few of these to fit into my Apple Eco System. I do find it very annoying that although this device is essentially using an open standard like Thread and Matter, Aqara still likes to tie you into their walled garden by making specific custom features only available in their Aqare App with the M3 Hub.

[@swedendive]

How to add this P2 to Aqara home alarm 🚨???

[@mays6700]

Did you say that the M3 only works in zigbee with the brand's devices?

[@samiyas100]

Pretty new to smart home devices. I currently use Smartthings to control my Samsung devices at home (without smartthings hub? My question is, do I need to have the Smartthings hub to have the sensor connected to my Smartthings account?

[@joseraul96]

Great video! Do you have a tutorial on how to setup the custom voice announcement automation in Google Home?

[@ShaneCreates]

I don’t, sorry. Just HomeKit tutorials for the most part here. But it’s pretty simple. Just create a new household automation and choose a trigger. Then choose “communicate and announce” as your action and create your custom announcement.

[@nickpanzeca7640]

So exciting to see. Thanks Shane

[@jonajay]

Can you give an update on that Homey Pro Hub?

[@AhXiangMahjong]

Can this motion only be activated during specific timing ? Example only nigh time

[@ShaneCreates]

You can create automations that will only trigger at night.

[@yungcrowley1366]

man i just want them to release that lever action door lock, my most hyped item for them to release

[@kerrywilliams8100]

Does this sensor have ‘Zones’ or is it exactly the same as the p1?

[@Sah-dd1zh]

Eh…I’ll just stick with the Zigbee version.

[@ysr5076]

You mention the sensitivity and timeout settings, but I’m not seeing these. What am I missing? I have the M3 as well as a few other Aqara hubs and a few dozen Aqara devices. So far this M&L sensor is the first Aqara purchase I regret.

[@jen-jac]

Is there a sensor for temperature and human presence? I need a sensor to connect to Ecobee thermostat about a hot spot in the house and also to Kasa light switch in case nobody has been in the room for more than 5 minutes.

[@nickpanzeca7640]

Is there an automation that will shut something off after no motion is detected after a certain amount of time?

[@ShaneCreates]

You can do this natively in the Apple Home app. I accomplish it like this: 1. create your automation if a motion sensor stops detecting motion 2. convert to shortcut 3. "wait" XX seconds 4. IF no motion detected, turn off lights (or whatever you want the automation to do) You can wrap the last two actions in a "repeat" action to have the sensor continue to check for motion every XX seconds

[@nickpanzeca7640]

@@ShaneCreatescan you tell me how to convert this automation to a shortcut? Thank you

[@nickpanzeca7640]

@@ShaneCreatesi just saw your video on this and im going to Attempt it

[@pghatak]

I would always opt for Thread. Additionally, I'm curious why someone would choose a PIR motion sensor when Mwave presence sensors are available. Wouldn't that be a regression?

[@ShaneCreates]

Price, form-factor (battery vs wired), and application are a few reasons why one may choose a motion sensor over a presence sensor. Mmwave is great for rooms where you may be idle (desk, couch, bed, etc) but PIR is just fine for things like hallways, closets, and things like that.

[@ChrisWilliams-vm1do]

I have the P1 over my front entrance. Activates the lights when someone approaches the door and the circle view doorbell is able to record a well lit video of the visitor. The P1 is very affordable. Seems they’re using the new protocol as an excuse to bump up the prices.

[@cosmincaliin]

Uh i want to buy it but it’s marked as currently unavailable 😭😭

[@nicolascardillo7615]

I still have the old Zigbee sensor, but we are planning n using only full Matter n Threads compatible accessories. (I still installing Hoobs new box with zigbee receiver)

[@penningtonsm]

Hey Shane what’s the best way to have the Aqara motion sensor turn lights on when motion then turn them off when no motion? I don’t like the 1 minute wait time to turn lights off all the time.

[@ShaneCreates]

That's a tricky automation to get just right. For "light off" automations, I like to convert the automation to a shortcut (when no motion detected as the trigger). Something like this: - When No Motion is detected (convert to shortcut) - Repeat 5 times - Wait 10 seconds - If motion is detected - Stop Shortcut - End Repeat - Turn Off Light Of course you can just do a simple automation to turn off the light when no motion is detected, but that might leave you flailing your arms around in the dark to trigger the lights again. By doing the shortcut method, you are checking a few times to make sure there is still no motion before turning off the lights.

[@penningtonsm]

@@ShaneCreates Thank you very much. Just starting this HomeKit journey and your channel has been my go to! Appreciate you. I’ll work on that shortcut, after I rewatch your concert to shortcut video one more time. 😉

[@marcoarsilvaa]

Onvis has one for 30USD. Cheaper with temperature and Humidity sensors. A better choice right now

[@KeepUpWithKinnon]

Shane….shortcut automations can trigger Siri “Intercom” custom messages . I have a few set that run at specific times to intercom to my kids to do certain things like brush their teeth.

[@ShaneCreates]

Yes! I love that. But unfortunately you cannot trigger those personal shortcuts through HomeKit accessories or automations.

[@timothymason5545]

I want to see the new m3 really bd and see what can be used with it for other brands

[@martyparshall4368]

Shane can you explain as I have several devices that have the light sensors when to use that in an automation vs Motion or open close type event? My Switchbot door sensors, now matter compatible with hub 2 I just can’t really figure out what kind of automations to build w these. Thx great video as always.

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks for watching! You can use the light sensor for any automations based on the light. So it's just up to you and your setup. Maybe you want to trigger an automation when motion is detected, but only if the light level is below a certain point (dark in the room). Or maybe an automation that triggers when the light level gets over a certain point (close shades, adjust thermostat, etc.).

[@martinskumat]

Hi Shane, Which MATTER smart bulb (?Matter Nanoleaf E27 Smart Bulb?) is compatible with the Aqara Motion and Light Sensor P2 (or Eve Motion Wireless Motion Sensor) to turn on the light when it detects motion at a certain time of day( especially at night )? Since I'm an Android user planning a Matter-based smart home, which currently available Matter Border Router (Hub) would work with these devices? Regards, Martin from Slovakia.

[@caroldavid1019]

Want' connect. Why does it flash violet?

[@MG_HK_Matter]

Hi Shane.Can’t connect to HK. Using a HomePod mini.Always error code 2009. Any idea ?

[@jaroslawrybinski5373]

With P1 light senson update/read the level of light on movement only! Do you know how does it work with P2?

[@maximeboissonneault6203]

Is it reporting lighting only when it detects motion ? The P1 did that, which is useless for light based automation…

[@johnhubbard3879]

Thanks for the Review, excellent as usual! I have never used the Illuminance/light sensor in an automation before. What is a typical automation using that feature, or better yet have you made a video on that subject? Thanks again Shane.

[@ToniHinton]

Since no one else replied, I can give you a simple idea. I have the P1 sensor in my kitchen and have it turn on a light automatically on motion if the room is dark enough. Before I had the illumination sensor option, I had it time-based but that isn't useful on cloudy days. Note that the P1 only reports illumination data on motion, so it can't be used to just switch on a light when a a room gets dark enough. That was fine for my particular use case but YMMV.

[@johnhubbard3879]

@@ToniHinton Hey Toni, thanks for the input! I like the use case. I will keep that in mind as I create more automations.

[@Jaeboy]

Is this better than the FP2?

[@ShaneCreates]

Not better…different. This is a PIR sensor, the FP2 uses mmWave. PIR is better for faster, passing movements while mmWave is better at detecting micro movements like sitting at a desk or sofa.

[@Jaeboy]

@@ShaneCreates thanks for that clarification and sample use case!

[@Hugo-tb4wq]

I have a Philips Hue bridge, Philips hue bulbs and 1 philips hue motion sensor (wich works perfect). As the aqara P2 is now supporting matter i bought one to test to add it directly to homekit The reason why I bought it is how you can attach it to almost any surface. But I think I will get back to philips hue sensor. There are more settings I can adjust in the philips hue app and it always works. The Aqara switches off too early or switches on without movement for me.

[@myHomeKithome]

So glad they didn't follow the design aesthetic of the P2 door and window sensor. It is weird that you can't adjust its sensitivity or timeout without the hub M3.

[@hatoraidcowboy]

Thread!

[@cascallana2626]

When Matter over Zigbee?

[@ShaneCreates]

That’s not a thing. Zigbee is not a matter supported protocol. But matter does support bridges, including zigbee bridges. So the Aqara zigbee hubs do support matter and can expose the zigbee sensors to matter through their hub. “Matter over bridge” technically in this case.

[@dcooke1974]

M3 hub...So does that mean the M2 hub won't support the new Matter devices?

[@ShaneCreates]

You'll still be able to pair zigbee devices to all of the Aqara hubs, like the M2, but they do not have a thread radio built in. Therefore you cannot connect thread accessories, such as this P2 Motion Sensor, to those Aqara hubs.

[@aidanbazan7769]

Idk how long you had it, but the truly only thing I care about is reliability. My Aqara P2 door sensor would go unavailable constantly for quite a while and just refuse to work. (In Home Assistant)

[@youseestefan]

But in Homey Pro you can change it

[@jay-jay017]

I've been wanting a good light sensor for apple home. I planned on getting the Eve but it is just so expensive! Aqara is one of my favorites - i love having a hub and the automations you can set in their app. Once the M3 drops, I will definitely be adding it to my set up and getting this sensor.

[@DirtyDutch079]

I got Eve and Aqara… Aqara for the win.

[@ganny61]

@@DirtyDutch079 why exactly. I think I'm leaning towards Eve b/c of the AAA batteries

[@DirtyDutch079]

@@ganny61 Eve consumes batteries almost the way I like to drink. Eve without matter: batteries die within a week and a half, with matter it’s a bit better give it a month. And it’s not like I put it somewhere with much ‘’poeple’’ passing by to trigger it. It’s in my garage where it will have 2 triggers a day because my daughter will get her bike.

[@ganny61]

@@DirtyDutch079 Thanks. If they are both on Thread/Matter technology, safe to assume the Aqara won't last 2 years either?

[@DirtyDutch079]

@@ganny61 don’t think so 2 years will be the max. With the p1 in my bathroom I’m getting 2 years. Even so the matter one will drain less battery then eve.

[@artstech]

Where is the best community for Aqara troubleshooting?

[@ShaneCreates]

I'm probably biased, but I'd say my member Discord server. Lots of Aqara users there. But you could also try reddit or Facebook groups probably

[@jay-jay017]

I'm waiting for the new smart outlet!

[@ShaneCreates]

Oh yea! I almost forgot about that one!

[@91326]

I’m not clear on why you would get the P2 over P1 if you’re using Aqara hub. The P2 would need to connect to in my case AppleTV over Thread. I’m wondering what the range is since appletv is next to TV which is far from most of my Aqara products. My hub sits right in the middle at close proximity to end points and battery life is excellent. If P2 is on the other side of the house from AppleTV, I imagine the batteries in the P2 will last a few weeks max.

[@arapatsakos]

the main benefit would be the light sensor that is exposed for the first time in homekit

[@GoFastGator]

Is the Apple TV the only Thread device in your home or just the closest? It would only take one Thread router (not a border router, just a plain ol' router) like a smartbulb, smartplug, etc to shrink the communication range. Any Thread device that is not battery powered usually functions as a router in the mesh network.

[@91326]

@@arapatsakos light sensor would be nice except for part that it’s not zigbee.

[@91326]

@@GoFastGator what is range with thread. WiFi, zigbee, LoRA, etc? I’m not clear on Thread benefits as there isn’t one in this case. Unless Aqara is ditching zigbee and moving to thread. Or is it thread over zigbee? I’m confused.

[@GoFastGator]

@@91326 Thread is a different network protocol than ZigBee. I'm not so sure Aqara is ditching ZigBee, just offering devices on both protocols. With Thread, it's very common to have multiple hubs or "routers" that form one mesh network instead of a hub and spoke type network. A Thread "border router" then ties the Thread mesh to another network, like you main home WiFi. Without visuals, it's kind of difficult to explain well, but range with Thread is technically infinite. If you were to place the Thread motion sensor out of range with your AppleTV (which is a Thread border router), then you could simply put a Thread smartbulb or smart plug, or a HomePod etc. (anything that is a Thread Router, which is pretty much any non-battery powered device) in between the AppleTV and the motion sensor and it would extend the Thread network range while routing communications. The effective range between a Thread router device and any endpoint device (like the motion sensor) is similar to other wireless devices using the ZigBee protocol.

[@andersripa]

FYI: The P1 version exposes the light level when used with Home Assistant and ZHA.

[@pragyandeb6064]

It does, but also drains the battery in 2 months (vs 5 years when paired with Aqara hub).

[@dreddr6244]

How did you set the motion sensor with shortcuts so that is doesn’t turn off the light while the wife is still doing something. I’m using below but sometimes it still shuts off when someone is in the room. Wife’s getting a bit annoyed. 😒 thanks If motion is detected Set light on Otherwise If motion is not detected #8 Wait Set light off

[@jasong3193]

Amazon Echo Lady A? huh? Cant find anything on this...

[@jasong3193]

Wait.. nevermind.. i get it now lol

[@will300c]

so sensor is not ready for prime time.

[@ByrdNick]

It’d be great if you opened product videos by saying whether the product requires a non-Apple hub at the top of the video. (Even better if it’s in the title, but I get that that the algorithm may not like that.)

[@penningtonsm]

Can anyone help a Brutha out? I paper these multiple times in HomeKit but as soon as I lake them and check status I get device not responding..deleted and tried a bunch of times. Does it need to be on 2.4 or 5 or does it not matter?

[@ShaneCreates]

These sensors connect via thread, not wifi. So your network being 2.4 or 5 shouldn't matter in this case. That said, Matter and Thread does require iPv6. So if that is disabled on your network, it could potentially be the issue. Make sure iPv6 is enabled.

[@penningtonsm]

As it turns out my Apple TV is only 1st gen. 🤦🏽‍♂️ Thanks for responding. Now to decide if i should upgrade my Apple TV or get a m3 hub.

[@razor-4eg]

"They manage to fit thread and matter support into old design" - its not hard when thread and matter protocols using exatctly the same zigbee hardware)) They probably could just update firmware on old motion sensor and add thread to it)

[@JoshFisher567]

Yup, and it probably costs 10.to 15 dollars more also just because it has matter on the label. I guess it's actually using thread, a lot of devices have just used IPv6, which apparently is perfectly fine after someone mentioned it in some forum and I did some research.

[@jefverb]

Got a raspberry pi running a homebridge with a conbee zigbee dongle and can’t wait for everything to use thread over matter. Now let’s all cross our fingers that those Siri AI rumors for iOS 18 are true. That would make our HomeKit based smart home a LOT smarter!

[@marios.discus]

Still don’t see a valid reason to switch to thread while using apple home 🤔

[@compudude]

Quite interesting, but honestly I still prefer the original motion sensors for now, over even the P1 (let alone the P2). The light sensor isn't super useful to me (nice to have, but not why I buy a motion sensor). The originals are noticeably smaller, they're cheaper and still have great battery life using only ONE battery instead of two. I have an Aqara M2 hub so they connect just fine... the Aqara passes through to Apple Home flawlessly. The internet is full of complaints about the performance of the P1 motion sensors, so I really don't feel the need to spend more on an upgrade that may well turn out to be a downgrade.

[@SteveLamberts]

Alexa fails and there is no support. I need a brightness sensor with Alexa, so this seems to fail on every requirement I have. It's going back. :(

[@bobbratt3576]

I am here for HomeKit. And HomeKit alone. I’m not a big fan of Matter. It just seems like a marketing ploy. As far as this product, it sounds nice for some. I like the thread idea but all of my Aqara’s work just fine with Zigbee. I learned a long time ago if it isn’t broke, don’t try fixing it.

[@randygreen007]

❤️💪😎👍❤️

[@bigdeal87]

Stay with Zigbee much better

[@JoshFisher567]

^^^ this. Thread is essentially Zigbee anyways with some minor tweaks and matter devices are more expensive than their Zigbee equivalents. This is 40 US while the P1is 25. PIR sensors were pretty much perfected years ago. A lot of matter devices also work over ipv6 anyway, not thread like this one does. Matter doesn't have to use thread. They also have said they are looking into making matter work o er Ethernet and WiFi and I have no idea why. Until they resolve the multiple thread network issue I won't be buying any matter devices. This was supposed to be working at launch and it still doesn't. Every ecosystem you join a device to creates a new thread network and causes issues and drains the battery quicker. The promise was one network and if one thread border router went down, a second one would take its place if you owned or more border routers. Those border routers would also extend the mesh network range but they currently don't because of this. It would be like having 4 Zigbee controllers.

[@AaronSchiavone]

Cannot for the life of me get this thing to connect to HomeKit, basically useless

[@syluxdev]

Why do you say lady A?

[@ShaneCreates]

So I don’t set off everyone’s Alexa speakers while watching the video.

[@GG-vv7nc]

Eh…. I’ll stick with Eve Motion.

[@vinnie4v277]

Oooohhhh the zigbeeee... Is gone.

[@trentburns1753]

Advanced Usage; 1) Women are afraid of the dark under a bed 🤷🏻‍♂️. So light strip around bed frame and this motion sensor. 2) Guys need light to pee accurately at night. Light strip around base board or under a cabinet. Bonus points if you can add cross hairs projected inside toilet bowl with overhead garage IR light. This prevents needing lights that wake you up. 3) Light sensors for any stairs. Light strip on stairs.

[@ppi57]

Be a Man, and sit down when you go ;)