Practical experience with the Aqara P2 motion and light sensor

Aqara’s P2 Threaded Motion and Light Sensor ($33.99) has been on my smart home wish list because it was announced in 2022 — and now it’s finally here. My house runs on motion sensors, and I even have been using Zigbee-based Aqara sensors for years. They are amongst my favorites as a result of their low price, small size, simplicity and solid reliability. However, they require a hub, which adds complexity and makes them harder to recommend.

What makes the latest P2 stand out is that it uses Matter-over-Thread technology as a substitute of Zigbee. This implies that in theory it would connect on to your smart home platform of alternative – Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, etc. – without the need for an Aqara Zigbee hub. It’s also $10 cheaper than Eve Motion ($49.95), the only Thread/Materia motion sensor currently available.

I’ve had the P2 arrange in my smart home for a couple of days now, and functionally it’s the same great Aqara motion sensor I do know and love. In almost every respect, the P2 is equivalent to Aqara’s Zigbee-based P1 motion sensor ($24.99); the only thing that has modified is connectivity and battery life. However, given the short time I spent with it, I do not see the addition of Materia and Thread making much of an improvement – and in some respects (battery life particularly) it made things worse.

Aqara P2 motion and light sensor.

Aqara developed the motion sensor design a few years ago and it has not hindered its success. The P2 has the same versatile stand as the P1, which permits you to rotate and angle the sensor 360 degrees for an ideal field of view. Its flexibility allows for an extended range than my other favorite Zigbee-based sensor, the Philips Hue motion sensor ($44.99) with magnetic mount.

The P2 may be easily mounted on a wall or ceiling due to the supplied self-adhesive pads; you’ll be able to even stick it under furniture, which is difficult with the bulky Eve Motion. I’d prefer to see a screw-mount option – my husband could be very reluctant to place duct tape on our painted partitions. However, additionally it is possible to easily place it on a flat surface and not use the handle in any respect.

Aqara P2 has the same design and flexible mounting as P1.

The P2 has the same wide-angle PIR and light (lux) sensor as the P1 and can similarly detect motion as much as 23 feet away and over 170 degrees horizontally. The built-in light sensor may be used for automation in Apple Home and SmartThings. (It shows up in Google Home, but you’ll be able to’t use it as a trigger and it isn’t in Alexa in any respect.) This is beneficial for mechanically lowering the blinds when it gets too brilliant, or for turning on the lights only when it drops below a certain level. brightness level. The P1 light sensor only works in the Aqara app and shouldn’t be exposed to third-party platforms, so the P2 has a bonus here.

The P2 light sensor may be used for automation in Apple Home and SmartThings

But what’s strange – since it’s a Matter device – P2 doesn’t work with the Aqara application in any respect. This means you’ll be able to’t access the device’s settings to regulate things like motion sensitivity range and re-trigger time (by default, they’re set to five.4 feet and 30 seconds), which is a handy feature of the P1.

The P2 will work with the Aqara app via the latest Matter/Thread Hub M3 coming this spring. But you then’ll need to buy one other hub to get the full functionality of this device, which kind of negates the principal reason for purchasing it as a substitute of the P1. Ideally, Matter will eventually add support for changing all these settings in its spec, so we cannot need to use manufacturer apps as well. But I’m not holding my breath on this one.

Find the difference: P2 (left) and P1 (right). The only external difference is a faint Matter logo and pairing code printed on the top of the P2 and some latest stickers on the back.

To use P2 today, you will need a Matter controller out of your smart home platform of alternative and a Thread border router. I set it up with Samsung SmartThings via the Galaxy S22 and it connected easily to my SmartThings station, which is a Matter controller and Thread border router. (The latest HomePod and Apple TV 4K models perform an analogous dual function for Apple Home, the third-generation Echo Show 8 and fourth-generation Echo for Alexa, and Google Nest Hubs for Google Home.)

I set the automation in order that P2 activates the kitchen lights when it detects motion; when light levels drop below a set threshold between 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.; and turning on dimming when motion is detected at night. I also set the “no motion detected” automatic to show off the lights when there is no such thing as a movement for 10 minutes. Everything worked as expected and the response time was very fast.

However, after establishing P2 in SmartThings, I used to be unable to get Matter’s multi-admin feature to work. This should allow me to share the device with other platforms akin to Apple Home, Home Assistant, and Google Home. (I’ve written before about problems I’ve had with many administrators.)

I also tried adding the P2 on to all 4 major platforms, and while I used to be in a position to connect the P2 to Google Home and Alexa using an Android phone, my iPhone 15 Pro refused to attach it to Apple Home, Alexa, or Google Home.

P2 next to the Philips Hue Motion sensor (left) and Eve Motion (right). Its small size makes it easy to put in in tight spaces, e.g. under furniture.

This probably is not Aqara’s problem. I’ve run into plenty of issues with adding Matter devices to Apple Home, particularly thread-based devices. Even after I do turn them on, I even have issues with Thread gadgets like Eve Motion Bulbs and Nanoleaf Essentials Thread bulbs stopping working offline. In contrast, my Zigbee-based Hue and Aqara motion sensors have never failed me (unless someone has unplugged their hub) and have been working in my home for a few years.

Since it’s virtually unattainable to troubleshoot Thread connectivity issues, I have never been in a position to pinpoint the cause, although I even have my suspicions. Thread border routers from different manufacturers still don’t work together, and the multiple Thread networks in my house are probably screwing me up. The excellent news is that the Thread Group is working on fixes for all of those issues. The bad news is that there is no such thing as a clear timeline for when these solutions will appear in practice.

I’ve run into plenty of issues with adding Matter devices to Apple Home, particularly thread-based devices

This brings me to a different matter-over-thread disappointment with the P2: battery life. It runs on two CR2450 batteries, and Aqara guarantees a battery lifetime of as much as two years, much shorter than the P1’s five years. I assume that is the price you pay for living “hub-free”. The processing power required by the Matter and the potential for this device to speak with multiple ecosystems via Thread as a substitute of a single Zigbee hub probably makes that number lower than half that, but I’ll need to test it for much longer to make the call.

While I appreciate Aqara’s efforts to develop Thread and Matter and prepare us for the smart home of the future, today the $25 Zigbee P1 is a greater option if you happen to’re in search of a quick and reliable motion sensor. The principal reason to contemplate the P2 is that if you would like to have access to this light sensor on a wise home platform (although you’ll be able to’t apply it to Alexa or Google Home), you just don’t need to purchase an Aqara hub or you already know you’ve a extremely stable threaded network.