WiFi Motion Sensor

A WiFi motion sensor that joins 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi directly, with no hub and no gateway. It watches a 110 degree arc and pushes an alert to your phone the moment something moves in it.

• The mount is the best part of this WiFi motion sensor
• Two modes, and they are not the same job
• The 60 second sleep is deliberate
• On voice assistants, our sources disagree
• What it needs

The mount is the best part of this WiFi motion sensor

The body sits on a magnetic ball joint. Put the bracket where you like and the sensor clicks on and is aimed by hand in a second, then re-aimed when you find you got it wrong. Better still, anywhere there is exposed steel, a beam, a security grille, a metal door frame, it holds on its own with no bracket and no screws at all. Most sensors are a permanent decision; this one is not.

Two modes, and they are not the same job

In automation mode the sensor is a trigger: somebody walks in, a light comes on, and nothing reaches your phone. In security mode it alerts you instead. Which you want depends on the room, and the mistake is running the sitting room in security mode and then muting the app because it will not stop talking to you. Set the corridors to automation and the store room to security.

The 60 second sleep is deliberate

After it triggers, the sensor will not trigger again for a minute. That is not a limitation, it is what stops one person walking back and forth across a doorway from filling your phone with fifty notifications and flattening the cell doing it. It also means this is a sensor for knowing that a room was entered, not for counting how many times.

On voice assistants, our sources disagree

The manufacturer retail listing says Alexa and Google Assistant are supported. The supplier sheet we were given says they are not. We have not been able to settle it, so we are telling you both rather than picking the answer that suits us. If voice control of this particular sensor matters to your plan, ask us and we will test the unit in stock before you order.

What it needs

Nothing. It joins 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi on its own, with no hub and no gateway, and runs on a single CR123A cell. Coverage is 110 degrees out to 7 metres, which holds a normal room from a corner.

For a bigger installation the Zigbee motion sensor keeps the sensors off your router and lasts longer on a cell. To make a trigger audible, add the WiFi siren, which needs no hub either. Both live in the Smart Life app, which is a free download.