BeSense Z-Wave Plus, PIR Motion Detector- Pet Immune, Easy Setup

As a long time Z-Wave user only just now wading into the pond that is Z-Wave Plus, I took a chance with this motion sensor to see what there was to see. I can say that for the price I'm quite impressed with the quality of this unit. Considering I've only owned it for a few days and it's fresh out of the box this impression may change over time, but we'll see. In the meantime, I like it a lot.EDIT (November 3, 2018): Dropping from 4 stars to 2 stars. So unfortunately after a week or so of having this unit mounted and in operation, it started firing false positives at least 3 to 4 times a day during times when nobody is home. The unit is mounted in the same place as the motion sensor it replaced, which never had any such issues. It is not facing a window or anything like that, and I have no pets. This is bad.I've put in a return and ordered a replacement. Here's hoping it's just a faulty unit. If the replacement does the same thing after a week, I won't be happy.EDIT (November 16, 2018): The verdict is in. The replacement had the exact same problem. This unit is garbage.

I love the be-sense sensors! I don’t get false alarms and I love that they take regular batteries that don’t drain quickly. This was really easy to set up because it came with simple and effective directions. I have bought and tried to connect so many Smartthings in the last month and I haven’t always succeeded. I actually just bought a Wink hub to see if life could be easier with Wink. Now I have three hubs and a bucket of smart home devices that I have yet to muster up the patience to re-try connecting. They have never been connected to my smart home because they are testy, buggy, and just not user friendly. It’s ironic that a little company can get it so right when huge companies get it so wrong. After communicating with be-sense I can vouch for their customer service, know how, and design expertise.

If, like me, you intend to use the motion detection to trigger some event (eg turning on or off a light) - look elsewhere. The *fastest* polling you can get with this detector is 3 seconds. In other words - this model can notify a hub (eg SmartThings) no more than once every 3 seconds. So if one walks into the detection area, the triggered event will typically average 3 seconds later. And here's the kicker: The detection on this model is board-set default to every 5 ***minutes*** (I can't imagine the value of that). Setting the unit to 3 second polling, though, decreases your 2AA battery life down to less than 2 weeks. Additionally, the detection seemed at best sporadic - I could routinely get within 10 feet of it without it triggering - and I'm no dwarf.So - if you don't need fast detection, or reliable detection, or if you like changing batteries as part of your biweekly duties - this may be a fit. Otherwise I'd avoid it.

Was having difficulty maintaining connection with one of my SmartThings Motion Detectors (ZigBee) so I thought that I would try this (relatively) less expensive Z-Wave Plus substitute since I have many Z-Wave switches and outlets (hoping for better connectivity through the resulting Z-Wave mesh network). Was also attracted to the fact that it uses AA batteries and I did not require temperature, light, humidity, etc... sensing. Followed the instructions and also watched the U-Tube videos on the BeSense website. Paired effortlessly with my SmartThings Hub (v2). Updated the device handler and is now working as advertised. The provided mounting ball socket is convenient and provides easy adjustment. Would suggest adding a keyhole on the back for simpler installations. Note that I did not try adjusting the sensitivity since I have no pets in the monitored area, but the requisite terminal jumpers appear easy to adjust. Very pleased with this addition to my "smart home".

I bought 4 of these for Smartthings & setup 2 of them.One would not see any motion, even when carrying it around dancing. It should have been dizzy with motion. The only time it detected motion was when I unscrewed the cover and pushed the tamper button. If I have to go through all of that, I might as well flip the light switch.The other would see motion all of the time, even when closed in a dark cabinet.I didn't even bother setting up the other 2 and returned all 4.The concept of using AA batteries instead of the disks that Smartthings motion detectors use is why I wanted these. Too bad they don't work.

It isn't natively supported by Vera Edge controller, but will work. Pair the unit with the Edge, note it will show as a On/Off switch.To make this unit into a motion sensor, change the device settings.Click Devices, then click > arror by this motion sensor.Change advanced settings by going into Advanced section1-Change device-type to "urn:schemas-micasaverde-com:device:MotionSensor:1"2-Change device-file to "D_MotionSensor1.xml"3-Change device-json to "D_MotionSensor1.json"Once saved, device will disappear. May have to try to re-pair the connection, and it should reappear. Be patient.

Works great with Hubitat Elevation as well as SmarThings hubs. No problems including in Z-wave network. Reliably reports motion, tamper and battery status to either hub without issue. Long battery life, serves its intended purpose extremely well. A little on the large side as compared to others - not a big deal for me. Using them for three years. No complaints. You should be good to go with BeSense motion sensors.

I have it mounted in a corner at the top of a 10 ft. ceiling. Unit only has about a 2 meter range. I have followed the instructions and ensured that it is configured for the maximum range as well as messed with positioning. Unfortunately, the lack of range really reduces the usefulness of the unit.