Open/Close Sensor recommendations wanted (2024)

Devices & Integrations
1

I’m wondering what others are using for reliable open/close sensors? TIA

I am currently using a mixture of zigbee and z-wave open/close sensors: Ecolink 4655BC0-R (zigbee), Smartthings multisensors (zigbee, various generations), and Zooz ZSE41 (z-wave).
Some of my Ecolink sensors are giving a lot of false triggers and going off line and some of the multisensors are having battery drain issues.

I’m in the US with a V3 hub.

2

Different people have different preferences. There are a lot of good ones.

  1. At our house, we use the ring zwave contact sensors. They’re relatively inexpensive, available locally at Home Depot, and are reliable with good battery life. There’s a custom edge driver for them which is popular.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ring-Alarm-Door-Window-Contact-Sensor-2-Pack-2nd-Gen-4SD2SZ-0EN0/312689491

Or you can buy them at Amazon or at the Ring site. Prices vary with frequent sales at all three. The six pack price will typically bring the price down under $17, which is really good for Zwave.

They also have one of the only fully weatherproof outdoor contact sensors if you’re looking for those:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ring-Alarm-Outdoor-Contact-Sensor-B0923BK77S/318396090

  1. I also really like the aqara Zigbee sensors of all types when bridged via matter. This method solves all of the reliability issues you can run into if you pair the sensors directly to SmartThings, requires no custom code, runs locally, and I like some of the additional rules options in the aqara app. These go on sale all the time so keep an eye out for that.

Aqara has several model hubs which can act as matter bridges for their Zigbee devices. I use one of the camera hubs. You don’t get the camera features in SmartThings, but I use those through Apple home and the Aqara app. It makes a good driveway camera from inside the house pointing out through a window.

Aqara also has a $30 matter bridge that works well if you aren’t looking for any other features. It’s often on sale for a few dollars less.

Or if you’re a first adopter type, you could wait for a sale and then jump all in on the aqara M3, which I believe is the first hub that is both a matter controller (being able to bring in matter certified devices from other brands) and a matter bridge (able to bridge out some devices Via Matter to other platforms). It’s not all devices or all features, and it’s an early release so some of the promised features are limited to only a few device classes right now, but it’s still fun. It’s on my wish list for the future if the price drops down another $20 or so.

  1. I haven’t tried these, but I did just want to mention that aqara also has a P2 model which is using thread and doesn’t require a matter bridge. No custom code is required to use it with a SmartThings hub. You do need a thread border router if you’re using the V2 hub. These are a little pricey for my budget, but I did want to mention them since there are very few thread devices in this category yet.
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3

I have a number of different contact sensors.

The Ring contact sensors are my favorite. That being said I also like the super cheap Tuya contact sensors that use 2 - AAA batteries. The are reliable and have good battery life.

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4

I purchased the Eve Door & Window contact sensor (Matter over Thread). I installed it in March and it is still reporting 100% battery. No issues. It is in the higher price range though.

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5

Ring contact sensor FTW!!, I also have aqara and smartthings contact sensor, but for me they are NOT trouble free, they disconnect more often then not.

6

I had problems with aqara sensors until I switched to the matter over bridge method, and they’ve been very reliable since. :sunglasses:

7

How do I change to matter over bridge, do I need an aqara hub? The T1 sensors work, I bought them a few years ago.

EB

8

Yes, and to change them over you need to remove them from your ST/Aeotec hub (which also removes/alters any ST routines that use them), use the aqara app to add them to the aqara hub, generate a Matter Pairing Code for the aqara hub, then use the ST app to add the aqara matter bridge to your SmartThings account and then it will automatically bring in its bridged devices. And then you can rebuild your ST routines.

How much work that is depends on how many devices you are moving and how many routines you have using them.

If the aqara devices you have directly connected to a SmartThings hub are working fine, there’s probably no point in going through that process. It can get pretty tedious.

But if your aqara devices are going off-line all the time and are already driving you crazy with frequent maintenance requirements, it might be worth it.

And it’s Definitely something to consider for any new aqara devices you might want to buy.

So different options Will work for different people. I find the matter connection much more stable than the previous direct Zigbee connection, but I only had 3 aqara devices that needed to be switched over so it wasn’t that much work for me. :man_shrugging:t2:

9

I have been using Sonoff and Tuya sensors and both work fine, they are cheap, reliable and have good battery life lasting between 1.5 to to 2 years. Sonoff works natively but Tuya will require a custom driver. Depending on the model, it may be already available in Marianno’s or Wesley’s drivers but if not, you need to request your model to be added to one of the drivers.

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10

I’m using the following Z-Wave sensors:

  • Aeotec Door Window Sensor 7 (for my doors)
  • Ecolink Z-Wave Plus Door/Window sensor (for my gate)
  • Ring Door/Window Sensor 2nd Gen (for my closets)

Mine never go offline and have good battery life. I use the Aeotec vendor driver for their product and Z-Wave Sensor CS driver for the Ecolink and Ring products.

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11

I’ve looked but am not having luck finding the drivers for the Ring sensor. Can you provide a link? Many thanks!!

12

try this driver @Craig1

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13

Woot woot! Thanks so much!!!

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