Issue: I am moving into a 3 story all brick house. Exterior walls are 3 layers thick brick, cinderblock, brick. I will be renting out the first floor so the hub would be on the second floor (maybe the third). So I am concerned the presence sensors would not work well outside the house.
Suggestions requested: The wife’s big selling point of the hub is not having to use keys to unlock the door when she is coming home with the kids. Actually knowing who is home / present is not a big deal. I know there are some locks that use RFDI tags and such. Are there any that are compatible with the hub? That way when the lock unlocks itself it can be used as a trigger and lights can turn on and etc. and so I can remotely unlock the lock via the internet or other triggers.
Thanks in advance - cant wait to move in and finally get the smart home I have always wanted.
They won’t unless you can install a powered zigbee device near the entryway. You might try using your phones as presence sensors. I know there has been a lot of discussion here as to how well that works, but having no experience with it all I can recommend is to give it a try.
Well there are some stair well switches that could be Zigbee but I was planning to use Z-wave as it seems most locks are Zwave and that would provide a more stable connection for the door lock.
Phone as a sensor would only work for me as the wife does not uses a smart phone.
The SmartSense Motion will act as a Zigbee repeater if it is powered (by the USB port on the side). You might try putting one of those inside the stairwell close to the front door…