Visonic Door/Window Sensors $10

no worries, not in a rush/need; $10 is the sweet spot for impulsively buying open/close sensors to test out and see if I should invest in the same type.

So after using these for about a week I have some notes I feel might help others, especially if you use ActionTiles. As I stated, I purchased two of these sensors and the setup was a breeze. If you have installed a custom device handler in the past then this should not stop you, however I have run into a few minor hiccups. First of all these do not work with ActionTiles. I’m no programmer but I’m pretty sure the DH could be adjusted so that they are picked up by ActionTiles but I cannot currently get them to authorize through the ActionTiles smartapp. I had one sensor freak out on me a little last week and i had to do a battery pull. After the pull the sensor started to work as it should but the battery level dropped from 99% to 67%. The other sensor which hasn’t given me any issues is still holding at 78%, which is what it showed on day one. I know the ST hub is known to have issues displaying the correct battery level on many of my devices so only time will tell if I really did experience battery drain. If there’s a way to get these working in ActionTiles, they will work for my setup and I will purchase some more to put around the house.

Just change the DTH to smartsense open/close sensor and not only it will work with ActionTiles but also allow you to have local processing.

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Thanks for the quick response, I didn’t know these would work without the Tyco custom device handler. I’ll mess with it tonight when I get home.

Navat604, thanks for sharing your feedback about getting these sensors to work with local processing and tiles. i was trying to follow your guidance about changing the DH. can you share how to do that, rookie here, i originally configured these sensors using the steps below, is there a custom handler called smartsense open/close sensor do you have a link, or please point me in the right direction on how to change the handler. thank you in advance

Sign in to your SmartThings Developer API account.
In the Developer API, go to My Locations, click your location name, and sign in.
Click the My Device Handlers tab.
Click the “Create New Device Handler” link located on the upper right of the page.
Click the “From Code” link located on the left side of the page.
Copy the device handler code from this page.
Paste the copied code into the Developer API and click “Create”.
Put your MCT-340 E into discovery mode. (See instructions included in box.)
Use the SmartThings App to search for and install your Window Door sensor(s).
Sit back and relax knowing your home is now protected by your new Visonic MCT-340 E Window Door sensor(s).

Very similar to adding a new DTH except we are going to select a genetic DTH from Smartthings. Here are the steps.

  1. Go to the ST IDE from here https://graph.api.smartthings.com depending on what shard your location is at. You created a custom DTH previously for the sensor so obviously you do know your shard. If not then go here Different Shards Confusing Need Help

  2. Once you are in IDE. Click on devices.

  3. Click on the Visonic device you want to change the DTH then click edit at the bottom of the page.

  4. Click on type and you will see a drop down selection of all the DTHs. Select smartsense open/closed sensor then click update at the bottom.

  5. Go to this site to confirm the device you just added is now qualified for local processing
    https://graph.api.smartthings.com/localDevice/list

Here a bonus site for local processing smartapps. ST smart lighting app is working locally but you can check the instances of that.
https://graph.api.smartthings.com/localInstalledSmartApp/list?offset=10&max=10

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Thank you very much for holding my hand through this process. weeks ago i had read about changing these sensors to local processing but i was not getting any traction changing them to do that. I sincerely appreciate your help and taking the time to create this step by step tutorial. i have now configured them all for local processing. another question i have always wonder about this connected devices, is there any need or way to keep this sensors firmware updated. or that’s more something for active devices like cameras, motion sensors, locks etc. i just learning the rope and dont know if that is something to keep in mind when using iot devices. thanks again

I made the changes outlined above and it works perfectly now. Thank you for your help Ray.

Smartthings just started with Over The Air firmware update for a very very limited zigbee devices. I know other brands do update their devices but you will have to buy their hub. You are on your own for everything else.
You guys are welcome. Happy to help.

Neat, didn’t know about how to see local processing. I assume for local processing to work both the handler and the app have to be local processing capable right? I.e. I swap the DTH on this sensor and use Core it doesn’t net any benefit? Or is there still some benefit because it means only 1 call to the cloud as opposed to 2?

EDIT: Is there a way to navigate to this page so I don’t have to just save as a bookmark?

These are $10 again today

Where are they $10? I clicked the link at the top of the post and they’re still $18 on Amazon

Mydigitaldicount.com

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@Match0o5050 and others…

Bought four of these a couple of weeks ago based on the high praise here, and just go around to setting them up today (been busy!).

I used the Tyco DTH posted by Tyler, all setup w/out issue.

However, had significant issues w/consistency and reporting open/close.

In the install, just as I do w/other door/window sensors, I held the magnet and sensor on the window and slid the sensor back and forth to find the point where it toggled from open to closed so I can then slide back towards closed so I have a margin of error. Marked points, attached w/double-sided tape provided. However, suddenly now the sensor was reporting closed when I opened the window a full inch…sensor is nowhere near the magnet. Really strange - I moved the sensor to match the new toggle point, but don’t have a ton of confidence due to that unexpected/unusual change.

Then took another set into my son’s room to install on his window. Noticed that on that sensor, even when I held the magnet directly against the sensor (in the correct location - I verified and re-verified) the sensor reported open. Tried moving the magnet away and back again, tapped sensor on the window lightly. A few minutes later it got “stuck” in Closed mode, even when I put the magnet three feet away it reported Closed. Right now my son’s window is open about a foot, and the sensor is reporting closed.

I put my ear up next to it and could hear something going on inside the sensor when move the magnet next to it and pull it away, so it appears this is a transmission issue.

Didn’t bother to install in my other son’s room, which is a bit farther away. I have Iris/zwave door sensor in my master bedroom (farther away) that works just fine. I don’t have a large house, single story.

Any suggestions? I’m afraid my initial impressions are that these are not reliable/consistent, and can’t be used in my home.

How far are they from your hub? Usually problems with inconsistency like this are do to range​ issues.

The one in my son’s room is the same distance as a Go Control sensor in my bedroom that works fine.

I have two GE light switches 15’ away in the front entry which act as repeaters so the network should be solid.

Usually you pair the sensor when it’s in the location you want to mount it otherwise it could be using a repeater at the location you first pair.
You can do a zigbee mesh heal by power the hub off for 15 Mins.

Thanks, I’ve always paired in the family room, never had issues before with any of my devices.

I’ll try unplugging the hub and see if that helps, thanks for that suggestion.

I believe these sensors are zigbee and I would guess your light switches are z-wave so the switches wouldn’t extend your zigbee network. A plug like the cetralite plug would extend your zigbee network.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CKKVX30/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=zwavehq-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B01CKKVX30&linkId=174f475b61b1c1548c16a2c93e696e45

Your go conrol sensors are z-wave so they do benefit from the switches nearby.

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If you are going to buy the CentraLite sockets above, I’d recommend them from the site below as they are cheaper. This is the direct link to the same vendor selling from the Amazon link above. Plus you can get discounts for ordering larger quantities. There is an on/off or dimmer available.

https://www.mydigitaldiscount.com/home-automation/?sort=alphaaz&sort_direction=0&xsearch_e10=Wall%20Socket

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