Imagine if you can detect the opening and closing of your door or window without having to be physically present?
The Aqara Window Sensor gives you that advantage.
If you are reading this you have probably heard of this device and are looking for more information to give you more information before you proceed to buy it.
Well, you are in the right place.
This review will cover the features, pros, and cons of the Aqara Window Sensor.
Overview Of The Aqara Window Sensor
The Aqara Window Sensor, or the Aqara smart window door sensor if you’d like, is simply a device that senses the movements of doors and windows, and sends a notification to an app – the Aqara App, if you already have one.
The sensor is compatible with other smart devices such as smart bulb, gateway remote control, air cleaner, and others, thereby turning your home into a smart home.
The Aqara Window Sensor comprises a sensor subject and a magnet that aids its functionality to give you that smart control power over your environment.
It notices the opening and closing of windows and doors by sensing the near and distancing of the sensor subject and magnet.
Linking the Aqara Window Sensor to the Aqara App will give you easy access to its functionality making it simple to control elements of your home.
Normally, the Aqara Window Sensor is assigned to act as a trigger for the built-in alarm of the Aqara hub, but it also possesses some impressive automation features.
One important feature of the Aqara Window Sensor is that it keeps activity logs on the Aqaq app.
You can have access to fairly laid out records of the opening and closing of the door, window, e.t.c, you have the Aqara Window Sensor connected to.
Unlike some other gadgets and apps, you cannot export this data, which would be very useful in most situations.
In view of HomeKit and Apple’s Home app, this is a relatively non-exciting accessory, but I’m not saying that it’s not useful. We can utilize its open and close actions to trigger some HomeKit accessories and scenes. This is impossible in the Aqara Home app because HomeKit accessories and scenes beyond the Aqara ecosystem cannot communicate with the Aqara Home app, much like the Phillips Hue app.
Features and Specifications
- Brand Name: Aqara
- Device Name: Aqara Window Door Sensor
- Wireless Protocol: Zigbee Wireless Protocol
- Max Sensing Distance: 22 mm (.87 inches)
- Battery Life: Approximate 2-year
- Dimensions: 1.6 X .9 X .4 inches
- Control Channels: 2 Channels
- Battery no: 1 CR1632 battery
- Operating Temperature: -10℃ – 45℃ (14℉-113℉)
- Operating Humidity: 0 – 95% RH, non-condensing operating humidity Features
Pros
Super Compact and adaptable Design
A staple of a smart home includes the contact sensor with good reason.
They make available to us the status of our windows and doors and permit us to program automation according to their states.
The Aqara Window Sensor’s impact is impressively minimal, at least measured to the other HomeKit contact sensors. This is the best possibility aesthetically speaking, and this sensor can almost adapt to your window or door casing.
The device’s compact design also signifies that we can easily make this sensor work in other applications like cabinetry, drawers, washing machines, or even cookie jars.
Super Affordable
The Flexibility of the sensor wouldn’t be so alluring if it wore a larger price tag.
Still, the Aqara Window sensor manages to undercut most of its HomeKit rivals by half, if not significantly more. Surprisingly, it doesn’t need the Aqara Hub, which is an added cost.
Still, if you consider the usefulness of the hub, it’s hard to argue against this sensor, especially when you factor in its protocol.
Super-fast communication
Finally, the star characteristics of this window and door sensor are its response time and dependability.
Since it transmits and receives using Zigbee, the response time is super-fast and, again, passes the vast majority of the rivalry as the others normally use Bluetooth.
It’s also worth recording that the Aqara Window Sensor was tested with the Aqara Hub and both of them were on opposite ends of a home, made of steel and concrete with no intermediary accessories to pass the signal along.
Unbelievably, the signal power and range didn’t bat an eye.
The same cannot be said about most other sensors.
Cons
Slim and Fragile Packaging
Possessing the tiny device on the palm, one may say that it “feels” too fragile a product.
The plastic container of each composite device is slim, lightweight and pulling the battery cover can feel like you could even break the plastic.
However, considering that this device wholly attaches to a surface needing only to be fiddled with once every two years to replace the battery, I don’t think this presents any issues.
Selective Surface Placement
One setback of the Aqara Window Sensor is found when mounting the device onto different surfaces.
The manufacturers probably thought all doors are made of wood because if you install it on say a steel door, or a door with a steel frame, it will sometimes falsely indicate the sensor as being closed since it uses a magnet to determine open or closed states.
If you use it on a wooden door or frame, you will have no issues.
The Difference In Surface Height Sensing
This contact sensor also does not take differences in surface height into account, unlike some other door and window sensors.
You can add material between the surface and either piece of the device to make up for any gap, but this is something that should be addressed without resorting to a hack.
Raising either piece of the sensor, or both, from a steel surface, will also limit interference and help resolve the issue we mentioned before, given that the two components are within 22 mm of one another.
Conclusion
Anybody that uses the Aqara Window Sensow will immediately become a fan of the device especially as a vital part of your connected home.
Given the fact that it is a physical controller, most people prefer it because you can analyze functions and try to use smart automation based on sensor triggers for control rather than barking out a voice command.
In the HomeKit world, at least, part of this approach has been reliability and range of sensors as the stand-alone options currently available largely use Bluetooth.
The Aqara lineup of accessories, including the Door & Window sensor, breaks this norm with the ZigBee chip, providing a much more dependable and faster experience.
Most that have used tech with the ZigBee wireless technology say they are not certain they would even want to consider going back to Bluetooth sensors. Showing the efficiency and dependability of devices with this technology.
Overall, the Aqara Window Sensor is an amazing device that provides automation and comfort in your home.
If you want to get one, head over to their www.aqara.com
Aqara has other amazing products like the Aqara temperature sensor. Check out our review on that as well.
