Happy to share my experience.
I have three FP1s and four FP2s.
The FP1s are in bathrooms as I do not need dedicated zones.
The FP2s are in main rooms, living area, bedrooms, and office.
I have an iPhone w/ HomeKit, so I cannot comment on android users or those without the Home app.
Installation when as follows:
Part One: Add to the Aqara App
- I have my Aqara app fully setup and mirroring HA, i.e. same rooms, etc.
- I also have my iPhone connected to a 2.4 GHz channel when adding WiFi devices.
- Plugin and power up the FP2
- Add the FP2 to the Aqara app (HomeKit code, device name, rooms, bind to HomeKit, etc) Most of the names you assign the FP2 or the zones will not show in HA, you can name them later.
- Do not bother configuring the room layout in the app yet
Part Two: Assign an IP Address in Your Router
- Find the FP2 in your router (MAC address in router does not always match the MAC address in the Aqara app, You can double check the IP address in the Aqara app with the auto assigned IP address in the router.)
- Assign an IP address to the FP2 in your router, name it, add logo, etc.
- Router might need to restart
Part Three: Update FP2 Firmware in the Aqara App
- Go to settings > firmware and update (It should only take a minute)
- If the update fails or stalls, hold the FP2 reset for 10 seconds, add back to the Aqara app (information will remain), then update firmware
Part Four: Delete FP2 From the Home App
- Go to the assigned room in the Home App, click the presence sensor, remove from app.
- Make sure all sensors are removed (they should be, but make sure)
Part Five: Add to HA via the HomeKit Controller integration
- HomeKit Controller should auto detect the FP2 or you can go the manual route
- Add the FP2 using the HomeKit code and add it to a room
- In the HomeKit Controller, name the sensor so you know which one it is
Part Six: Update the Device in HA
- Find the FP2 under Devices and name it so you know what it is
- Find the first presence sensor (there should only be one at this point) and give it a name, this sensor detects the entire room regardless of addition zones sensor created later.
Part Seven: Install the FP2 in the room
I recommend taking your time to find the best placement.
One factor is height , middle of the room or top of the room. For me, two meters high works best, but if you have a ceiling fan, you might want to install higher and point the sensor down. I’m noticing that the sensor does not respond to minor things like the FP1 does. My AC does not trigger it at all.
Another factor is center of one wall or the corner of the room. Corner of the room will provide full coverage and no dead spots, but zones might be harder to define. Center of the room will have minor dead spots in the corners of that wall, but it is much easier to define zones. The rooms where I installed in center of room do not have activity in those corners anyway.
In my bedrooms, I have the sensors in the middle of the wall above the TVs and pointing toward the beds on the opposite side of the room. Originally, I installed middle of wall above bed, but the TV created ghosts and the sensor did not fully detect us in bed throughout the night. Once I switched it, the ghosts disappeared and we were detected throughout the entire night.
By installing in the center of the wall in the bedrooms, I was able to create very specific zones for the beds. I had to move the sensor left and right on the wall a little bit to get the zone squares covering the bed exactly. At first, the edges of the bed fell in the center of the zone squares which would either trigger the bed zone if someone was standing next to the bed or it would not detect someone in the bed.
In my office, I have the sensor in the corner. I created a zone for the office desk and a zone for the lazy-boy chair. The zone squares are shaped very oddly, but I do not need these areas to be as exact as my beds.
My advice is to take your time, maybe a few days, to see how the zones will be laid out in those squares before creating zones.
The only problem I am encountering is when naming a zone in the Aqara app and then deleting it if I change my mind. The zone will sync to HA regardless of deleting it from the Aqara app. I have several zones in HA that are deleted in the Aqara app. I’m not sure how to remove them other than hiding the entity or doing a factory reset of the FP2 (which I have not tried).
Part Eight: Create Zones in the Room
First, think a bit about the order of the zones. Sensor 1 will be the entire room. The first zone you create will be sensor 2. The second zone with be sensor 3. Etc. etc. etc. (My OCD brain cares about that - lol)
I would not bother using the Installation Guide in the Aqara app either, just setup the edges first, then the zones, then the interference areas, and finally the entry/exit areas. Do this manually.
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Setup the edges, walk around the edges of the room and adjust the edges accordingly. It is better to the have the edges bigger than the room, if you create an edge where a person might be detected, it will create a dead spot.
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Create each zone, one at a time, remembering the first zone will be sensor 2, the second zone sensor 3, etc (if you care about that). I’ve been able to create 10 sensor zones so far, haven’t hit a limit yet. I just do not know how to delete a sensor from HA. Some zones are difficult to make exact, but you can set automations to trigger after 10-30 seconds after entering so they do not trigger if someone walks by.
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Create interference areas. As you set the edges and zones, you will notice where the sensors is picking up interference. Moving the sensor itself helps a bunch (like when my sensor faced the TV creating ghosts). That’s why I suggest taking your time with placement. But after creating edges and zones, remaining interference area will be apparent.
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Finally, set entry/exit areas. I’m not too sure about this personally. Some entry/exit areas are easy to set, but some are located in named zones or interference areas. I’m still learning
Part Nine: Name Your Sensor Zones in HA
After you create zones in the Aqara app, they show up in HA. The name you assigned in the Aqara app will not appear in HA, they show up as sensor 2, sensor 3, sensor 4, etc. I recommend naming each sensor so you know what each zones is when you start creating sensors groups and automations.
Part Ten: Create Sensors Groups
Under Helpers, you can create all finds of sensor groups in a variety of configurations. In my bedroom, I have two sensor groups combining the FP1 in the bathroom with the FP2 sensor 1 (entire room). One is for both detecting and the other is for either detecting.
Part Eleven: Create Automations
This is where your creativity shines
I can’t give advice as I’m a noob.
So far in my bedroom, when I enter the bedroom, the bedroom ceiling lights turn on. If I go into the bathroom, the bathroom lights turn on and the bedroom lights stay on (it was jarring to have the bedroom lights go on and off when moving in and out of the bathroom). If I get in bed, the ceiling lights turn off and the bedside lights turn on. If I’m in bed and someone else comes in, nothing changes.
My Magic Cube has a Sleep Mode that turns off many automations so nothing crazy happens at night, but turns on my Morning Mode automation that triggers in the morning either manually with the Magic Cube or automatically when the last person leaves the bedroom/bathroom in the morning, that turns the other automations back on and the Morning Mode automation off (I only want that automation triggered once a day).
I’m still learning, but I’m very much looking forward to seeing how HA peeps use this sensor.
