Issues with Sonoff SNZB-03 motion sensor

That Nortek USB stick is a combined Zwave/Zigbee stick. No need to buy that one if you have already a Zwave stick.

not much else available on amazon.ca…

@ xman111
Here’s a list of supported Zigbee adapters to act as coordinator:

I bought one of these from Amazon:



and followed this how-to for putting the desired base firmware into it:

It’s essentially the same board that Itead (Sonos) sells:
https://www.itead.cc/wireless/bluetooth-and-zigbe/cc2531-usb-dongle.html

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For the reason of comparison to the Sonoff SNZB-03, I ordered one of the Philips Hue motion sensors to play with. I ordered the cheaper of the 2 Philips Hue models.
The motion sensor functionality has been excellent.
It resets it’s “occupancy” status within 5 seconds of the stoppage of motion.
The main downside is it’s $40US pricetag.
Philips Hue motion sensor card

I had not read about the Hue also having a temperature sensor!
The Hue temp sensor is reading about 3F degrees low, compared to a Sonoff SNZB-02 right next to it.
I’ve found that the Sonoff SNZB-02 temp sensors are pretty accurate, when comparing them to other temperature sensors in the same room.
The Hue hasn’t been in service for a full 24 hours yet, so the time scales on the temp graphs aren’t a 1-to-1 relationship. Just focus on the last 12 hours.
The Hue bottoms out at 62.6F and the Sonoff bottoms out at 65.8F.
Philips Hue temp history 2-13-2021
Sonoff SNZB-02 history 2-13-2021

hmmm
I’ve just tested the snzb03 sensor with the Sonoff USB Dongle CC2531
and for some reason it keeps showing motion detection , same as with conbee.
It works unreliably even with sonoff zigbee dongle.

As far as I’m aware there is only one Philips Hue motion sensor, or is this very new? Do you have a link to this second model? Or do you mean the outdoor sensor?

Btw, you can calibrate the temp sensor if you use zigbee2mqtt by setting it a few degrees higher/lower. See > Philips 9290012607 control via MQTT | Zigbee2MQTT

I bought this:


This is the more expensive unit I saw.

I see it has AA batreries, vs the AAA batteries of the cheaper sensor.

Thanks for the info about tweaking the temperature sensor calibration.
To use zigbee2mqtt, I have to remove the ZHA integration and the Sonoff Zigbee Bridge, correct?
Or can they both zigbee2mqtt and ZHA exist on the same system?

Yeah, that’s the outdoor motion sensor (hence the name). Not really meant for indoor usage (overkill and too big as well).

You can’t use ZHA and zigbee2mqtt at the same time with the same Zigbee coordinator. So you will either pair all devices to ZHA, or re-pair everything to zigbee2mqtt (meaning to start over and naming entities as well).

Btw, don’t just install zigbee2mqtt without reading up on it. It doesn’t support the Sonoff Zigbee Bridge at the moment. See the github for more info > https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/information/supported_adapters.html

Do you have one of the Outdoor motion sensors?
Does it have any more features than the indoor model?
Or is it just a more robust battery and case?

It has an IP54 rating, meaning it has no problems with rain. Also has a wider angle, so it can see more top/bottom/left/right and had a better reach (can see further). So it is better, but for indoors overkill and for indoor usage way too big for my taste. The Hue indoor motion is already very big compared to other cheaper sensors.

But there could be some cases where one might use the outdoor sensor indoors. If you have a very big big/long hallway and want to cover more for instance. But in most cases it’s a waste for indoor usage.

I opted for a Hue outdoor motion detector in the garage to capture motion from the garage door, the side door and the house door. The indoor version wouldn’t always pick up motion coming from the garage door

Hi Eric,

I have been using my SNZB-03 in the bathroom and I have noticed issues with battery draining extremely quickly as well. Not sure if it is from humidity or temperature fluctuations, but I can confirm a very flaky battery power management from the device.

Does your final suggestion of using 2xAA batteries solved the issues for you?

Thanks,
Geo

I’ve only modified a Sonoff SNZB-02 temperature sensor, thus far.

The AA batteries have definitely helped my outdoor SNZB-02 temp sensor.
I didn’t get any Voltage sag or malfunction during the -20F temperatures of the Feb.2021 Polar Vortex a week ago!

Compared to CR2450 coin batteries, AA batteries have much more reserve power stored in them. If the SNZB-03 is draining the CR2450 batteries quickly, then modifying with AA batteries should give you a much longer operation, before they start to malfunction from low battery Voltage.

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For a while I fixed this problem.
I have HA docker version, MQTT integration, Zigbeee2MQTT and use CC2531 as coordinator.

I faced the same issue. After smooth run for few weeks, one of my SNZB-03 sensor went offline. Many different attempts, check of the battery resets and nothing.
Then added new one SNZB-03 (I had spared one). No problem with adding, but then linkquality again 0.
I tried different ways.
My sequence, which restored stable linkquality to CC2531 was the following:

  • turn off Zegbee2MQTT container
  • permit joint -> true
  • in HA, MQTT integration, I removed this specific SNZB-03
  • turn on Zegbee2MQTT container
  • SNZB-03 reset to join Zegbee network (5 seconds pressing to have 3 red blinks)

Since that link was established, works stable, sensor recognize movement and restore to off when no movement.

Best!

I just had a Sonoff SNZB-03 motion sensor become irresponsive for the first time, while Aqara Lumi Motion sensor kept on properly reacting to the motion events (both of them hanging side-by-side for testing purposes).

Checking the debug-level HASS logs did not bring in any light on the issue.

What helped me (at least for now) was simply rebooting (power off - on) the Sonoff Zigbee Bridge (Tasmotized according to How to use the Sonoff Zigbee Bridge with Home Assistant - Tasmota).

I’ll have to keep a closer eye on that SNZB-03 from now on and decide whether it should be scrapped, because rebooting ZB bridge is not a long-term solution :confused:

Hello All,

I am having same issues but I am trying to use them slightly differently. For the alarm purposes, I check 2 sensors, For example, Combined Lounge and Hall together.

So thinking is, if someone breaks in from the Lounge, they have to come into the hall. So if both sensors gets activated, then I know something is not right.

I invested in almost £150 (without investigating), so I have to make these work now, Please let me know if you my theory won’t work
Thank you.

Over the last couple of months I bought more of these devices after a good initial experience.

Admittedly there was a bit of a learning curve particularly when reconnecting to the gateway after say reinserting the 2450 cell (PIR reboot). The success rate and time required to reconnect after PIR reboot was somewhat unpredictable. On the face of it resetting the PIR in close proximity to the gateway was a reliable method of reconnecting to the gateway. Apart from being a pain, resetting the PIR creates its own problems.
After much fluffing about I found the PIRs to be reliable and predictable by powering them externally and making note of the points below.

Although the unit works for my multi-room application because the intention was always to modify for external power, the inability to reliably make full use of cell capacity in such an environment is definitely a negative. It probably can make use of more cell capacity when the PIR and gateway are within the same room, but that is not something that was tested.

• Voltage is the primary factor for reliable performance

• A fresh 2450 cell measures approximately 3.35v

• The PIR can exhibit false detections at around 3.05v

• The PIR can disconnect from the gateway at around 3v

• Retentioning the cell contacts can temporarily reduce false detections as voltage approaches 3v

• Typical discharge curve for 2450 is for a steep decline from 3.35v then to 3v at about 40% discharged, hence a short observed battery life (c. 5 weeks) for reliable battery operation in my multi room installation

• Attenuation through building materials limits indoor range to say 10 metres where sensors are located in different rooms/floors through light weight walls/floors

• The higher voltage of a fresh cell increases transmission reliability

• Power cycling the gateway initiates a rescan to reliably reconnect to sensors after a PIR reboot

• If a sensor has a fresh cell and gateway fails to reconnect to a working PIR in situ then the range is likely to be marginal.

As often said… hope it helps.

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After reading the topic I decided to power my SNZB-03 with 18650 battery, which is about 1V more than standard battery. It seems it has solved my issues with sensor being stuck. Before, it used to stop working after a day or 2, even on fresh battery.

hi,

I have a different problem with the SNZB-03 sensor…
This one I dont know if we can solve.

I installed it in a couple of my bedrooms, and then the occupants started complaining of flashing lights in the night… and I do see that there is a LED that flashes once a while…

I understand for pairing we need something, that pairing LED can probably flash from the back side, but in the front !!! Cant they use a IR LED ?

Anyone has solved this problem… HA or no HA I cannot use this sensor…

G

The main differences between CR2450 and LiR2450 batteries in the voltage, capacity, and of course, rechargeable feature . Voltage difference - due to the voltage difference of ~0.6-0.7 volts, not all devices powered by the CR2450 battery will operate properly when powered by the LiR2450 battery.

Has anyone tried the rechargeable LIR2450 vs the conventional one?