Started with an Aeotec hidden door-sensor that claimed a 3-year battery life. That turned out to be untrue, and in some cases, is about 3 months. Went to the Aqara door sensor, which can be hidden in a door with some clever chiseling and now that is disconnecting and never coming back without manual intervention.
Is there a reliable hidden, or even smallish door-sensor out there that has a long battery life and stays connected? Especially at a a distance?
I have used the z-wave ecolink DWZWAVE25. I have one on my kitchen pantry and batteries last about 9-12 months and the door is used everyday. I also have a couple homeseer HS-DS 100+ that have been very reliable. I have a large home with 1 z-wave usb key that is in the basement. It reaches to all three floors and even out to the mailbox ~ 75’ straight line distance. They are not securely attached to the network. I saw no need as they are sensors more that security.
I hope this is of some value to you.
I use Yolink and they not only have batteries that last about 2 years, but have very long range - and Yolink offers one thing I have not seen in any other vendor that is integrated with home assistant - a service that will call you when a sensor is triggered, and if you don’t answer, call the police/fire dept. For that reason yolink requires a hub and is cloud based. They are working on a local only hub (but the check is in the mail, wink wink). I swear by Shelly products (but only own 13 of their relays buried behind wall switches - which are all flawless). They make battery operated door and window sensors that are wifi and will connect without needing a hub, however I have no experience with them and do not know about their battery life. Good luck