Just a quick update on this.
I agree, that the Steinel is not easy to handle.
In the past it hung up almost every day like observed by other users as well.
So I played around with the settings and usage which results in a reliable working mode
First of all I switch the relay myself - so whenever there is motion (and it’s dark) I switch on the connected light for 3 minutes.
My settings which work fine and atable since more than 2 weeks are:
I do have the problem that even while the device is in “dumb” mode not connected to Z-Wave at all the relay appears to hang after some time in “on” state until the whole PIR is power-cycled.
If you use it in “smart” mode apparently triggering the relay from the Z-Wave controller instead of directly seems to be the way intended by Steinel - meaning you always have ~0.5 - 1s delay for 2 Z-Wave messages and the logic of the controller. That might not be a problem though for most.
Also - there’s just four weeks of summer (not that mich dark…) between your posts, so I’d give it another couple of months to see if your happy…
I must admit, that you have been right.
The device sucks!
sometimes when I get up, the light is on (directly switched by the device itself).
Unfortunately this state is not reported, so there is nothing I can do about it (recognize it and switch it off).
The device also does not report any motion at all anymore.
So both will go back to amazon…
I’ve had a Steinel IS140-2 in place for a couple of years now. It’s worked pretty well, but very occasionally would stop reporting motion detection, and I needed to drop the mains supply to it for 10 seconds to reboot it and get it working again.
However, in the past week or so, it’s been stopping working every couple of days, requiring a reboot to get it working again.
Is this a sign that the device is beginning to fail on me? Are there any suggestions for a replacement motion sensor for external use (mains or battery-powered)?
I notice that when it fails, Zwave JS reports the device as unavailable (dead in the Zwave JS UI), and a reboot will bring it back online/live again.
As written before I have given up on the device (one of the 7 I had is still working regularly) - I would look for a standard PIR and combine it with a Shelly 1 or something like that…
(Do not use the IS 140-2 with a Shelly one as it only drops voltage to below 100 when off - which the shelly does not detec as switched off)
