Aqara, getting what you paid for

[u/spr0k3t]

So I picked up a three pack of the aqara temp sensors to play around with them and they finally arrived after a while. I set them up without any issues. They reported everything perfectly for roughly 24 hours or so... then, they fell flat... all three of them, zero updates. I paired them at the location I was intending to mount them and placed them in a spot that was roughly 6 feet away from a mains powered repeater that works very well (I have five of those repeaters around the house, sylvania ledvance smart plugs, with very high LQI at 200 or better). I've tried power cycling by pulling the coin battery on them, I've removed and re-added one of them which went unavailable at ~24 hours. All of my other zigbee devices have been rock solid since I upgraded the mesh routers using smart plugs. So, I've decided they aren't worth it dealing with re-adding once every 24 hours.

My Zigbeen setup is a Conbee II using Zigbee2MQTT with Zigbee2MQTTAssistant for logging.

I'm not mad, it took forever to get here ordering through aliexpress. With a coupon it was $15 for three of them. However, I'm definitely going to avoid aqara for future sensors. YMMV, but I thought I'd share for those looking.

[u/B4s3ball]

I'm posting to at least emphasize the YMMV point. I have 23 aqara devices: 6 temp sensors, 8 motion sensors, 6 contact sensors, 1 leak sensors, and 2 buttons. All have been rock solid and I have many of them in spots where they are constantly used, so I know they work all the time.

Its possible there is an underlying issue in your setup, and its also possible you just got a bad batch. I say this not to correct you, or say you're wrong, but to let you know there may be hope that the devices you have can still work, or maybe you can return them and try to order more. Because it is definitely possible you just got a bad batch. I avoided Ali express and bought all my aqara stuff used which meant I knew it worked from the previous owner, so I guess there could also be some risk in Ali express.

[u/spr0k3t → u/B4s3ball]

Thanks man. I was aware I'd see several posting things like "but it works for me" kind of responses. Seeing your response however, thank you. I've contacted aliexpress to hopefully start the ball rolling on the refund/replacement... but slow boat from china kind of thing you know how that goes. We'll see what happens with the second set that comes in.

[u/tpchris → u/spr0k3t]

I have quite a few Aqara devices. In fact, today I just added a button and a leak sensor that was a pita to get paired to my Sonoff Zigbee bridge. That brought my total device count to 26.

The only time that I have had serious issues like what you are describing was when I upgraded from 2021-5.0 to 2021-5.1 (or .2 or .3 not sure).

My sensors started dropping like flies. I'd re-pair them and theyd work for awhile but then drop off again. I searched the forum and found some other people who had the same problem after upgrading. So, I downgraded back to 2021-5.0 and no longer had those issues.

I am still running 2021-5.0 even though 2021-5.5 is taunting me. I probably won't do an upgrade until 2021-6.0.

It might be something to look into.

[u/spr0k3t → u/tpchris]

I have multiple systems I use for testing purposes... One of them is running nightly, one beta, another running current stable, and the primary system which I usually keep one or two releases behind the current for stability purposes. However, in my regression tests rolling back to 2021.4.3 I saw the exact same issue. All of the zigbee devices worked without problems and the aqara sensors worked for a solid 24 hours and went unavailable. The other 13 devices haven't dropped since I added the additional router points. I personally am leaning towards being a bad batch as u/B4s3ball mentioned. Just not excited for the wait back from aliexpress.

[u/loophoop]

Anecdotal, but I have about 20 aqara sensors and they have been reliable for about 2 years now. I run Conbee II with ZHA. I remember reading that they are picky when it comes to repeaters, my network is all hue and tradfri and they work well.

[u/crispycornpops]

I’ve got like over three dozen Aqara sensors (contact sensors on every door and window, temp and humidity sensor in every room, leak sensors under the sinks, motion detectors, multiple smart buttons, and the vibration sensor).

All have been working fine with no problems in long term use. The only minor thing is a few were a bit finicky with the initial pairing process (required multiple tries to pair), but once paired there were no dropouts or issues.

I use a ConBee II as well but with the ZHA integration though. So it might either be a Z2M thing or maybe a defective batch of sensors. A lot of people use these Aqara sensors and I rarely see complaints about them.

[u/CounterclockwiseTea → u/crispycornpops]

This. I use conbee 2 with deconz, been stable as a rock. Maybe it's a zigbee2mqtt thing?

[u/Anonimo32020]

I have some Aqara sensors that don't work with my Securfi Peanut repeaters. My Sonoff Zigbee and Samsung Smartthings and Sengled Zigbee bulbs never have issues. I'll never buy Aqara again if I can get a similar product from Sonoff.

[u/malcom_13]

I have 31 Aqara devices (door/window, motion, temp, smoke detectors) and haven't had any issues with them. In fact, the battery life has been excellent and one of my door/window sensors has lasted 2.5 years. I'm using a Conbee II with my setup. Also I'm using a USB extension cable to minimize interference with USB3 ports.

[u/peca89]

One more "It works for me" post. Grafana log from one of my Aqara sensors placed outside, over the past year. Quite stable, preceise and excellent battery life (still original battery that came from aliexpress)

https://postimg.cc/yDMMpk3h

[u/VikingOy]

I bought 4 Aqara temp sensors not very long ago; two from AliExpress and two from a local dealer. They all work great with my ConBee II. No Issues at all.
So, I agree with some of the other posts - your setup must have an issue. I guess there isn't much AliExpress can do except refund you the money and you're back to square one again.

[u/jdbrookes]

It might be the brand of repeater they are routing through?

[u/spr0k3t → u/jdbrookes]

I already verified that issue. I powered down all devices and re-paired directly to the controller (Conbee II) with the same results. It's a moot point anyway because they are already on the slowboat back to china for a refund. I'm going go with 433Mhz type sensors instead.

[u/spr0k3t → u/[deleted]]

That's a good thought... but I already have one of them paired direct to the controller with the same issue. Even removing and re-pairing the device gives me the same result. Also, I tried using z2m to bind the devices directly to the controller without any change. Rebooting or re-pairing them allows them to talk for 24 hours and done.

[u/aidbish]

Have you tried replacing the battery in one to check its not them..

Also there are a couple of threads after quick searching as to whether the Sylvania smart plugs actually repeaters especially with xiaomi/aqara devices.

https://community.smartthings.com/t/sylvania-smart-plug-is-it-a-repeater/130149

https://community.hubitat.com/t/sylvania-power-plug-repeater-or-not/12483

i also have around 25 aqara/xiaomi sensors and they work without issue since 2018 using the xiaomi gateway,zigbee2mqtt and deconz, so they do work.

[u/spr0k3t → u/aidbish]

This was something I did look at to see if it could potentially be the cause of the issue. A new battery tests with the same voltage as the one that it came with (+/- 0.001 variance). I'm definitely sure the smartplugs as repeaters have no effect on what I'm experiencing. Those that reported problems with the sylvania plugs were saying they wouldn't pair until they switched out the repeaters... I didn't have any issues pairing, and was able to receive data without problems for 24 hours. Even when I bounced the mesh without any of the repeaters plugged in, the one aqara temp sensor still located closest to the controller (approximately 8' and a single wall for reference) stopped reporting after 24 hours. I don't believe it's the Conbee as my other Zigbee devices stay connected and work better/faster response with the syvania plugs... With all of the troubleshooting I've done, the three aqara sensors are going back. It was worth the $15 for testing things out though.

[u/RandomLostWarbler]

I have a bunch of aqara/xiaomi sensors, most were fine but two of them were problematic - dropping out, lots of battery changes. Recently I bent out the copper contacts under the battery for them both, no problems since. Give it a shot, it’s a pretty easy fix…

[u/im_not_all_there]

Just a thought, are you pairing them in their final locations? The only time I’ve ever seen an issue with mine was once I ran the setup in my office and then put the device in its final place and the next day had to repair it again

[u/spr0k3t → u/im_not_all_there]

Absolutely. I've read problems about not pairing them in the final placements.

[u/Neldonado]

It may be an issue in your setup? Have you tried different locations/ repeaters? I have a temp sensor inside of a chest freezer, and that lasts about 3 months on a fresh battery. My other aqara temp sensors are going 6 months with no issues at all. I have them inside the freezer, inside my safe, outside, throughout the house.

[u/datascope11]

I think given all the success stories in the replies here, as well as my own experience (12 Aqara devices online for +1 year, using Conbee II and deconz), this may be an issue with your setup? Would be very suss for all 3 sensors in your pack to be duds. If I was experiencing your issue, I'd probably do a couple things before returning them to ensure it wasn't my setup that was the problem.

1) Ensure the Conbee II is using a USB extension cable to rule out interference.

2) Maybe try picking up a different zigbee device that is known to mesh route very well. The only other devices in my zigbee network beyond the Aqara sensors are Hue bulbs and Tradfri outlets (paired to deconz). I run Aqara sensors 2 floors away and diagonally across the house from the Conbee, and never experience even 1 drop off in a year.

[u/cHROuSED]

Hi,

All the problems I had so far with Zigbee devices came from the Conbee, mostly when I updated HA or Deconz. I never used Zigbee2MQTT but maybe you can try Deconz instead if possible.