Sonoff has recently launched several updated ZigBee products, such as the SNZB-01P smart button or SNZB-02P temperature and humidity sensor. A motion sensor has been released previously (SNZB-03), but this one, not to mention the connectivity issues, still uses the older PIR solution.
The newly released SNZB-06P presence detector is a new product, but we can call it the SNZB-03’s bigger, smarter, more clever big brother. Not everything is so pretty, of course, but I’ll get to that in a moment.
The test product was provided by the ITead/Sonoff team, more details / available for purchase:
https://thetechnaut.com/sonoff/snzb06p
What’s in the box?
You receive the same orange box as Sonoff’s ZigBee products, which contains the presence sensor itself in a cylindrical form similar to an old spotlight, a multi-mounting base, an instruction manual, some screws and cable clips and a 1.5m USB-A to USB-C cable.
What you need to know about the SNZB-06P presence detector
The SNZB-06P is based on a 5.8 GHz microwave radar, capable of detecting movement or stationary persons.
5.8Ghz is sufficient for small – large detection, but you should not expect the fine tunability of 60Ghz. Of course, this comes at a price, so you have to choose with an eye to the target. If you’re in the room and you’re watching a movie, reading, working or anything where you can move even slightly you’ll be able to handle it based on my initial tests. Of course here too a rotating fan, dog, cat, pet dragon will be detected so just be careful with placement.
It communicates via ZigBee 3.0 protocol and has the familiar EFR32MG22 from Sonoff devices as its heart or MCU.
Although light detection is included on the box and in the description, we can only select it for automation for now and there is no way to fine tune it. You can only choose whether something happens in light or dark, but the thresholds are not controllable. This may be remedied in a later update, but so far there is no sign of it.
In terms of ZigBee, there is one very important feature that many of us can be happy about: Router. It’s not an end-device, and as a powered device you can extend the list of devices and/or the reach of your network.
Installation
This will be done in the usual way. Although you can also use the QR code on it to start, you can immediately navigate to your Zigbee hubs page and start adding devices. If you need to, you can just press and hold the little button on the side of the SNZB-06P for 5-10 seconds and it will be able to connect.
Functions
Main page in our ewelink app shows the device and its current status. It detects presence or idle. Click on it and you will get a bigger icon next to it and you will also find a history button, to retrieve what happened.
When you go to settings, you will find two important options in addition to the usual ones.
Sensitivity is adjustable in 3 steps and can “detect” up to 4 meters. Here, of course, the smaller settings can shorten this, so to speak, according to the factory explanation.
Detection time will be responsible for how long the room is considered empty after you leave. By default it is set to 1 minute. If we have left the room, it will consider it empty after 1 minute and handle the appropriate automation we have set for this condition.
The regular options are also available:
- Assign location
- Share with someone
- Push notification
- Third party integrations
Mounting options
In this area, there have already been examples of them moving in the right direction and it shows once again. The base itself can be mounted anywhere using screws, double-sided adhesive or even magnets for metal surfaces.
Our device is magnetically attached to the base and can be tilted or rotated at an angle of about 45 degrees.
Fortunately it is quite strong and even after minimal tearing it will not release, but this also means that if the cable is within reach, it is possible to move it from its set position and it will need to be repositioned.
Its cable is quite long, 1.5 meters, and you get a couple of cable clips if you want to fix it to the wall to avoid the aforementioned problem.
Home Assistant
With the basic eWeLink integration, it appeared immediately on my list, nothing needed to be done. Here again it only recognises it as a motion sensor and the brightness control is not customisable even with direct connection at the time of writing.
Would I recommend it and what is the alternative
In my case it was placed next to an Aqara FP2 which is also being tested. Heaven and earth are the two!
If you want zones, fall detection for elderly, fine tuning then clearly the FP2 is the better choice, BUT if you just want a presence detector with brightness detection for some automation, all for a fraction of the price of the advanced options, then the Sonoff SNZB-06P is the winner. You will also get a ZigBee router built in, so you will find great use cases with this as well.
The test product was provided by the ITead/Sonoff team, more details / available for purchase:
https://thetechnaut.com/sonoff/snzb06p
