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When I reviewed the FP1, I was excited about the device but had complaints about the availability, along with some other minor criticisms. Is the zones feature still supported if the FP2 is ceiling (top) mounted? Or will it only be supported for wall mounting? I saw the app seem to say that the only thing ceiling mount supports is for fall detection, but I assume this also means the zones won’t be. Flipping over the main PCB and we can see the main component of this device: mmWave Radar Sensor for Human Prescence Detection. The model is IWR6843 [ Datasheet] developed by Texas Instruments, a well known company that designs, manufactures and sells semiconductors and various integrated circuits globally.
I fully intend to deeply test the Aqara FP2 in the future with Matter support, benchmarking everything it has to offer. You can create a template or edit the existing area The app is loaded with a few preconfigured templates to get you started Loading a Sitting Room Template Loading an Office template Creating your own template Hi, sorry for the late reply. Generally speaking if you’re wall mounting it is suggest no more than 2m or 6ft although if that’s not possible, you can mount it a bit higher and just angle the sensor downwards a bit. You might just lose some of its reach in terms of distance pointing forwards. To get optimum performance from the FP2 along with all it’s features, you are bound to their app, at least for now. Like the FP1, additional tweaking, positioning and extensive testing is going to be needed for avoid any issues the FP1 had, like false positive and negative triggers. You can now continue to setup the detection mode and detection zones in the Aqara Home App. Detection Mode
The multiple zones are possibly the most important one, as you can split up the FP2’s coverage area into separate zones, each of which is exposed to HomeKit as individual sensors. Watch the video to see me put it through its paces.
One issue I’ve seen reported by some users was the initial setup not going well, with some people simply not being able to add the device to either HomeKit or Aqara. It’s hard to know what might have gone wrong in most cases, as there are so many variables at play, not least among them human error. I, fortunately, had no issues with this. I do have another one to set up though, so maybe it’ll be my turn to suffer, but I tend to have relatively few issues with this kind of thing for whatever reason. It’s important to note, the Aqara Home App has a setting which you can tweak and tell the sensor it’s currently upside down! This avoids confusion and errors while it’s detecting presence. What happens when you use the app to create more scenes/entities to use with the HA homekit integration and then put the device in a local wifi without internet access? Does it work using local HA without the cloud?May I also ask if you know what Aqara recommends for the wall mount height? I’m thinking mounting the FP2 too high or too low on a wall may cause inconsistencies. Aqara this week released the Presence Sensor FP2 – a brand new millimeter wave sensor that goes far beyond the capabilities of more conventional motion sensors to facilitate powerful automations, with support for Apple HomeKit. Each of those, as you can see, is showing up as sensors in the Home app. You’ll also notice that I’ve got additional sensors listed on this screen. Abode OSis simply an Abode motion sensor, but for some reason, it’s exposed as an occupancy sensor. I also have the FP1 listed (FP1 L). Additionally, the FP2 shows up as a separate sensor, that I assume covers the whole area, not just zones. One side lays out the feature set of the FP2; multi-person detection, Built-in light sensor, fall detection, zone positioning, interference compensation, and local automations.
The light sensor can be used in automations, with options for when the Lux readings rise above or drop below specific levels. These levels are fixed in the Home app, but I’m not sure having them to be so specific is necessary. When it comes to the presence sensors, you simply get the same kind of options as you would with a motion sensor – detects or stops detecting occupancy. Zone Positioning:The Aqara app breaks the FP2’s detection range into a grid of 320 separate squares. You can select and group these squares to create zones. These zones can in turn be used to trigger automations. Each zone is also exposed to HomeKit as a separate presence sensor. Zooming into the main PCB, you can see the main ESP32 chip powering the Aqara FP2. It’s an ESP32-WROOM-32U [ Datasheet] model with both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities. The main difference between 32U and the more common 32D model is the external antenna connector, which boost connectivity and reception strength. Thanks to its powerful hardware, the FP2 sensor will be able to support much more cutting-edge features in the futuresuch asposture detection,which not only recognizes falls but also other postures including standing, sitting, and lying. Sleep monitoring and respiratory rate detection capabilities could also be achieved viatheFP2 in the future. These advanced features will be added to the FP2sensorvia future OTA updates 4. The Aqara Presence Sensor FP2 is designed to seamlessly integrate with popular smart home ecosystems, such as Apple HomeKit, Alexa, and Google Home. This means that you can easily control other smart home devices through these ecosystems using the FP2 as a trigger. For example, you can set up automation rules in HomeKit to turn on lights and adjust temperature when the FP2 detects someone entering a room, or use Alexa routines to trigger actions based on the presence or absence of individuals detected by the FP2. The FP2 is also exposed as multiple sensors in these ecosystems, allowing for even more flexibility in setting up automation rules tailored to your needs.No matter which mode you choose, the app neatly explains how it’s used, how to configure it and the way to install the Aqara FP2. As an example, I will set the sensor in Personnel Monitoring mode which is used to detect multiple people and their correct position in the room. Detection Zones As already stated, the Aqara app is pretty essential, at least for initial setup, so starting with the FP2 there, I’ve set up two tiles – one for the FP2 showing its status, with a separate tile for the light sensor, showing the current Lux value. Tapping on the FP2 tile opens up the main UI for the sensor; Before diving into the capabilities of the Aqara FP2, here is a side-by-side comparison with it’s predecessor noting some design differences and choices. Would this also be safe to use long-term in a bathroom where the humidity goes high during use? Especially with stuff like steam from a hot shower.
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