After launching the WiFi-based Aqara FP2 presence sensor, Sonoff responded with a ZigBee edition of a motion sensor that used similar technology. It made ripples in the home automation space (thanks to its pricing) and Aqara had to follow suit sooner rather than later. If you want a ZigBee presence sensor that uses microwave radar to detect movement with stellar accuracy – you can get Aqara FP1E (AmazonUK|AmazonUS) right now!
Same tech, different capabilities
One of the most unique features of the Aqara FP2 sensor was spatial tracking of movement. This radar-based approach allows tracking multiple targets and triggers automation based on more than presence alone. At the expense of having a sensor constantly connected to a power source and using WiFi, you could trigger automation based on your position inside the room – neat!
Aqara FP1E uses the same technology (radar) to detect movement but it uses ZigBee to communicate with the Aqara M3 hub. As blasting rooms with radiowaves isn’t energy efficient, Aqara FP1E must be connected to a power source via a USB-A cable permanently attached to the sensor. ZigBee-based data transfer also limits what other functions can be accessed compared to Aqara FP2.
What is the main improvement over the Aaqara FP1? Mainly the price and support for Matter. There are small technological hardware improvements, but from the user standpoint, the functionality of the sensor remains mostly alike.
Aqara FP1E in close up
The sensor follows the shape of the original Aqara FP1 – the dome is protruding, however, it still shares the same swivel stand design as other Aqara products (Aqara FP2 or Aqara G2H). Linked with a 1.5m long cable the sensor can be placed on random surfaces (like desks, and shelves) or mounted on walls and ceilings thanks to the included metal plate and magnetic design. There isn’t much else to say about the sensor so let’s see it in action.
Pairing and Aqara app
I’m using Aqara Hub M3 to link it to the app – and after swift pairing (hold the button for 5 sec to enter pairing mode) the sensor is available in my app. A quick firmware update later and I’m ready to try things out.
At the card level, Aqara FP1E (AmazonUK|AmazonUS) offers simple present/absent information to quickly let me know what’s going on. Once you open the device details, the app offers access to the log, AI-based calibration and range setting. Sadly – no fancy radar screens as with WiFi WiFi-based model. The only interesting piece of information on this page is access to your current distance from the sensor in the Range section of the app. The sensor is clearly capable of detecting range – but right now, I can’t use that info for anything else. I can limit the detection range from 6m to 30cm.
Automation
As the device card doesn’t offer anything else, I moved to the automation panel to check what sort of triggers I have access to. After clicking on the IF section, Aqara FP1E shows the following trigger conditions:
- Presence
- Absence
- Presence for
- Absence for
- Moving
- Still
- Moving for
- Still for
It’s nice to see a distinction between the presence and being still in the room. To leverage this, I made a profile that would like my Aqara Ceiling Light fitted in the bedroom to give me bright light in the evening if I’m moving about, mood light if I’m still in bed and turn everything off when I’m sleeping.
I also used Moving for Trigger to cover my trips to the bathroom with decent success.
Matter and others
If you already own an Aqara M3 hub, you can expose Aqara FP1E to Matter via hub integration. At the moment the device isn’t compatible directly with Matter speakers. I tried also link it with my Alexa Echo hub. The sensor was found during the pairing process but I couldn’t find it in the list of my devices despite going through the process multiple times.
My last try was to try the Tuya hub – unfortunately, no luck adding Aqara FP1E either.
Detection
The next step is to see how sensitive the sensor is. I calibrated my living room using AI Spatial Learning and tested some scenarios. It takes about 20 sec for the sensor to report absence once I leave the room. Presence is detected in about 2-3 seconds. My next idea was to lay on the sofa in the corner and limit my movement to breathing only to see if I could trigger absence. I gave up 2 min later as Aqara FP1E clearly can see me despite trying to remain motionless in the corner of its detection cone.
NodeRED and ZigBee2MQTT?
I’m currently short on time, so my playtime with NodeRED and ZigBee2MQTT is limited. I quickly paired my Aqara FP1E with SMLight Coordinator and it showed up without any problems as an unsupported device. I tried to map the same coordinator as Aqara FP1, but that did not work for me.
I wanted to check if Aqara FP1E would report the distance of the motion as it does on the device’s card. Since we can’t use that to trigger automation in Aqara, I hoped we could get that data via ZigBee2MQTT. I’ll have to wait a little longer for support for this device, and I promise to share my findings soon.
Final thoughts
My follow-up will examine the use of Aqara FP1E in NodeRED and ZigBee2MQTT to see what sort of data is exposed by the sensor. You’ll have to wait for that a little longer. For now, you can enjoy a very accurate presence detection at £49.99 (AmazonUK|AmazonUS). It’s a shame Aqara FP1E cannot report the distance as a trigger – this would open up the door to new automation – but as it stands right now, Aqara FP1E is a capable human detector. Let me know your thoughts in this Reddit thread.
🆓📈💵 – See the transparency note for details.
