Slow First Reaction/Respons

Questions & Help
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1

I’m experiencing a strange delay with the initial response of my motion sensors and lights after a longer period of inactivity, and I’m wondering if anyone has experienced something similar.

My setup:

  • Controller: Homey Pro 2026

  • Motion sensors: Philips Hue motion sensors

  • Lights: Philips Hue lights

  • Bridge: Philips Hue Bridge

  • Automation logic: All handled by Homey Pro

The problem:

When we wake up in the morning or return home after being away for a while, the first motion detected in the hallway seems to trigger a delayed response.

This happens particularly with the motion sensors near the front door and the bedroom door.

The lights take a few seconds to turn on after the initial motion is detected. However, once the system has been triggered for the first time, everything works as expected, with the lights responding within approximately one second.

The issue seems to occur only after the system/devices has been inactive for around an hour or longer.

My question:

Could something be entering a kind of sleep or low-power state after a prolonged period of inactivity?

I’m wondering whether the delay could be caused by:

  • Homey Pro 2026

  • The Philips Hue Bridge

  • Communication between Homey and the Hue Bridge

  • The Zigbee network or the motion sensors themselves

I’m not sure whether this is actually related to inactivity or simply a delay somewhere in the communication chain.

Has anyone experienced similar behaviour with a Homey Pro and Philips Hue setup? Any ideas on what might cause this, or suggestions on how to troubleshoot it, would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

2

Can you see the state of the sensors from the official (non-Homey) Hue app? If so, you might be able to see if the sensor state is delayed there. If so, you need to look at the Hue side of things. If not, you need to look at the Homey side of things.

3

This sounds like the classic Zigbee sleep issue — battery-powered sensors can take a moment to wake up and rejoin after long inactivity. Worth checking if the delay is in the sensor reporting or in Homey triggering the flow.

4

Is this really a thing? I’ve never had that issue with any of my motion sensors (a mix of different Aqara and Tuya models, mostly).

5

I will check tomorrow morning, as now people are home and the sensors/light react almost instantly.

I can check in the Hue App as i walk by the sensor.
If i see the delay there, i will let you know.

Another option i can try (as i have multiple sensors)
is connect 1 sensor directly to Homey, instead of via the Hue Hub.

I’ll let my results know tomorrow.

6

This only can occur with WiFi battery powered sensors, these need time (up to 8s) to connect to the WiFi network after waking up from sleep state.

When you experience a noticeable delay in Zigbee response times, you’d investigate what’s going on. It should be snappy AF.

And Zigbee battery powered sensors do not “rejoin” the mesh after long time of inactivity. They don’t leave the mesh, even when the battery has died.