So I have the Homey Pro (2026) and it only has the 700 series Z-Wave chip so I can’t do Z-Wave long range as that needs the 800 series chip. But I’d like to put a door/window sensor in my mailbox to notify me of when mail has come and if anyone got into the mailbox as that’s been an issue in the neighborhood.
Unfortunately, the problem is the mailbox is metal and encased in brick grouped with other mailboxes about 50 yards from my house. However I do have a clear line of sight to the mailbox grouping.
My question is what sensor protocol should be used to reach the mailbox? Z-Wave, Thread, or Zigbee? I have devices from all three running in my smart home. I do have Philips Hue Zigbee lights on the front of my house and am wondering if they use their own Zigbee mesh and wouldn’t communicate with like an Aqara sensor or I would need the Philips Hue sensor since those bulbs are outside already?
I have a Zooz Z-Wave Range Extender and placed it facing out a window pointed at the mailboxes then attempted to connect a Zooz Z-Wave Long Range sensor. I was unable to connect it to the Homey Pro while out at the mailbox. But I read I should pair the Z-Wave device close to the hub then move it to the final place and let the Z-Wave network settle. Apart from using another protocol can I use the Z-Wave Rage Extender with the 800 series chip with the Zooz Z-Wave sensor and pair it in the Long Range mode?
It depends on whether you added your Hue lights to Homey via the app using the Hue Bridge (Athom) or via the app without the Hue Bridge. If you’re using the app with the Bridge, you’ll need to use a Hue Sensor, since the Zigbee network runs through the Hue Bridge.
Yes I am using the Philips Hue Hub since I had that system and several bulbs before I got the Homey Pro. Therefore, my Hue Zigbee network is fairly robust consisting of 55 powered devices, including 5 bulbs on the front of my house.
As the mailbox is in metal you need to have the sensor on the outside of the mailbox, facing your house.
I am using Aeotec’s flood-sensor with a HAL-sensor. The flood-sensor has a long cable which i pulled through a small hole in the mailbox.
All z-wave devices need to be included close to the Homey and then moved to its mount place.
Zigbee devices on the other hand must be included at the mounting place as they do not re-mesh very good.
Regarding the Zooz range extender I am not sure whether thay are backwards compatible with 700 chips.
The difficulty I’m facing is the mailbox is grouped with a handful of other mailboxes. Additionally, it’s a metal mailbox encased in brick…about 50 yards from my house. But my house does have direct line of sight to the mailbox. Placing the sensor on the outside is difficult because of the brick. I do have a waterproof case for a Zooz ZEN41 Door and Window sensor though but I’m afraid it would be tampered with if it was outside the mailbox. We’ve had issues of mail theft since there’s an often busy park with a splash pad nearby. Unfortunately the mailboxes are right along the sidewalk that goes through the neighborhood to the park.
I have given that some thought too…but any brand that works on the 433MHz should work with the Homey Pro correct or is there some protocols that won’t work with it because this is what I was considering:
Yes, most of those Tuya alarm panel sensors (433mhz) like the one you posted don’t use rolling codes, so that should work with Homey Pro 2023, 2026, mini and SHS. However, that doesn’t work on Homey Pro 2016, 2018 and 2019.
So for some closure. I bought a big and clunky Philips Hue Door and Window Sensor. Connected it via the Hue App and brought it over to Homey using the Hue Bridge Pro. I created the flow, made sure it worked inside first. Then I attached the sensor to the inner wall of my mailbox so when the mailbox is opened it’ll face my house. So far (past 2 weeks) it has been working well and I’ve been getting notifications around the same time of day. However there was a hiccup on a Saturday when it didn’t send the notification. Not sure if the mailbox was opened long enough or the colder weather hampered the sensors operation.
Do you have a powered outside light?
You can always try to add a hue bulb in there and it will increase your hue mesh and so may offer a closer pick up point for your sensor signal and improve connection / reduce latency
