Review on Z-Wave Plus Temperature and Light Sensor Strips - Enhanced Comfort for Indoor/Outdoor Use, Compatible with SmartThings by Adam Allard

OK. I have both and some drip strips. Since there is no difference between them EXCEPT the mounting strip for the humidity sensor, this review covers both types. I also ran both Samsung SmartThings v3 and Habitat Elevation C-5 US-Lower 48 (newest as of this writing). First, these are Z-Wave network bands. For those of you who don't know what that means, YOU MUST HAVE A ***COMPATIBLE*** Z-WAVE HUB TO CONNECT THIS WIRELESSLY TO YOUR USE! this. Hubitat, SmartThings, Wink, whatever. If you have no idea what that means, then you need to go back and learn about home automation, IoT, Z-Wave, Z-Wave Plus, Zigbee, the cloud, and all the software, apps, and drivers that make it. Work. If you're completely tech illiterate, you shouldn't bother with HA IoT at all. None of these technologies are even remotely mature, so the entire industry is riddled with bugs, barely working technologies, zero documentation, undocumented incompatibilities, flying "technology" companies, etc. None of these are completely stable - devices or hubs - even if you get what you want in working order, you must expect to spend a lot of time maintaining it. Absolutely none of this is stable enough for a "set it and forget it" environment. If you think everything will work out for you and everything works like a microwave or fridge, you are COMPLETELY WRONG! how can i say it 35 years in the technology industry and a lot of personal experience. :(Let's continue with the product. I originally installed some drip strips on a SmartThings v3 hub and then moved them from there to a Hubitat Elevation C-5 hub because Samsung SmartThings is unreliable cloud junk. AFTER they The hub, functionality and behavior on both hubs was the same. All bands work as advertised. Note I say AFTER they are paired. Good judge, having spent 35 years authoring a number of documentaries which were written by pseudo-educated Indians / Eastern Europeans / Chinese.Documentation is minimal at best and definitely doesn't adequately explain their incredibly cumbersome pairing method spending a few hours or more learning how to pair, reset, etc. any of these devices, EIGHT BE SURE to do a factory reset and lock out or unpack the device before attempting to pair! Feel free if pairing fails, try resetting and excluding before trying again. Good news and bad news - the good news is that once you figure out how to use its magic magnet, the device will pair with SmartThings for the first time. The bad news is that it took weeks of playing around with this and the drip strip over and over again to get them to mate with the Hubitat. Numerous reboots, resets, exceptions and pairing attempts until they were magically paired. The second drip strip connects on the first try. Find out. :rolleyes: Change the default settings. I spent 10-15 hours in two weeks changing default settings using SmartThings. It never happened. I think on the plus side I'm really, REALLY good at resetting, locking and re-pairing devices. I even found a SmartThings device handler from the company that makes the strips and THAT didn't even work. Nothing I've ever done has made it accept the new settings no matter how many times I've manually woken the device. I was able to change settings when connected to a Hubitat hub. It takes two people or one happy really coordinated fast person. :( The device should wake up and after a split second when the light is flashing you have to press the setup button on the Hubitat device page. Not after and not before. EXACTLY. Basically it takes at least three hands. I have about 100 other Z-Wave devices and half a dozen Zigbee devices, and NOTHING even comes close to that kind of insanity.On a scale of 1 to 10 for complexity of installation and setup, it's like -11.What I REALLY hate it. It's that after all they are the ONLY sensors on the market and THEY WORK There have been/were dozens of sensors for water, temperature, brightness etc. but they are - relatively - big and chunky, almost invisible - and this one Strip and the contact sensor strip even for painting. Do I buy another one if I need something ultra low profile? Yes. It's a huge PITA but they do exactly what they're supposed to. We're all under Let's get to that next en shiny POS. All my strips (6 months) are still 100%. BUT tips. After reading lots of documentation, forum complaints, technical articles, etc. here are some great tips for beginners: If you want your batteries to last, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A GOOD, RELIABLE NETWORK! Don't stick a strip 60 feet from your center in your driveway and don't expect it to last. The more time the device spends fiddling, the more it sucks the battery. This applies not only to the battery life, but also to the basic functionality and stability. I'm just curious that EVERY person I've read complaining about a short lifespan had a barely working Z-Wave network and was trying to place a device halfway down. Just say. Note: They are disposable. You cannot replace the battery. Be careful what you stick the strip on. The glue is pretty damn strong, and whatever you glued it to will give way before strip glue does. Overall a PITA, but it fills a niche and works. overpriced. And 99% of all IoT HA junk.