Hue Motion Sensor disconnected

Posted on
Thu May 21, 2020 5:21 pm
rbdubz3 offline
User avatar
Posts: 224
Joined: Sep 18, 2016
Location: San Diego, CA

Hue Motion Sensor disconnected

Relative newbie to Hue - switching over from Sylvania Lightify... So at present I am running both Hue and Sylvania Lightify zigbee bridges simultaneously.

The Hue Bridge is setup, and I paired an A19 Hue bulb as well as an Indoor Motion Sensor.. Since I didn't really want the Motion Sensor to actively manage any of the lights, I turned off the sensor 'Day' and 'Night' behavior stuff.. Also both of these devices are added to Indigo using the Hue plugin.. Not too long after setting this up, the Motion Sensor showed as 'Unreachable' in the Hue mobile app, and likewise the Hue Indigo plugin shows the sensor as 'Disconnected'

Any tips? Going thru online info but have come up empty so far

I automate because I am lazy :D - My Plugins: https://forums.indigodomo.com/viewforum.php?f=309

Posted on
Thu May 21, 2020 10:01 pm
nsheldon offline
Posts: 2469
Joined: Aug 09, 2010
Location: CA

Re: Hue Motion Sensor disconnected

It’s almost certainly a radio signal issue. Either something is interfering with the signal between the Hue bridge and the motion sensor, or battery in the sensor is nearly dead. Unless the sensor is over a year old, it’s signal related. You could try moving the Hue bridge farther away from other 2.4 GHz devices that may interfere (like the Lightify bridge, Wi-Fi router, any computer that uses Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, any mobile device or appliance that uses Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz cordless phone, microwave oven, fluorescent or neon light fixture or CFL bulb). Do the same with the motion sensor. Keep those things away from it. You can also try changing the ZigBee channel in the Hue app, in the Settings section -> Hue bridges -> “i” info disclosure icon -> ZigBee channel change.

Even if a device shows as unreachable in the Hue app (and thus “disconnected” in Indigo), it may still respond, but perhaps not as reliably as you’d expect.

Posted on
Fri May 22, 2020 7:18 am
rbdubz3 offline
User avatar
Posts: 224
Joined: Sep 18, 2016
Location: San Diego, CA

Re: Hue Motion Sensor disconnected

Thanks for the details Nathan - I feel kinda bad cuz I think it was just the software update process taking forever :? Strange though cuz I hooked up a second Hue motion sensor and it got thru the software update pretty quickly.. So I reset the problematic motion sensor and let it be.. Took a few hours but now it is all good.

Good advice about positioning of the Hue Hub - though a bit tricky finding an area without much interference these days. Considering the Hue Hub needs to be hardwired - I don't have many spots in the house with ethernet cable runs

I automate because I am lazy :D - My Plugins: https://forums.indigodomo.com/viewforum.php?f=309

Posted on
Fri May 22, 2020 10:24 am
rbdubz3 offline
User avatar
Posts: 224
Joined: Sep 18, 2016
Location: San Diego, CA

Re: Hue Motion Sensor disconnected

QQ on these sensors and the Temp/Luminance sensors - are these relatively accurate? I am interested in using the temperature settings - I have 2 Hue Sensors side by side and there is a difference of 2-3 degrees Fahrenheit between them.. I also have a cheap weather station that seems to report about 1 degree more than both of the Hue sensors

I automate because I am lazy :D - My Plugins: https://forums.indigodomo.com/viewforum.php?f=309

Posted on
Fri May 22, 2020 10:50 am
nsheldon offline
Posts: 2469
Joined: Aug 09, 2010
Location: CA

Re: Hue Motion Sensor disconnected

I think it was just the software update process taking forever


Ha. Yep. Firmware updates for the battery operated Hue devices can take a really long time. It took all night for one of my Hue Dimmer Switches to complete a firmware update after I first paired it with the Hue bridge. The bridge seems pretty good about automatically updating firmware on each device, but it can take a long time for some of them.

...a bit tricky finding an area without much interference these days. Considering the Hue Hub needs to be hardwired - I don't have many spots in the house with ethernet cable runs


Same here. I see some lights go in and out of "disconnected" status, though they don't have many actual failed communications when sending on/off/dim commands. My bridge is probably too close to my router which I'm sure bombards the ZigBee signals, and my Mac mini is just under that with it's Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. So yea, kinda hard to avoid interference.

QQ on these sensors and the Temp/Luminance sensors - are these relatively accurate? I am interested in using the temperature settings - I have 2 Hue Sensors side by side and there is a difference of 2-3 degrees Fahrenheit between them.. I also have a cheap weather station that seems to report about 1 degree more than both of the Hue sensors


For temperature, I actually bought a relatively inexpensive calibrated scientific temperature probe to test this (+/- 0.2 degrees accuracy). I found a variance of as much as +/- 3 degrees, so they're not super accurate (despite the misleading precision). That's why I included a "Calibration Offset" value in the Hue Lights plugin configuration dialog for the temperature sensors. If you know how far off a particular sensor is, you can at least get closer to accurate readings in Indigo by setting the Calibration Offset so Indigo shows a calibrated temperature value instead of the original value reported by the sensor. I wasn't able to find a similarly inexpensive reference luminance sensor to test the luminance accuracy, but I suspect the Hue sensor's accuracy is just so-so. It depends heavily on the angle at which the sensor is pointing. Point the sensor toward a light source, even from across the room, you'll get a notably higher reading than if it's pointed at a 45 degree angle from the light source.

Posted on
Fri May 22, 2020 11:17 am
rbdubz3 offline
User avatar
Posts: 224
Joined: Sep 18, 2016
Location: San Diego, CA

Re: Hue Motion Sensor disconnected

ah - that is interesting - thanks for the tips Nathan. I'll be careful to try to find good places for these sensors that aren't flooded with lights.. For now I am wanting to just set them on bookshelves vs. using the mounting hardware so I don't need to create holes in my walls.. But maybe some type of mounting at an angle will improve the temperature readings.

My goal is to incorporate some automation of my ceiling fans to turn on/off/change speed based on the temperature in the room.. I figured the all-in-one nature of the Hue sensors is worth a shot so I can determine occupancy and temperature

I automate because I am lazy :D - My Plugins: https://forums.indigodomo.com/viewforum.php?f=309

Posted on
Sun May 24, 2020 4:47 pm
nsheldon offline
Posts: 2469
Joined: Aug 09, 2010
Location: CA

Re: Hue Motion Sensor disconnected

Seems like a good plan to me. I use the temperature sensor to control both the Amazon Basics pedestal fan and the Whynter portable AC in my office based on the temperature readings from the Hue Motion Sensor in the room. It works quite well to keep the temperature constant. I have on and off triggers for temperature and for occupancy (so the fan and AC aren't on if no one is in the room). I use a BroadLink RM Mini 3 and the BroadLink Devices plugin to send IR commands to the fan and the AC (and my big TV in the room as well).

Posted on
Sat May 30, 2020 2:44 pm
rbdubz3 offline
User avatar
Posts: 224
Joined: Sep 18, 2016
Location: San Diego, CA

Re: Hue Motion Sensor disconnected

Sounds like a cool setup - thanks for the info Nathan . I did try the Insteon IR transmitter but turns out the electric fireplace I was attempting to control didn't accept the Insteon IR signals. Haven't got back into that project yet

I automate because I am lazy :D - My Plugins: https://forums.indigodomo.com/viewforum.php?f=309

Page 1 of 1

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests