THIRDREALITYZigbee Smart Garage Door Tilt Sensor, Adjustable Sensitivity Levels, 2-Year Battery Life, Zigbee Hub Required

Update 02/07/2025 - back to 5 stars - with caveatsAs seen below, I had a few pain points. After buying several, I found some would stop updating. Almost as if some units that worked would stop if I added a new one. (This is in Home Assistant)There was a device firmware update. Home Assistant can not install it. The update is supposed to fix that. But you can't install it!The fix: After working with ThirdReality's support, we determined that the only way to solve this was to use their Zigbee/Matter hub. I already have a wokring different brand zigbee hub! But, they were super kind and sent me one to see if it fixes the problem.Workflow: Plug their hub into a USB power brick. Download the Android app 3r-Installer. (on to my seldom used old Android phone). Go into my WiFi router and temporarily remove the password requirement on my 2.8ghz Wifi. Connect my phone to that wifi. Use the app to find the hub. configure settings wit may want to start using it.Go into Home Assistant and remove a problematic thermometer. Bring the thermometer to where the HUB is. Reset the thermometer into paring mode. Click on the hub in the app, and then add the thermometer as a new device. (this can be a pain in the butt. Keep trying to reset the thermometer into paring mode. You will get there in the end.)Once you have it in there, you will have the ability to update the device with the latest firmware.How the update flows - the app on your android device downloads the firmware from ThirdReality and then pushes it into the hub. The hub then takes over and slowly (zigbee is a slow protocol) uploads it into the device. The update happens and the device eventually reboots and shows up again.Now, remove the device from the hub's list of devices. Reset the device into pairing mode and pair it back into Home Assistant on your old zigbee hub. Move onto the next ThirdReality device. Slow, but possible.Finally unplug the ThirdReality Hub, and put a password back into your Wifi router. (do NOT forget that part).Since then (over a week ago) all thermometers I have are placed back into their mounting locations around the house. All are working and keep updating their readings. None have failed to do so.So, the ThirdReality hub (MZ1) isn't expensive. Sure, it's an extra $30 you wish you did not have to spend. But if you are stuck trying to update your ThirdReality devices (and use a different Zigbee hub) in Home Assistant, this is a workable tool you can use and then toss in the old toolbox. I will never use it in my environment, as it is exclusively using Wifi to talk to the app, which I won't allow for my home automation. But that is just me.All of my thermometers are working and no signs of any kicking another one out of the network.---------------Currently leaving this as a three start review.I bought a pair of these, and they worked great in Home Assistant. I decided to pick up another pair as they were on sale. They too seemed to work fine.Then I decided there are a couple of the rooms it would be great to know how the temperatures were in there and how they fluctuate.That is when the frustration came in. The new units came online, and seemed to work. Then, while they still show up in Home Assistant, they (or a different unit) stopped reporting any temperature changes.After some playing around and getting them online again, they would work for a while and then stop. It seems like when I added a new one, it would knock an old one off from reporting.Then one day I thought, I wonder if there is a firmware update for these. Yes! Great! I'll do that and see if it fixes the problem. However, Home Assistant can not successfully update them. It times out while trying.So, I went to the support portal for Third Reality, and read there is a newer update. It is specifically to help solve the problem where Home Assistant can't update the device. Ummm... So... How am I supposed to update them if Home Assistant can't do it?Right now I am in contact with Support, and they are responsive and are stepping up their game on this. But, I'll leave what we are doing so far, out of this review for now. Since I am not using their hub, the steps are little more complex.I'll update this review if it works out and everything stays online and reporting.** for anyone who would say "move the device closer to your hub so the update works": I think 6 inches is close enough. Doesn't work. Don't worry. I am working the problem.

I use this tilt sensor on my garage door and it is connected to Hubitat. I have had zero issues with it. It reports the door open or close each time without any failures. I like Third Reality devices because they are dependable and use standard batteries not expensive coin batteries. I definitely recommend this sensor.

This tilt sensor has been nothing but trouble. It stopped reporting the open/closed state, and tilting the device doesn’t even trigger a chirp anymore, suggesting a physical hardware issue. The dip switches are set correctly, and the device chirps when resetting the batteries and powering it on, but beyond that, it’s non-functional.The weak radio signal makes things worse, it couldn’t connect to my Zigbee network from the garage. Even after repairing it indoors just inches from the router, it still failed to detect state changes. It’s essentially useless at this point. Wouldn’t recommend.

The sensor is a bit large, but very well constructed. It comes with two installed AAA batteries and is ready to be paired. I paired it very easily to my Home Assistant Hub. I planned to attached this device to my home garage door so I can determine if the door is open or closed, and that is exactly what it does. It reports "Open" or "Closed" and battery percentage and nothing else. It does not report temperature like a lot of other door sensors do. By default it will beep when it changes state but you there's a switch where you can turn that off. It also has a switch where you can adjust the sensitivity of the sensor based on tilt angle. Definitely a relatively inexpensive tilt sensor.

Bought this garage door sensor to replace a two-piece door sensor that I had adapted to sense the garage door position. Much easier to use and install and not prone to getting hit or misaligned like the door sensor was as it had to be close to the garage door rails (mine is a multi-panel garage door) as the support wheels move by. Accurate and fast detection when the door is opened and with the sensor at the top door panel it is well out of the way. Double-backed tape works well for mounting.

Easily added to Hubitat. When first powered up, went into inclusion mode and my hub found it. Didn't even have to mess with the reset button.As with all Zigbee devices, can take a day or so for the hub to figure out the best path to the final location. for the device, and that was my experience.Sensitivity and "door opening angle" are determined not through software but through dip switches in the device. Instructions for setting them are fairly clear.

I connected well to my SmartThings hub. It worked well for 5 month. Now it is not changing the position anymore. I have dis- and reconnected it any it worked for a day and now the sensor shows open all the time again. I have changed the sensitivity setting to medium and it working now.2 year battery is a joke because the battery shows 33% after 5 month.Update 12/01/24, I have changed the batteries and it's working again. I hope the new ones hold longer than 5 months.Update 12/05/24, it's working during the day and randomly showing "Open" "Close" during night at 15F. So it's only for heated garages, I'm moving the sensor more to the warmer center of the door. The Amazon page doesn't call out the working temperatures. Battery is at 87% after 4 days. Changed rating to 2 stars.Update 02/08/25, ThirdReality has admitted that there are some sensors with cloud temperature issue and will send a new sensor. I hope it'll solve this isst.