Hidden Door Sensor

I’ve used the door/window sensors for years, and this is my first time purchasing the hidden door sensor. It was incredibly easy to install, and I love the fact that there’s not a visible device on the door. The older devices never really reported their open/closed status to the app properly (at least not for me), but this new devices does. I have several old open/close sensors that i will now replace with the hidden sensor for better aesthetics and better functionality.

Oh- I use it to trigger a closet light to turn on and off when the door is opened and closed. Works like a charm.

I purchased a few new sensors to replace ones that were destroyed due to me and my poor battery management. The new sensors when installed send me random messages stating that the door has opened when I know that it has not. This happens dozens of times in rapid succession usually forcing me to turn off the sensor completely.

I buy nothing but Insteon products for my smart-home setup. I've been eye-balling these sensors for a while, and finally pulled the trigger. When they arrived, I was surprised to see how cheaply they are made, and also how poor the build quality is (how the pieces fit together). But then I tried setting them up, and 4/5 of them took 5 tries each (no exaggeration) just to connect to my hub, even though i was right next to the hub; only the 2nd one did it in one try. I've never seen this on an Insteon product. While installing them, the ring that's at the top of the sensor (that has the small hole on the side for the screw) is weak enough that it almost broke while screwing in the screw. I also noticed that the ball that gets pushed in sometimes doesn't register, so i will get a notification that the door is "closed", but then i look at the door and it's actually open; because that ball didn't register getting pushed in all the way. And finally, my last complaint is that the app push notifications take significantly longer when doors are opened/closed than any other Insteon product I own. For my needs, I need to have notifications for everything in my home, which works totally fine. I turn on a lightswitch, I get the notification instantly. I have external (non-hidden) door sensors on 3 of my doors, and they also send me push notifications literally instantly; it's lightning fast. But for some reason, these door sensors take about 4-5 seconds (yes, I have counted) for the push notifications to arrive. All-in-all I am pretty disappointed with the purchase; they are flimsy, cheap, poorly made, poorly designed products that don't work as well as you would want them to. And if I had known of these issues, I would not have bought them.

Hidden Door Sensor

These are good. My only issue is that battery life hasn't been good. Maybe get six months on standard alkaline battery.

great products

Awesome

Part of me wanted to knock a star off for having to replace a failed sensor. But, the sensor was probably at least 10 years old and I can't even confirm that it was new when I got it. So, the reality is these are the most discreet I've seen, and they are extremely long lasting. I recommend!

It works quite well and i enjoy having them installed. However a couple issues really at the forefront:
1. Battery life. In spite of improving heartbeat settings, etc. the battery life is not great. Gets about 6 months. That's a lot of churn across 7 door sensors - feels like the old smoke detector days - which now have lifetime batteries.
2. Random behavior at times - where door sensors start triggering random on/off's at odd times when there is no motion - suspect it is due to switch contacts failing at some point. Have had to replace them.

The Insteon Hidden Door Sensors have been a great addition to my smart home. They work well and were easy to install with the extra spacers provided where needed and fast to configure. I've been able to include them in scenes and automations.

I have a hidden door sensor on every entry door of my house and have used them for years. They are easy to install (once you get past the "Drill a big hole" issue, but even that is on the inside jamb so won't show if you mess anything up). Being battery-powered, however, has two issues: Battery life isn't stupendous, and you only get one shot at "battery level low." That means (historically, probably still the same although these new ones could be better) when it sends out the "battery low" signal, you'd better not miss it or you may find yourself with voltmeter in hand checking them all (I think a regular battery-change schedule would be well-advised for high-security applications instead of waiting as I do). Overall, they are very good at what they do and much less visible than the tape-on magnetic sensors.

Hidden Door Sensor

Great product AAA+++

I have used 4 of these sensors on entry doors for several years. In that time one has failed and was replaced. The performance has been very satisfactory. Limited battery life is the only real disadvantage, but it is just an inconvenience.