Best mmWave presence sensors for Home Assistant
The best mmWave presence sensors for Home Assistant. Real presence detection that knows you're still in the room, not just moving through it.
Traditional motion sensors (PIR) detect movement. That is fine for hallways and doorways, but terrible for rooms where you sit still — offices, living rooms, bathrooms. You stop moving for a few minutes, the lights turn off, and you wave your arms like a fool.
mmWave presence sensors solve this. They detect the presence of a person in a room, even when they’re sitting perfectly still, by sensing micro-movements like breathing.
Our picks:
- Best overall: Aqara FP2
- Best budget option: Aqara FP1
- Best for Home Assistant tinkerers: Everything Presence One
Why mmWave matters vs PIR
PIR sensors detect infrared radiation changes caused by movement. They are cheap, reliable for what they do, and perfectly fine for triggering lights when you walk into a room.
But PIR can’t tell the difference between an empty room and a room with someone sitting still in it. That is a fundamental limitation, not a product flaw.
mmWave radar sends out radio waves and detects reflections from objects, including the tiny movements of a breathing human. This means:
- lights stay on while you’re reading in a chair
- bathroom fans keep running while you’re in the shower
- office automations stay active during focused work
- rooms can truly know whether they’re occupied
The tradeoff is that mmWave sensors are more expensive, can be trickier to configure, and sometimes produce false positives from things like fans or pets. But when dialed in properly, they’re transformative for room-aware automation.
Best overall: Aqara FP2
The Aqara FP2 is the best mmWave presence sensor for most Home Assistant users right now. It combines good detection quality with practical features that make it useful out of the box.
Why it wins:
- zone-based detection — you can define multiple detection zones within a single room
- good Home Assistant integration via HomeKit Controller or the Aqara hub
- reasonable false positive behavior once configured
- presence, motion, and light level sensing in one device
- Wi-Fi connected, no Zigbee coordinator required for this one
The zone detection is the standout feature. You can set up zones for different areas of a room (desk, couch, doorway) and trigger different automations based on which zone is occupied. No other sensor at this price does this as well.
The caveat is that initial setup and zone calibration takes patience. The Aqara app is required for configuration, and the detection zones need real-world tuning. It isn’t plug-and-play, but the result is worth the setup time.
Best budget option: Aqara FP1
The Aqara FP1 is the simpler, cheaper predecessor. It does basic mmWave presence detection without the zone features of the FP2.
Why it makes sense:
- lower price point for rooms where zone detection isn’t needed
- Zigbee-based, which means it integrates directly with your Zigbee coordinator
- straightforward presence/absence detection
- good Home Assistant support via ZHA or Zigbee2MQTT
The FP1 is the right pick for rooms where you just need to know “is someone in here or not” without caring about where exactly they’re sitting. Bathrooms, small offices, and utility rooms are good candidates.
The downside compared to the FP2 is no zone support, less configurability, and a narrower detection field. For simple presence detection in smaller rooms, that’s fine. For larger rooms or complex automation, spend up for the FP2.
Best for Home Assistant tinkerers: Everything Presence One
Everything Presence One is a community-designed sensor built specifically for the Home Assistant ecosystem. It runs on ESPHome, which means it’s fully local, fully customizable, and speaks directly to Home Assistant without any vendor cloud or app.
Why tinkerers love it:
- ESPHome-based — fully local, no cloud, no vendor app
- completely open and customizable
- combines mmWave with PIR, temperature, humidity, and light sensors
- designed by and for the Home Assistant community
This is the most local-first option on the list by a wide margin. There is no vendor cloud involved at any point. Configuration happens in ESPHome YAML, and everything runs locally.
The tradeoff is that it requires more setup effort than the Aqara sensors. You need to be comfortable with ESPHome, and tuning the mmWave sensitivity takes experimentation. The detection quality is good, but the out-of-box experience isn’t as polished as the FP2.
If you’re the kind of person who reads ESPHome documentation for fun, this is your sensor. If you want something that works well with less fiddling, start with the Aqara FP2.
Everything Presence One product notes
Practical tips for mmWave sensors
- Mount them high and angled down for the best coverage pattern.
- Keep them away from fans and HVAC vents — moving air can cause false triggers on some sensors.
- Start with conservative sensitivity and tune up if needed. False negatives are annoying. False positives that turn lights on at 3 AM are worse.
- Test with the room in actual use before finalizing your automation. Sitting at your desk for 30 minutes is a better test than waving your hand in front of the sensor.
Final recommendation
Buy the Aqara FP2 if you want the best balance of features and usability. Buy the Aqara FP1 for simpler rooms where basic presence detection is enough. Buy the Everything Presence One if you want the most local-first, customizable option and are comfortable with ESPHome.
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