P2 Motion Sensor Commissioning Failures

Aqara Products
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TL;DR

Cannot commission P2 Motion Sensor to Home Assistant despite following all recommendations. Getting constant pair-retransmission-limit-reached errors. Matter.js beta doesn’t help. Ready to throw this device away and switch to Zigbee alternatives. Need to know: Is Aqara planning to fix the P2’s known issues, or should I just return it now?

I cannot commission the P2 to Home Assistant as a secondary fabric. The commissioning process consistently fails with:

[pair-retransmission-limit-reached] Failed to connect on any discovered server

Even if I am able to recommission the device (first with my G410 and then to HA using Matter.js), it becomes unavailable within a matter of hours.

Is Aqara aware of the issues? I have found in my searches that some people were able to update their sensor to 1.0.3.0 but it seems to have been pulled, which leaves me asking if there is a ray of light for people or should I just return/throw mine away? The FP300 is much more stable but also much more expensive and has sensors that I don’t need. I only want a wireless motion sensor.

If I try to setup Signal Sync with the hub, it mostly works, except that it can only send ‘Motion Detected’ signals and not presence. There’s no problem with that and I can still create automations, but it’s not good enough. The luminosity signal sync does not work at all for me.

On top of that, trying to make it work drained 50% of my battery in a day.

Is this known? Thanks!

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Also see: Motion and Light Sensor P2

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I connected the P2 Motion Sensor to Aqara Home, Apple Home and Home Assistant. It works for me without any problems.

It is important that you only use the sticker with the Matter code the first time and then use the code in the app (Multi-Admin).

Here the complete process:

Regarding the error message:

There could also be other reasons for the error message, such as a faulty IPv6 configuration in HA, blocked mDNS (Multicast DNS) or subnets/VLANs, an active VPN on the smartphone, incorrect thread network credentials or the p2 sensor is too far away and has no connection.

First, check whether Home Assistant has received a correct IPv6 address under:

Settings ->System → Network → Configure network interfaces → IPv6

Are there any IP addresses that start with “fd” or “2a”?

Other question: Had the hub serving as the thread border router been reset beforehand?

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Thanks for the reply. It is working just fine with the G410, but it’s quite useless there because the signal sync does not work. For example, I tried selecting Presence (Status) and it just doesn’t work. If I select Motion Detected, it works, but that’s valid for only 1 sec. The light sensor on the other hand is completely useless as it only allows me to get 1 sec pulses for whenever a threshold is met.

I see no IPv6 address in the Aqara Home app, but when I was able to pair it to HA, I did see an ‘fd’ address. IPv6 on my home network works flawlessly and everything uses it.

I read a comment that I should try getting a code from the Aqara app and then in HA use the ‘new device’ option instead of existing one. That pops up the iOS pairing UI and the error on it is quite clear → it goes from connecting to setting up followed by an error that I need to restart the sensor. I am guessing that I hit some kind of pairing limit because the logs seem to tell me that a connection was made but pairing failed.

Surely, I cannot be the only one using iOS + G410 + HA for the P2?

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I’m using iOS, I also have a G410 as one of my Thread Border Routers, and can pair it with Aqara and HA via Matter-Multi-Admin. In general, it should be possible.

Actually, you don’t need Advanced Matter Bridging (Signal Sync) here either, since it is a Matter over Thread sensor and can be used directly.

I didn’t use Advanced Matter Bridging (Signal Sync) the way you describe it, but it would actually make sense, because it’s not a presence sensor but a motion sensor. But maybe it’s still wrong. I don’t know — I don’t use it like that. Theoretically, you could use it to start a timer in Home Assistant. This means that as soon as motion is detected, the timer starts. Or restart when triggered again. You could then control a light as follows: Timer starts = light on and timer idle = light off. The light remains on as long as movement occurs within the set interval.

What you are describing is only necessary if you want to add the sensor to Aqara. So if the sensor is not set up in any system at all, then you would have to select “No, it’s a new device.” If you had first set up the sensor in Home Assistant, then you would have to select “Yes, it is already in use” in the Aqara app.

However, since you are already using the sensor in the Aqara app, it is already connected.

In the Aqara Home app, go to:

“Accessories” → search for and select the P2 sensor → tap on the three dots in the top right corner → tap on “Matter” under “General Settings” → select “Matter Pairing Code”

Here you will see the Matter code that you can use in Home Assistant and/or Apple Home or in other systems. Important: the code is only valid for a short time and must be regenerated for each system.

After that, the sensor is connected in parallel to all systems and should appear there directly as a motion sensor.

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The only reason I am using signal sync is that adding it to HA means:

Resetting the sensor
Pairing it to both Aqara and HA
Setting up my automations in HA
Waiting for it to become unavailable in HA
Repeat

So far, the only reliable way to get it to work at all for me has been to pair it to the Aqara Hub. Pairing just to HA wasn’t good, and I don’t have an Apple Home hub (plus, don’t want to depend on it).

I have been trying exactly the procedure you described of generating a pairing code and then immediately using the ‘already connected’ flow, but it eventually either stops pairing until I reset the sensor or becomes unavailable in HA. I have tried both matter.js as well as the legacy python server. Exactly the same results.

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What’s the firmware version of the P2 for you?

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What do you mean? As I said, the ‘already connected flow’ in Aqara isn’t necessary if the sensor is already connected. It’s connected if you can generate a code for Home Assistant. Or do you mean the ‘Commission existing device’ option in Home Assistant?

How long will it take before it is no longer accessible?
It could be due to the IPv6 prefix delegation of your internet router.

You may want to read the section “Link-Local vs. GUA vs. ULA” under Matter & Thread: A Guide Through the Jungle

Nevertheless, you mentioned that the IP addresses start with “fd”, so the issue should not actually be occurring. IPv6 addresses beginning with “fd” are unique local addresses.

Version is 1.0.3.0
If you are using an older version, please contact Support to request activation of the firmware update. However, due to the Chinese New Year holidays, it may take some time before you receive a response.

I didn’t have any problems with versions 1.0.1.0 and 1.0.2.0 either.

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Everything I have read leads me to conclude that 1.0.3.0 is the stable version. It upgrades the sensor to Matter 1.4 which specifically addresses sleepy device pairing behavior. It’s crazy that I have to make a special request to obtain it.

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I checked the Distributed Compliance Ledger (DCL). The firmware version 1.0.3.0, the status “Software Version Valid” is currently set to false.

There seems to be a problem with the update, which is why its rollout has been stopped. However, I have read that support makes exceptions in some cases.

I doubt the update will solve the connection problems.

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Also waiting for months to have some kind of update but in my case it’s because of false positives.
I also only want a simple motion and light sensor. One that works when it’s supposed. Regards

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Have you contacted support about the problem?

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Hi have exchanged tons of emails. Aqara also sent me at least 4 replacements. I guess it’s software and they also told me that. But no light at the end of the tunnel.