The Philips Hue motion sensor requires two batteries: one AAA for indoor use and another AA for outdoor use. The sensor has a “minimum battery lifetime” of two years and requires two AAA batteries for indoor use and one AA for outdoor use. However, there is more to be learned about the batteries that are utilized by the motion sensor, which can last for three years or longer in practice.
Maximize Philips Hue Battery Life
It is quite convenient to have a motion sensor such as the Philips Hue since it will automatically turn on your lights when it senses that someone is approaching your home or business. Alternatively, if your battery is experiencing difficulties, your motion sensor may not perform as intended. Due to the preceding, I’ve written this guide to walk you through everything you need to know about this extremely handy Hue accessory.
The Philips Hue Motion Sensor is explained in detail.
In the picture is my Philips Hue motion sensor, which is still in its packing.
Philips Hue’s smart light bulbs and light strips are the firm’s most well-known goods, but the company also manufactures a few ‘accessories,’ one of which is the motion sensor, which is quite useful in a variety of situations.
There is a passive infrared sensor on the back of this device, which allows it to detect when someone is walking past it. The sensor may then be configured to turn on and off your Hue lights as well as change their color and brightness settings according to your preferences, all through the use of a smartphone app.
In this way, it may be used for a range of functions such as welcoming guests home by turning on outdoor or indoor lights, lighting areas of your home that you don’t visit frequently, such as utility rooms, and a slew of other things.
And, happily, it is not difficult to set up: there is no need for hardwiring, and all that is required is the installation of a couple of battery backup systems. Simple!
The Philips Hue indoor motion sensor takes two AAA batteries, whereas the Philips Hue outdoor motion sensor requires two AA batteries, according to the manufacturer.
This is crucial because the PIR sensor on the outdoor model is substantially larger than the sensor on the inside model. It is 50 percent broader and taller, as well as more than two times deeper. We’ll get deeper into this in more detail later. Given the higher energy consumption associated with increased motion sensor capabilities, a larger battery must be used to accommodate this.
How long it is estimated that the batteries in the Hue motion sensor will last?
Both the Philips Hue interior and exterior motion sensors have a life expectancy of “at least” 2 years, with some customers stating that they have a life expectancy of more than 3-4 years, despite the variances in battery capacity.
Why? Because Hue motion sensors are passive infrared sensors (PIR), they require less electricity than active infrared sensors and, as a result, help to reduce electricity expenses for consumers. In addition, they communicate via ZigBee, which is known to utilize less power overall than WiFi-based systems in general, which is another advantage.
The sole exception is that the device’s battery life will be reduced the more frequently it is used because it will be required to send more ZigBee’messages’ in order to activate your lighting routines, which will reduce the device’s battery life. You should take efforts to prevent this from happening in the first place if your dogs are accidentally activating them on a frequent basis in order to conserve battery life.
Finally, as previously said, the outdoor sensor requires AA batteries rather than AAA batteries to operate, which is a significant difference. While AAA batteries are normally capable of delivering “up to” 1,000 mAh of power, AA batteries are typically capable of providing between 2,000 and 3,200mAh of power.
- That is, during the course of its two AAA battery packs, the Hue indoor motion sensor will be capable of holding a total capacity of “up to” 2,000 mAH.
- The Hue outdoor motion sensor’s two AA batteries will have a combined capacity of “up to” 6,000 mAH, which is a significant increase over the previous model.
The outdoor Hue sensor appears to have a longer lifespan than the indoor one at first glance; however, it is important to note that the PIR sensor on the outdoor Hue sensor is significantly larger than that on the indoor sensor, which makes sense given that a wider range of motion sensitivity and detection is typically required outside.
Despite the increased electrical power consumption, the Hue outdoor sensor still has a battery life of around 2-3 years, which is comparable to that of its Hue indoor sensor sister despite the bigger battery size!
How to identify whether or not the motion sensor battery has to be replaced by keeping track of the battery level suggestions
The Philips Hue app simplifies the process of keeping track of and managing all of your Hue accessories, which may include:
Configuring your Hue accessories is done through the “Accessory Setup” section of the Hue application.
The ability to check the battery level is one of the things that you would expect from an official app of this sort, and it is present here.
Unfortunately, this isn’t nearly the case in every instance. It will inform you if your device’s battery is going low, but it will not display the actual battery level, such as whether it is at 20% or 50% of its maximum capacity until you enable it.
That being said, what is particularly inconvenient about this situation is that the battery information is actually given by the Hue motion sensor and can be accessed using the Hue API. The incorporation of the Hue application should therefore be uncomplicated as a result of this.
However, due to the fact that it isn’t, you can make use of some third-party programs that do display this information on your computer. There are at least two that I am familiar with:
- iConnectHue Hue Lights are wirelessly connected.
- iConnectHue received compensation for the app.
As soon as the battery data has been posted to the official app, I’ll update this page with a link to where you can find it. Thank you very much for your patience!
Is it possible to use battery packs in the Hue motion sensor? If yes, what kind of batteries?
We cannot use rechargeable batteries with the Philips Hue motion sensors or their associated rechargeable batteries since they are incompatible with them. When I inquired about this with Philips Hue, they answered by saying, “We do not recommend that you use rechargeable batteries.”
To be more specific, the following is stated in the sensor’s instruction manual:
The Philips Hue motion sensor rechargeable battery should be used with caution.
That’s because rechargeable batteries nearly universally function at lower voltages than normal batteries, resulting in less reliable performance all around.
It goes without saying that if you have high voltage rechargeable batteries, which are now uncommon but are beginning to become more popular, there is no reason why they shouldn’t perform excellently in this situation. Although most rechargeable batteries have a lower voltage than most rechargeable batteries, most rechargeable batteries are not recommended for use with the Philips Hue lighting system for the time being.
What are the “best” batteries to use with the Philips Hue motion sensor, and why are they the “best” batteries to use?
Motion sensors from Philips Hue can be powered by any high-quality pair of batteries as long as they are labeled AAA or AA for the interior sensor and AAA or AAA for the outdoor sensor, respectively, according to the manufacturer’s specifications.
For my own personal preference, I prefer Duracell AA batteries, while Amazon Basics batteries have been tested and provide a reasonable capacity for a far cheaper price point. In the case of the Hue motion sensors, any of the following will work:
Three AAA batteries are required to operate the Hue Indoor Motion Sensor.
The three triple A batteries that power the Indoor Sensor are included (AAA). Any brand will do, however Duracell AA is the one that I prefer. However, any other brand will work just as well.
Two AA batteries are required for use with the Hue Outdoor Motion Sensor.
Hue Outdoor Sensors are compatible with double A batteries, which are advantageous since they hold their charge for a longer period of time and hence last a little longer. In spite of the fact that they are slightly more expensive than their competitors, the Duracell AA batteries will continue to perform admirably in their current configuration.
Having said that, when combined with sensors, any high-quality battery should offer you with at least two years of battery life.
According to the manufacturer’s recommendations, replace the real batteries in the Hue motion sensor.
Battery replacement on both indoor and outdoor devices is a simple procedure that takes only a few minutes and requires no special tools. You can easily remove the back panel of your indoor Hue motion sensor by unscrewing a single screw on the back. This will allow you to replace the AAA batteries within. To see this, fast forward to 3 minutes and 30 seconds in the video below:
Although it takes a little longer to install the outdoor Philips Hue motion sensor than the indoor version, this is only because there are four screws to remove instead of one. After completely removing the four screws, the back panel will come out with ease, and the two AA batteries can be replaced once more in the following manner:
Generally speaking, it’s a straightforward job, and both gadgets are designed in such a way that swapping them out isn’t too tough.
Following the replacement of the batteries in your Hue motion sensor, how can you resolve sync issues?
Some Hue motion sensor customers have claimed that after replacing out the batteries in their sensor, the sensor is no longer recognized by the Hue mobile application. Fortunately, this isn’t a common occurrence, but when it happens, it may be quite perplexing because you know the batteries are fine because you’ve already swapped them out and tested them in your TV remote, right?! However, the connection is simply not working.
In order to understand why this is happening, we can consider the following hypotheses:
- It’s conceivable that your motion sensor is no longer in range of your computer. If you picked up the sensor and relocated it to a new area in your home in order to change the batteries, it’s conceivable that it was just out of range of your Philips Hue Bridge when you tried to connect it again. For all practical purposes, this is the same as a WiFi WhatsApp call failing when you quickly leave the building or get into your vehicle.
- Attempt to move your Philips Hue motion sensor within a few yards/metres of your Hue Bridge to determine whether this is the case.
- Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of patience on your part. The following day, or possibly the next day after that, some people have complained that their Hue motion sensor would not be recognized again until the next day after that! The fact that you are experiencing frustration does not mean that you will not be successful if you remain patient. If you are satisfied that the batteries are in good condition and that the motion sensor is within range of your Hue bridge, you should try waiting 24 hours before proceeding.
- It’s possible that a system reset will be necessary. Even after changing the battery, if your device is still not being detected, you may need to reset it to its factory default settings completely. To begin, log out of the Philips Hue application and disconnect the connected device.
- Then, for 10 seconds, push and hold the little setup button on the back of your Philips Hue sensor to begin the setup process. If it is in the configuration phase, it should begin blinking red and then orange to indicate that it is in the setup phase. You should be able to re-add it to the Hue app without any issues at this time. Thanks for your patience.
However, it would be best if you also read my in-depth guide on the subject, which has more recommendations.
