Aqara Door and Window Sensor P2 review: Simple yet effective

Key Takeaways

You don’t have to spend a fortune on security — DIY smart home security is affordable and effective with Aqara devices and other integrations.
Aqara Door and Window Sensor P2 offers Matter and Thread connectivity, easy installation, good battery life, but it’s a bit pricier.
Aqara Hub M3 integration allows for custom alarms and push notifications, making Aqara Door and Window Sensor P2 an intuitive purchase.

Keeping your home secure is at the forefront of many homeowners’ minds. Luckily, you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to install a security system or infrared camera at every turn. Nowadays, you can create your own smart home security system with a combination of different devices, such as smart security cameras, motion sensors, and door and window sensors. Aqara offers a variety of devices that you use to secure your entire home. Plus, many of the products can be automated to provide extra levels of protection.

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I’ve been testing out the Aqara Door and Window Sensor P2 to see how it integrates with the new Aqara Hub M3. But it can be utilized in multiple ways, as it can also be connected by Thread and Matter. This allows it to be integrated into your smart home system more easily as it can communicate with your other devices. Here are my other thoughts about the Aqara Door and Window Sensor P2.

Aqara Door and Window Sensor P2

Recommended

The Aqara Door and Window Sensor P2 offers Matter and Thread connectivity. It can also be connected with Bluetooth, offering plenty of ways for it to secure your home.

Compatibility: Bluuetooth, Matter, Threead
Weight: 1.41 ounces
Colors: White
Dimensions: 3.03″ x 1.32″ x 0.87″
Battery: 1400mAh

Pros

Easy to install
Automations simple to set up
Good battery life

Cons

Pricier than other options on the market
Bigger than other sensors

Price, availability, and specs

A bit bigger than others on the market

The Aqara Door and Window Sensor P2 has been on the market for a little over a year. It retails for $30, and if you go to Aqara’s website, it brings you to Amazon. You can also purchase it at Best Buy and some retailers. It’s a little bit more expensive than some other door and window sensors on the market, but it does offer more connectivity options than, say, the Ring Contact Sensor.

You may notice that it is also a little bit bigger than other more discreet sensors. This didn’t bother me, as the white color blends in nicely with the window frames and door frames I put it on. But if you want to use this on a cabinet or fridge, it would be much more noticeable. Maybe, you’re trying to see who’s sneaking snacks from the fridge and want to put a sensor on it — the P2 might not be the one to choose, as it’s rather obvious.

Aqara Door and Window Sensor P2

Compatibility: Bluuetooth, Matter, Threead
Weight: 1.41 ounces
Colors: White
Dimensions: 3.03″ x 1.32″ x 0.87″
Battery: 1400mAh

Design

Rounded, similar to other P2 offerings

Aqara opted for a more rounded look on its devices for the newest iterations. When you open the box, you’ll see there’s one larger main unit and one accessory unit. There’s also a small rectangular magnet — that comes in a separate pouch — that can be used for installation in different places around your home. But if you’re placing it on a wooden frame as a door or window sensor, the two units should suffice.

I’ve found that it sticks very well but also isn’t so sticky that it will rip paint off of your wood.

You’ll see the two units are magnetized and will stick to one another if you hold them together. There are little indentations on either side that are meant to provide the best connection during installation. The back of each unit has adhesive, and I’ve found that it sticks very well but also isn’t so sticky that it will rip paint off of your wood. So, if you install it somewhere and realize you want to move it to another location, you should be able to do so without problems.

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You need a Matter-compatible app in order to install this and set it up. I opted to utilize Amazon Alexa, as I have an Echo Show 8, which serves as a Thread-based router. I found that setting it up and connecting it to the Alexa app was simple — the ability to ask Alexa whether a window was open made it especially effective. However, it doesn’t work to send push notifications to your device with the Alexa app. This is similar to the Motion and Light Sensor P2, which integrates better with Google or Apple HomeKit than Amazon Alexa.

Software and Features

Does even more with the Aqara Hub

Because I have the Aqara Hub M3, which I’ve also been testing, I connected the Door and Window Sensor P2 to it as well. This allowed me to sync up the automations even more and utilize the Hub as the base for my security system. The Hub M3 can play specific alarm sounds when the door or window registers as open, and I can also have it send me push notifications. Creating the automations can take some getting used to in the Aqara Home app — but once you get it down, you’ll be able to customize the sound that the Hub makes or opt for a different action when the sensor detects movement of the door or window.

When it’s synced in the Aqara Home app, you can just pull up the app and see whether or not the sensor is open or closed as well, in case you aren’t near a smart speaker you use for voice commands. You can also see this information in other Matter-based apps, so you don’t need the Aqara Hub for this. What I found was that, while it has Matter technology and can integrate into your smart home ecosystem, you’re going to get the most out of it with an Aqara-based router.

The battery life is said to run for a long time — I’ve been testing it out for about a week and have had no issues thus far.

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Competition

Depends on your home ecosystem

I’ve had trouble with the Ring sensors staying put on a door or window frame, and the Aqara option just feels sturdier.

There are plenty of door and window sensors on the market. So, depending on what you already have in your home, you can opt for ones from Philips, Zigbee, YoLink, and Ring. I have a Ring security system in my home and Ring Alarm Contact Sensors (2nd Gen) on the windows and doors downstairs. What I like more about the Aqara Door and Window Sensor P2 is how easy it was to install compared to the Ring Contact Sensor. I’ve had trouble with the Ring sensors staying put on a door or window frame, and the Aqara option just feels sturdier. The Ring Contact Sensor is only $20 but doesn’t have Matter or Thread connectivity.