Step 1: Prepare Your Zigbee Network

Ensure your Zigbee coordinator is connected and recognized by Home Assistant. Navigate to Settings > Devices & Services and confirm your ZHA or Zigbee2MQTT integration is online.

Step 2: Put the Sensor in Pairing Mode

Press and hold the reset button on the bottom of the Aqara Motion Sensor P1 for 5 seconds until the blue LED starts flashing. The sensor is now in pairing mode for approximately 3 minutes.

Step 3: Add the Device

Using ZHA

Go to Settings > Devices & Services > ZHA
Click Add Device
The sensor should appear as “Aqara Motion Sensor” within 30 seconds
Click to confirm the pairing

Using Zigbee2MQTT

Open Zigbee2MQTT web interface
Click Permit Join in the top bar
The sensor will appear in the device list once paired
Rename it to something descriptive like “Living Room Motion”

Step 4: Configure Sensitivity

The Aqara Motion Sensor P1 supports three sensitivity levels (low, medium, high). In Home Assistant:

Go to Settings > Devices > Aqara Motion Sensor P1
Under Configuration, find the sensitivity setting
Adjust to your preferred level

Step 5: Create Automations

automation:
  - alias: "Turn on lights on motion"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: binary_sensor.living_room_motion
        to: "on"
    action:
      - service: light.turn_on
        target:
          entity_id: light.living_room

Troubleshooting

Sensor not detected during pairing: Make sure you are within 3 meters of the coordinator and that the battery is fresh. Try resetting by holding the button for 10 seconds.

Motion detection seems delayed: The default re-trigger time is 60 seconds. This is a hardware limitation. Consider using the occupancy duration setting in Zigbee2MQTT if available.

Sensor shows unavailable after a while: Check that you have enough Zigbee router devices (smart plugs, switches) to maintain mesh coverage to the sensor location.

Setting Up Aqara Motion Sensor P1 with Home Assistant

Prerequisites