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In this guide
A passive-infrared sensor watches for movement. Sit still on the sofa for ten minutes and it reports an empty room, which is why so many lighting automations switch off while someone is reading. The Aqara Presence Sensor FP2 uses millimetre-wave radar to report whether a person is there at all. Aqara's Canadian storefront lists it at CA$109.99, with shipping calculated at checkout.
The trade is geometric. One FP2 covers a room of up to 40 square metres, but only inside a 120-degree cone that reaches 8 metres out and 6 metres across. It also wants constant USB power and a 2.4 GHz wireless link, and it asks you to draw the room and mark curtains and fans before any automation behaves.
Our verdict
Buy it for one room you can draw on a floor plan and power from a nearby outlet. Presence rather than motion is the point, and the 6-to-30-second delay is part of the deal.
- A good fit for
- A household already running smart lights or a smart plug, with one room under 40 m², 2.4 GHz coverage, and a free USB outlet within cable reach of the mount.
- We would skip it if
- You need more than one room covered, your router is 5 GHz only, you cannot leave it plugged in, or you want a medical fall alarm.
Reasons to consider it
- Reports presence instead of movement, so a still person keeps the zone occupied.
- Splits one room into up to 30 zones on a 320-cell plan, each with its own automation.
- Works with HomeKit, Alexa, Google Home and Home Assistant without an Aqara hub.
- IPX5 housing allows a bathroom install, provided the adapter and outlet stay dry.
The compromises
- Wall-mounted, it sees 120 degrees, 8 m out and 6 m wide; beyond that it is blind.
- Presence to absence takes 6 to 30 seconds of continuous non-detection.
- Local automations still want a hub that supports them over Wi-Fi, despite the listing copy.
- Edges and interference sources must be marked by hand, with people and pets out of the room.
What we have not verified: Aqara publishes no dimensions or weight for the sensor, and the Canadian listing gives a one-year limited warranty without saying who performs the repair. Whether the ceiling screws hold in drywall without a stud is unaddressed.
The things in this guide
A closer look at the products, who they may suit, and what to check before buying.
Presence Sensor FP2
A radar sensor that holds a zone occupied while someone sits still, splits a room into 30 zones, and reports into HomeKit, Alexa, Google Home or Home Assistant without an Aqara hub.
Before you buy: One 120-degree cone per room, constant USB power, a 6-to-30-second absence delay, and local automations that still want a hub.
Price checked October 18, 2026. Retailer prices can change.What changes when the sensor stops watching for motion
The difference shows up in the least dramatic moments: reading, working at a desk, watching a film. A PIR sensor sees a still body as nothing, so the automation has to choose between turning the light off and staying on all evening. The FP2 reports presence from radar returns, which is why it can keep a person counted while they sit.
That is worth CA$109.99 only if the room has a lighting or heating job that depends on someone being there. A hallway or a closet, where nobody lingers, gains nothing from radar over a cheap PIR.
Forty square metres, inside a 120-degree cone
Wall-mounted, the sensor looks 8 metres out and 6 metres wide, with a 120-degree horizontal field. A long narrow room fits. An L-shaped one does not, at least not with one sensor, and the radar does not see around the corner.
Aqara rates coverage at up to 40 square metres. Measure the room before buying: a 6 by 6 metre open plan is at the edge, and a ceiling mount changes the shape of the cone.
The installation is a floor plan, not a pairing
The map is what makes the automation work. It is a 16 by 20 grid of half-metre cells, up to 30 named zones, and two kinds of marking that exist to prevent false positives. Edge areas stop targets being created outside the room, and interference sources stop curtains, fans, plants and hanging clothes from counting as people.
That is an evening's work for one room, not a five-minute pairing. The reward is that a zone can mean 'the desk' rather than 'the room', which is the difference between a light that follows you and one that switches on for the cat.
The hub sentence the page and the manual disagree on
Aqara's product copy advertises local automations without an Aqara hub. The manual is narrower: the device requires the Aqara Home app, and local automation requires a hub that supports local automation over Wi-Fi.
For a Canadian buyer the practical reading is that HomeKit, Alexa, Google Home and Home Assistant can see the zones without an Aqara hub, but automations that must run with the internet down need a suitable hub. Budget for it if that is the point of the install.
One cable, one year, no dimensions
The FP2 is wired: a USB-C cable feeds it from an adapter or outlet, and the manual's mounting advice assumes the cable can reach. Aqara rates the housing IPX5, so a bathroom works if the adapter and outlet stay dry.
The Canadian storefront gives a one-year limited warranty, 30-day returns and shipping calculated at checkout. Aqara still publishes no dimensions or weight for the sensor, so check the wall plate before committing to a narrow spot.
When a motion sensor is the better buy
Skip the FP2 if the job is a hallway, a closet or a stair, where a cheap PIR sensor's instant trigger is the right behaviour. Skip it if the room is larger than the cone or shaped around a corner, since a second FP2 costs another CA$109.99 and a second map.
Skip it too if the only Wi-Fi in reach is 5 GHz, or if the outlet sits on the far side of the room from where the sensor has to look. For one room, one outlet and a household that already runs smart lights, it does the job a motion sensor cannot.
How we put this together
Built from the product pages and listings below, without test scores or results we have not measured. Specifications and prices change, so check the original page for the exact model, current price, delivery, and returns.
- Aqara (Canada storefront): Presence Sensor FP2 (opens in a new tab)
- Aqara: Presence Sensor FP2 user manual (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
