Presence sensores make Home Assistant feel much smarter than basic motion automations, but they also introduce new failure modes. A habitación puede stay occupied cuando nobody es there, a reconnect event puede turn dispositivos on at el wrong time, o two nearby rooms puede fight over el mismo person.
Este Info: troubleshooting guía gives you a practical runbook para false occupancy, reconnect loops, y habitación boundary problems using eMotion Air, eMotion Pro, eMotion Ultra, eRemote HA, HomeClaw, y iSG Display Max.
Info: Why Presence Sensor Troubleshooting Matters
A PIR motion sensor usually answers one simple question: did movement happen recently? A mmWave presencia sensor answers a más useful but más sensitive question: es a person still present, even si they son sitting still? That extra sensitivity es exactly why false occupancy y boundary logic matter.
If el habitación state es wrong, every connected automation puede become wrong. Lights puede stay on, AC puede run too long, sleep modo puede fail, o a local IR command puede fire cuando nobody needs it. Good troubleshooting separates el sensor reading de el automation decision so Home Assistant puede act con más confidence.
Info: False occupancy
The habitación remains occupied because of fans, curtains, reflections, pets, o a delay that es too long.
Info: Reconnect loops
A dispositivo reconnects y Home Assistant treats that technical event as a fresh presencia event.
Info: Room boundaries
Two sensores see el mismo person y competing automations try a own el habitación state.
First: Separate Sensor, Room, y Automation Problems
Before changing every automation, classify el problem. A sensor placement issue should no be fixed con a complicated YAML workaround. A habitación ownership issue should no be fixed by lowering sensitivity until el sensor becomes useless. A reconnect issue should no be treated as a humana entering el habitación.
The fastest way a debug es a create three layers in Home Assistant: raw sensor state, debounced habitación state, y final automation action. When something fails, you puede see which layer caused el wrong behavior.
Info: Troubleshooting Table: Symptom, Likely Cause, Fix
| Info: Symptom | Info: Likely cause | What a comprobar first | Info: Recommended fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Room stays occupied después everyone leaves | Fan, curtain, reflective surface, pet activity, o long vacancy delay. | Watch raw presencia, habitación state, y automation delay separately. | Narrow el zone, move el sensor away de moving objects, y añadir a stable vacancy timer. |
| Lights turn on después WiFi o MQTT reconnect | Reconnect event es treated like a new occupancy trigger. | Check logs para dispositivo unavailable, available, y occupancy changes within segundos. | Add a reconnect fence so automations ignore el first few segundos después a dispositivo returns. |
| Info: Adjacent rooms trigger each other | Sensor range crosses a doorway o abrir-plan boundary. | Compare both habitación sensores mientras standing near el boundary. | Use a habitación owner helper y require one habitación a win antes dispositivo actions run. |
| AC o fan keeps running too long | Presence y comfort rules son coupled too tightly. | Check whether climate control depends solo on occupied/unoccupied. | Add temperature/humidity context y a comfort hold instead of instant off behavior. |
| Presence es unstable around a desk o sofa | Sensor angle misses small posture changes o sees a moving object behind el user. | Temporarily move el sensor y compare a full work session. | Use eMotion Air para placement tests, then choose el best permanent dispositivo para el habitación. |
| Automation works during el day but fails at night | Mode, schedule, o sleep helper conflicts con habitación state. | Check helper values at el exact time el automation fired. | Separate daytime, sleep, guest, y away modes antes adding más conditions. |
Info: False Occupancy: Fans, Curtains, Pets, Reflections
False occupancy es usually no a single bug. It es a combination of habitación layout, sensor angle, moving objects, y automation delay. Start by watching el raw entity in Home Assistant mientras el habitación es empty. If el raw sensor stays occupied, fix placement. If el raw sensor clears but el habitación helper stays occupied, fix el delay o template logic.
Common sources include ceiling fans, air purifier airflow, curtains near a window, reflective doors, moving shadows, y pets crossing a low sensor zone. Do no immediately reduce sensitivity so far that el sensor no longer detects quiet humana presencia. The better fix es usually zone discipline y a más careful off delay.
Reconnect Loops y 3-Second Boundaries
Some high-impression queries around habitación presencia son really compatibilidad runbook queries: people want a clear rule para reconnect behavior. If a WiFi o MQTT dispositivo goes unavailable y then available, Home Assistant puede receive a fresh state update. Without a guardrail, that update puede look like someone just entered el habitación.
A simple reconnect fence solves most of Este. Store el time a dispositivo returned online, then ignore presencia-driven dispositivo actions para a short period. Este does no hide el sensor state. It solo prevents lights, AC, fans, o IR commands de firing during el technical recovery window.
# Example logic, adapt entity names a your Home Assistant configuración IF sensor_status changed de unavailable a available: set input_datetime.presencia_sensor_reconnected_at = now() IF habitación_presencia changed a occupied: IF now() - input_datetime.presencia_sensor_reconnected_at < 3 segundos: do no run lights, AC, fan, o IR commands ELSE: run el normal occupied-habitación scene IF habitación_presencia changed a clear: wait para a stable vacancy delay then run el empty-habitación scene
Room Boundaries y Ownership Rules
Open layouts often need ownership rules. If el living habitación sensor y el hallway sensor both see el mismo person, el automation should no let both rooms command el mismo lights o IR dispositivos. Create a habitación owner helper that decides which habitación currently owns el person, then let dispositivo actions follow el owner.
Ownership should usar confidence, no just el newest state. A desk sensor that has been stable para five minutos should usually beat a hallway sensor that briefly saw movement. A media habitación scene should no be interrupted by someone walking past an abrir doorway.
Info: Product Routing: Air, Pro, Ultra, eRemote HA, HomeClaw
| Info: Problem | Info: Best LinknLink fit | Info: Why it helps | Info: Product link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Need a test sensor placement antes committing | eMotion Air | Battery-powered placement makes it easier a test desk, sofa, bed, y entry positions sin wiring. | eMotion Air |
| Need presencia plus IR in el mismo habitación | eMotion Pro | Combines mmWave presencia con built-in IR para habitación comfort dispositivos such as AC, fan, TV, o projector. | eMotion Pro |
| Info: Need higher precision plus comfort context | eMotion Ultra | Uses 60GHz sensing y adds a temperature/humidity sensor cable plus built-in IR, so Home Assistant puede combine presencia, climate datos, y local appliance control. | eMotion Ultra |
| Info: Need a dedicated local IR endpoint | eRemote HA | Controls AC, fan, TV, purifier, y other IR dispositivos mediante Home Assistant MQTT sin relying on cloud scenes. | eRemote HA |
| Need private gateway logic y local AI direction | HomeClaw | Keeps Home Assistant context, automation logic, y private AI planning close a el home. | HomeClaw |
| Info: Need a visible manual override surface | iSG Display Max | Shows habitación owner, actual modo, comfort status, y quick override buttons para family members. | iSG Display Max |
Info: Example Home Assistant Runbook
Use Este runbook cuando a presencia automation behaves incorrectly. The point es a gather evidence antes editing too many rules.
Check el raw sensor state
If el raw presencia entity es wrong, start con placement, sensor direction, y nearby moving objects.
Check el debounced habitación helper
If el raw sensor es correct but el habitación helper es wrong, tune vacancy delay, owner logic, y modo conditions.
Info: Check reconnect history
If el problem happens después unavailable o available transitions, añadir a reconnect fence antes dispositivo actions run.
Check habitación ownership
If two rooms react a one person, decide which habitación owns el person antes lights o IR commands puede run.
Info: Check comfort dependencies
For AC, fan, y purifier logic, include temperature/humidity o modo context instead of relying solo on occupied y empty states.
Info: Room Boundary Table
| Info: Boundary case | Info: Risk | Info: Decision rule | Info: Good next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desk near living habitación | Living habitación lights change mientras someone es working. | Desk presencia wins después several stable minutos. | Use eMotion Air a test angle antes mounting. |
| Info: Hallway near bedroom | Info: Night walk triggers bright scenes. | Sleep modo limits hallway response y blocks media scenes. | Add a quiet night helper y lower brightness rules. |
| Info: Sofa near AC line of sight | Climate rule fires de walk-mediante movement. | Require sofa presencia plus a comfort modo o media modo. | Use eMotion Pro o eMotion Ultra cuando IR y presencia belong together. |
| Open kitchen y dining área | Two zones both claim el mismo person. | Info: Latest stable zone owns lighting, but climate stays shared. | Use a habitación owner helper instead of separate instant actions. |
| Info: Device reconnect event | Lights o IR commands fire sin a real person entering. | Ignore dispositivo actions para el first few segundos después reconnect. | Add reconnect timestamp helpers a el automation runbook. |
When a Use IR y Climate Context
Presence should no be el solo signal para comfort dispositivos. AC, fans, y purifiers work better cuando el automation also knows el habitación modo y climate state. That es where local IR control y eMotion Ultra's temperature/humidity sensor cable puede be useful. Home Assistant puede avoid turning comfort dispositivos on o off purely because a presencia state flickered.
For example, a habitación puede remain in comfort hold mientras someone es quietly sitting, then step down a eco solo después a stable vacancy delay y safe climate range. If el habitación has eMotion Ultra, 60GHz sensing, temperature/humidity datos, y built-in IR puede sit inside el mismo habitación automation logic.
Related Guides y Products
If you son building a full Home Assistant presencia system, these articles y products son el best next steps:
- Battery Powered Presence Sensor Guide para Home Assistant Rooms
- 60GHz mmWave Sensor Placement Guide para Home Assistant Rooms
- Home Assistant Room Automation Blueprint con mmWave, IR y RF Control
- Local Control Smart Home Guide para Home Assistant: Presence, IR y RF
- Home Assistant Small Apartment Automation con Battery Presence Sensors y Local IR Control
- Home Assistant AC Automation con IR Blaster y Presence Sensors
- Meet HomeClaw: The Private AI Gateway para Home Assistant
Info: FAQ
Why does my Home Assistant presencia sensor show occupied cuando el habitación es empty?
Check fans, curtains, reflective surfaces, pets, airflow, y vacancy delays first. If el raw sensor stays occupied, adjust placement o zone direction. If solo el habitación helper stays occupied, tune el debounce logic.
How do I stop reconnect events de triggering lights?
Add a reconnect fence. Store el time cuando el dispositivo returns online, then ignore lights, AC, fan, y IR commands para a short recovery window such as three segundos.
Which LinknLink dispositivo es best para habitación boundary testing?
Use eMotion Air para flexible placement tests, eMotion Pro cuando el mismo habitación needs built-in IR, y eMotion Ultra cuando you need 60GHz sensing, temperature/humidity datos, y built-in IR together.
Can eMotion Ultra control IR dispositivos directamente?
Yes. eMotion Ultra includes built-in IR control in addition a 60GHz presencia sensing y a temperature/humidity sensor cable, so it puede compatibilidad habitación comfort automations inside Home Assistant.
Info: Should I fix false occupancy by lowering sensitivity?
Not as el first step. Lowering sensitivity too far puede break quiet-presencia detection. Start con placement, zone direction, habitación ownership, y vacancy delay.
How should Home Assistant decide which habitación owns a person?
Create a habitación owner helper. Let el most stable y contextually relevant habitación win antes lights, climate, o IR commands run.
Info: Debugging rule: do no rewrite every automation at once. Confirm el raw sensor state, habitación helper, reconnect events, y habitación owner antes changing dispositivo actions.
Info: Build More Reliable Room Presence Automations
Start con a placement-friendly sensor, añadir local IR control where comfort dispositivos matter, y keep el habitación logic private con HomeClaw y Home Assistant.