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Door and window sensors are an integral part of most smart homes. To be able to have alerts when certain doors open or if you leave a window open is a comfort. But many of the sensors on the market are not the most affordable. They have built-in extra features that add cost and may not be what you are looking for. That is where he Linkind Door and Window Sensor comes in. These door and window sensors are simple contact sensors and the price point reflects that. The packaging mentions that you need the Linkind Security System to install, but since this is Zigbee we will be able to add it straight into our smart home.
Prerequisites
These sensors use the Zigbee protocol to communicate, so you will need to have a zigbee system ready to go in your Home Assistant server. If you do not have one, I recommend the HUSBZB-1. This USB stick will unlock Zigbee and Z-Wave protocols allowing you to add a very large number of devices beyond WiFi.
Linkind Door and Window Sensor Unboxing
Inside the box you will have the two sensors, two magnets, some installation hardware, and an instruction manual. The installation hardware is optional as the sensors and magnets have double-sided tape on the back of them which works. The manual explains how to install the sensors with the proper gap and also how to tie it in to the Linkind Security System. We won’t be using that system but it is important to read how to put the sensors into pairing mode.
Linkind Door and Window Sensor Installation
The installation was fairly straightforward. I installed one of the sensors on a double swinging door in my house so the sensor went on one door slab and the magnet was installed on the other. The double-sided tape worked perfectly to install and it seems like it will stay there for a while with how lightweight these sensors are. There is a tab you need to remove from the battery compartment that was harder to remove than I was expecting. Once that tab is removed, the sensor goes in to pairing mode. Pairing mode doesn’t appear to last very long so try and pair quickly or you will need a paperclip to get it back in to pairing mode.
Adding the Sensor to Home Assistant
Once you have the sensor installed and it is in pairing mode, you will need to add a new Zigbee device in Home Assistant. Navigate to Settings –> Devices and Services and then press the +Add Integration button in the bottom right corner. You will then select “Add Zigbee Device” and the pairing will begin.
The server will now try to find the new sensor and when it does, it will begin the pairing process, when it is done you will have a green box showing your new sensor.
Simply change the name of the sensor to the door or window you are monitoring and add the area and you are all set!
You can now use your Linkind Door and Window Sensor to monitor your house, give you alerts, and whatever other ideas you have in mind. It also adds a sensor to monitor the battery level so that you know when you need to change it. Maybe you can automate an alert if it drops below say, 20%?
Conclusion
The Linkind Door and Window Sensor is not a fancy sensor. It will tell you if a window or door is open or closed. It is almost refreshing in today’s market to see it only do it’s job, and not try to also give temperature, humidity, and whatever other metrics are being added in to other sensors. The best part about this is that with such a basic sensor, the price is extremely affordable. You can afford to buy multiple and monitor all of the openings in your home all with the ease of Zigbee.