If you read this on fediverse and the layout is off, here’s the link to the original blog post with a nice text & pictures layout.

I replaced my current setup of waking up the #FireHD (#HomeAssistant dashboard).

A while ago I complained about issues related to waking up the FireHD tablet screen when I approach it.

My old setup

for waking up the tablet consisted of the following:

• FireHD tablet
• an Ikea #Vallhorn movement sensor (Zigbee) sticked to the ceiling near the tablet
• a HomeAssistant automation which sends a notification message (‘command_screen_on’) to the HA companion app running on FireHD
• FKB (Fully Kiosk Browser) which forces FireHD tablet to fullscreen and bypassing the lock screen
• a fridge that carries the tablet sticked with magnets to its side

I had numerous issues with this setup that have a single origin: FireHD tablet software is crap.

HA companion app frequently looses connection to HA server. Or, the tablet frequently loses wifi connection (see the dropouts here). Sometimes, the tablet becomes unresponsive. A restart or cleaning HA companion app notification log helps. The result was that I stand in front of the tablet waiting like an idiot and nothing happened. Or it did, but the reliability was poor.
It’s annoying to restart the tablet every day.

So after reading the comment from Phil Pownall I decided to give YAKK a try.

My new setup:

• YAKK android app running on FireHD tablet, some more info about YAKK on HA forums
• FireHD tablet
• A fridge, obviously

Installation:

I installed YAKK on my FireHD 2020 unsing direct .apk download. Some gymnastics was needed, because built-in (Amazon’s) Silk browser didn’t want to open the .apk. Then I clicked ‘open in new tab.’ and it asked me if I want to download from untrusted yada yada.

That’s it. #YAKK android app monitors FireHD’s camera and detects the motion. Moreover, it can serve as a webcam for Home Assistant (stream is available at http://<IP where YAKK is running>:2112).

The good:

Challenges

There are only 3 minor annoyances that I still didn’t resolve. They’re not directly related to YAKK:

Do anyone have an idea how to solve these 3 issues?

https://blog.rozman.info/waking-up-the-screen-of-firehd-tablet-using-yakk-app/

#FireHD #homeassistant #Vallhorn #YAKK

I’ve bought some #Ikea #Vallhorn motion sensors for 8€ a piece. (see info here)

Pairing to the #Zigbee network in #HomeAssistant and #Zigbee2MQTT was somehow difficult, which is not usual for Zigbee devices (at least according to my limited experiences with them). Nevertheless, I succeeded in pairing them.

Unsuccessful attempts

Firstly I tried to pair the sensor with ‘Permit All’ for several times. Pairing failed. I noticed the sensor wanted to connect to my #Aqara smart plug (SP-EUC01), not to the #Sonoff Zigbee stick (the coordinator). Somehow Aqara didn’t like it and rejected the initial Zigbee ‘interview’.

Successful attempt

After some tries finally the following method for pairing worked:

The initial step (‘zigbee dialogue’) was completed successfully this time and I was able to add them to the dashboards, automations etc.

The sensor reports:

• Illuminance (in lux and numerical value)
• Motion
• Battery
• Firmware status and version
• Last seen, Link quality

Overall, the design of the sensor looks nice and smooth. On the backside, it has 3 buttons:

The package also includes a holder and a piece of double-sided tape. The manual doesn’t include much information.

Automations

Why I bought this motion sensor at all? The initial idea was to turn on the Home Assistant dashboard (FireHD tablet) when someone approaches the fridge with the tablet attached.

The automation is simple:

If a motion is detected, then send a notification (‘command_screen_on’) to the tablet (running the #HomeAssistant companion app):

The automation works ok-ish.

It detects motion and turns on the tablet, but the tablet screen turns off after a minute. I’ve noticed the sensor doesn’t send triggers every time it detects motion, only at the beginning of the motion and after the state is cleared (no motion detected). The states are:

Detected -> Cleared -> Detected -> Cleared … and so on

The effect: if someone is dancing in front of the sensor for several minutes, it will trigger only one time. Meanwhile, the associated automation will not be triggered again.

What I want (from the state perspective) is:

Detected -> Detected -> Detected -> …. Cleared -> Detected ….

I could prolong the screen on time, but that is not the best solution. I have to think about how to solve this issue. Maybe other types of motion sensors behave the way I want?

Ideas for other 2 motion sensors

Ok, this was the first motion sensor I put in use.

The second sensor I’ve put in my workshop to detect motion. I’d like to build a simple home alarm system. A few days ago I thought I heard someone opening doors and walking in my workshop. When I checked, nobody was there, but the unpleasant feeling stayed. So the purpose of the second sensor is to prove if I’m hallucinating and hearing voices or not 🙂

For the 3rd one, I don’t have an idea yet where to put it.

Update 1 (17. Jan 2024): Issues with false movement detection

The next day after installation I noticed ‘ghost movements’ at night:

Too bad, it looked like a good sensor. False detections make it unusable.

The community also noticed this issue (1). Will try changing the batteries from 1.5V AAA to 1.2V AAA rechargeables.

Update:

I’ve changed the batteries to 1.2V rechargeable ones (Energizer from Kik). The result: no false movement was detected during the night:

I would never figured it out by myself. Thanks, HA community!

Update 2 (25. March 2024): Undervoltage sensitivity – false movement detected

What’s new: The sensor doesn’t like low voltage either. When the battery dropped under 40%, it showed movement as ‘detected’, even if no movement was present. See the history graph below.

This corresponds approximately to this part on the battery % chart:

When I refilled the batteries, it worked normally again (no constant movement detection).

Update 3 (1. Aug. 2024): How long do rechargeable batteries last?

Answer: rechargeable batteries in Vallhorn sensors last quite long, probably 10 months or a year. The last time I filled one of the batteries was in March ’24. Now it’s Aug. ’24 and after 5 months it still shows 63%. After the initial sharper drop (March-May) the charge drops slowly. Nevertheless, the sensors will start to behave strangely at 40% of the charge and then it is time to refill the batteries again. Will report next time (predicting: probably in Dec. ’24 or Jan. ’25).

Update 4 (Dec 2025)

All good. After getting know these sensors, they work reliably (if the batteries are above 40%).

Current usage:

• I’m using one of them to trigger outside light and the other one for kitchen light (in combination with Motion-activated light blueprint by Craig Black).
• I’m using the third one to trigger screen refresh of my e-ink display.