Using the Xiaomi Temperature/ Humidity Sensors with Home Assistant
In past posts, we’ve already been introduced to the Xiaomi Gateway, the Door/Window Sensors, and the 1st Generation Switch (the round button). Here, I’ll show you how to use the Temperature/Humidity sensors that I’ve recently added into the mix.
I was very excited to try these sensors out. My original plan was to use one in the bedroom to facilitate some climate control, and the other outside my front door to give me a local outdoor temperature for me to reference. These sensors do not work well enough for me to use for climate control purposed, but I think they’re fine for informational purposes. I know that my use case is not the only one out there, so I’ll show you how to connect the devices as well as explain a little more how they work.
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Connecting the Xiaomi Temperature/Humidity Sensor
The Temperature/Humidity sensors are super easy to connect, and it’s done just like the 1st Generation Switch, but there’s no need to use a SIM card tool. These sensors have a small button on the top.
- If you’ve already set up your Xiaomi Gateway, all you have to do it press the button on the Gateway 3 times.
- The Gateway will give you an audio prompt (in Chinese most likely) that the Gateway is in pairing mode.
- Hold down the button on the Temperature/Humidity sensor. The light on the Temperature/Humidity sensor will blink.
- Let go of the button and the device will connect.
You can confirm the connection by checking your Xiaomi App, or preferably, you can restart Home Assistant and find the sensors in the States Developer Tools page.
These sensors track Temperature,
Humidity,
and Pressure.
- They can also be given friendly name in your customize.yaml file, just like any of your other devices
You can see the small differences between sensors for each measurement. I have tried to adjust the sensors, but because they’re accurate within a small range, adjusting the measurements doesn’t make a whole lot of a difference in the long term.
Since these little guys are wireless and battery operated, they do not report back to the hub very often, nor is there a way to request an update from the sensor. In my experience, communication is one way; from the sensor to the Xiaomi Gateway. They only report back to the hub when there is a change “drastic” enough to be noticed and are accurate within ±3 degrees.
Here is a comparison graph I made within Home Assistant to see how accurate they are. The red line, “Living Room Temperature,” was tracked using my Broadlink RM Pro 3, which I know is accurate. You can see there are some obvious differences in the temperatures they’re reporting, even just among the 2 Xiaomi sensors when sitting right next to each other
https://gist.github.com/smarthomehobby/d8479edcb4a51d2ca7d4310063666064
Because of these inconsistencies, I opted to get a 2nd Broadlink RM Pro 3 for the bedroom and I decided to put one of the Xiaomi Temperature/Humidity sensors in the bathroom and one outside the front door. They are not weather proof, so I put it under the eave of the building, to protect it from any direct sunlight or rain. I’m not sure how long it will last in that position, but since the device itself was very inexpensive, I’m not sure I care too much. All in all, this has been my least favorite Xiaomi device, but it’s limitations make sense because of it’s need to conserve battery. If these guides have been helpful to you, please share them! If you have any questions, please reach out to me in the comments. Thanks for visiting!
