Setup:

After my excitement with the battery, pairing to SmartThings was easy. It identifies the sensor as a Z-Wave door/window switch with no configurable settings, as seen in the two screenshots below...



I logged in to the SmartThings Groovy IDE in order to change the device to a Z-Wave motion sensor, and it was now at least functional as I would expect. For those unfamiliar with the "Groovy IDE" it is a web interface to take greater control of your devices and to apply third party Smart Apps and Device Handlers. For this step, I was merely switching from one default device handler to another, but that may be more than some users have ever had to do with a SmartThings installation. The image below shows what the sensor looks like in the app with the default device handler for a Z-Wave motion sensor applied...



On the product listing at The Smartest House they link to a third party device handler that they recommend for this sensor, available for download here. I grabbed that code and applied it from within the Groovy IDE. The screenshot below shows how the sensor looks in the app using the "Zooz Motion Sensor ZSE18" device handler from Kevin LaFramboise. As you can see the device page shows much more information, and from the settings page you see that you now have control over sensitivity, motion reset delay, and you have the ability to turn the LED on/off. This is the kind of stuff I want access to, in particular to raise the reset from the default 30 seconds up to 2 minutes, which is what I use on my other motion sensors. This way, after it alerts me to motion, it won't do it every 30 seconds, but every two minutes, which is more appropriate to me.



The issue with third party device handlers is that they execute in the cloud and not locally. What this means is that if your Internet is down, or the SmartThings server is down, the motion sensor functionality is also down. I like to have as many of my devices execute locally which just requires that my devices and hub can still communicate inside my home. Especially for a security related device, this seems like the way to go. The cool thing is that if you apply the third party device handler, make your adjustments to the settings, and then go back to the default device handler for a Z-Wave motion sensor, all of those configuration changes stay. So I am now back to having this sensor execute locally, but can confirm for example that the reset delay of 2 minutes is intact and not the default 30 second reset. Putting it back to the default device handler for a Z-Wave motion sensor after adjusting settings in the above device handler leaves you with this view in the app...



The device isn't plug and play with SmartThings since it comes up as a door/window sensor, so you have to at least be willing to log in to the Groovy IDE to make it work as a motion sensor, but to really get the full functionality of the device configured to your liking you have to take several more steps. Doing this work is not difficult, but it may be daunting to anyone who has not done so before.

Once setup, the device works very well. Motion triggers work as expected, registering with SmartThings immediately, and then resetting at my preset time. I intend to run on just the battery to simplify the installation, which is still at 100% after several days, but having the ability to supply power via USB is a nice added feature. Additionally, the ability to adjust sensitivity is a nice touch, as there are 8 levels to choose from. I have found setting it right in the middle helps it avoid seeing the cat go by at night, and in its present location it sees me just fine within 10 feet and immediately turns on the lamp I have associated with it.