YoLink LoRa Smart Outdoor Contact Sensor & Hub Starter Kit, Gate & Shed Door Sensor, Universal Contact-Closure Sensor, Email/SMS/Push Alerts, 1/4 Mile Open Air Range, Alexa, IFTTT, Home Assistant

Amazing!!! Got this to be able to monitor a double gate to make sure it is closed at night. This was by far the easiest device of this type with a hub that I have ever installed!!! One thing I love this does not use wifi it is hard wired ethernet connection and truly plug and play! Once I downloaded the app and plugged this in and scanned the bar code on the hub it installed immediately no problem at all, no playing around with wifi for 20 minutes! Next the sensor it self same procedure scan the bar code from inside the yolink app and added the sensor immediately in fact as soon as it added it, it reported it open woohoo! So easy to integrate with my Alexa as well. Linking the accounts was just as easy and setting up a custom routine was pretty simple. I don't think you actually have to set up a routine once your account is linked and you name your sensor I think you can just ask alexa is my back door gate closed or open and it will report it open or closed. What I wanted to do was ask are all my gates closed since ultimately I was so impressed I got sensors for my other two gates so I have a total of 3. I was so impressed I bought one of the door locks which is amazing and just as easy to install and set up too, I want to get a couple more of those. I included a picture of my alexa app set up should be easy to follow. I you want to check more than one gate or something else from yolink just keep adding actions and it will report back. My routine now checks each gate for me at night when I ask.

My mailbox is about 154 feet away from my house. My mail delivery times vary, it can be anywhere from 3 pm -10 pm. I used to check it when I got home from work and found nothing, but I know I have mail due to the USPS Informed Delivery I signed up for. So I would need to keep checking the mailbox until either I got the mail or just went to bed and I would get the mail the following day.So I wanted something that would alert us when the mail was delivered. I did an internet search and I found this YoLink LoRa Smart Outdoor Contact Sensor. I read reviews and watched YouTube video reviews of it. As I was reading a review and saw that someone decided to go a slightly different route and went with the YoLink LoRa 1/4 Mile Wireless Range Smart Motion Detector. They placed the motion detector inside and on the back of the mailbox. I was going to follow because I liked the idea of the lack of any wires but then discovered the motion sensor does not work in cold weather (32 degrees is the lowest operating temperature and I live where it is colder during the winter months). So I went back to the idea of this, YoLink LoRa Smart Outdoor Contact Sensor.I bought the YoLink LoRa Smart Outdoor Contact Sensor with Hub. It was easy to set up. I downloaded the app first and created an account. Then I plugged in the hub and connected it to my router (via ethernet cable, it can be connected wirelessly but I like the wired connection, less chance of any issues), and then I added the contact sensor to the app. I tested the sensor first before installing it on the mailbox.When I was planning my installation on the mailbox, I saw that some installed the sensor inside the mailbox, but I did not want the sensor to get bumped by any mail or packages, so I decided to place the sensor on the outside. I also wanted to have easy access to the battery box. I wanted to easily remove the battery box from the mailbox, so I did not want to tape the box to the mailbox (underneath the mailbox). So I used the double-sided tape that came with the sensor and taped the battery box to an 11 lb round magnet (it takes 11 lbs of force to remove the magnet, the magnet does not weigh 11 lbs). With the magnet on the battery box, I can place the battery box anywhere on my metal mailbox and it is secure enough that it will not fall or detach itself. It is a solid connection. I placed the battery box underneath the mailbox where it is not too noticeable. I installed the sensors in the door area of the mailbox with double-sided tape after I wiped the area with rubbing alcohol for a clean surface.Once the sensor and box were installed, I then went into the app setting and set up the alerts. I wanted app alerts when the mailbox sensor was opened. At first, I did not get alerts, but then I realized I had to go into my phone app settings and give permission for the YoLink app to give me alerts. Once I did that, it was working great. I work in a different city and I will get notified via app alert that my mailbox has been opened.This system was easy to install and use. It is easy to add more sensors and devices. A hub can have more than 200+ devices connected to it, plenty if you want to add more devices for home security.The only critical thing I can say about this is this has an option to get text alerts if the the sensor is opened, but you only get so many texts a month and you will need to pay to subscribe to get more text alerts. But with the app alerts, it is limitless and it alerts me. What else can you ask for? You can get email alerts as well, but the app alerts work great for my needs.

Have to say I was skeptical. With a 1/4 mile open air range how would it fair in an apartment complex with 2 garages 300’ away without clear line of sight. The answer is perfectly. The hub is mounted inside the primary garage and detects door activity from the other two. Alexa skill turns lights on and off when doors open.

Being unforgettable closing my back gate with my 2 dogs in mind led me to this purchase. Somewhat easy to install and set up, though I did have to watch a video to get it to properly integrate with Alexa. I'll see how it holds up to the outside elements.

Reasonably easy to set up and is able to do the job I needed it to.

For those of you looking at getting into LoRa this device, especially the hub, comes up quite a bit.Pros:-One of the most user friendly LoRa devices I've been able to find that integrates super easily into Home Assistant.-Products are very rugged, definitely would survive the outdoorsCons:-I tested the range vs a Z wave sensor (the Zooz one in particular) and the ranges were almost identical. This LoRa one got about 3 ft further but that's not significant in my opinion. For it being LoRa and getting 20 km is definitely nowhere close-Cloud based. It can and should not require a cloud. From the HA forums it appears like this has been discussed for over 2 years but still requires a cloud service (although free). I believe when it detects an open or close it must report the status to the server first, then the result is pushed to the local app. This results in a delay at times.If they actually make it not require the cloud, I'd choose this over a Z wave sensor but for the time being I'll stick with Z wave for almost identical performance.

Great product. Great support