#Shelly’s Motion Sensor Turns On Your Lights Faster Than You Can Say Alexa – Review Geek

If you own a smart home, chances are you have some amount of voice control already set up. But why should you tell your home what to do? Why not empower it to anticipate you instead? The $39.90 Shelly Motion sensor promises to do that. It’ll turn on your lights when you enter a room so fast you don’t get a chance to use a voice command.

Motion sensors aren’t a new concept, of course, you can find them from Samsung and Wyze. But it’s challenging to find one that’s reliable and speedy. The original Wyze sensors performed so inconsistently, the company stopped selling them and announced upgraded sensors. Battery life is equally a problem, and often you’ll find yourself changing out watch batteries.

But Shelley’s Motion sensor tries to bypass all that. First, it’s Wi-Fi-powered. That means you don’t need a hub: instead, it connects directly to your router. It also stays connected to your internet 24/7, instead of going into a rest mode like many other sensors. Between that and a response time faster than 200ms, it can turn your lights or smart plugs nearly instantly.

You won’t have to worry about changing out batteries either. The Shelly Wi-Fi Motion Sensor houses a 6,500 mAh rechargeable battery, and the company promises it will last over a year on a single charge. It charges over micro USB, so don’t throw your old smartphone cord away.

You pair the motion sensor up with the Shelly app to control other Wi-Fi-powered Shelly devices, and from the app, you can adjust its sensitivity. But for greater smart home control, you can connect it to Alexa through the Shelly Skill and use routines to control any of your Alexa-powered smart home devices.

While it’s larger than some other motion sensors, that’s due to the integrated battery. Its stand is poseable and has built-in mounting points so you can place it anywhere convenient or attach it to a wall.

We have a Shelly Motion Sensor in for testing, and a full review will come later. But thus far, it does react as quickly as promised, even when using Alexa routines to controls lights. You can buy the $39.90 Motion Sensor on Shelly’s site today.