Near is slowly starting to push out more products for its smart home ecosystem, and today we’ll be taking a look at the Near Smart Door Sensor. It works like a sensor so it senses when the door is open or closed, but cause it is connected to Wi-Fi it is smart, and can be a useful tech in your smart home. The Near Smart Door Sensor retails for $12.90.
Unboxing
In the box, you can find the following items:
- Near Smart Door Sensor
- 3M adhesive stickers
- Wall mounting screws
- AAA batteries x2
- User manual
Tech specs
| Power Input | 1.5V, 2 x AAA batteries (Included) [Approximately 6000 triggers] |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz (Does not support 5GHz network) |
| Sensor | Contact sensor (Maximum distance between both contact pieces when closed: 1cm) |
| Dimensions (LxWxH) | Main: 71 x 25 x 29 (mm) Small: 36 x 10 x 17 (mm) |
| Weight | Approximately 50g |
| Compatibility | Android 4.0+, iOS 8.0+ |
| Integrations | Alexa, Google Assistant |
| Certification | CE, IMDA, ROHS, CB, TUV |
How does it work
The Near Smart Door Sensor comes in two pieces – a main larger piece, and a smaller piece. The large piece is the one the will hold the two AAA batteries. When the main piece feels contact with the small piece, it will be recorded as ‘closed’. And if the contact is removed, the sensor will record this as an ‘open’. These information will then be sent via Wi-Fi.
With the ‘close’ and ‘open’ information, you can use it as a trigger to activate other Near smart devices. The ‘close’ and ‘open’ information is also tracked on the Near App. One important thing to note is that to generate a ‘contact’ between both pieces, they can be at maximum 1cm apart. This distance is important because some doors are not totally flat, so the 1cm threshold allows for more flexibility in application.
If you need help with the installation you can check out Near’s installation guide below:
Design and build quality
The Near Smart Door Sensor is white in colour and its body is made from plastic. There is nothing too fancy about the design, just two plastic piece with a magnet in one of them. The build quality is also pretty good. No loose or rattling internals when shaking it.
Both pieces come with 3M adhesive stickers which you can paste at the back of them so that you can stick it on your door or even a drawer. If you want to drill it in instead, Near also provides 4 screws which you can screw into the holes at the back of the plates of both pieces.
The size of the Near Smart Door Sensor is pretty small and compact so it will not stand out and be too obtrusive on your door. The device is powered by two AAA batteries. There is no on/off switch, so as long the batteries are working it will remain powered on. The app will display the amount of battery in the sensor.
App features
After you have set up the Near Smart Door Sensor in the App, you will realised that unlike the Near Smart Plug or Near Smart Light Strip, there are no controls. What you can do in the app when you tap into the device is to check the history of ‘close’ and open’, set what actions trigger notifications, and customise the name and icon.
You can change the name of the sensor to whatever you like it to be, which can be helpful if you have multiple of these so renaming it makes it identifiable. You can also change change the icon to a custom photo from your photo gallery or take a picture on the spot.
If you just want the Near Smart Door Sensor as a security device to track when you door is opened/closed, then history log and notification is good enough. For example, you can even stick the Near Smart Door Sensor on a safe or drawer so if someone opens it, you’ll know. But you want this to be a little smarter, then the ‘Automation’ app feature may benefit your smart home.
Automation
The Automation feature is basically an “If this happens, then do that” setup. In the case of the Near Smart Door Sensor, it can only act as a trigger since the device itself cannot perform any tasks. For example, you can set an automation that goes “if door sensor is closed, turn on Near Smart Light Strip“.
Do note however that the sensor actually takes about 6 to 8 seconds to transmit that information for the automation. So if you’re planning to use this to turn on your lights automatically when you enter or leave your room, it may not be such a good idea as it isn’t instantaneous. Check out the video demo below with the Near Smart Light Strip.
However, you can use the 6 to 8 seconds as an intended delay in your automation. For example, if you had placed the door sensor at your main door, you can make an automation that goes “if door is open, turn on Near Smart Bulb in your bedroom”. So by the time you get to your bedroom, the light would have already been turned on.
Google Assistant / Amazon Alexa capable
The Near Smart Door Sensor is able to integrate with Smart Assistants such as Alexa, Google Assistant. If you want to check the status or your door or window, you can simply ask Google if the said door or window is open or closed, and Google should tell you.
Unfortunately, the Near Smart Door Sensor is not supported in IFTTT so even though the Smart Light Strip is supported in IFTTT (via Smart Life). This is means that your automation you can do is limited to the Near app.
Example of implementation
The video below shows the Near Smart Door Sensor which I have pasted it on one of my doors at home. Notice how the LED light blinks red when it senses a change it status of the sensor (ie. close/open).
Conclusion
The Near Smart Door Sensor is a really simple device to setup. The only information it tells you is whether the door, window or drawer you attach this the sensor is open or closed. But as it is a smart door sensor, it keeps logs or the actions and can even notify you about status changes, which you can leverage as a trigger to automate other Near Smart products. If you are already invested in the Near ecosystem, then you will be able to use the change in status of the Near Smart Door Sensor to automate your Near products.