D-Link Wi-Fi Motion Sensor - DCH-S150 product reviews

Short version first - the instruction sheet will tell you basically NOTHING about how to make the best use of this device. Also, it's a little bit insane. But once you have it under control, it does what it says, mostly.

What do I mean by that? OK... the Quick Setup Guide is utterly pointless - everything in it is presented to you step-by-step via the "mydlink Home" app... which does all the heavy-lifting for you anyway. If you have installed ANY mydlink Home smart devices previously, the app will just latch onto the previous network data and prompt you for the OK to just do it automatically with the same network login. Click YES and sit back. It will, of course, check for new firmware - and there is some - so expect a 7-10 minute wait. That's where the 'insane' bit comes in. It demands that you "reboot your device" after firmware upgrade. I reset the sensor - same message. I rebooted my phone - same message. I rebooted both - same message. I rebooted the router - same message... in the end, it took a factory reset of the sensor, re-installing the firmware again, and doing a 'force stop' on the app and restarting it before the sensor came online.

So... don't fret if you think it's broken... just call the 0800 helpline and follow step-by-step as they walk you through what appears to be pointless repetition.

Once it was working though, it seems to sense movement well enough. I tested it from various distances, at various sensitivity settings - the best result for me - maximum sensitivity triggered around 85% of the time at 3m range. Not hugely impressive to be honest. At the lowest sensitivity setting, the detection rate falls to about 70%, and the range drops to under 1m. It also seemed that the sensor had a 2-minute reset period after a successful detection, and there was a delay of anywhere between 20-50 seconds between detection and notification. When using the sensor as the trigger in an action, this has to be taken into account when setting any additional delays.

"Actions? What actions?" There's a neat little icon in the top-right corner of the app - 3 dots in a pyramid, connected by arrows. This is where the magic happens... Here you can set sequences of actions and reactions, based on triggers from devices that output notifications - the motion sensors and cameras with the sound-detecting or motion-detecting capabilities. Over time, it would be surprising if more sensors didn't come available. So, you select a trigger, then set what devices should react - Smart Plugs turn on lights, the coffee machine, electric blankets, whatever... or if you have it as part of a security set-up, maybe you want lights on and sirens blaring. That's the best bit - you can choose, and even set up multiple action chains, turning them on and off as needed.

Overall, what's the verdict, yeah? It does the job, and it's fairly good at close range on high sensitivity settings. Careful placement will maximise it's effectiveness and reduce the odds of a failed detection right when you need it the most. That said, I think the unit may need some tweaking in the design to increase its detection capabilities in real-world scenarios.