Question 1

What is the Aqara Presence Sensor FP300?

Accepted Answer

The FP300 is a battery-powered presence sensor that combines a 60GHz millimetre wave radar with a PIR motion sensor, and also reads light level, temperature and humidity. Unlike a plain motion sensor it registers a person who is sitting or standing still, so automated lights do not switch off on someone reading or watching television. It runs on Zigbee with an Aqara hub, or on Thread as a Matter device.

Question 2

What is the Aqara FP300 price in the UAE?

Accepted Answer

On 23 September 2026 it was AED 295 on Amazon.ae, sold by Kendom, fulfilled by Amazon and in stock. Noon listed the same sensor at AED 415, so Amazon was the cheaper source by a wide margin on the day. Batteries are included, but a hub or Matter controller is not.

Question 3

Where can I buy the FP300 in Dubai?

Accepted Answer

Amazon.ae had the lowest genuine in-stock price when we last checked, at AED 295 from the seller Kendom. Noon carries it as well, for more. Supply can also be arranged as part of an installation, set up with a hub and the lighting or AC automations you actually want it to run.

Question 4

Does the FP300 need a hub?

Accepted Answer

It needs one or the other, and which one depends on the radio you choose. In Zigbee mode it needs an Aqara hub, such as the Hub M3 or M2, which also gives you the full Aqara Home feature set. In Thread mode it needs a Thread border router and a Matter controller, which in most homes means a HomePod, Apple TV, Nest Hub or a recent Echo. A phone on its own is not enough either way.

Question 5

Which smart home platforms does it work with?

Accepted Answer

Aqara lists Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, SmartThings, Home Assistant and Homey through Matter over Thread. On Zigbee it lives in the Aqara Home app and can be shared to the same platforms through an Aqara hub with Matter bridging. Choose the route that matches the controller you already own rather than buying a second box.

Question 6

Should I buy the FP300, the FP1E or the FP2?

Accepted Answer

Start with power, not features. The FP300 is the only one of the three that runs on batteries, so it is the answer wherever there is no socket, which in a Dubai villa usually means corridors, stairwells, store rooms and maid's rooms. The FP1E and FP2 both need permanent USB power, and in exchange they sense without pause. If a cable can reach the mounting point, one of those two is the more responsive device.

Question 7

When is the FP2 the better buy than the FP300?

Accepted Answer

When one sensor has to treat parts of a room differently, or when more than one person is in it. The FP2 lets you draw zones in the app, so the sofa area can hold the lights on while the dining end stays dark, and it tracks several occupants at once. The FP300 has no zones at all and gives a single present or absent answer, so a large open-plan villa living room is FP2 territory.

Question 8

When is the FP1E the better buy than the FP300?

Accepted Answer

When the room has a socket and you want the fastest, steadiest single-zone presence reading you can get for the money. The FP1E is mains powered, so it senses continuously with no battery budget to protect, and it costs about the same. Pick the FP1E for a study, a bedroom or a small majlis with power to hand, and the FP300 for the places a cable will not reach.

Question 9

How long do the batteries actually last?

Accepted Answer

Aqara quotes up to three years in Zigbee mode and up to two years in Thread mode from two CR2450 cells. That figure assumes a rated workload of roughly 240 reports a day with about four hours of presence detected. A busy hallway that triggers all day, or a sensor set to report temperature and humidity often, will drain the cells faster than the headline number.

Question 10

What batteries does the FP300 use and are they included?

Accepted Answer

It takes two CR2450 lithium coin cells, and the Amazon.ae listing states that batteries are included. CR2450 cells are easy to find in the UAE from supermarkets, Amazon.ae and electronics shops. Keep a spare pair, because a presence sensor that quietly dies is one you only notice when the lights stop behaving.

Question 11

Is it as responsive as a mains-powered presence sensor?

Accepted Answer

No, and that is the honest trade for battery power. A radar running on coin cells wakes, senses and reports rather than sensing without pause like the mains-powered FP1E and FP2, and its secondary readings for light, temperature and humidity come in at intervals rather than instantly. Aqara does not publish a detection latency figure for the FP300, so treat it as excellent for holding a room occupied and merely good for instant triggering at a doorway.

Question 12

How far does the FP300 detect, and over what angle?

Accepted Answer

Aqara gives a maximum detection range of six metres across a 120 degree field of view. That covers a normal bedroom, a corridor run or a store room from one corner. A large majlis or an open-plan living and dining space wider than six metres will need more than one sensor, or an FP2 mounted centrally.

Question 13

Can the FP300 do zones or track more than one person?

Accepted Answer

No. It reports a single presence state for its whole field of view, with no drawable regions and no positional tracking. If you want a room split into areas that automate separately, that is the FP2's job. The FP300 is built to answer one question reliably in a place where nothing else can be powered.

Question 14

Does it really detect someone sitting completely still?

Accepted Answer

That is the point of the millimetre wave radar, which picks up breathing and very small movements rather than the heat movement a PIR looks for. It is why automated lighting driven by a presence sensor does not go dark on a guest sitting quietly in a majlis. The PIR alongside it handles fast motion, and the two together are what Aqara means by 5-in-1 detection.

Question 15

Can the radar see through walls?

Accepted Answer

Through thin gypsum partitions, often yes, and in Dubai that is a real installation issue rather than a detail. Many apartment fit-outs and villa subdivisions use stud partitions, and a sensor aimed at one will happily report the next room as occupied. Point the sensor into the space you are automating and keep it off walls shared with a corridor, a neighbouring bedroom or a lift lobby.

Question 16

Where should I mount it in a villa?

Accepted Answer

High on a wall or in a corner, angled down into the space, using the magnetic swivel base on the supplied metal plate. The best value comes from the rooms nobody thinks to wire: long first-floor corridors, stair landings, maid's rooms, store rooms and walk-in wardrobes. Avoid pointing it at a moving curtain, a ceiling fan or the airflow from an AC vent, because moving objects can register as presence.

Question 17

Will a presence sensor actually cut my DEWA bill?

Accepted Answer

It cuts the waste, which in a Dubai summer is the part that costs. Lights and AC left running in an empty maid's room, store room or spare bedroom draw power all day, and a presence sensor gives your automations a trustworthy signal to switch them off. The saving depends on how much your home currently wastes, so it is largest in big villas with rooms that are used for an hour a day.

Question 18

Can the FP300 survive Dubai heat?

Accepted Answer

Inside an air-conditioned home, yes. Aqara rates it for minus 10 to 50 C and 0 to 95% relative humidity without condensation. A Dubai loft, garage, service cupboard or covered balcony goes past that in summer, and coin cells lose capacity and can leak when they are baked, so keep it in cooled space.

Question 19

What happens in a DEWA power cut or an internet outage?

Accepted Answer

The sensor itself keeps running, because it is on batteries, but that alone does not keep automations alive. In a power cut the hub, the border router and the lights are all off anyway. In an internet outage, Zigbee automations stored on an Aqara hub and local Thread and Matter rules carry on, while remote access and voice assistants that route through the cloud stop until the line returns.

Question 20

Is it hard to install, and do I need to drill?

Accepted Answer

No wiring and no electrician. You fix the supplied metal plate with its adhesive pad or with the screws in the box, drop the sensor onto the magnet, angle it, then add it in the Aqara Home app or through your Matter controller. The whole job is about ten minutes per sensor, and the real work is choosing the position and the automation rules.

Question 21

Is the FP300 suitable for a rented apartment?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and it is the easiest presence sensor to justify in a rental. There is no wiring change, no socket needed and no hole required if you use the adhesive pad, and you take it with you when you move. Screwing the plate to a wall in a leased property is worth clearing with the landlord first, as with anything fixed to a wall or door.

Question 22

Is there a subscription?

Accepted Answer

No. The Aqara Home app, local automations and Matter or Thread integration are free, and the FP300 has no cloud storage to pay for. Your only running cost is a pair of CR2450 cells every two or three years.

Question 23

Is radar a privacy concern in a bedroom or majlis?

Accepted Answer

It captures no image and no sound. The FP300 reports occupancy, light level, temperature and humidity, and nothing else, which is why radar is usually the right choice over a camera for interior lighting automation in bedrooms, majlis spaces and bathrooms. As with any connected device, keep the hub firmware updated and your Wi-Fi password strong.

Question 24

Who should not buy the FP300?

Accepted Answer

Anyone mounting a sensor within reach of a socket, because the mains-powered FP1E senses without pause for about the same money. Skip it too if you need zones or multi-person tracking in a large open-plan room, where the FP2 is the right tool, or if you want instant doorway triggering, where a plain PIR motion sensor reacts faster. And do not buy it for a garage, loft or outdoor spot, because it is rated only to 50 C.

Model	PS-S04D
Wireless	Zigbee 3.0 or Thread, chosen at setup, with Bluetooth for pairing
Hub required	An Aqara hub for Zigbee, or a Thread border router and Matter controller for Thread
Sensing	60GHz mmWave radar plus PIR, detects a stationary person
Detection area	6 m range, 120 degree field of view
Other sensors	Light level, temperature and humidity
Power	Two CR2450 coin cells, included
Battery life	Up to 3 years on Zigbee, up to 2 years on Thread, at Aqara's rated usage of about 240 reports a day
Size	42 x 42 x 50 mm
Operating conditions	-10 to 50 C, 0 to 95% RH non-condensing

Aqara Presence Sensor FP300

What it is and where it fits

Specifications

In the box

What to check before you order

Questions about the Aqara Presence Sensor FP300

Fitted properly, set up by our Dubai team