Wiz’s SpaceSense Smart Lights Are Not Worth Switching

I switched to one router and reconfigured it, but the lights in my living room were too close together so it didn’t work in that room. The hall, where this motion detection would be most useful, only worked when I set the sensitivity to maximum, and even then it was inconsistent. If I walked down a hallway, the lights would often turn on as soon as I got to the end.

The SpaceSense worked best in the dining room and kitchen, but again, I had to turn up the sensitivity to get it to work consistently, which meant my cats turned on the lights too. On the other hand, it was very annoying when the lights went out if you were in the room but didn’t move much, like when I was sitting at the table peeling potatoes or washing dishes.

After some tweaking of the Wiz V2 app, SpaceSense works a little better, but the app is still buggy. Sometimes I couldn’t save the settings I changed, and often there was a delay between clicking on something and the light reacting. If anyone does flip the switch (it’s surprisingly hard not to do with years of muscle memory), they unwittingly turn it off (this annoyed my family).

SpaceSense can be useful in large office buildings, windowless bathrooms, and for people who struggle with conventional light switches. This can be useful for children who get up at night to go to the toilet or when you walk home down a dark hallway with large bags of groceries. One alternative is motion sensors, but they are not suitable for every room. You can also have security cameras that turn on the lights, but SpaceSense is better for privacy since nothing is recorded and all processing happens locally.

I fully expect SpaceSense to improve over time and your mileage will vary depending on your Wi-Fi router, the design of your home, and the placement and number of Wiz lights you have. But for now, the inconvenience of the light not turning on and off immediately when I’m still in the room outweighs the inconvenience of flipping the switch.

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