Extending the range of contact sensor

I noticed that when you open up the contact sensor there is a coiled spring like metal. I wonder if one would be able to extend the range by attaching a metal wire to the spring. If this works it would extend the range of the contact sensor allowing various uses that prevent due to the shape and size of the contact sensors.

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In theory yes but the bridge also has a limit. Also my guess is the Wyze engineers have it worked out pretty close to the Mac range they could get. But hey they are $5 so it is like you are losing money if you don’t try! Lol jk, but for real in my opinion knowledge gained from tinkering with a Wyze sensor outweighs the risk of breaking it.

There’s at least one ongoing discussion on this, right down to length of wire.

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Thank you for sharing the existing thread. I wonder if that wire will actually extend the magnetic field. As in, will the sensor trigger if i touch the magnet to the wire that is attached to the sensor coil.

I am trying to accomplish similar to this (Getting Alerts of the door lock status using Wyze Sense) but my door setup is a bit different.

Just use a rare earth magnet. You can get ones that fit on eBay for next to nothing. That’s the trick that’s been used with alarm contact sensors since the beginning of time. You can get inches of space before a make/break with a decent magnet.

I just realized that the sense system runs on the same rf band as a DSC and many other wireless alarm contacts so I’m thinking something like an Ademco or DSC 915Mhz repeater would solve the ranging issues. DSC PG9920 PowerG 915Mhz Wireless Repeater
I’m going to hit up alibaba and see what I can find and order to test the theory. There might be a $20/30/40 solution for this issue.

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The coil is just for the wireless signal transition not for actually detecting if the magnet gets next to it. What you are actually looking for is the magnetic reed switch that is that glass tube on the side. You can extend that by using a stronger magnet like was suggested. Or if it is that you just need to get it into tighter spot you can remove the reed switch and place it on the end of a wire and connect it to the same points.

Another thing to avoid is mounting the sensor or the magnet on metal. It will decrease the magnetic field strength and interfere with the signal of the sensor.

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No, I misread your “extending the range”,

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Unfortunately mounting on a floor safe or file cabinet seems to be hit and miss in a 2 story home. I get an activity light when I open the safe but no response from the system unless I relocate the camera/bridge. Then my file cabinets downstairs won’t signal. Would a second bridge/secondary camera help to solve the issue? And will just a bridge alone ever be available for sale?

You could try to extend the range by attaching speaker wire to the coil inside the sensor and see if that helps.
I have to say that when i attempted to extend the range by attaching the wire to the coil my sensor went wonky and just would not trigger and was blinking all sorts of pattern lights. I had to remove the wire and reset the sensor. Perhaps because i did a sloppy job of attaching the wire where the wire was not only touching the coil but it was also touching the battery and the circuit board.

But one thing for sure after many hours of tinkering, is that if you experience inconsistency in notifications or delay in updating of the door status or the sensor being unresponsive or frequently going offline, is it most likely because of poor signal strength between sensors and the bridge. Wyze should add this info to their Troubleshooting page.

I was in a similar situation as you where i thought purchasing a second bridge will help me fill the gap. In theory it should but i dont know if i got a defective bridge but the distance the second bridge transmits a strong signal is much shorter then my other bridge, even in plain view straight line. The only difference is that my first bridge with great signal is plugged to stationary WYZE cam and the other bridge with weak signal is hooked up to a Pan camera outdoor. I suppose the signal strength is impacted depending on where the wyze bridge is facing??

did you find one?