Shelly Presence Gen4 Review: Fast, Ghost-Free mmWave Presence for Home Assistant and Matter
The Shelly Presence Gen4 is a USB-C powered 60-64 GHz mmWave presence sensor that runs Matter over Wi-Fi out of the box, switches to Zigbee on request, and adds a light sensor, up to 10 zones and local MQTT, webhooks and scripting. Owners praise how quickly and reliably it detects someone entering, the absence of ghost detections, a clean Home Assistant integration and near-total manual control in the Shelly app, and some rate it above rival radar sensors. The complaints are about the edges of radar sensing: people who lie or sit very still, especially a few metres away or side-on, can be dropped, multi-person counts are unreliable, and changing some radar settings has sent units into an error state until a reset. It is premium-priced, and best for offices and living spaces rather than beds.
- Home Assistant users
- Matter smart homes
- Offices and workrooms
- Presence-based lighting
- Local-control enthusiasts
Pros
- Fast, reliable detection when someone enters a room
- No false or ghost detections reported
- Keeps tracking people seated and working nearby
- Matter over Wi-Fi for Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa and SmartThings, or Zigbee
- Instant Home Assistant discovery, plus local MQTT, webhooks and scripting
- Detailed manual radar settings and up to 10 zones
- Built-in light sensor for lighting-aware automations
Cons
- Can lose people who are perfectly still, especially beyond about 3 m
- Multi-person counting is unreliable
- Light sensor reports only dark, twilight and bright
- Some setting changes trigger an error state that needs a factory reset
- Runs warm and needs a steady USB-C supply
- Premium price, and indoor use only
Who is the Shelly Presence Gen4 for?
It suits anyone who wants lights, heating or blinds to follow whether a room is occupied, not just whether someone walked past a motion sensor. Owners use it in offices and studies, bedrooms and living rooms, often corner-mounted on a wall at a carefully chosen height. It is a natural fit for Home Assistant, which owners say discovers it on the local network and creates every entity at once, and for Matter homes, since it certifies as a Matter over Wi-Fi device for Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa and SmartThings. It needs a permanent USB-C supply (5 V, 1 A) and is for indoor use only.
What buyers love
Detection speed and reliability are the main praise: owners say lights react the moment someone enters, that it keeps tracking people seated and working at a desk, and that it produces no phantom occupancy. Several call it the first presence sensor that simply works day in, day out, and one judged it better than a well-known competing radar sensor. Owners like that the Shelly app exposes almost every radar setting manually instead of relying on opaque learning features, and Home Assistant integration is described as instant once the sensor is on the network; it also runs in Homey Pro. On paper it backs this up with 60-64 GHz radar, an 8 m range, a 140° by 120° field, up to 6 people across 10 zones, and 20 schedules, scripting, MQTT and webhooks running locally.
What to know before you buy
Radar has limits, and owners hit them. Still detection is specified out to 3 m, and owners report that someone sitting motionless further away, or lying in bed, can be marked absent even at the highest sensitivity; seated people side-on to the sensor are harder to hold than people facing it, and one owner found the usable range indoors closer to 4 m. A couple of owners consider it not a true presence sensor for that reason. Multi-person counting is unreliable, with one person read as two and two as one or more. The light sensor reports only dark, twilight and bright, and owners find it flips between states and would prefer a lux value. Firmware is the other caveat: changing parameters such as mounting orientation or sensitivity has left units blinking green until a factory reset, although once configured they stay stable. Owners also mention it runs warm, that Shelly advises against powering it from a multi-port charger, and that it is not cheap.
Is the Shelly Presence Gen4 worth it?
If you want room occupancy for lighting and climate in spaces where people move or sit facing the room, owners say it is one of the most dependable sensors they have used, with a level of local control and Matter reach few rivals match. Its solid average rating reflects that, with the low scores coming from owners who needed it to hold someone perfectly still at a distance. For bedrooms where you need to detect a sleeping person, or for accurate people counting, test it in your room before relying on it.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Shelly Presence Gen4 detect people who are sitting still?
Yes, within limits. Its mmWave radar is specified for still detection out to 3 m, and owners say it holds people working at a desk. Someone motionless further away, lying down or seated side-on can be dropped, so it is better for offices and living spaces than for detecting a sleeping person.
Does it work with Home Assistant?
Yes. Owners say Home Assistant finds it as soon as it is on the local network and creates all its entities. It also works through Matter and offers local MQTT, webhooks and an embedded web interface.
Is it Matter or Zigbee?
Both, one at a time. It ships running Matter over Wi-Fi, certified for Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa and SmartThings, and a five-press on its button switches the firmware to Zigbee 3.0, which then needs a Zigbee coordinator.
How is it powered?
Over USB-C at 5 V and 1 A, drawing about 2.5 W. There is no battery option, and owners note that Shelly advises against using a multi-port charger.
Can it count how many people are in a room?
It is specified to track up to 6 people across up to 10 zones, but owners find the person count unreliable, so it is better used for occupied or empty than for exact counts.
