If you've ever come home to a flooded basement or experienced a power loss while away on vacation, then you know how costly it can be to replace damaged carpeting, repair burst pipes, or restock a freezer full of spoiled food.
With the Motorola Cellular MultiSensor MC4000 ($99.99), you can minimize your repair costs and likely prevent damage before it happens.
This versatile little device is equipped with multiple sensors that monitor temperature, humidity, water leaks, and light levels.
It'll also tell you if your house has lost power and if there's been any excessive shaking from earthquakes or heavy construction.
It doesn't work with other smart home devices, and it requires a nominal monthly subscription, but the MultiSensor installs in minutes, provides accurate readings, and can save you a lot of money and frustration.
Design and Features
The MultiSensor MC4000 measures 2.7 by 1.4 by 1.0 inches (HWD) and comes with a water/flood probe attached to a five-foot cable, a USB power adapter, and a quick start guide that tells you all you need to know about setting up the sensor.
The device has a USB-A connector and a tiny On/Off switch on its bottom end and an adjustable 2.1-inch cellular antenna on the right side.
Below the antenna is a port for the water/flood probe.
Despite its diminutive size, the MC4000 is packed with tech including a 4G LTE cellular module (as for networks, Motorola only says it uses "a leading cellular data provider"), temperature, humidity, water, and ambient light sensors, and an accelerometer that measures abnormal movement such as shaking from earthquakes or heavy construction.
The MultiSensor also monitors AC power and will let you know if it is lost, and it's equipped with a rechargeable backup battery that will provide up to 40-plus hours of power in the event of a power outage.
A pair of LEDs behind the front grille let you know what's going on.
A green LED will glow solid for 20 seconds upon powering up and make a single flash every 20 seconds thereafter to confirm the device is in normal AC power mode (plugged into a wall outlet).
It'll double flash green when the AC power has failed and it is operating under battery power, and triple flash green when the battery is getting low.
A green quadruple flash indicates a hardware issue.
The blue LED will flash once every second while establishing a connection and then every 20 seconds when there is a normal cellular connection.
The MultiSensor can be managed using Motorola's colorful mobile app (for Android and iOS) or from a PC via a web console.
Both options open to a dashboard screen with panels that display the status of every sensor.
Here you can view the current temperature, humidity level, water/flood condition (dry or wet), light level, acceleration reading, cellular signal strength, AC power status, and backup battery level.
There'll be a green check mark icon next to each sensor that has alerts enabled and a red exclamation icon for any sensor that has recently been triggered.
Tap any panel to view a historical activity chart and to enable alerts with thresholds.
You can have the MultiSensor send email, text, and voice (phone) alerts when the temperature falls below a certain point, when the humidity level reaches a certain point, when AC power is lost, and when water is detected.
You can also have the device send alerts when a specific level of ambient light is detected to monitor activity in your home.
For example, you can set a light threshold for a child's room and receive an alert if the light stays on past a certain time.
Other alerts let you know when the remaining battery power has reached a certain level and when the accelerometer measures a certain threshold.
Not only will you receive alerts when any of these thresholds are breached, but you'll get an alert when conditions return to an acceptable level (within your specified threshold).
At the bottom of the dashboard screen are buttons labeled Dashboard, Configure, Alerts, and Account.
The Dashboard button takes you back to the dashboard screen and the Configure button takes you to a screen where you can add more MultiSensors to your account and add up to 12 recipients to your list of people who can receive alerts.
The Alerts button lets you view all alerts with time stamps, dates, location, and reason for alert (high temperature, low battery, etc.), and the Account button takes you to a screen where you can edit your profile information (name, email, password, phone number), add a new payment method for your subscription, and view your payment history.
You get a free one-month subscription when you first set up your MultiSensor account, but thereafter you'll have to pay $5 per month (per device) for the cellular service.
While versatile, the MultiSensor is strictly a standalone device and does not integrate with other smart devices such as home security systems, sirens, fans, and thermostats.
It also lacks support for IFTTT applets that would allow it to trigger other IFTTT-enabled devices.
Installation and Performance
Installing and configuring the MC4000 is easy.
I downloaded the mobile app, created an account, and validated my email address.
Next, I slid the MC4000's power switch to the On position, plugged it into the power adapter, and plugged that into a wall outlet.
I tapped the Configuration button, selected Sensor, and tapped the New MultiSensor button.
I gave the sensor a name, entered the Sensor ID located on the side, and set my time zone.
I tapped Add and the sensor was immediately added to my Dashboard.
I tapped the Account button to set up a subscription and was done.
I placed the MultiSensor in my basement in an area that frequently experiences fluctuating humidity levels when the weather is warm.
It provided temperature and humidity readings that were right in line with readings from a Nest Thermostat installed in the same area.
I set temperature and humidity thresholds and instantly received email and text alerts when those thresholds were breached, and again when conditions returned to normal.
The water/flood probe sent alerts when the floor became damp and sent follow-up alerts telling me that conditions were normal after the probe had dried, usually within 15 to 20 minutes.
As with the other sensors, the accelerometer and the ambient light sensor worked perfectly, and I never failed to receive an alert when the sensor was unplugged from the AC outlet and again when power was restored.
Conclusions
Whether you want to monitor conditions in a second home, RV, garage, or storage shed, the Motorola Cellular MultiSensor has got you covered.
It keeps tabs on temperature, humidity, AC power, and ambient light levels, and it'll even let you know if there's been an earthquake.
The sensor uses cellular communications and doesn't require a Wi-Fi connection, and it has a battery backup that will keep monitoring your property even when you've lost power.
Moreover, it performed flawlessly in our tests and was a snap to install, and the mobile app is colorful and intuitive.
Interoperability with other smart devices or IFTTT applets would be a welcome addition, but if you simply need a device that will give you ample warning before incurring damage due to frozen pipes, extreme humidity, or loss of power, the Motorola MultiSensor is a worthwhile investment.
Motorola Cellular MultiSensor MC4000
The Bottom Line
The Motorola Cellular MultiSensor MC4000 lets you keep an eye on environmental and power conditions inside your home, RV, boat, or just about any space where you want to prevent damage from freezing pipes, flooding, and power loss.