Hive leak loss /leak detector

Go on?

I saw one of these cheap in a charity shop and wondered if they were any good? They seem to clip to a pipe and connect to the wifi to report the leakage, I guess listening to the water flow, but they claim to detect dripping taps too, which seems a bit unlikely. Do the need some sort of subscription to Hive, to be of any use?

This sounds like snake oil to me. Brian

I'd guess they'd need to communicate with a Hive hub, which in turn connects to wifi.

I've got the Hive internet thermostat which came with a hub. I looked into peripherals like lights and motion detectors (but don't remember a leak detector) but they were too expensive. No subscription (yet).

This sort of device has been round for a while. Some purport to work by detecting the high frequency whistle generated by water issuing from a small hole.

There is another one that purports to work by ignoring surges in water usage but picking up underlying constant flows. (Even if very small).

They are sold on the basis of detecting underground leaks.

Easier to read the water meter by night I think when usage should be zero in most situations.