Agreed. After the headache of getting them paired and dealing with repeated disconnections, I tried out a few bluetooth sensors and was pleasantly surprised. Specifically Govee H5074 and similar. No pairing troubles. They just work. Battery life is definitely over a year, possibly 2. A pack of three can be had for <$40.
I have one Bluetooth sensor, but its range is not enough to cover the distance to the router. Zigbee carries a lot further in my experience. I need 15-20 meters with two heavy walls in between.
My Zigbee sensors are these Aqaras, and the initial pairing has worked just fine.
