Zigbee-based Aqara gadgets are a great addition to any setup
Aqara's Zigbee hubs and growing, list of compatible sensors and switches that work with Alexa, HomeKit, and Google is a must-have for anyone serious about putting their smart home to work. These devices are the glue that will make all your connected devices work together - and they're cheap! The Aqara system offers a lot of great functionality for not a lot of money. Just look elsewhere if what you really want is a decent smart home security system.
Pros
- Cheap
- Nice hardware
- Lots of compatible devices
- Works with HomeKit, Alexa, Google
Cons
- Security system has some bugs
- App is confusing
- Hub blocks outlet
Aqara is fast becoming a mainstay in the smart home space, with its low cost, high-quality gadgets that fill every nook, cranny, and need in your smart home.
Aqara, in case you’re not aware, is a long time partner of the Xiaomi Mi brand for the US market. It’s now self-owned, under Lumi Technology and has recently spread its wings to the UK and Europe through both Amazon store fronts and by partnering with Apple to sell devices through its store.
Offering a wide range of devices, from motion sensors to smart switches, Aqara’s products work with Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, and Google Home.
The Aqara system revolves around a Zigbee smart home hub, of which there are three, and is a decent and growing ecosystem of products that currently includes:
- smart plug
- wireless mini switch
- wired wall switches
- wireless wall switches
- indoor air quality monitor
- cube controller
- indoor camera
- water leak sensor
- vibration sensor
- air quality monitor
We’ve been living with a couple of Aqara’s newest smart home hubs and a number of its sensors, switches, and smart plugs for a few months now.
Read on for our review of the Aqara smart home system.
Aqara: Features and design
A Zigbee-based system, Aqara relies on a central hub that works with Alexa, HomeKit, and Google Assistant, and can expose all of Aqara’s battery-powered sensors and smart gadgets to your voice-controlled smart home system of choice.
Aqara also works as a stand-alone smart home system managed through its app, but we’re going to start out by saying don’t do this.
The app is Aqara’s weak point. It’s confusing and a bit fiddly, but has improved a lot since we first tested it back in 2019. You also can’t add any devices outside of the Aqara system.
Read this: Zigbee vs Z-Wave – Which is best for your smart home?
The hardware on the other hand is top-notch and follows the Xiaomi ethos of selling devices with top-of-the-line specs and hardware for rock bottom prices.
Simple and sturdy, all white and nicely made, Aqara’s sensors, switches, and smart plugs aren’t showy devices, they’re designed to blend in while still being functional, and by and large, they are simple to set up and install.
More importantly, they’re cheap. Starting at just $17 for a contact sensor and going up to $45 for in-wall smart switches, these are good prices for good hardware. At least $5 to $10 below most of the comparable competition, and significantly less than most HomeKit offerings.
We’ve tested a range of Aqara devices, on both sides of the pond, including a smart plug, wired smart switch, a smart button, and a variety of sensors (motion, contact, leak, temperature, vibration/tilt), and we set up two different hubs, the M2 ($60) and the M1S ($50) – this is the second-gen of the original Aqara Hub.
A third hub is also available, the Aqara Camera G2H ($55), which is a hub and camera in one. You can read our review here.
UPDATE… New hub: Aqara Camera Hub G3 review
Both Aqara hubs we tested can accommodate up to 128 “child” devices (as Aqara calls them). However, you can only add 32 “terminal” devices (battery-powered sensors, buttons), before you’ll need a Relay device to add 16 more per Relay. A relay device is always powered and in the Aqara system is any wall switch with a neutral wire.
The Aqara M2 hub can work over ethernet or Wi-Fi and plugs into a USB outlet.
Both hubs are Zigbee 3.0 hubs, work over 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, and can be connected to Alexa, Google, and Apple HomeKit.
Both also have a speaker that can double as a siren if you choose to set up your Aqara system as a self-monitored alarm.
The key differences are that the M1S plugs into an outlet (and takes up two of them), whereas the M2 is more like a traditional hub, powered by a USB cable, and with the option to hardwire with an ethernet cable for better reliability.
The M2 also has an IR transmitter built-in, so you can use it as a replacement for any IR remote you may have for a TV, fan, or game console.
The M1S has an LED light ring that changes color in different alarm modes and can act as a color-changing nightlight.
The Aqara M1S hub doubles as a nightlight but takes up two outlets.
In our testing we found the M2 to be more reliable with no devices dropping offline (which did occur a couple of times with the M1S).
We also preferred the option of tucking the hub away in a cupboard plugged into an extension cord with USB ports, and not taking up an entire outlet in our home, as the M1S does.
Aqara: Setup and in-use
Setting up was simple. Once the hub was connected to the Aqara app, we paired each device to a hub (you can have more than one hub running) by selecting Add Accessory. Then we pressed the device’s reset button and the Hub gave a voice notification that it was paring and then again when it connected, or if it failed.
We did have a couple of hiccups when pairing. One contact sensor would pair but refused to show any status change in the app. We ended up getting a new one, which worked fine. The leak sensor refused to pair four times, but then on the fifth try, it did.
One nice touch, the app comes with pre-set automations for each device, such as single press the switch/button to turn on/off the smart plug, or double press the switch/button to arm the Hub (Aqara fancies itself as a home security system, it’s not – more on that later). You can also create your own.
Installing the devices themselves was a breeze thanks to the pre-applied adhesive as well as spare pieces of pre-cut tape (there are no hardware mounting options).
We don’t love the app. While it provides a lot of access to each device – including a timeline of activity and settings to tinker with, the whole setup process was disjointed and slightly confusing. A fair amount of broken English and warnings such as don’t use dual-band routers (we did), as it won’t work (it did), didn’t install confidence.
Also, setting up the native Automations and Scenes was not intuitive, even though it employs a simple If This Then That-type setup – although they did work once we figured it all out.
Overall, the best way to use the Aqara Home app is to get the devices set up then hide it away to call on solely for firmware updates while you use one of the other smart home apps it works with for daily control (read on for more on this).
Here’s how we configured our Aqara Smart Home:
Hub: We installed the M1S with its built-in, color-changing LED light and a speaker that can produce a loud-ish siren in an outlet in an upstairs hallway to act as a nightlight. We placed the M2 in our “hub cupboard” (you know you’ve got one too!) and hardwired it to our modem.
Smart Plug: A large, standard-looking smart plug with an on-device switch, this was installed in the kitchen attached to a button-press kettle.
More unplugged: 9 smart uses for smart plugs
Wireless Mini Switch: Placed by a bedside table – this diminutive smart button was set up so that one press would turn on the aforementioned kettle before we got out of bed. It could also be mounted to a wall and used as a switch to operate connected smart lights.
Wired Wall Switch: Installed the stack switch version by a kitchen sink to control under cabinet and over the sink lighting. We set countdown timers in the Aqara app for each switch to automatically shut off 30 minutes after they were switched on. (In the EU, this is an H1 switch, and in both the EU and the US it’s available in neutral and no neutral wire versions, which is great).
Motion Sensor: Tiny and with a handy adjustable mount, we installed the sensor at bottom of the main stairway, so when it senses motion it triggers the Hub light to come on. When the system is in the Alert Mode it will trigger the hub’s siren.
Contact Sensor: Another small component, we attached this two-part door/window sensor to an interior bedroom door, set to send an alert when opened and to trigger the hub’s siren when the system is in Alert Mode.
Vibration Sensor: Placed on the interior side of the front door we set this up to send an alert when someone knocks on the door or the door’s opened. Or, when the system is in Alert Mode, it will trigger the hub’s siren. This is also a tilt sensor so could work as a garage door sensor.
Leak Sensor: Placed under the dishwasher in the kitchen we set this to trigger the hub to sound a siren when water is detected.
Temp/Humidity Sensor: We installed this in the bedroom to monitor comfort levels.
All these devices worked reliably and relatively consistently. We were also able to place them all over the house and had no issues with signal drop offs.
Occasionally over the months of testing the odd device would stop responding. While the app will indicate it’s not connected there are no troubleshooting steps to follow.
Instead, we found just deleting and re-adding the device – a simple process – was all we needed to do to get it up and running again.
With all this tech you could easily create a pretty comprehensive Aqara smart home, but for most users, it’s the fact that all Aqara’s devices work with Apple’s HomeKit, Amazon’s Alexa, and Google Home that makes them really interesting.
Read on for the skinny on how to use Aqara in your current smart home set up.
Aqara: Smart Home Integrations
In our opinion, the real reason to invest in Aqara gear is its solid integrations with HomeKit, Alexa, and to some extent Google Assistant. While you could just use Aqara products, the Aqara Home app doesn’t let you integrate other manufacturers’ devices.
Pair it with any of the above and you can use these inexpensive gadgets to trigger HomeKit Automations and Scenes or Alexa or Google routines to turn on any compatible smart lights, adjust thermostats, plugs, switches – basically anything that works with Alexa, Google, or HomeKit.
Due to each ecosystem’s limitations, not every Aqara device works with every system. But those that do work, work really well, triggering any automation we set up quickly and effectively.
One of Aqara’s advantages over much of the competition in this space is it uses Zigbee rather than Bluetooth or WiFi. This means each device can act as a repeater so you can place things like contact sensors far away from your HomeKit hub or Alexa and they won’t lose connectivity.
Here’s what will show up as soon as you pair your Aqara Hub to HomeKit (it has a HomeKit code), Alexa (using a skill), or connect to Google Home:
Alexa
- The Aqara M1S Hub – shows as a light, so you can trigger the built-in LED to turn on and change color
- Smart plug
- Motion sensor
- Contact sensor
- Temp/humidity sensor
- Smart switch
- The Aqara Hub – shows up as a light
- Smart plug
- Contact sensor
- Temp Sensor
HomeKit
- The Aqara Hub – shows up as a light and separately as a Alarm System (see below)
- Smart plug
- Contact sensor
- Motion sensor
- Vibration sensor
- Temp sensor (doesn’t work as a trigger)
- Smart button/switch
- Leak detector
- Smart switch
Setup Tip: When you pair the Aqara Hub to HomeKit make sure to go into the Home app and choose Show as separate tiles. Then you can move each Aqara component into different rooms and use each device individually.
Aqara can be used as a basic DIY home security system. We say basic because there’s no option of professional monitoring and despite significant improvements since we first tested it in 2020 – including the addition of some key features such as automatic arming and disarming and entry and exit delays, it’s still fiddly to set up and use.
But the biggest issue currently is that once you turn on any of Aqara’s four modes (Basic/Home/Away/Night), it’s almost impossible to turn them off. So every time you walk past your motion sensor your alarm goes off. Not ideal.
There are four Alert Modes for the security component: Basic, Away, Home and Night. You can configure each one to react to different devices (i.e. turn off the motion sensor in Home mode), and when any connected device is triggered while the system is armed the Hub will blare a loud sound of your choice (including police sirens or a doorbell ringing) and flash red. If you have more than one hub they will all sound the alarm.
Read this: Best smart home security systems
Through HomeKit you can turn on the Night, Away, Home modes, toggling them in the HomeKit app or by adding it to a HomeKit Automation such as “When the last person leaves the house turn on the alarm.” All the alarm setup must be done in the Aqara app and only Aqara devices can trigger the siren.