The latest firmware update for the Aqara E1 camera has introduced a serious issue. The camera now produces a very loud mechanical clicking sound when the IR-cut filter moves during the transition between day mode and night mode. It sounds almost like a hammer inside the camera.
The IR-cut filter mechanism is slamming back and forth whenever night mode is activated or deactivated. This behavior did not occur before the firmware update. I have three identical cameras, and only the two cameras that were updated now exhibit this problem. The third camera, which is still running the older firmware, switches to night mode silently as before.
This raises a serious concern that the IR-cut mechanism is being driven too aggressively, which could potentially shorten the lifespan of the camera.
What happening is the following:
Every time night mode is activated—either manually in the settings or automatically when the room becomes dark—the camera switches on its infrared illumination so the sensor can capture images in low light. To do this, the IR-cut filter in front of the sensor must physically move out of the optical path.
This movement is controlled by a small actuator or motor that receives an electrical impulse. After the firmware update, it seems that the impulse driving this actuator may have been increased significantly. As a result, the IR-cut filter is being moved with excessive force and is slamming into position, producing a loud clicking sound.
This did not happen before the update, and the camera that has not yet been updated still performs the transition silently.
Could you please investigate whether the latest firmware has changed the IR-cut actuator behavior? If so, is there a fix or a firmware update planned to correct this issue?
Hello, we received your question, but we can’t reproduce the phenomenon you said. Can you feedback the question to the official customer service at support@aqara.com? For further analysis, for example
Provide the firmware version number of the old equipment.
Record the live audio of the new and old firmware switching IR-CUT switching loudness.
Upgrade the equipment with old firmware to the latest firmware synchronously, and check whether the switching loudness of IR-CUT has changed.
Hi there, as this issue has already been resolved with our support team via email, we’ll be closing this topic on the forum as well. If you have any further questions or run into any other issues, please feel free to reply directly to our support email. Thanks for your support and understanding!
I have been in contact with the official customer service at [support@aqara.com]. And provided detailed instructions and a video, I reproduced the error. A few days later, I was contacted by customer service, who said that they had now been able to reproduce the same error themselves. They said this would be fixed in the next update. And that is good, because I assume that thousands—if not hundreds of thousands—now have the same error and problems after updating to the latest firmware for E1 camras.
HOWEVER! Customer service said they would send me an older version of the firmware, because the current harmful firmware is damaging my cameras, which over time will break. This was never done. I have now been waiting for months for this downgrade, which up to now has NOT arrived. I therefore want to ask you to release a downgrade firmware immediately, before my cameras break—damage you will not compensate me for.
@Alexander035 You seem to be experiencing an issue with not receiving the promised older firmware version for downgrading your Aqara E1 camera. You can contact customer support for assistance. Contact the Aqara Home App Customer Service Team (Profile> Help & Feedback > Customer Service) or scan the QR code:
I have now updated to the brand new firmware 3.6.0 for the Aqara E1 camera.
After the firmware update, the IR-cut filter issue is still not fixed. The cut filter is still being moved with excessive force, causing it to slam into position, producing a loud clicking sound, and damaging the camera.
I’m facing the same issue. My Aqara Hub G3 is running on firmware version 4.5.30_0002.0013, and the night mode has inexplicably stopped working. Now, I can’t enable it automatically. If I force the mode, it makes a “click” sound extremely loud, and the streaming is too dark.
Hello, welcome to the forum. Contact support, camera diagnostics are needed.
When did the night vision (IR) problems start after the G3 firmware update?
