Just wrapped up a weekend geeking out with my Aqara setup and thought I’d drop a few tips that seriously leveled up my smart home game. I’m no pro, just a curious DIYer who got tired of yelling at light switches and wanted something smoother.
Okay so first thing I learned — placement is everything. I moved my motion sensors a couple inches higher and angled them slightly downward. Boom, way fewer false triggers from my cats doing parkour at 2am.
Also, don’t sleep on scenes in the Aqara Home app. I made a “chill mode” that dims the lights, closes the curtains (Aqara motorized of course), and puts on some lo-fi beats through my HomePod. All that just by tapping one button or saying, “Hey Siri, vibe check.” Stuff like that makes you feel like your house actually gets you, y’know?
One more: group relevant automations into one shortcut in HomeKit. It’s cleaner and easier to edit later. Learned that the hard way after 12 separate automations were fighting each other every time I opened a window.
Curious what small setup wins others have found? Drop your secrets — I’m borderline addicted to tweaking this setup now.
), and that “chill mode” scene? Chef’s kiss. Totally stealing the “vibe check” phrase for my own Siri commands now.
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