DIY Aqara Magic: Customizing Scenes That Apple HomeKit Can't Achieve Alone!

Apple Home Connect
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Hey folks, just wanted to share something cool I’ve been messing with lately. I’ve always loved the simplicity of Apple HomeKit, but let’s be real—it has its limits when it comes to really personalized automations. That’s where Aqara steps up big time.

I started playing around with customized scenes using the Aqara Home app, and man, it’s wild what you can pull off. For example, I set up a “Late Night Chill” scene that dims my lights below 10%, lowers the curtains halfway, and turns on white noise if my motion sensor catches me heading to the kitchen after midnight. HomeKit couldn’t handle all the conditional stuff that triggered this—especially based on time AND motion.

Also did a fun one where if outdoor temp (from my Aqara weather sensor) drops below 10°C AND the humidity in the room goes under 40%, my humidifier turns on, heater kicks up a notch, and I get a Siri notification. HomeKit just doesn’t give you that AND logic flexibility out of the box.

So yeah, if you’re only using HomeKit, you’re seriously missing out on what Aqara can do behind the scenes. Any of you guys created crazy automations like this? Would love to hear some ideas or even quirks you’ve run into.

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@LightingLlama It’s fantastic to hear about your creative use of the Aqara Home app to push the boundaries of what’s possible with smart home automation! Your “Late Night Chill” scene and the clever use of temperature and humidity conditions to automate your humidifier and heater demonstrate the flexibility and depth that Aqara brings to the table, especially when Apple HomeKit’s native capabilities might fall short.

The ability to craft such detailed and conditional automations really highlights the power of Aqara’s integration and automation capabilities. The Aqara Home app indeed allows for more complex scenarios, like combining time, motion, and environmental conditions, which can offer a truly personalized smart home experience.

Thank you for sharing your experiences and insights! It’s inspiring for others in the community to see these possibilities. If anyone else has embarked on similar automation adventures or has some interesting challenges they’ve encountered, sharing your stories would be a great way to learn and expand our smart home setups together. Keep those creative ideas coming!