Hey everyone,
Just wanted to share a bit about my smart home setup journey with Aqara—maybe it’ll help someone who’s just getting started or thinking about diving deeper.
So, I started as a total noob. I picked up an Aqara M2 hub and a motion sensor just to play around with, and man, it escalated quickly. Before I knew it, I had the hub hooked into Home Assistant via iHost, set up automation for lights with sensors in the hallway, and even tinkered with automating my AC using the IR controller.
What made a huge difference for me was focusing on solving actual needs, not just throwing devices around for fun. For example, I hated coming home to a dark apartment. So I set up a combo of the door sensor and motion sensor to trigger lights when I walk in. Simple, but it actually makes life better.
Also, don’t sleep on the Aqara switches. I’m using the D1 wall switches to create “dumb-smart” links between rooms, like double-tapping one to shut down all the lights before bed—feels like magic.
The major hiccup I had? Device limits on the hub. Things got funky after adding a bunch of stuff and trying to crank out automation via iHost. Turns out, zigbee network planning is a thing (yep, I learned the hard way). So if you’re expanding, get into routers or repeaters early on.
Anyone else here gone full DIY with Aqara gear? Would love to hear your setups or tips—especially around optimizing Zigbee networks or fun scene ideas you’ve built.
Let’s geek out.