Firmware feedback: Aqara Camera Hub G350 Matter implementation

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Tested firmware

Aqara Camera Hub G350
Matter firmware/software version: 4.5.21 / 4005021
Matter endpoint: EP2 Camera device type 0x0142
Main camera clusters:
- CameraAvStreamManagement
- WebRTCTransportProvider
- WebRTCTransportRequestor as client

Firmware 4.5.21 does not appear to be a major Matter feature update. It does not add the missing G350-defining features such as PTZ, zoom, presets, privacy mode, zones, siren, local recording, AI events, or dual-lens/4K exposure.

What changed most in our tests is that the newer logs and patched driver make the existing Matter camera model much clearer. The firmware now clearly shows — or at least we can now clearly verify — snapshot capability, audio capability metadata, allocated audio/video streams, accepted command lists, and stream metadata.

Category Changed with 4.5.21? Notes
Firmware version Yes 4.5.20 → 4.5.21
Endpoint/cluster topology No Same basic Matter camera structure
PTZ / zoom / presets No Still missing
Privacy mode No Still missing
Zones / AI events / siren No Still missing
4K / dual-lens model No Still exposed as 1080p camera model
Snapshot capability visibility Better verified But maybe already advertised before
Snapshot command function Broken Advertised but SnapshotStreamAllocate returns INVALID_COMMAND
Stream quality in SmartThings Improved Due to driver patch, not necessarily firmware
Default viewport Still broken in firmware Driver workaround fixes UI state
Audio stream metadata Better handled Mostly driver-side improvement

1. Snapshot support is advertised but does not work

This is currently the clearest firmware bug.

The camera advertises snapshot support in several ways:

  • CameraAvStreamManagement feature map includes the SNAPSHOT feature.

  • SnapshotCapabilities is present in the AttributeList.

  • SnapshotCapabilities reports JPEG snapshot support at:

    • 640Ă—480 @ 30 fps
    • 1920Ă—1080 @ 30 fps

  • AcceptedCommandList includes command 0x07, which is SnapshotStreamAllocate.

  • AcceptedCommandList also includes command 0x0C, which is CaptureSnapshot.

SmartThings’ generated Matter docs identify SnapshotStreamAllocate as command 0x0007 and CaptureSnapshot as command 0x000C. SnapshotStreamAllocate expects image_codec, max_frame_rate, min_resolution, max_resolution, quality, watermark_enabled, and osd_enabled; CaptureSnapshot expects a snapshot_streamid and requested resolution.

But when a valid SnapshotStreamAllocate request is sent, the camera responds:

status: INVALID_COMMAND
command: SnapshotStreamAllocate

The tested request was well-formed and matched an advertised capability:

image_codec: JPEG
max_frame_rate: 30
min_resolution: 1920Ă—1080
max_resolution: 1920Ă—1080
quality: 100
watermark_enabled: false
osd_enabled: false

Why this is a problem

The firmware currently tells Matter controllers:

I support snapshots and I accept the snapshot allocation command.

But when the controller invokes that command, the camera rejects it as invalid.

Requested fix

Aqara should either:

  1. fully implement the Matter snapshot command path:

    • SnapshotStreamAllocate
    • SnapshotStreamAllocateResponse
    • CaptureSnapshot
    • CaptureSnapshotResponse
    • SnapshotStreamDeallocate

or:

  1. remove snapshot support from the advertised feature/attribute/command lists until it works.

The current state is inconsistent and will cause Matter controllers to expose a snapshot/image-capture UI that cannot actually function.

2. The Matter implementation exposes only a 1080p camera model, not the native dual-lens 4K/2.5K camera

The native G350 is marketed as a dual-lens camera with:

  • 4K wide-angle lens
  • 2.5K telephoto lens
  • 9Ă— hybrid zoom
  • 360° pan/tilt
  • zoom by dial or selected area

Aqara’s own product page describes the G350 as a dual-lens camera with a 4K panoramic lens, a 2.5K telephoto lens, 9× hybrid zoom, 940 nm IR night vision, physical privacy mode, local storage, NAS transfer, and other advanced camera features. Aqara also notes that Matter camera support and exposed features depend on the ecosystem.

But over Matter, the camera currently reports:

VideoSensorParams:
  width: 1920
  height: 1080
  maxFPS: 120

and the allocated stream is:

1920Ă—1080 @ 60 fps

Why this is a problem

The Matter model does not reflect the actual advertised hardware:

Native G350 Current Matter exposure
4K wide lens not exposed
2.5K tele lens not exposed
dual-lens model not exposed
9Ă— hybrid zoom not exposed
selected-area zoom not exposed
pan/tilt/zoom not exposed

Requested fix

Expose the camera as a richer Matter camera model, ideally representing:

  • the real maximum video resolution,
  • the dual-lens / wide + tele capability,
  • multiple stream profiles if appropriate,
  • zoom / crop / viewport capability,
  • pan/tilt/zoom through the standard Matter camera settings cluster.

3. PTZ, zoom, and presets are completely missing

The G350 natively supports pan/tilt, zoom, tap positioning, cruise/preset behavior, and up to 30 preset angles.

However, the Matter endpoint does not expose:

CameraAvSettingsUserLevelManagement

That means there is currently no standard Matter path for:

  • pan
  • tilt
  • zoom
  • preset list
  • move to preset
  • save preset
  • remove preset
  • digital PTZ viewport controls

SmartThings’ generated Matter library includes a separate CameraAvSettingsUserLevelManagement cluster for camera user-level controls; the current G350 Matter endpoint simply does not expose that cluster.

Requested fix

Expose CameraAvSettingsUserLevelManagement with the applicable features:

  • mechanical pan
  • mechanical tilt
  • mechanical zoom
  • presets
  • digital PTZ / viewport controls if supported

This is one of the most important missing pieces because PTZ/zoom is central to the G350 product.

4. Physical privacy mode is not exposed over Matter

The G350 has a native physical privacy mode / shutdown behavior. Aqara markets this as an important privacy feature.

But the current Matter camera endpoint does not expose the Matter camera privacy feature.

The current CameraAvStreamManagement feature map does not result in cameraPrivacyMode being enabled in SmartThings, and the expected privacy attributes are not present in the tested endpoint.

Requested fix

Expose privacy state through Matter, ideally mapping the real physical shutter/shutdown state to the standard camera privacy attributes.

At minimum, Matter should allow controllers to see and control:

  • soft livestream privacy mode,
  • soft recording privacy mode,
  • hard/physical privacy state if applicable.

5. The global Viewport attribute reports an invalid zero-sized rectangle

The camera reports:

CameraAvStreamManagement.Viewport = {0,0}->{0,0}

A zero-sized viewport is not useful as a user-facing default viewport.

I had to patch around this by treating {0,0}->{0,0} as “unset/default” and using the full sensor frame instead:

{0,0}->{1920,1080}

Why this is a problem

A Matter controller that blindly publishes the Viewport value will show a broken or zero-sized default viewport.

Requested fix

If {0,0}->{0,0} means “no crop” or “full frame,” Aqara should report the actual full-frame viewport instead:

{0,0}->{1920,1080}

or otherwise clearly follow the Matter-defined semantics for an unset/default viewport.

6. SnapshotCapabilities reports 1920Ă—1080 snapshots, but AllocatedSnapshotStreams is always empty and allocation fails

The camera reports:

SnapshotCapabilities:
  640Ă—480 JPEG @ 30
  1920Ă—1080 JPEG @ 30

but:

AllocatedSnapshotStreams: []

and any attempt to allocate a snapshot stream fails with:

INVALID_COMMAND

This is separate from item 1 because it shows that the snapshot model is only partially exposed:

  • capability exists,
  • accepted command is advertised,
  • no stream exists,
  • allocation fails.

Requested fix

Make the complete snapshot lifecycle work:

  1. report snapshot capability,
  2. accept SnapshotStreamAllocate,
  3. report allocated snapshot stream,
  4. accept CaptureSnapshot,
  5. return valid JPEG data,
  6. allow deallocation.

7. No zones, activity areas, privacy zones, or trigger regions are exposed

The native camera has tracking and area/selection concepts, and the product experience includes AI tracking and selected-area interaction. Aqara markets AI-powered people/pet tracking and selected-area zoom behavior.

But the Matter endpoint does not expose:

ZoneManagement

So Matter controllers cannot manage or read:

  • motion zones,
  • focus zones,
  • privacy zones,
  • trigger zones,
  • zone-triggered events.

Requested fix

Expose ZoneManagement if the camera firmware can map its native area/region system to standard Matter zones.

This would be very useful for SmartThings and other future Matter camera ecosystems.

8. No siren/chime support is exposed

The G350 hardware includes a 95 dB siren according to Aqara’s product specifications.

The current Matter endpoint does not expose:

Chime

or any other obvious standard sound/siren control cluster.

Requested fix

Expose the siren or sound playback function via a standard Matter mapping if possible, for example through the available chime/sound model.

9. Local recording / SD card / NAS state is not exposed

The G350 supports local microSD recording and NAS transfer according to Aqara’s product specifications.

The current Matter endpoint does not expose the LOCAL_STORAGE feature or corresponding local recording attributes in a way SmartThings can use.

Requested fix

Expose at least state/control for:

  • local video recording enabled,
  • local snapshot recording enabled,
  • storage availability if a standard mapping exists.

Full NAS management may be beyond Matter’s current model, but the basic local recording state should be exposed if possible.

10. AI events are not exposed over Matter

The native Aqara integration exposes or advertises events such as:

  • person,
  • pet,
  • lens obstruction,
  • sound detection,
  • tracking-related events.

The Matter endpoint currently does not expose a standard event surface for those through SmartThings.

Requested fix

If a standard Matter mapping is available or planned, expose at least the broadly useful events:

  • person detected,
  • pet detected,
  • lens obstruction,
  • sound detected,
  • motion/tracking events.

If no standard mapping exists yet, this can be treated as a future enhancement rather than a firmware bug.

11. Status LED control is not exposed

The Matter camera endpoint does not currently expose status-light controls such as:

  • status light enabled,
  • status light brightness.

SmartThings’ Matter camera driver can handle such attributes if the device exposes them, but the G350 does not currently provide them.

Requested fix

Expose status LED on/off and brightness/mode if supported by the hardware.

12. WebRTC session-state attributes are not surfaced as persistent state

The camera uses WebRTC transport successfully enough for live view and talkback. However, in SmartThings state, these values remain null:

stunUrl
turnInfo
sdpOffer
sdpAnswer
deviceIce
audioOnly

This may be more of a SmartThings integration detail than an Aqara firmware bug, because Matter’s WebRTC transport uses command-based signaling rather than necessarily storing those as persistent state. Still, if Aqara expects best behavior in SmartThings, this area may need coordination with Samsung.

Requested clarification

Aqara and SmartThings should clarify whether Matter camera WebRTC session data should be mapped into the SmartThings webrtc capability state, or whether the live camera plugin is expected to work only through transient command signaling.

Summary

The current Matter firmware is functional as a first-generation camera implementation, but it is incomplete.

Works today

  • Matter camera endpoint exists.
  • WebRTC live view works.
  • Two-way audio works.
  • Full-duplex talkback is reported.
  • Speaker/microphone mute and volume are exposed.
  • Night vision mode is exposed.
  • Allocated video stream is reported.
  • Allocated audio stream is reported.
  • Snapshot capability is advertised.

Broken or inconsistent

  • Snapshot capability is advertised, but SnapshotStreamAllocate returns INVALID_COMMAND.
  • SnapshotStreamAllocate and CaptureSnapshot are advertised in AcceptedCommandList, but the allocation command is rejected.
  • Viewport reports {0,0}-{0,0}, which is not useful as a real default viewport.

Missing compared with the G350 hardware

  • dual-lens 4K/2.5K model,
  • 9Ă— zoom,
  • PTZ,
  • presets,
  • physical privacy mode,
  • zones,
  • siren/chime,
  • local recording state,
  • AI events,
  • status LED control.

Executive Summary

The Aqara G350 Matter implementation on firmware 4.5.21 is a promising start, but it currently exposes only a small subset of the camera’s native capabilities. Live view and two-way audio work, and the camera exposes useful CameraAvStreamManagement data, but several key features are either missing or inconsistent.

The most serious firmware issue is snapshot support: the camera advertises SnapshotCapabilities and includes SnapshotStreamAllocate and CaptureSnapshot in AcceptedCommandList, but SnapshotStreamAllocate returns INVALID_COMMAND when invoked with a valid JPEG 1920Ă—1080 request. This should either be fully implemented or removed from the advertised Matter capabilities until it works.

The Matter endpoint also does not expose PTZ/zoom/presets, physical privacy mode, zones, siren/chime, local recording state, AI events, status LED controls, or the native dual-lens 4K/2.5K camera model. In addition, CameraAvStreamManagement.Viewport reports a zero-sized {0,0}->{0,0} rectangle, which Matter controllers have to work around.

For a first-class Matter implementation, the G350 should expose itself as a real dual-lens PTZ Matter camera with working snapshots, privacy mode, presets, zones, local-recording state, and a correct viewport model.

@Aqara_PM_Donie @AqaraOfficial

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2

Hello friend

Regarding the fourth point “Physical privacy mode is not exposed over Matter”, we already have temporary firmware support for this feature. You can contact our official customer service or directly inform me of your Aqara Home account, and I will arrange to upgrade the firmware for you to test whether the function works properly.

Due to Aqara and Samsung jointly releasing the Matter Camera for the first time, in fact, we cannot choose which functions to support according to our own will. Samsung requires us to prioritize supporting their set smartthings functions, such as cloud recording function, which is a non-standard Matter feature within a specified. Therefore, our development rhythm needs to comply with Samsung’s requirements first. The PTZ related functions you mentioned will be included in our next stage of development plan.

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