Hey — Drop a quick post on my Aqara G4 to Home Assistant migration, in case anyone else is thinking about making the jump.
So I was deep into the Apple HomeKit ecosystem, using the G4 doorbell with HomeKit Secure Video. Pretty smooth… until I realized how limited I was on automations and integrations outside the Apple world. No Alexa routines, no real dashboard, and definitely no fun MQTT tinkering.
Enter Home Assistant.
I was honestly intimidated at first, but the switch was way easier than I expected. Used HomeKit Controller in HA to pull the G4 in without needing to reset the device. Everything just showed up. Notifications, snapshots, even doorbell presses — all native now in my HA dashboard.
I paired it with some Aqara motion sensors and an automation to pause my music when someone rings the bell. Super satisfying.
For anyone considering it: don’t be scared of HA. It’s way more flexible and I wish I’d made the move sooner. Happy to share more details if anyone’s curious or stuck!
How’s your G4 setup working out? Anyone got tricks for two-way audio in HA?
Let’s talk.