Alright, so I finally jumped into smart home territory after lurking for like a year. Picked up an Aqara Hub M2, a couple of motion sensors, a door sensor, and one of their smart plugs during a sale. Not gonna lie, I expected a tech rabbit hole — and I got one — but it’s been so worth it.
I’m no tech wizard or anything, just your average guy who got tired of walking into a dark hallway. Got things going with motion-triggered lights at night (only between 10pm-6am), and it’s honestly spooky how satisfying it is. Then tried automating my humidifier plug when humidity drops below 40% using the sensor and plug combo. Took some trial and error (and a bit of yelling), but it works!
I used the Aqara Home app to start, then switched over to Home Assistant and it unlocked sooo much more. Like, temperature-based AC control, notifications when windows are open during pollen-high days, yada yada.
A few things I wish I knew before starting:
- Don’t stick sensors where your cat likes to hang out.
- The placement really matters — doorsensors on metal = bad idea.
- Zigbee is super stable when you’ve got enough signal jumpers like plugs or switches.
Anyway, for anyone just starting — don’t overthink it. Start small, test stuff, break stuff, fix it, repeat. And shoutout to this forum, helped me more than YouTube did half the time.
Curious what “first automations” others built with Aqara? Let’s hear it!