I have a question regarding the interaction between Aqara Guarding and Apple Home.
My setup consists of:
2 × Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro
1 × Aqara Camera Hub G350
In the Aqara app, I can configure all three cameras as alarm devices within the Guarding system.
However, in Apple Home, I only see two Security System accessories, one for each G5 Pro. The G350 does not expose its own Security System, even though it has a built-in siren.
I’m trying to understand how this integration works.
Could you please clarify the following?
If I change the Security System mode (for example, to Away ) on only one of the G5 Pro accessories in Apple Home, does this:
arm only that individual G5 Pro, or
arm the entire Aqara Guarding system?
If only one Security System is changed in Apple Home, will all alarm devices configured in Aqara (including the G350 siren) be triggered when an alarm occurs?
Why does the G350 not expose a Security System accessory in Apple Home, despite supporting Guarding and having a built-in siren? Is this expected behavior?
Is there an official way to change the Guarding mode (Home / Away / Night / Off) for all Aqara Guarding devices at once from Apple Home ? For example, if multiple G5 Pro cameras each expose their own Security System accessory, how can I switch all of them to Away or Home with a single action?
I’m trying to understand the intended architecture, as it’s currently unclear how Apple Home and Aqara Guarding interact when multiple cameras are installed.
Arms the entire system in the Aqara app (side note) Aqara has a 10 camera limit in the Guardian settings.
Yes (there is a 10 camera limit) I also use 4 G350’s it depends on how you set them up and what options you choose.
Yes, I’m not certain why Aqara chose this option? It may have to do with Matter compatibility but there are work arounds.
Apple Home Arms all cameras at one time. I have five G5 Pro & four G350 cameras and when I Arm one it applies to all of them. Those settings are controlled by the Aqara app in the Guardian Settings.
How do you personally know which Guarding mode is currently active without opening the Aqara app?
For example, if the system is in Home, Away, Night or Off, do you use any physical device to indicate the current mode?
I’m wondering if there is an Aqara product that can both display the current Guarding mode and allow changing it, or if you simply rely on the Aqara app or Apple Home.
I’m looking for a simple and intuitive way to see the current alarm mode at a glance when entering or leaving the house. I have read people using lights but not sure if there are better solutions
Apple Home automatically Arms/Disarms the system based on your location.
You do nothing, the notification tells you all you need to know. There is no opening any app or any other action unless you want to make changes to something or there is a problem like leaving a door unlocked or window open accidentally.
When having multiple devices let them do what they are intended to do. Cameras record, Door and Windows Sensors monitor, Sirens Sound when triggered, etc.
You know which mode is active because the notification tells you. If you want to manually change it, open Apple Home and change it with the menu at the top of the Home Page (Security ).
You can use a light or other visual indicator but Why? You get notifications.
1- That’s interesting. I thought HomeKit didn’t allow Security Systems to be armed/disarmed automatically based on location. Are you using a standard Apple Home automation (“When the last person leaves” / “When the first person arrives”), or are you using another method?
2- What about a second home? If the alarm is triggered and my neighbor has the keys, how can they disarm the system without access to my Apple Home or Aqara account while I’m sleeping in the middle of the night 100km away?
I have been testing this extensively with four G5 Pro Cameras, Apple Home and Home Assistant.
I can confirm that all Security System accessories are perfectly synchronised, Changing one changes all of them, so there is clearly only one Guard state internally.
However, I think exposing one Security System per camera is a poor HomeKit user experience.
Apple Home ends up showing four duplicated alarm panels, all representing the same Guard state, and notifications reference individual cameras instead of a single security system for the property.
It also makes custom integrations and automations much more complicated than they need to be. Many advanced users use Aqara together with Apple Home and Home Assistant to build custom security workflows. Instead of having one clear entity representing the security state of the whole property, we have to deal with four duplicated Security System accessories that always stay synchronized. This unnecessarily complicates automations, dashboards, notifications and integrations, even though there is only a single Guard state underneath.
I would much prefer a single shared Security System accessory representing the whole Aqara Guard, just like the Guard already behaves internally.
This would make the HomeKit integration much cleaner, especially for users with multiple G5 Pro cameras.
).