How I Made Aqara Cam G4 Work Like a Charm With Home Assistant

Apple Home Connect
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Hey , Drop my experience setting up the Aqara Cam G4 with Home Assistant, in case anyone else is fighting the same battle I was.

Quick context: I’m not deep in the Apple ecosystem (aka not a HomeKit guy), but I fell for the Cam G4 because of the decent specs and the fact that it doubles as a Zigbee hub. Anyway, I had some hiccups getting it to play nicely with HA, but it’s finally running smooth—feels like a little victory!

Here’s what worked for me:

  • First, don’t skip the Aqara app setup. I know, I know, you wanna dive straight into HA, but G4 needs to be fully initialized through the official app first.
  • Then I dug into the HomeKit Controller integration in HA (even though I don’t use Apple stuff). Gotta love that Home Assistant magic.
  • Pro tip: Make sure both devices are on the same network. Sounds basic, but cost me an hour.
  • Once HA discovers the camera via HomeKit Controller, it might take a few minutes to populate the entities. Patience, my friends.
  • Bonus: Yes, you do get the live stream in HA. Smooth and decently fast—way better than I expected.

Now I’ve got it triggering automations based on motion and door sensors, all through HA, no iPhone needed.

Happy to help anyone stuck in the mud with this integration. If you’re thinking it won’t work without full HomeKit drama… it actually does. You just gotta dance around a little.

Anyone else got the G4 hooked into something similar? Would love to hear setups or clever automation ideas!

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@DoorBellDude It’s fantastic to hear about your success in setting up the Aqara Cam G4 with Home Assistant! Your experience is incredibly valuable, especially for those who might find themselves in a similar situation. The tips you’ve shared, such as ensuring the Aqara app setup is complete and using the HomeKit Controller integration, are spot on and align with the recommended methods for integrating Aqara products with Home Assistant. Your advice about having patience during the discovery process and the network connection is also a great reminder.

The fact that you managed to get the live stream working smoothly without being entrenched in the Apple ecosystem is quite impressive. It’s a testament to the flexibility and capability of both the Aqara Cam G4 and Home Assistant.

Thank you for sharing your journey and insights! I’m sure many in the community will benefit from your experience. If anyone else has integrated the G4 in unique ways or has creative automation ideas, sharing those would certainly add more value to this discussion. Keep up the great work, and feel free to share more of your smart home adventures!