So I finally decided to bring my old-school lamps into the smart home era—without replacing them. Here’s how I pulled it off using Aqara and HomeKit, with zero coding and minimal effort.
I used the Aqara Smart Plug (EU version in my case), added it through the Aqara app, then linked it to Apple Home via HomeKit. Boom—instant control of my “dumb” lamps using Siri and automations. The magic is in the power monitoring and timer features, which give my 10-year-old lamps brand new life.
Set up a simple automation: when the sun sets, my living room lamp turns on automatically. I even created a scene for “Movie Time” that dims the light slightly for that cozy vibe.
Also worth noting—I use a mix of Xiaomi and Aqara devices, and no issues so far in HomeKit once everything’s routed through the Aqara Hub M2.
If anyone’s on the fence about giving new smarts to your old gear, this little setup is totally worth it. Anyone else done similar lighting hacks with Aqara? Keen to hear your setups.