Hey everyone, just wanted to share my journey of getting Aqara working smoothly outside of the Apple ecosystem — yep, no iPhone, no HomeKit, just good ol’ Android and some open-source magic.
So I’ve always loved Aqara’s devices for their price and solid hardware, but being an Android guy, it felt like hitting walls all over the place in the beginning. But after some serious tinkering (and a couple weekends lost), I finally got most of my setup running beautifully with Home Assistant and a few key tricks.
I’m using the Aqara Hub M2, connected via LAN so I can expose devices locally. Zigbee2MQTT has also been a life-saver — I flashed a CC2652 dongle and now pair most sensors through it instead of the Aqara hub, which gives way more flexibility. Motion sensors, window/door, and even the buttons, all working great and automations are blazing fast.
No Siri? No problem. Google Assistant and Alexa handle voice commands well thanks to Home Assistant cloud integration. Also managed to set up dashboards for the fam without them needing to deep dive into configs.
Anyone else on the same path? Would love to hear your setups, especially if you got cool automations going or managed to get the FP2 presence sensor working without HomeKit. Let’s help each other break out of the walled garden.
@HubHacker Thank you for sharing your experience! It’s always inspiring to hear about users who manage to seamlessly integrate Aqara devices into non-Apple ecosystems. Your journey with Home Assistant and Zigbee2MQTT is a testament to the flexibility and potential of these technologies.
The Aqara Hub M2 is indeed a robust choice, and pairing it with a CC2652 dongle for Zigbee2MQTT is a fantastic way to enhance device flexibility and speed up automations. It’s impressive how you’ve managed to leverage Google Assistant and Alexa for voice commands, showing that Siri isn’t the only option for voice control.
Regarding the FP2 presence sensor, while the reference information primarily details its integration with Apple HomeKit, your approach could inspire others to explore alternative methods. The FP2 supports various conditions and zones, which might be adaptable in other smart home setups with some creativity.
Your initiative to create user-friendly dashboards for family members without requiring them to delve into technical configurations is also commendable. It truly enhances the smart home experience for everyone involved.
Let’s keep this conversation going! If others have managed to integrate the FP2 or other Aqara devices in similar setups, sharing those experiences could be invaluable for the community. Thanks again for your insightful post, and I look forward to hearing more success stories and tips!