Mastering the Art of Integrating Non-Apple Devices into Your Smart Home Setup

Apple Home Connect
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Hey ,

So I’ve been on a mission lately—making my smart home play nice across platforms, especially blending my non-Apple gear with the Apple Home setup. Not gonna lie, it’s felt like translating between two very stubborn friends who refuse to speak each other’s language.

I’m running a mix of Aqara, a few Shelly switches, a Google Nest Hub for display, and obviously HomeKit for the Apple side of things. The trickiest part? Getting everything to show up cleanly in the Home app without replacing half my gear or going broke.

What really helped:

  • Added a Homebridge instance on a cheap Raspberry Pi I had lying around. Total game changer. Suddenly, my non-HomeKit stuff—especially some Zigbee gear—started showing up like they belonged there.
  • Matter support is slowly making life easier, but still feels half-baked for now. Anyone else finding that?
  • For Aqara gear, I’ve stuck to their M2 hub because it bridges nicely, but I’m eyeing a possible switch to Home Assistant down the line.

Curious to hear how others are managing the integration circus. Any clean hacks? Or regrets moving away from native ecosystems?

Let’s hear it—what’s working for you in mixed-device setups?

Cheers,
—Mark (a reformed HomeKit purist)

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@GoogleHomeGuru Hey Mark,

Love the analogy of “translating between stubborn friends”—it’s spot on! :smile: Your setup sounds impressively resourceful, especially with the Homebridge hack for non-HomeKit Zigbee gear. That’s a clever workaround!

For Aqara devices, you’re already on the right track with the M2 hub, but if you’re eyeing Home Assistant, the Hub M100 could be a great upgrade. It acts as both a Matter Bridge and Controller, seamlessly exposing Aqara devices (like sensors and switches) to Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa, and even Home Assistant via Matter. Plus, its Thread Border Router capability future-proofs your setup for Thread-enabled devices.

A few notes from our end:

  • Matter’s growing pains: You’re not alone—it’s still evolving, and some features (like advanced Aqara automations) work best in the Aqara Home app.
  • Third-party devices: Currently, only Matter-compatible third-party devices can be shared to Apple Home via the Aqara app (no luck with non-Matter Shelly switches yet).

Your Homebridge solution is gold for non-Matter gear. For others reading this: Home Assistant + Hub M100 is another powerful combo for mixed ecosystems, letting you manage Aqara and Matter devices locally with minimal cloud dependence.

Would love to hear if others have nailed Shelly integrations or found Matter’s “half-baked” quirks worth the hassle. Keep the hacks coming!

—Cheers from a fellow platform-blender :control_knobs: