Does anyone else have trouble managing the different protocols for connecting devices using an Aqara hub (especially with matter)?
I have an M3 hub, multiple Aqara sensors, buttons, lights, etc. and numerous smart home devices from other manufacturers. I try to manage everything using Apple Home (homekit) but find that when I switch matter on using the M3 hub I just get duplicates that I can’t always remove. I realise connecting the Aqara hub to Apple Home via Homekit and Matter will replicate devices. I just wonder how Aqara could make it more intuitive and maybe handle the redundancy for the user? I’m really loathe to start searching all the different protocols and how they work and which is the best to use.
Simple Solution: Connect all your Aqara devices to your M3 hub via Zigbee to use all of your devices’ capabilities with Zigbee. You can then export the M3 hub to Apple via HomeKit integration. Be sure to ignore Matter here! You can then integrate all other devices from other devices directly into HomeKit via Matter. This way, you won’t have duplicate devices in HomeKit. Alternatively, you can also teach the Matter devices to the M3 hub, and they would then be delivered from Aqara to HK via HomeKit integration. There’s really only one golden rule when exporting: no matter which ecosystem you use, use either Matter or HomeKit (Alexa/Google Home) integration. Never use both at the same time, otherwise you’ll end up with duplicate devices.
If you’re starting from Aqara, Zigbee is usually the better choice. Aqara’s Zigbee ecosystem is well-established, highly reliable, and offers better battery performance compared to Thread/Matter. The devices communicate efficiently within Aqara’s own network, ensuring fast response times, stable connections, and access to more features and options. Matter over Thread is promising for cross-brand compatibility, but Zigbee is still Aqara’s most polished and dependable option today.
