OK, just sharing some of my experience so far.
For context: My goal was to get a new smart doorbell to use in my entry gate (outdoors), be able to seamlessly connect to Homekit and able to trigger the gate latch release in a non clumbsy way (change screens, change apps whilst answering the doorbell ring)
Ok. first challenges.
- Doorbell - Chime connection distance:
From the room where I wanted to position the chime to the doorbell there is, definitely about 5 meters apart with direct view apart from one thick wall (doorbell is positioned outside the house). It did not work. period. I had to figure out a way to position the chime outdoors inside a waterproof enclosure to ensure stable / good connection between the chime and doorbell (4 of 5 bars) and the WIFI.
Doorbell - Chime connection is MANDATORY: Although I have great Wifi coverage throughout my household (including outdoors), I was a bit disapointed when I noticed that the doorbell just HAS to connect to the chime with no other option.I would happily just click any waiver like “If you connect the doorbell to your wifi, you are aware that data will be exposed … bla bla bla” to facilitate the connection per se. I can hardly think of a technical reason to make it difficult to communicate 2 devices via wifi IP directly. Sounds like some legal concern more than anything. Either way, this could’ve solved the item above in an easier way (some vendors do this “disclaimer thing”. Eufy is one)
- It’s a doorbell for external usage and it’s not waterproof. Doesn’t make sense to me. At the time (AUG/25) there was no official AQARA cover for it, as the G4 one did not fit properly. I had to get one printed in 3D. (details here: Silicone waterproof cover for g410? - #3 by bernardo_fortes ) Pics included there. It worked out well. I understand the pressure to put a product into market, but there should have been a AQARA solution from day 1. (PS: I don’t know if there is already a new cover now)
That said, these issus above took some unexpected and unwanted effort, but were addressed.
For on the statements below reference Wi-fi – Chime connection has STRONG signal as detected by my Deco mesh and, as stated, the CHIME - Doorbell has a stable 4 out of 5 signal bars as in AQARA app.
- HomeKit integration: Easy to install. no further complication on that end.
- Alexa Integration - works very well. you can chose which devices will respond to the doorbell ring. solid.
- Home Assistant integration: No issues whatsoever. Connected via Matter. solid.
Now… the instabilites…
I have in mind that this is a recent product and I bought it a month after release, but that doesn’t change the fact that there are some rough edges still.
- Connectivity - Every now and then, it goes offline, despite rock solid connection measurements for WIFI-CHIME and CHIME-Doorbell. For the record, I tried 2 different wifi infrastructures (Google Wifi and Deco Mesh). Usually a reboot addresses this. The latest try was to diable mesh in DECO and force the chime to connect to a singel router (the one with confirmed stronger signal). I did this yesterday and seems ok so far. Too soon to confirm. Either way, I had the same issue with 2 different Wifi infrastructures and there are reports of instability in the forum as well. I don’t know if there’s some known instability on this or not. (I would like to know)
- I had some issues with internal automations. I tested a voice response after a given face was detected and for most times it just didn’t work. The good thing: After the latest firmware update (a few days ago) it started to work very well.
This strongly suggests that there is active development focused in crushing bugs and instabilities that are expected for very new products. I’ve seen a good improvement rate in the last 2 releases, and I hope that this continues.
Would I buy it again ? YES.
They’ll get there. It’s already in a good state and I perceived real stability evolution in recent firmwares.
What would I change: (solution focus)
- g410’s eventual Network instability. I assume there’s something being done about it that will reach in future releases. I would like to know.
- Homekit response is a bit laggy. Can’t pin on the doorbell though (AQARA app responses are faster than homekit, but not by much). Could be related to my old (but still 4th gen) AppleTV that runs the homkit show (wired connection to the nework, just to state)
- I added the lock release as part of Homekit’s nearby accessories and the overall experience is great. When somebody rings and I can easily open the door works really well. 2 clicks. (as oposed to changing apps to trigger that etc…)
Is there something else I’d like to know ? Definietely.
What is the actual development roadmap, including targeted bugs. Does this exist ?