Hey ,
Thought I’d share my (ongoing) journey automating my home with Aqara — it’s been a wild ride but super rewarding. I’m an enthusiast, not a pro dev or anything, just someone who loves tinkering and slowly turning my apartment into something out of a sci-fi movie.
Started with a basic Aqara motion sensor and hub a year ago. Didn’t expect to dive this deep, but here we are. Now everything from my lights, AC, curtain motors, and even my coffee machine gets triggered automagically. That “good morning” scene that cracks the blinds, starts the machine, and plays jazz? Chef’s kiss.
A few key lessons:
- Start small. Don’t go all in until you’ve got the basics playing nice. Pairing issues can drive you mad otherwise.
- The automations can be addictive — but balance is key. Not every action needs a trigger.
- The Aqara app is decent, but I eventually moved everything to Home Assistant for more granular control. That’s when things really clicked.
- Leaf sensors are underrated. Changed how I manage my plants totally.
Of course, there were hiccups — occasional hub wonkiness and scenes not firing, especially after firmware updates. But overall, super happy. Anyone else here fully automated with Aqara? Would love to hear what weird or clever automations y’all are running.
Let’s share setups, fails, and tips. I’ve still got a few tricks to figure out… and maybe a robot vacuum on the wish list.
Cheers!