"Off-label" uses for Aqara products

Does anyone use Aqara products in a unique/non-advertised way? For instance, I use my Aqara Door and Window sensor on my fridge to tell me if the fridge door didn’t shut (weak magnet). It’s saved me a ton in energy cost and ruined groceries, and it’s the only solution I could find that would alert for “door has been open for x minutes”, not just “door open” and “door closed” (which would be a TON of noise).

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I used to have one on my letterbox to see if I got mail. It worked pretty good, except on very very windy days :wink:
Unfortunately I can’t do this anymore in my new home as I no longer have a letterbox.

I’ve actually always meant to use one for the fridge but never had a spare sensor lying around for it.

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Never thought about the letterbox, that’s genius!

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Yes - I’m using the P2 Door / Window sensor on our front loader washing machine. I use an Alexa routine that starts a 2 hour timer when the door is closed. When the door is opened a routine runs to cancel the timer. Normally we don’t notice it, unless we forget about the laundry running!

It works great to prevent us all from leaving a load of towels or whatever in the washer. We prefer to keep the door open to prevent mold growth on the door seals.

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I use an NFC tag on the washer and dryer. Once I start the dryer, I scan the tag which activates a timer or reminder on my phone (through the shortcuts app). Got one on the dishwasher too.

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The only annoying part with the letterbox was that I would always get 2 notifications (letterbox opened, letterbox closed). It might be possible to fix this these days though now that we can use shortcuts in the Apple Home app.

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I use an Aqara button in my car to open my garage door. Since it’s based on Zigbee it doesn’t mind leaving the network and Home Assistant doesn’t notice either. It also looks much nicer than a lot of garage door openers.

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Hello, I described my non-standard use of a leak sensor and a door opening sensor here.

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Just updated to the G410 and I’m using my G4 as a rear yard cam on my back porch.

That wide screen angle grabs most of the yard and my entire pool pretty easily.

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I use a door & window sensor on my electric awning. If it is open and my weather station shows wind gusts are higher than 20 mph the awning will retract.

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I use several Aqara devices with Apple HomeKit and Home Assistant in ways that go beyond the typical “turn a light on when you walk into a room” setups.

Contact Sensor – I have them on multiple doors, but instead of just triggering alerts, I pair each one to the corresponding light switch. When a door opens, the light turns on; when it closes, the light turns off. One of my favorites is on the attic door — as soon as I pull the stairs down, the attic light turns on automatically, so I never have to fumble for a switch.

FP2 Presence Sensor – On my patio, I’ve split it into two detection zones. If someone enters one specific zone, it turns on the ceiling fan automatically.

Motion Sensor – These are all over the house, controlling different lights with brightness that changes based on the time of day, so nighttime movement triggers a dimmer setting instead of blinding lights.

These setups are some of my favorite “non-advertised” uses — they make daily life smoother without adding noise or unnecessary alerts.

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I have humidity sensor in my bathroom triggering the fan when humidity goes above 75%

Wireless Mini Switch to turn on bathroom fan manually when needed :slight_smile:

Wireless H1 switch to unlock and lock entrance doors with Aqara locks on them

I am working now on Curtain Controllers, had them for some time waiting for installation and setup but I have tested one and will get all sorted soon with automations to open and close them based on the sun activity and in living room I will have a scene to lower them down the when watching movies

Roller shutters for garage on dual relay module to open them remotely

Also have cube but it needs more time to find it useful and convenient to use.

I have number of other brand devices which work in my ecosystem to control temperature, windows etc. Options are almost limitless.

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This is brilliant, there is a total dead spot in my driveway to the wifi but I have a G410 so it should pick up the switch. Thanks!