Before starting a Smart Home - even it sounds difficult at first - PLAN your 2,4GHZ Band. As Aqara M3 sadly does not let you choose the Thread and Zigbee Channels - start with these - then choose your Wifi Channels or - if needed other Zigbee2MQTT or ZHA Zigbee Channels
AI can support you in that - you are not alone!
That will save you a lot of problems later!
Enjoy
Thomas
@thomas_bergmair Totally agree with the “plan first” mindset here—2.4 GHz congestion is one of those things that’s painless to think about up front and annoying to fix later.
If you’re building around Hub M3, one extra angle to consider is that M3 isn’t just “another hub”—it can form a hub cluster and act as the leading hub, converting certain multi-hub automations from cloud to edge automations (typically faster/more reliable), plus it can work as a Thread Border Router for Thread/Matter devices. That makes it a solid “centerpiece” to design around from day one.
Also +1 to your suggestion of starting from the “fixed” pieces (Thread/Zigbee behavior, then Wi‑Fi planning). If someone is expanding an existing setup and adds M3 later, it’s generally recommended to let M3 be the primary hub for stability/performance and coordination benefits.
Curious what you’ve found most helpful in real homes: do you map your 2.4 GHz environment with a quick site survey (phone app) before choosing Wi‑Fi channels, or do you start by placing hubs/routers first and adjust after?
We need to be able to control channels and be able turn off hub functionality on cameras if not needed so they don’t broadcast when not needed.