Smart Migration Tips: Moving Aqara G4 Camera to Home Assistant

Apple Home Connect
1

Hey all, just wanted to share my experience migrating the Aqara G4 camera over to Home Assistant—thought it might save someone some time (and headache).

So yeah, I’ve been slowly shifting from HomeKit to Home Assistant to get more control and integrate stuff that Apple’s ecosystem just doesn’t play nice with. The G4 is solid for its price, but moving it off HomeKit wasn’t exactly plug-and-play.

Here’s what worked for me:

  • First, I reset the G4 (yep, full reset was necessary—sigh).
  • I ditched the Aqara app after setup and connected it directly using HomeKit Controller in HA. You’ll need the pairing code on the camera or the box, so don’t trash that.
  • Once added, it showed up fast in HA, and I could finally get the stream + motion detection working. Super handy if you’re trying to automate based on movement.

One hiccup: the G4 doesn’t expose everything in HA natively (at least for now), so some functions like facial recognition are missing. Still, for surveillance + basic automation, it works great.

Any other G4 users in here who got it running smoother or exposed more features in HA through workarounds? Always down to learn more.

Let me know if you’re stuck migrating—happy to help where I can.

2

@Sophia_Brown Thank you for sharing your experience with migrating the Aqara G4 camera to Home Assistant! Your insights are incredibly valuable, especially for those navigating the transition from HomeKit to Home Assistant to enhance control and integration capabilities. Your step-by-step approach, including the necessity of a full reset and using the HomeKit Controller, is practical and informative.

It’s great to hear that you managed to get the stream and motion detection working seamlessly. As you noted, while some features like facial recognition might not be available natively in Home Assistant right now, the setup still offers robust surveillance and basic automation functions.

For others in the community who might have additional tips or workarounds to expose more features of the G4 in Home Assistant, feel free to chime in! Sharing these experiences helps everyone make the most out of their Aqara devices.

Thanks again for contributing, and I encourage more users to share their insights or reach out if they encounter any hurdles during their migration process.