Some Aqara Sensors Appearing Twice in Apple Home

[wv86hgvzqn]

I just wondered if anyone else had experienced this when using Apple Home?

I have a few different Aqara Sensors:
Aqara Smart Hub 100, Matter Controller, Thread Border Router
Aqara Thread/Zigbee Smart Climate Sensor W100
Aqara Temperature and Humidity Sensor
Aqara LED Strip, Matter over Bridge,
Aqara 4MP Camera Hub G5 Pro, PoE

I am mainly using Apple HomeKit with a HomePod acting as my Home Hub. I remember it all being a pig to set up, as some of the devices are matter over thread, some are Zigbee some were in range some were not.

Anyway, long story short - I managed to get it set up all working as I wanted. However I noticed that my Aquara LED strip light seems to appear as ‘Aqara LED’ and ‘Lightbulb’ in my Office setup, even though I only have one device. I can’t remember whether you had to set it up with the Aquara app first, and then add it to Apple Home, or the other way around. Either way it seems to appear twice - so don’t know if it is possible for it to be connected to my Apple Home Hub (aka HomePod) and my Aqara Smart Hub 100 at the same time?

The same thing seems to happen with my Aqara Climate sensor - this seems to appear twice in Apple Home. It seems you have to set it all up with the Aqara app first and then add it to Apple Home.

Basically I don’t know how to remove one instance of each of these devices without screwing everything up?

It seems Aqara want you to use their eco system, but many people (including myself) bought these devices so they could integrate nicely into Apple Home.

Any advice appreciated!

[AqaraBot]

Hi there, it looks like you’re experiencing a support-related issue. We’ve automatically created a support ticket for you and will reach out via the forum email within the next two business days.

If other members have any suggestions or insights on this topic, feel free to share!

[JohnD]

Check this out. Maybe it’ll help you.

@JohnD

Many Options = Duplicate Devices

You can integrate Aqara Zigbee devices into Apple Home via the Matter Bridge function. The problem: Most Aqara hubs also bear the “Works with Apple Home” logo and can be integrated via the classic HomeKit method.

If you accidentally connect the hub via both methods (once via HomeKit and once via Matter), all connected sensors and switches will appear twice in the Apple Home App. This causes chaos in operation and with voice commands.

To avoid duplicates, you must choose one path. Currently, the classic HomeKit integration (without Matter) is usually the better choice for Aqara hubs, as Matter does not yet support all special functions that already work via the native HomeKit connection.

@JohnD

Go to the hub settings. There you should find the menu items “Home Kit” and “Third-Party Matter Ecosystems”:

Select “HomeKit”. If you now see the “Remove” button, the hub is connected to Apple Home via HomeKit. Keep the connection intact!

Then go back and select “Third-Party Matter Ecosystems.” If you see the “Remove” button here as well, the hub is also connected to Apple Home via Matter. Click on the „Remove“ Button and afterwards it should look like this:

Under “Connected Ecosystems”, you could also see which ecosystems are connected to the hub via Matter.

You can also find an overview under

Profiles → Connect to Ecosystems → Apple Home → HomeKit Devices

of all hubs and child devices connected to Apple Home via HomeKit.

In the Apple Home app, you can also check this under:

Home Settings → Home Hubs & Bridges → Bridges

But I don’t think you can tell very clearly which connection protocol is being used here.

[wv86hgvzqn]

Thanks for this detailed explanation. I just looked under Home Settings in Apple Home, and then ‘Home Hubs & Bridges’. It looked like the Aqara Hub M100 had been added twice. One had a device ‘Aqara LED Strip T1’ and the other other hub had a device called ‘Lightbulb’ - but they were both pointing to the same LED strip. So I just chose to remove the Aqara hub that had the ‘Lightbulb’ accessory connected. As soon as I removed that hub from Apple home my duplicated sensors disappeared.

I vaguely remember I had problems pairing it the first time when I first tried to set it up, so I had to set it up again. It had obviously been added twice somehow without me realising. I think it’s sorted now. Thanks for your help!