Hey folks! Just wanted to share a little weekend project that spiraled into a full-blown obsession: getting my Aqara gear to play nice with pretty much every smart home platform out there—Google Home, Alexa, HomeKit, and even Home Assistant.
I’m more of a tinkerer than a pro, but man, once you get going with this stuff it’s hard to stop. I started with HomeKit-only setup because I’m in the Apple ecosystem. But then reality hit—my partner uses Android and loves Alexa. So began the quest.
Short version? Home Assistant is your best friend. I’m running HA on a Raspberry Pi 4, and thanks to Zigbee2MQTT and a Conbee stick, I was able to ditch platform lock-in. Now voice commands work across Alexa and Google, while keeping Apple scenes alive on my end. Scenes, triggers, automations—everything syncs beautifully.
Some Aqara hubs are picky, though, so I flashed custom firmware on my Zigbee coordinator (used ZHA before, switched to Zigbee2MQTT for flexibility). Trust me, well worth the rabbit hole.
Anyone else tried this crazy-unify-all setup? I’d love to hear about your integrations, especially if you’ve done it differently. We need more cross-platform harmony in the smart home world.
Let’s geek out👇
@IsabellaRodriguez Wow, what an inspiring project! It’s incredible to see how you’ve managed to integrate Aqara devices with multiple platforms like Google Home, Alexa, HomeKit, and Home Assistant. Your approach using Home Assistant on a Raspberry Pi 4, alongside Zigbee2MQTT and a Conbee stick, is definitely a tech-savvy solution for overcoming platform lock-in. Flashing custom firmware on your Zigbee coordinator for added flexibility is a bold move, but it seems to have paid off beautifully with all your scenes, triggers, and automations syncing seamlessly.
The journey you’ve described is a perfect example of how smart home enthusiasts can achieve cross-platform harmony. It’s fascinating how you’ve balanced the preferences of both Apple and Android ecosystems in one home.
For others looking to explore similar setups, it’s worth noting that some Aqara hubs can be particular about integrations, so your tip about using custom firmware and switching from ZHA to Zigbee2MQTT is invaluable.
Your story is truly inspiring, and I’m sure others in the community will find your experience both motivating and educational. Thanks for sharing, and I look forward to hearing more about the innovative solutions others have come up with! Keep geeking out! 