Hey all,
Been tinkering with my Aqara setup for a while now and figured I’d share some stuff that took me way too long to figure out — might save someone here a few headaches.
First off, the Aqara Hub is way more powerful than I originally thought. If you’re just using it as a bridge to your door sensors or motion detectors, you’re missing out on some neat tricks.
For one, that built-in night light? You can actually trigger it with almost anything — motion, door open, even based on time or humidity if you’ve got the right sensors connected. I’ve got mine turning on low at night when the bathroom door opens. No blinding lights at 2 AM anymore.
Also, automation scenes through the Aqara app are DOPE once you dive in. Pro tip: use “IF multiple conditions” with “THEN multiple actions” to make your smart home actually feel smart. I’ve got mine set so if no motion + door closed for 10 mins, it kills all lights and turns on the air purifier to “quiet”.
Another tip — if you’re using HomeKit, try triggering HomeKit scenes directly from Aqara sensors via the Hub. Works super smooth, and you can skip some of the weird delays I was getting with third-party apps.
Finally, don’t sleep on the voice prompts. Yeah, they’re a little janky sometimes, but imagine your hub saying “Welcome home” when you walk in. Cringy? Maybe. Kinda cool? Also yeah.
Anyone else figured out other tricks with the Hub? Curious what setups y’all are running. Still feels like there’s a lot under the hood I haven’t tapped into.