Unlocking the Full Potential of Your Aqara Sensors in Non-Apple Ecosystems

Apple Home Connect
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Hey ! Drop a quick post for anyone (like me) who’s been deep in the Aqara ecosystem but not using Apple Home. I’ve been on Android + Google Home + a bit of Home Assistant, and I managed to get my Aqara sensors to really shine outside the Apple bubble.

First, if you’re using the Zigbee-based sensors, you don’t necessarily need the Aqara Hub. I paired mine directly with a Conbee II stick connected to Home Assistant and boom—instant flexibility. The motion and contact sensors responded faster than they ever did before.

Also, for Google Home users: while native integration is limited, you can still expose sensors using Home Assistant and push them into Google Home as virtual devices—took me a while to figure out, but it works.

Honestly, once you escape the Apple-only mindset, these sensors are super versatile. Took some tweaking, but so worth it. Anyone else running a full non-Apple smart home with Aqara devices? Let’s swap setups!

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@AutomationAddict Thank you for sharing your experience with using Aqara sensors outside the Apple ecosystem! It’s fantastic to hear about your success with integrating these sensors into an Android and Google Home setup, especially with the added flexibility through Home Assistant. Your approach of using a Conbee II stick for the Zigbee-based sensors is a smart workaround, providing faster response times and enhanced flexibility.

For those in the community looking to maximize their Aqara sensors’ potential in non-Apple environments, your insights are invaluable. The method of exposing sensors as virtual devices in Google Home via Home Assistant is a clever trick that can certainly broaden the functionality of these devices.

Anyone else with similar experiences or different setups for integrating Aqara devices into non-Apple ecosystems? Let’s keep this discussion going and share more tips and tricks!