I recently contacted Aqara support because I wanted to update my FP300 without owning an Aqara Hub.
The workaround I was given works, but honestly it left me wondering:
Why do Matter devices still depend on Aqara Home for firmware updates at all?
I’m using Apple Home with an Apple TV as my Thread Border Router. Other people use Google Home, Home Assistant or SmartThings. The whole point of Matter is that we shouldn’t have to rely on manufacturer-specific apps and hubs anymore.
Controlling the device works perfectly through Matter, but when it comes to firmware updates, I’m suddenly back in the Aqara ecosystem again.
What makes this even more confusing is that some Matter devices from other manufacturers already seem to handle this much better. For example, my IKEA Matter devices can receive firmware updates directly through Apple Home without requiring a separate IKEA hub or constantly switching between ecosystems.
So why is this not possible with Aqara Matter devices?
Am I the only one who finds this frustrating?
Does anyone know if Aqara plans to support proper Matter OTA updates in the future, so updates can be delivered through the Matter ecosystem itself instead of requiring Aqara Home?
I can completely relate to your point and find it equally frustrating.
To give a bit of technical background: The Matter standard actually supports universal updates natively via the DCL (Distributed Compliance Ledger). Manufacturers can provide links to their firmware updates there, making it theoretically possible to update devices across different ecosystems like Apple Home or Home Assistant, regardless of the brand.
However, the ecosystems themselves also need to be able to pull and apply these updates from this universal system. While Apple and Home Assistant support this, Aqara currently does not within its own ecosystem. That’s why you can’t update an IKEA device via the Aqara app, for example. In fact, a member in another thread recently mentioned:
But back to your question about why you can’t update Aqara devices via Apple Home: That’s not entirely correct. In the past, Aqara did release updates for some of their P2 sensors (motion and door/window contacts) to the DCL. However, according to reports from other forum users, these updates caused some devices to brick. Consequently, Aqara pulled the updates and marked them as invalid in the DCL. This led to a situation where some users (like myself) managed to install the update via Home Assistant beforehand, while others have been stuck on an older version ever since. To my knowledge, this situation hasn’t changed.
I have the impression—and this is strictly my personal opinion—that ever since this incident, Aqara probably prefers to roll out updates exclusively through their own system to maintain full control. By “full control”, I also refer to their own official statements regarding their staged rollout process:
I believe that such a staged rollout process is simply not possible via the DCL. If an update is published there, all users would receive it immediately without any restrictions. The only way to exercise control or stop a faulty rollout is through a flag that marks the update as invalid.
Whether Aqara will eventually publish their firmware updates to the DCL again after they have been successfully rolled out to all users in their own ecosystem remains to be seen. It would certainly be highly desirable, but I’m honestly not sure if they will actually do it.
That being said, firmware updates are indeed listed in the DCL for some devices, such as Aqara Smart Locks U200/U300/U400, the Aqara Floor Heating Thermostat W500, or the Aqara Light Switch H2. However, for the Presence Multi-Sensor FP300, only version 1.1.0.1 is available, with no subsequent updates. For the Aqara Door and Window Sensor P2, the latest valid version is 1.0.1.1 (version 1.0.2.0 is marked as invalid), and for the Aqara Motion and Light Sensor P2, the latest valid version is 1.0.2.0 (version 1.0.3.0 is marked as invalid).
What I find most interesting is that Aqara apparently already publishes firmware updates to the DCL for some devices, while others such as the FP300 seem to be left behind.
If the technical foundation already exists, then my main question becomes:
Why are Matter OTA updates available for some Aqara Matter devices but not for all of them?
I can understand being cautious after the P2 incident, but from a user perspective it would be great to know whether devices like the FP300 are expected to receive DCL-based firmware updates in the future or if Aqara has decided to permanently keep them inside the Aqara ecosystem.
More transparency on the roadmap would be greatly appreciated.
Just wanted to chime in here and express my shared frustration. I have a few door & window sensors that I managed to update to v1.0.2.0 through Home Assistant before Aqara invalidated the updates. I have some newer sensors that are stuck on v1.0.1.0 because of this limitation. I don’t have an Aqara hub so I am unable to pair with the Aqara app and update there.
Aqara, please re-enable the updates through the DCA. I like the idea of a staged rollout where first party Aqara users get updates first and then it gets rolled out to the DCA later.
I’m afraid that even an Aqara hub wouldn’t be of much help to you right now either. As far as I know, the update was completely withdrawn, and nothing has happened since then. I read about one or two users who contacted support and were told in response that 1.0.1.0 is the current version. Apparently, they haven’t figured out yet why the update is bricking sensors, or there are other reasons.
I’m running 1.0.2.0 for the door and window and 1.0.3.0 for the motion sensor. Support will push the update and they seem to work fine, the motion sensor especially is more responsive.
There was an issue in updating from the launch firmware which was bricking devices so no idea how they’ll deal with this but if your on 1.0.1.0 for door and 1.0.2.0 for motion they can be upgraded.
Agreed would really like to see all firmware come through Matter DLC like Ikea etc
Are they still doing that currently? I know that used to be the case, and then I advised at least two people here in the forum to contact support, with the result that support said:
I believe so. I had to provide the accessories ID and the Matter hub accessory ID and they pushed it.
As a side, the door and window sensor only exposed adjustable sensitivity from 1.0.2.0, the tamper alarm and programmable button are still missing and support said:
*The PM team feedback that this feature has not yet been added to the current firmware version due to the current hardware configuration of the P2 sensor; * And the plan may be adjusted based on future hardware configurations before adding the feature.
So I read that as it’s not coming…
The motion sensor does get the promised sensitivity and timeout controls though.