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Home Assistant is open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first.
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Disappointed with Aqara - Zigbee hub, but no 3rd party? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 1 day ago by CocaineShrimp@sh.itjust.works to c/homeassistant@lemmy.world

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but...

Buyer Beware! Aqara hubs use the Zigbee protocol, but lock out 3rd party devices!

A few months ago, I bought an Aqara hub and went deep into their ecosystem. I saw their hub and sensors had good reviews, plus they were using the Zigbee open protocol, so I figured I'd stick with their stuff. I had no reason to try other devices until recently.

I picked up a tilt sensor for my garage door from a 3rd party. I made sure it was also using the Zigbee protocol, so I assumed it would be compatable. Unfortunately, when I tried connecting it to the hub, I was wrong and it wouldn't connect. Turns out, Aqara uses the Zigbee protocol, but locks out 3rd party devices. [source]

If anyone has a workaround to integrate a 3rd party device with an Aqara Hub (IIRC, I have the M3?), I'd love to hear about it. But until then - I'm looking for a refund. I would have never picked up their hub if I had known about their shennanigans; and consequently, I wouldn't have picked up so many of their sensors.

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[–] gjoel@programming.dev 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Even hue, on their own platform allows third party ZigBee devices without complaints.

[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Really? I wasn't able to connect Ikea bulbs to my Hue hub when I still used it. 🤔

[–] gjoel@programming.dev 1 points 3 hours ago

I haven't tried IKEA, but osram plugs and some Danish brand switches work just fine. New stuff gets plugged directly into home assistant though (via a zonoff ZigBee dongle).