PACKAGING

The packaging is the first thing to grab you, with badges for both Thread and Matter, which whilst not a ‘first’ for Aqara (their Contact Sensor P2 has that  honour), it’s certainly their first hub to boast such credentials. The back is all about the specs, which are admittedly pretty impressive;

• Wired or wireless connection
• 2.4 & 5.0GHz WiFi a/b/g/n/ac
• Zigbee 3.0
• Bluetooth 5.1
• built-in IR transceiver
• 95dB loudspeaker
• Power over Ethernet
• USB-C power port

As for the features, it’s a Matter controller for the Aqara ecosystem, which means their platform is moving towards being a viable competitor to others. It has a lot of catching up to do if we’re talking more than just with Matter accessories. By that, I mean third-party device is supported, but only for Matter devices.

It’s also a Thread Border Router, which means Matter over Thread devices can work natively in the Aqara app. Note that HomeKit over Thread devices are excluded, so they have to be Matter over Thread.

It also mentions something called ‘Edge’ computing, which offers local encrypted control, with no requirement for cloud connectivity, amongst other things. The M3 can also make automations that were cloud-based on other hubs in your Aqara setup, local.

So, this all sounds great, and it is for existing Aqara users at a minimum; You’re getting a Zigbee 3.0 hub, a Thread Border Router to finally use your Aqara Matter over Thread devices (all two of them…), and an IR blaster that can control your AC, as well as expose it to Apple Home, and a much louder speaker than you get on either the M2 or the M1/M1S.

Even though it’s Matter compatible as a Matter bridge for their Zigbee devices, it can also work with Apple Home, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa using what I describe as the legacy methods. For Apple Home there’s not much difference between adding the M3 using Matter or HomeKit, but for Google and Alexa users, local control instead of a cloud-based approach is the enticement here.

CONTENTS

The contents are minimal, but not unexpected. Aside from the M3, there’s a manual that comes with QR codes for Matter, Apple Home, and Aqara. You’ll initially need the Aqara QR code, but assuming you add it to HomeKit via Matter afterwards via the Aqara app, you won’t need the Matter code. You’ll still need the HomeKit QR code if you go down the HomeKit route, which may be for good reason, for which I’ll go into later.

You get a USB-C to USB-A power cable, but no power brick, which is the standard these days. There’s also no ethernet cable. You do get a mounting bracket, with included screws and rawl plugs though. This allows the M3 to be ceiling or wall mounted if required.

THE HUB M3

Like the M2 before it, the M3 uses the same textured plastic on top that isn’t entirely resistant to fingerprints, but it’s not something you’ll really need to handle often I guess. the edge of the M3 has translucent plastic for the ‘360º’ IR blaster to do its thing. The back of the M3 has a pairing/reset button flanked by Aqara and HomeKit QR codes. There’s no Matter code on the box, but in addition to finding it on the manual, it’s stored in the Aqara app. The underside of the M3 has a rubber base to stop it from sliding around, as well as holes for the aforementioned mounting bracket to click into place.

The underside also features a large cut-out ‘trench’ for allowing the ethernet and USB-C cables to connect. If you have a router or network switch capable of offering Power over Ethernet (PoE), you can dispense with the USB-C cable and simply power the M3 and connect it to your router with the one ethernet cable.

THE M3 IN AQARA HOME

The process of adding the M3 to Aqara Home – which I’d recommend doing first – is pretty straightforward; once it’s powered up, you go into the Aqara app and select ‘Add Accessory’ although it may also pop up on the screen before you even get there. This is in part due to Aqara’s own ‘EasyPair’ setup feature first seen in the Aqara Camera E1. Bluetooth in the hub transmits a signal that the Aqara ecosystem picks up via your phone, allowing you to begin pairing it. Even though it comes with a Matter QR code, you don’t need it, but instead you use the Aqara QR code. The former is used for adding it to other ecosystems, although when adding it to Apple Home (via the Aqara app), for example, you still won’t need to scan that code.

Once added, you can begin the process of adding it to other ecosystems. For Apple Home users, you get two options – add using Apple HomeKit, or add using Matter. Making this choice depends on what you want from the M3, as each option gives something but takes another thing away.

• MatterAdd using Matter allows you to expose the AC control option to Apple Home as a fully fledged AC controller.
  • If you have any Aqara lighting products that use Apple’s Adaptive Lighting, you’ll lose this functionality if the lighting is connected to the M3.
  • You lose the option to have the M3 act as a security system in Apple Home.
• Apple HomeAdd using HomeKit allows you to expose the security system to Apple Home.
  • Lighting products capable of using Adaptive lighting, retain this feature when connected to Apple Home.
  • You lose the option to have the M3 act as an AC controller in Apple Home.

So the choice is yours. You could actually add the M3 using both Matter and HomeKit, giving you AC control, the security system, and Adaptive Lighting, but you’ll have two instances of each Zigbee device connected to the M3, which could cause problems, or confusion at the very least.

The M3 offers a lot of features and options you would previously have not seen with their other hubs. For example, there’s a section to describe the function of the M3 as the lead hub in a ‘cluster’. This is in part the way that the M3, which has more onboard memory, can make scenes and automations local, even if they originate on another hub. This also includes devices that are not technically hubs themselves, like the Camera E1, the Presence Sensor FP2, and the Video Doorbell G4.

One thing to note is that whilst the integrated speaker is a lot louder than that of the M2, it still won’t replace a professional alarm siren, but at least for notifications etc, you can actually hear without straining now.

There’s a separate section that allows you to add the M3 to other platforms, check what platforms its connected to, and manage those connections. It lists Apple Home, as I added the M3 to HomeKit using Matter. Apple Keychain stores the basic data for that hub in relation to its Matter connection.

AC control in the Aqara app offers pretty much all the control you need, although it could depend on the capabilities of your AC too as to what options you get. Via Matter the AC control is exposed to HomeKit, although you only get the basic controls – off/heat/cool, and temperature control. In order for you to get more fuller features over the AC, you do need to add an Aqara temperature sensor to the M3, which in turn can be linked to as a climate sensor for the AC control. This then shows you the temperature as part of the AC control in both Apple and Aqara Home. Without it, the temperature will show the default zero degrees. You can’t use a temperature sensor connected to another Aqara hub, even if on the same account and WiFi network.

As the M3 has an IR blaster, it can control other devices besides the AC, although unlike products like the Switchbot Hub 2 (review, video), or the Nature Remo Nano (review, video), which can expose other IR controlled devices to HomeKit, the M3 cannot. This may not be such a big deal for a couple of reasons; The first is that although the two aforementioned products can expose more IR devices, they only appear in HomeKit with basic on/off functionality, much like a smart plug, so for a TV remote, you can only turn it on or off. The other thing is that with Aqara having all the controls for other IR devices in its ecosystem, you can still create scenes to trigger certain aspects of that device, and export those scenes to HomeKit, which may actually be better in a round about way.

The M3 has a plethora of other settings, like custom ringtones, so you can upload your own sounds to the M3, for use in automations, as well as the hub offering four different language options (Chinese, French, Spanish, English).

Possibly the biggest change is that you can now migrate devices and automations on one hub, to an M3. This feature effectively factory resets the M3, moves the data from the old hub to the M3, then factory resets the original hub. This migration assistant only works in the Aqara app, so when it comes to the old hub in Apple home, it’ll still be listed, along with any child devices, it’ll show as offline, so you’ll have to remove this instance of the old hub from HomeKit. This option also means that you’re better off doing the migration from one hub to the M3 before you add any child devices to the M3, or for that matter (no pun intended) add the M3 to Apple Home.

THREAD, MATTER, ZIGBEE, BLUETOOTH – CONFUSED?

It’s already a thing that many are confused about the hub’s capabilities, what the different protocols are for, and what can be added. This wasn’t helped by the fact that Aqara released the M3 with very limited Matter support, which added up to just a handful of brands and devices being compatible at launch. This is not how Matter is supposed to be of course, and to their credit, they did fully unlock this feature, allowing all supported Matter device categories to be used with the M3. They still should have done this before releasing the M3 instead of retroactively responding to customer complaints, but it’s done now.

However, initially, this issue was further impacted by the fact that neither of the company’s own Matter over Thread devices could be added to the M3, which is a pretty bad self-own. Again, this was quickly rectified – partially – but still didn’t allow these devices (contact, and motion sensors) to be used as part of Aqara’s own security system, need I say how bad this looked? So for the third time, there was an update that remedied this final issue. It really shouldn’t have been this way, and somewhat tainted the launch in many peoples’ eyes.

So, aside from the missteps mentioned, what are all these protocols supposed to be for? Well, The M3 is many things, and in some way’s these roles are equals. First off, this is a Zigbee hub, just like the M2, so you can add Aqara Zigbee devices to it. It can then be exposed as a standard Zigbee hub to Apple Home using either the Matter or HomeKit QR codes. However, it’s also a Matter bridge, which is much the same thing; the difference is that it exposes those child devices to the four main platforms using Matter. This is different to HomeKit for the previously mentioned reasons, and when it comes to the other platforms, adding the hub via Matter circumvents the need for a cloud connection, which Google and Amazon have relied on – they basically connect to your account on the Aqara server, allowing that server to communicate your instructions to Amazon or Google’s own servers. Matter does away with this, and allows communication between the Aqara M3 (or other Matter enabled Aqara bridges) and your smart home platform, without the need to connect to your account in the cloud.

So, it’s a Zigbee hub/bridge/gateway, and it’s a Matter hub/bridge/gateway for Zigbee devices…

It’s also a Matter Controller. This means it acts as a central organising piece of kit that allows your Aqara smart home devices to run locally and effectively within the Aqara ecosystem. For example, the Apple TV, HomePod, and HomePod Mini are all Matter Controllers too, doing the same thing in Apple Home. Basically speaking, each platform requires its own Matter Controller, and the M3 is such a device for Aqara’s smart platform. Google’s Nest hubs, and Amazon’s own range of displays and speakers are all Matter Controllers for their respective ecosystems too.

Thread – yes, it’s a Thread device, but not like a Thread motion sensor, no. This is a Thread Border Router (TBR). This allows Aqara and third-party Matter over Thread devices to connect to the Aqara ecosystem. If it didn’t have the TBR inside, it could still act as a Matter Controller, but only for devices that connect through a Matter Bridge (like the Philips Hue Bridge, for example) or with Matter over WiFi devices. The older Apple TVs, and the original HomePod are such devices – Matter Controllers but without a TBR inside.

Bluetooth – This is included in part due to the way Matter works when a device is ready for adding to a Matter ecosystem. Bluetooth is the initial connection between the device, your phone, and the Matter ecosystem in question. Although it’s unlikely it’s used for much else, it could be used for some Aqara locks that use Bluetooth, but it’s not clear if that’s an option.

THIRD PARTY DEVICES

I already had an M3 from China back in January, and once the international version of the M3 arrived from Aqara for review, things had moved on. By that, I mean that I was now able to add the Hue Bridge to the Aqara ecosystem. How, you might ask. The Hue Bridge can now be added to Matter ecosystems by simply going into the Hue app, and generating a Matter code. You then add the bridge to Aqara’s own newly Matter-enabled ecosystem using that code and the Bridge and all its child devices are exposed to the Aqara ecosystem.

As you can see from the screenshots above, I’ve added a Hue Bridge to Aqara Home using this method. the Matter icon appears in the corner of the icon to show that it’s added using Matter. Due to the Hue Matter update, some other third-party Zigbee devices that could be added to the Hue Bridge, but not show up in Apple Home, can now be exposed to Apple Home because of this. The same is true for the Aqara ecosystem, which in my case shows a standard colour Hue bulb (LCT016) alongside a Tradfri bulb added to the Hue Bridge. This is an instance of Matter over Bridge, which is less talked about than Matter over WiFi or Matter over Thread, but is equally useful.

As it stands now, pretty much all Matter devices should be able to be added to the Aqara app if you have the M3. There’s a caveat here in that Aqara themselves have said many devices from third parties haven’t been tested, so there’s the possibility some won’t work as intended or even fail to add, so you’ll just have to try and see what happens.

The one question some people might ask is why would one want to expose devices to Aqara via Matter, if they already work with HomeKit. For me, the simple answer lies in Aqara’s automation options. In many ways, they’re so much better than what other platforms offer, but if you want specifics, it’s the way in which Aqara allows a lights to be turned on or off, with one automation. If that doesn’t make sense, in Apple Home for example, if you have a smart button controlling a smart bulb, you can set the button to turn the light on with a single press, but you don’t have an option for the bulb to be set at the opposite state to its present one. In essence, I want to be able to single press a button, and turn the bulb on or off with that single press, depending on the on/off state of the bulb. Yes, it’s possible by converting an automation to a Shortcut in the Apple Home app, but you shouldn’t have to make a convoluted IF/THEN automation when Aqara do it quite easily. Their app has an option that allows you to set a light to “on/off”, so you can rely on a single press on a smart button to to act just like a normal switch. This something I’ve longed for in Apple Home, but I just can see it ever happening. Now, as I have a collection of Hue bulbs and wireless buttons from Aqara, with the Hue Bridge in Aqara Home, I can achieve this. But I can also have those bulbs remain in Apple Home for other purposes, so it’s a win-win.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH IT?

When I originally set up my Chinese M3 back in late January, soon after, I noticed that some of my Thread devices became very sluggish to respond, and at different times went offline for a while, before coming back. This at first seemed to be limited to HomeKit over Thread devices, but then it started to manifest itself with Matter over Thread devices  too. The products that showed these kinds of odd behaviour were some of my Nanoleaf bulbs, Eve Energy smart plug, Wemo smart plug, and Wemo Stage Scene Controller. These are all HomeKit over Thread. Additionally, the Matter over Thread devices that acted up, were the Tuo Smart Button, and SmartWings Roller Blinds. After this began to get tedious, I assumed there was an issue with the Chinese model I had, and removed it, boxing it up for another day. Soon after I did so, everything behaved like it had before, with snappy response times, and no offline devices.

When the international model arrived, I set it up, and yet again the same issues came to the fore, with the same set of devices, so I now could see this wasn’t a fluke. I once again removed the newer M3, and as before, things became stable again. I have spoken to Aqara about this, and the majority of their beta testers hadn’t experienced any of these problems. That said, I’ve been contacted by maybe 5 or 6 people that have had the same issues, so it’s clearly not totally isolated.

just until a day ago, I was considering removing the M3 again and just making do with what I have for the sake of my sanity, however I seemed to have stumbled upon a fix of sorts. at first, my M3 was wired to an network switch that was connected to the router, which is when all the issues surfaced. I didn’t have any free ports on the router itself, but I did have an ethernet access point in another room, so connecting the M3 to this AP was essentially the same as connecting it directly to the router (as far as I can see). After testing this method out for a day, none of the sluggish response times and offline issues plaguing my Thread devices have returned, so I believe the M3 being connected to a network switch was the problem here, even if that shouldn’t be the case. Either way, I’m sticking with the M3 set up this way now, and will monitor the situation further.  With this frustration seemingly solved now, I can say the M3 is actually a very good product in many ways, and possibly their most forward thinking product to date. I hope at some point they find a solution so I can connect the M3 in a manner of my choosing, but for now I’ll just make do with what I have.

Wrapping things up, there’s a lot to like, and considering the issues I mention with the lack of Matter support are largely taken care of, and assuming most people won’t be experiencing the issues I had with a problematic Thread network, then I do think this is a worthy purchase. At the very least, you’re buying into a device that expands the Aqara app to include more third-party devices, adds AC control, has a louder speaker, and unlike the M2, offers 5.0GHz WiFi and PoE. If that’s enough to sway you, then go for it.

The post Aqara Hub M3 (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

PACKAGING | CONTENTS

From the outset, ZemiSmart makes sure you know this is a Matter product, with the logo clearly on the front of the box, as well as on the device itself. There’s not a lot to see, but it also makes clear that this requires an ethernet connection, and is powered by USB-C, which is a step up from the micro USB used on the previous hub. In terms of specs, both Zigbee and Thread are catered for, which means this can act as a Zigbee hub for ZemiSmart and Tuya Zigbee devices, as well as as a Thread Border Router and as a Matter controller. Impressive.

There’s not a lot to show for the contents either, and it’s important to note that – not surprisingly – no USB power brick is supplied. Aside from the hub itself, you do get a USB-C to USB-A cable, the manual (with Matter code), and a sim pin to reset the hub, if required.

The gateway design has gone for the minimalist look, which I’m ok with as I’m not going to be looking at it. It is a little odd to have the Matter logo on top, but I’m sure that’s okay with the CSA (Connectivity Standards Alliance) who are behind Matter. The ZemiSmart logo is also present but subtly so. The underside features rubber feet and a third instance of the Matter QR code, whilst the rear is home to the RJ45 port for your network connection and a USB-C port for power. There’s also a small hole for resetting the hub using the included SIM pin. It’s very plain, with no visible LEDs (apart from when it’s powered up) but that’s fine.

To test out the hub, I did ask for three basic sensors – a contact sensor, a motion sensor, and a temperature/humidity sensor. All of these are ZemiSmart branded, as well as Tuya certified. As long as the device type is supported in Matter and is Tuya certified, most Zigbee devices will work with the hub, and be exposed to your Matter platform of choice, although at the time of testing, some additional wireless buttons that I had to hand were not exposed to HomeKit via the hub. ZemiSmart told me that support for buttons is forthcoming.

MATTER | TUYA | APPLE HOME

Whilst this is a Matter device with a Matter QR code, meaning you can add this directly to Apple Home or any of the other Matter platforms of your choice, in reality, if you’re going to use this with your Tuya/Zemismart Zigbee devices, you’re going to need the Tuya app (there are two variants in fact), at least initially. This is because you can’t add sub-devices via your Matter platform, so adding sub-devices needs the Tuya app. If you want, you can add the devices to the hub first, then add the hub to Apple Home (also via the Tuya app), and then delete the Tuya app afterwards. What makes this a bit confusing, is that adding the hub to Tuya doesn’t require a Matter code, as it’s detected using Bluetooth, which is a Matter onboarding process. This does sort of make sense, as a HomePod or Apple TV don’t require a Matter QR code, despite them being Matter controllers too. Adding it to your main Matter platform afterwards doesn’t make use of the Matter QR code it comes with, as a new code is generated within the Tuya app, so for some, this might seem strange. If you wanted to use the QR code, you could add the hub directly to HomeKit, but it won’t then be picked up via Bluetooth to add it to Tuya. Scanning the code in the Tuya app won’t work either, but if you put it into pairing mode in Apple Home, and then generate a Matter code, you can tap it into the Tuya app. Swings and roundabouts…

Adding the hub to Apple Home is predictably very straightforward. As I didn’t have a QR code to scan, I selected ‘More options’ which brings up discoverable devices, including the hub. Adding the code generated in the Tuya app gets the hub into Apple Home, and once that’s added so are the three sensors as you can see above. Apple Home also shows all ‘connected services’, so in this case, it’s just Tuya and Apple Home at present.

I should point out that when I posted my video for this hub, I encountered a strange (non) issue where a page came up in the Home app asking me to add a six-digit PIN. This is normally the page you see when setting up a smart lock in Apple Home, which doesn’t seem to do anything, as it fails along the way anyway. ZemiSmart are aware of this, and in fact, pushed an early update that removed this bug, so I only mention this in the past tense.

So far so good, BUT how about the Matter Controller and Thread Border Router parts…?

THE MATTER CONTROLLER

First off, the M1 is primarily a hub when it comes to exposing Zigbee devices to your preferred platform. It’s also a Matter Controller, but only for the Tuya platform. This is in line with the other platforms, so a Google Nest Hub Max is a Matter Controller solely for the Google Home platform, just as a HomePod mini is such for Apple Home. This is where confusion is likely to creep in if you’re not paying attention. For example, most of Aqara’s hub lineup has been updated to support Matter, but not as Matter controllers, only Matter-compatible Zigbee Hubs. The SmartThings Station is almost the equivalent of the M1 in that it’s a Zigbee Hub, a Thread Border Router, and a Matter controller. It’s still solely designed to work with devices inside the SmartThings universe, be they Thread, Zigbee, or are Matter compatible.

 MATTER OVER THREAD

Like ZemiSmart, Onvis has gotten on board with Thread and Matter. Earlier this year they released a smart plug for the EU, US, and UK that uses Matter over Thread, so in theory this should work with the ZemiSmart Hub, given that it’s a Matter controller and a Thread Border Router.

Adding the S4 smart plug was almost the same as the process in Apple Home, so I had to scan the Matter code, name the device, and it was done.

The only extra step was a screen showing it generating ‘Matter credentials’ which I assume is its way of preparing it for additional Matter platforms. As you can see, it’s now listed in the Tuya app, with a simple user interface. As expected, however, the S4 is not exposed to HomeKit through the hub, as only Zigbee devices are capable of this. Whilst it’s a good example of how Matter devices can be added to any Matter platform, if you’re an Apple Home user, there’s probably little point in being able to add a Matter device to the Tuya app, unless you want to use any app-specific features. Of course, as Apple Home is a Matter platform, you can still add the plug to HomeKit too, but in my case, as the Tuya app is in no way a ‘daily driver’, there’s no point in me having most devices on both platforms.

IN USE | SUMMING UP

As I stated at the start of this review, I have to give some props to ZemiSmart for making such a device and going full pelt into both Matter and Thread. That being said, this is going to be of limited use to many HomeKit users, as you still need to use the Tuya app initially, and beyond exposing Zigbee devices to HomeKit, none of the other features add anything to Apple Home, per se. That said, as it’s a Matter-compliant device, you can delete the Tuya app once you’ve added all your Zigbee sensors, and have it work truly locally. I think where the M1 would come into its own (albeit not by much) is with platforms like Google and Amazon Alexa, but as we’re about HomeKit here, that’s about as much as I can say on the ‘Matter’ (pun intended).

Does it work? Yes, it works well. I haven’t had the three sensors drop out once so far, although initially launching the Tuya app will very briefly show all devices offline, but that’s merely a second before it all shows as online. I think that has more to do with the platform than the device, to be honest, so I wouldn’t put too much store in that.

Design-wise, it’s a better-looking hub than the previous model, but to be clear, this is a different hub, not a replacement. A true replacement for the Apple Home compatible hub (i.e. not Matter) is rumoured to be coming in the new year.

If you did want to use it in place of the current HomeKit hub, then be aware that not all Zigbee devices will be exposed to HomeKit via Matter just yet, like smart buttons for example, but I think that’s a Matter issue for the most part.

Some had felt the Zigbee signal wasn’t very strong in ZemiSmart’s original HomeKit hub, so from my testing, it does seem they’ve fixed this, with 9 metres and a few walls not stopping the hub from working with the devices I connected it to, so if there’s a selling point to be made, this could be it. All in all, a solid step forward for ZemiSmart, Matter and Thread, but of limited use to HomeKit users.

The post ZemiSmart Smart Matter Hub w/Thread (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

You can purchase the Smart Matter Hub M1 from ZemiSmart’s own store using the (affiliate) link below, which costs you nothing extra but helps us buy more products for review, to keep you informed on how products perform.

• Zemismart.com

The post ZemiSmart Smart Matter Hub M1 w/ Matter and Thread (video) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

Thankfully, with Matter becoming more prevalent (despite its troubles, I might add) Switchbot has taken steps to go in the direction I’d hoped it would, with the Switchbot Hub 2, a Matter-compatible hub, which means the hub is compatible with HomeKit, as are (in theory) the devices that go through it, although there are exceptions to this. It passes the threshold for me to review it though, so if this interests you, read on…

PACKAGING | CONTENTS

From the outset, you may notice that despite my reference to Matter compatibility, there’s no mention on the box in this regard. This may well not be the case if/when you buy yours, as at the time of this review, Matter was officially a Beta feature only. So you can see badges for Alexa, Google, Siri Shortcuts, IFTTT, and SmartThings, as these are in reference to non-Matter connectivity it already offers in its products and Switchbot Hub Mini.

The rear of the box explains what this hub can do, which to be fair, is more than the aforementioned Mini is capable of. In essence, you can connect all of its existing Bluetooth devices to it, including its smart lock, keypad, tilt blinds motor, Switchbot switch, contact sensor, motion sensor, and both iterations of the retrofit curtain motor. Like the Mini, it has an IR blaster built in, which means you can also control things like fans, lights, ACs, TVs,  and more, as long as they originally came with an IR remote. Whilst these devices can be controlled in the Switchbot app and to varying degrees via the other compatible platforms – including Siri Shortcuts, you won’t see them exposed to HomeKit.

One side of the packaging outlines its compatibility via voice control (Google, Siri, Alexa basically), whilst the other points to four distinct features which I’ll go into in more detail later. These are the hub and IR blaster functions of course, but there’s also a temperature and humidity sensor, along with a couple of smart scene buttons.

In terms of some basic specs, it uses standard 2.4GHz WiFi to connect to your network, with Bluetooth 5.0 to allow its child devices to connect to it. This is a point of contention as much as it is a saving grace in my view, as I, along with many others, have long seen no future in Bluetooth as a smart home connectivity protocol – just look at the direction Eve took with replacing all Bluetooth devices with Thread – so this has put me off to some extent, as it feels like a step backwards, or at least not a step forward in Switchbot’s case. The flip side is that it shows the company isn’t going to leave its existing consumers high and dry, and for that, you have to give them some credit, as they could just as easily have moved on from Bluetooth and not even bothered with a Matter hub.

In the box is the Hub, USB power adaptor, long USB-A to USB-C cable, a manual in English, a courtesy card, and a couple of double-sided stickers.

THE HUB 2

The hub measures a mere 80mm in height, and 70mm wide, and is largely made of a sort of matte plastic, which is nice to the touch, at least in the case of the front display. The rest of the material does look like something that was made with a 3D printer, although I’m sure that’s not the case.

The back has a kickstand hidden away, that also conceals the USB-C port for power, This kickstand also has a notch cutout that allows the power cable to pass underneath, along with another notch on the main body if you were to have the hub wall mounted. This can be achieved with the help of the included double-sided stickers.

There’s not a lot else to see with the hub when it’s not powered up, save for a small rubber ‘foot’ to keep it from moving around, which it’s very easy to do as the hub is ridiculously light. I mentioned a temperature/humidity sensor previously, which is actually built into the USB cable itself. This is a bit of a mixed blessing, though, as whilst it’s likely to be more accurate due to its readings not being influenced by heat generated by the hub’s internals if the cable were to get damaged, the sensors go with it. I’d suggest that whilst temperature/humidity sensors are pretty commonplace for smart home users, it wouldn’t appear to be a massive loss, however, it would have repercussions affecting the display, which I’ll get into next.

The hub is centred around a display. This display shows you the current temperature right in the centre, with humidity readings above, and smaller. Next to the humidity display, there’s a small dot that flashes whenever there’s any activity going from the hub to a child device. At the bottom are two small touch-sensitive ‘buttons’ that can be triggered with the lightest of touch, which is probably just as well, as the hub 2 is so light, even a slightly more vigorous tap would topple it over!

As you can see, if the separate sensor built into the USB cable were to fail, a large portion of the display would no longer work. Hopefully, Switchbot are able to sell replacement cables when necessary.

Back to the two buttons, and by default they turn the display on or off. They can be programmed to do other things, like control devices or trigger scenes, but only for devices as part of the Switchbot app/ecosystem. I currently have them set to open and close a Switchbot curtain motor that I set up, which is connected to this hub, but if you have other devices connected to the older Hub Mini, you can still trigger those devices with these two buttons.

SWITCHBOT APP

The Switchbot app seems well laid out, although as with many apps these days, they won’t see the kind of use the Apple Home app gets, especially now that it’s compatible with HomeKit. In the case of the screenshot above, on the main page are tiles for the hub, a connected curtain motor, and a Samsung TV that can be controlled via the built-in IR blaster.

Tapping on the hub’s tile, you get to see the temperature, humidity, and even ambient light levels. Yes, the hub has an ‘under-display’ light sensor too. This works in tandem with the display if you have it set to auto-brightness. This sensor is not exposed to HomeKit.

The Scenes button is used for creating…scenes, obviously. In the case above, I’ve set it to close or open the curtain motor based on the presses of the two ‘Scene’ buttons on the hub’s display, which is why they’re listed under the ‘Manual’ tab.

Sticking with the sensors for a moment, you can see data from all three sensors broken down into daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly sections, which can also be exported. The temperature and humidity sensors can also be calibrated, although to do this, you basically have to rely on a sensor you trust to be accurate and adjust the Switchbot sensors according to those readings.

There are quite a few settings you can tweak for the hub in particular and the app as a whole, and as this can still use what will eventually be legacy connections to things like Google and Alexa once Matter becomes the de facto standard, you can set those up on the ‘Cloud Services’ page.

When it comes to settings for the hub’s display, you get a few options, although the one missing option is the ability to control the display (i.e. being on or off) via automations or schedules, which is a bit of a missed opportunity. I’m sure it can be fixed with a simple update to their app though.

Finally, the Matter option is listed as ‘beta’ although it does seem to function as expected. In order to use Matter, the hub needs to receive a firmware update, upon which you’ll then be presented with a brand new QR code to use with any Matter-compatible ecosystem. Bear in mind that Google and Amazon allegedly don’t support Matter hubs at present, so HomeKit and possibly SmartThings are the only options at the time of writing. As this hub was updated to Matter, I was able to add it to HomeKit.

IN HOMEKIT | THE HOME APP

As I’d hoped and expected, adding the hub to HomeKit was pretty painless. Once added, the hub was listed in the ‘Home Hubs and Bridges’ section of HomeKit. As the hub is added to a ‘Test’ room, the two sensors associated with the hub are listed under that room. If you go into the settings for the hub, you’ll see the option for ‘Turn On Pairing Mode’, which allows you to generate a brand new Matter code, that can be used to add the hub to other ecosystems.

As you can see in the third screenshot, as the Switchbot curtain has been added to the hub, it too is exposed to HomeKit and fully usable in the Home app and HomeKit, which is something a lot of Switchbot users will be happy about. I won’t be reviewing the curtain motor, as it has already been widely covered elsewhere.

At this point, it should be noted that even though the hub will expose a few devices to HomeKit, there’s apparently a frustratingly small amount of devices that can be added to the hub. There seems to be no mention of this in the manual, but it appears the limit is 6- 8 devices when exposed to HomeKit (and possibly other platforms), at least for now. One workaround for this is if you have, for example, four blind motors or curtain motors, and they’re all designed to work in tandem, you can group them in the Switchbot app, and they’ll only count as one device in HomeKit. This does also mean you can’t just dive into the grouped devices in HomeKit and individually control them as you would grouped devices in HomeKit as standard, but it’s something if you have a lot of the company’s devices and want them to be controlled in HomeKit.

IN DAY TO DAY USE

I’ve already mentioned my reticence to deal with anything not officially HomeKit compatible these days, but that also extends to things that use Bluetooth as a primary method of communication. Smart locks are a necessary exemption, as is Bluetooth when used in the course of adding Thread devices, but on the whole, I can’t wait to see the back of Bluetooth in a general sort of way! So, as this uses Bluetooth to allow its child devices to connect to it, what was my experience? Well, actually it wasn’t as bad as I’d expected. What I did wait for was the dreaded slowness of Bluetooth devices to ‘wake up’ before doing what was requested. As I’ve only got a couple of Switchbot curtain motors on test, my experience is limited to those, but generally speaking, the response time wasn’t bad. There have been isolated instances of a large delay of maybe 7-10 seconds, but thankfully not too many. The sensors are part of the hub, and as such are communicating via the hub, and from there via WiFi, so Bluetooth isn’t an issue in this case.

It’s nice to have a hub with a display of sorts, especially when it shows useful information, but without the ability to automate turning the display on or off, the experience isn’t as good as it could have been, although only slightly. As for Matter, even though it’s in its early stages, when it comes to Matter and HomeKit, there are no complaints, and if anything, it does show that Apple is way more prepared than any of the other platforms in this regard, if this hub is an example of such things.

Will I keep using it? Probably not, but only because of a few things that are entirely not the fault of the hub. First off, I already have plenty of temperature/humidity sensors in the home. Secondly, we have roller blinds in the home, and although I’ve set up curtains in preparation for tempering the glaring summer sun we get for most of the day, I’m actively trying to avoid adding WiFi devices (especially ones that clog up my 2.4GHz band) and as the hub is yet another device of this type if I need an additional curtain motor, I’ll probably end up buying the Aqara model, as I have plenty of Aqara hubs, and my experience of their curtain motor has been largely a good one.

all that said, if you’re a Switchbot user, and really want a much easier way of getting your existing devices into HomeKit (assuming it’ll be supported at some point with this hub), then I think it’s a worthy purchase, albeit a slightly overpriced one.

The post Switchbot Hub 2 w/ Matter (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

Thinka sent us the new hub for testing a couple of months ago, and we’re finally in a position to give our thoughts not only on the hub itself, but how well it works with devices that connect to it, and more importantly, how well those devices work in HomeKit. Read on to learn more…

PACKAGING

Given that this hub is a moderately expensive purchase (currently €429, or €354.55 without VAT), you’d expect everything to be premium, and if the packaging is anything to go by, then we’re good. The box itself feels very ‘Apple’ in terms of looks and materials, and I’ve no doubt this will protect your purchase without any trouble. The top is as minimalist as it gets, with a line drawing of the product inside.

One side has the slogan “Connect Everything”, which I’ll come back to shortly, and another side simply lists some features and other details, including the Apple HomeKit logo (check!) as well as logos for Z-Wave Plus, S2 Security, and SmartStart.

So, back to the ‘Connect Everything’ slogan – what the company are saying essentially is that any Z-Wave device that goes through this hub will be exposed to HomeKit (as well as Google Home, or Amazon Alexa) as long as the device type or category is supported. The company’s website goes further, by stating that there are 3,000+ devices available to you, should you use this hub. There’s no way to test that claim fully of course, but I was sent some devices to test with the hub and proceeded to purchase some additional devices myself, as a way of independently verifying the claim to some degree. It goes without saying that it would make little sense for a company to make such claims at the risk of making themselves look bad and risk their reputation, so I’ve no doubt the claim is true, even if some categories are supported by Google, but not HomeKit for example.

So how have they achieved this? Typically, when a company makes a hub, it’s generally understood that whilst the hub is certified for HomeKit, the child devices that connect to it also have to be certified. With Thinka and Z-Wave, it would appear from our discussions with Thinka, that Apple has allowed the hub to let Z-Wave devices pass through to HomeKit unimpeded, due to Z-Wave’s own highly strict certification process. This makes a lot of sense, as Z-Wave isn’t an open-source protocol in the way that Zigbee is, and as such, any devices have to go through a series of checks in order to pass before they even connect to any hub, let alone one that allows access to HomeKit. This may go some way to explaining the high price being asked, not to mention giving the consumer with the means to buy such a device some extra peace of mind.

THE HUB

I think it’s fair to say that hubs, in and of themselves, aren’t terribly exciting products, unless they offer some extras, like the Aqara hubs that offer night lights, alarms, or ringtones, for example, and the Thinka is no different, with it being as minimal as you could get/want. It’s not entirely dissimilar to the Philips Hue Bridge, with a large circular button on the top and three LEDs underneath, although this is roughly twice the size of the Hue Bridge. The Thinka logo is indented on the button, and so when plugged in, the only part of the device that sticks out is a single green LED that stays lit during normal operation. All three LEDs will pulsate in blue when you’re in pairing mode, and as the front of the packaging hints at, the LEDs can display other colours and patterns, depending on what the hub is doing.

The Thinka is designed for a wired connection to your network only, so there’s no WiFi module inside. Thus, we get an ethernet port to allow you to connect the Thinka directly to your Router/Modem/Switch. Next to that is the power port which uses USB-C (exactly what you’d expect in 2021). Finally, there’s a USB-A port which we’re told is for diagnostics only as well as potential future features.

The Thinka can sit on any flat surface, but there’s also an included wall bracket, should you want to mount it to the wall. Even the feel of the hub connecting to the bracket feels well-engineered, which is easy to take for granted.

Also included in the box is a large power brick with ‘clip-in’ adaptors for both EU sockets (Type C) and the UK (Type G). As the hub isn’t officially released anywhere else besides Europe, there are no other adaptors included, although it’s likely we’ll see the hub released in the US in 2022, and so there should be an included US (Type A) adaptor when the time comes. And just as important is an ethernet cable to get the hub connected to your network.

THINKA SETUP

Even though the hub comes with a HomeKit code, it’s better to use the company’s browser-based app first for installation. You get a six-character code with the Thinka, which you use to detect the hub on your network, and then proceed to sign in or create an account to complete the setup. In the second image above you can see I’m already set up and have four devices connected to the hub;

• Aeotec Smart Switch 7 (plug)
• Fibaro Plug
• Aeotec Sensor 6 (multisensor)
• NanoMote Quad (wireless button)

Once added to your home, you can then add it to HomeKit via the company’s iOS app, which we touch upon later.

SMART SWITCH 7

The Aeotec Smart Switch 7 is a smart plug with a switch that contains a colour LED that when exposed to HomeKit, can be separately controlled in terms of colour and brightness, as well as having the ability to simply turn the plug on or off. In the browser app, you can see the basic information for this plug when pressing on the device in the list. Tapping on ‘Configuration’ you get access to further settings, nearly all of which are not exposed to HomeKit, but can be used anyway, which includes things like power on behaviour when power is restored, as well as warnings for overloading the plug’s power capacity.

AEOTEC SENSOR 6

The same goes for all other devices here, including the Aeotec Sensor 6, where you can see the details for each sensor, as well as utilise different settings for each of the sensors. This particular device includes the following sensors;

• Motion
• UV
• Humidity
• Temperature
• Vibration
• Ambient light

It should be noted that only four of the six sensors here are exposed to HomeKit, with UV and vibration not supported.

NANOMOTE QUAD

When I started out testing the Thinka, wireless buttons weren’t supported, but just recently the company updated their hubs so they could support both wireless buttons and also Venetian Blinds. The NanoMote is similar to other wireless buttons in many ways, but it has four separate buttons, each with a single and long-press option (in HomeKit). Double press isn’t supported. It also comes with a keyring so you can have it hang with your keys, and even includes a rechargeable battery via a built-in Micro USB port.

There’s an option to begin the pairing process to add child devices. Usually, this takes the form of getting the hub into pairing mode, whilst pressing a button on the child device three times, so not dissimilar to Zigbee in some ways. You also get access to the hub’s own settings of course, which includes things like firmware updates, resetting or even changing the region. You also get the option to set the hub up to work with other platforms, including Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Olista.

THINKA IOS APP

The Thinka app is rather basic and is mostly for providing an overview of your hub or hubs, what rooms are added and how many devices there are. You can also add a hub manually here, although this is normally reserved for advanced users. You also use this app to add the Thinka hub to your HomeKit home, so assuming you’ve already registered the hub via the web-based browser, once signed into this app, the hub will appear, allowing you to add it to HomeKit, using the included HomeKit code.

The app also gives you the option to add child devices using Z-waves latest ‘SmartStart’ function. This is a procedure, that, like HomeKit simply requires you to scan a QR code, in order to add a device. Unfortunately, there aren’t too many devices using this method yet, and of all the devices I used for testing, only the Aeotec Smart Switch 7 offered this method.

THINKA IN HOMEKIT

The Thinka hub is just a hub, and unlike some of the Aqara Zigbee hubs, offers no additional services. With this being the case, you can only see the hub’s existence by going into the settings for your HomeKit home, via ‘Home Hubs & Bridges’ where Thinka hub is listed. When you click on it, as with all other hubs, you get a few basic details, including how many accessories are connected to the particular bridge. In this case, it’s four, although strangely, the NanoMote is not listed when I look into this section. It could be due to Wireless switches only recently being added.

If we look at the Aeotec 7 smart switch (plug) you can see the on/off toggle switch is visible, as is a slider to control the brightness of the LED within the plug’s power button. You can also change the colour of this LED, although it’s so small it does make me wonder why they bothered. The Fibaro plug, on the other hand, only exposes the on/off toggle, even though the much larger LED ring on this plug would be handy for use in automations within HomeKit.

The NanoMote Quad Wireless button exposes all four buttons, but only offers single or long-press, so no double press option. The Aeotec Sensor 6 exposes only four of the six available sensors, with vibration and UV sensors missing in this case.

IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS AND WRAP UP

Even though I’m new to Z-Wave, I’ve been led to believe that Z-Wave uses what is generally referred to as sub-1GHz frequencies, but different countries and regions use slightly different ranges, so the frequency range in the US for example, is 908.4 ~ 916MHz, whilst Europe uses 868.4 ~ 869.5MHz. This means that your hub has to be set to the correct region to avoid any potential interference with things like cordless phones or other devices, but is also required by law in most countries. The good news is that the Thinka hub’s frequency range can be changed, however, the same doesn’t appear to be true of child devices. So, if you purchased a Z-Wave child device in the US, and wanted to use it with your Thinka hub set to the European frequency range, the child device won’t be able to connect to the hub. This shouldn’t matter in most cases, as there wouldn’t be much use for a US type Z-Wave smart plug in Europe, but for wireless devices like sensors, it’s more of a potential issue.

For that reason, I’m a little less enamoured with Z-Wave as a protocol overall, even though in many ways, as we’re talking about the Thinka hub, we can hardly blame the product for the protocol. As it stands with the hub itself, there was a bit of a readjustment to be made in my mind with how devices are added, and what extras they can offer within Z-Wave, not to mention the different methods by which a device can be added, but it has been a solid device in the time I’ve used it, so there are really no complaints as far as the hub itself is concerned, nor for that matter, the child devices that are connected to it.

The question around the price of the hub can’t be ignored, and whilst it’s easy to compare this to other hubs that use both Z-Wave or Zigbee, none of them quite offer what Thinka does – Zigbee hubs by Hue and Aqara do work with HomeKit, but only expose their own-brand devices to HomeKit, with very few exceptions. Other Z-Wave hubs don’t expose their devices to HomeKit at all, at least not officially, and so when you see what Thinka offers – Z-Wave devices from any brand, all exposed to HomeKit – it becomes more obvious as to why there’s a premium price for this device, not that I’m justifying the price, but then Thinka and any other company have no more requirement to justify its prices than we have to justify how much we’re paid for the work we do. It’s for the market to decide whether the price is worth paying.

You’re probably wondering if I would pay for this hub. The answer is no, but not because I don’t think it’s worth it. In my case, as you may have guessed, I’m already deeply embedded in HomeKit and have a plethora of devices that I’m quite happy with, which use Zigbee, WiFi, and occasionally, Bluetooth, with a tiny smattering of Thread. In my case, everything is pretty stable thankfully, and it wouldn’t make any sense, financially or otherwise, to begin replacing everything. If I were to start from scratch, would I buy the hub? Currently no, because the initial outlay is more than I can afford.

So, who is the hub for? I guess in the first instance, it’s probably most useful to those that already have a Z-Wave setup in their home, but want it integrated into HomeKit, without having to go down unofficial routes. For those that have a decent budget, and want a large choice of devices all funnelled through one hub, then all of a sudden, the prospect of having one hub for all devices instead of many, seems a more attractive option. The downside of having ‘One hub to rule them all’ is that if the hub does fail, then everything goes with it. This isn’t unique to Thinka of course, but as it works with all brands, it’s less likely you’ll be buying two of these to share the load.

This brings us back to the product itself and the company behind it. The product itself seems really (really) well put together, and the fact that you can call upon the company’s support team to examine any potential issues with your hub remotely should make you come to the conclusion that your hub isn’t going to be abandoned at the first sign of trouble, or that it’ll be superseded by another model in a year’s time.

The bottom line; the hardware is great, works solidly, and does (as far as I’ve been able to test) what it says it can do. If you’re serious about security, which seems to be the case with not only Z-Wave, but Apple, then maybe it’s time to put your money where your mouth is, and pay the extra. Your call!

Full disclosure: Thinka provided HomeKit News with the Thinka Z-Wave Gateway for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was made, requested or has not in any way influenced our opinion of this product.

The post Thinka Z-Wave Hub for HomeKit (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

It’s fairly likely that you’ve never heard of ZemiSmart, as until now, the company have had no real association with HomeKit unless you were to go down the HomeBridge route, however, the company have been around for quite a while, and have been offering a mix of WiFi, Zigbee, and Bluetooth devices to enthusiastic users, mostly due to their low prices and wide range of products, nearly all of which are compatible with the Tuya smart home ecosystem – you may not have heard of Tuya either, which is understandable!

UNBOXING

ZemiSmart supplied the hub we’re reviewing today, along with three smart wall switches that we’ll cover in a separate review. The whole package came reasonably well protected, but the packaging for the hub is, to put it bluntly, rather flimsy, and suffered a fair bit of damage, so hopefully, if you do order one of these, whoever ships it, will provide a modicum of protection for the box, and by extension, the product inside. Still, the contents survived without any damage, which is the main thing.

The details on the box itself are quite simple, with just the hub on the front, along with the ‘Works with HomeKit’ logo we always look for. Save for the specs on the back, there’s nothing else, and as mentioned, the box uses rather lightweight card;

• Product name: ZemiSmart HomeKit Zigbee Hub
• Model: ZMHK-01
• Input: 5V/1A
• Working Temperature: -10ºC~50ºC
• Wireless Protocol: ZigBee 3.0
• Zigbee Standard: IEEE802.15.4

The box contains almost everything you need to get up and running, which includes;

• The hub itself
• User guide in English
• Ethernet cable
• USB-A to Micro-USB cable
• Wall mounting plate
• 3 x screws and 3 x rawl plugs

The only thing that isn’t included is a US power supply, which isn’t a surprise, as the company ship to pretty much anywhere in the world from China, and so adding a US power supply, which is what I use, isn’t of much use in Italy, for example!

THE HUB

Three instances of the HomeKit code are included – one on the inside flap of the box, another on the manual, and a third on the base of the hub. The hub measures 90mm in diameter, and just 19mm in depth (not including the wall mount). Like the Aqara M1 and M1S hubs, the ZemiSmart hub has an LED ring that encircles most of the hub, although, unlike the Aqara hubs, the LED ring is not exposed to HomeKit. Furthermore, even in the Tuya app (there is no ZemiSmart app as such), there’s no control available to the LED ring.

The reason the LED ring doesn’t go all the way around the hub is due to the connections section on the rear, which includes a micro-USB port for powering the hub, and an ethernet port to connect it directly to your router or modem. There’s also a pairing/reset button. Whilst the hub can use ethernet, it would seem, at least from the information on the ZemiSmart website, that the hub can use standard 2.4GHz WiFi too.

There’s nothing on the top of the hub, not even a ZemiSmart logo (maybe not a bad thing?) whilst the underside features a circular rubber ‘foot’ to hold the hub in place. You also get an instance of the HomeKit code, as well as cuts in the base to accommodate the wall mount/bracket.

There seems to be conflicting information on how many devices the hub can support, with ZemiSmart claiming 100 devices, whilst elsewhere the magic 128 device count is mentioned. Either way, it’s not bad.

IN HOMEKIT

Adding the hub/bridge/gateway to HomeKit is as simple as it gets, with a quick scan of the HomeKit code. As there are no additional functions to the hub, much like the Hue Bridge, you can only see evidence that it’s actually in HomeKit by selecting the Home Settings for your HomeKit ‘Home’. Once there, you click on ‘Home Hubs and Bridges’ and the ZemiSmart Hub will be listed. Clicking on the entry will then simply bring up details for the hub, along with any sub-devices that are connected to the hub and exposed to HomeKit. In the example above, you can see I have two devices connected (it’s actually just one double rocker switch).

THE TUYA SMART APP

In order to add devices to the hub, you’re going to download the Tuya Smart app, and set up an account, although once you’ve added these devices, you can delete the app if you prefer, until you need to add more devices. The process for adding the hub to the app is not dissimilar to the procedure for Aqara hubs and app, with the app being set to discover mode, where it’ll pick up your hub on the network in order for you to bind it. Once binded (Bound?) there’s not a lot else you can do with the hub, as there are really no other jobs for it to do and no hidden features, which also includes the LED strip, which can’t be controlled or adjusted in any way. Adding what is referred to as ‘sub-devices’ (Aqara refer to them as ‘Child Devices’) is just as easy, but unlike the hub, these can only be added via the Tuya app, especially if you wish to expose such devices to HomeKit.

Once a sub-devices is added, as long as it’s a supported category, and is certified to work with HomeKit, it’ll automatically appear in your HomeKit home. I go into a bit more detail in my separate switch review, but safe to say, it’s all a rather painless procedure, as I’ve come to expect from adding Zigbee devices to Zigbee hubs.

WHAT WORKS WITH HOMEKIT?

When it comes to what is compatible with HomeKit, things get a little less certain for one reason or another, as ZemiSmart’s own site has a section in their store called HomeKit, which lists the hub, and also lists ‘Devices work with HomeKit Hub’ [sic]. To me, this doesn’t explicitly say that the devices are HomeKit compatible as such, but merely compatible with the hub. Of course, you could read between the lines and say that as these devices are under the ‘HomeKit’ section of the site, and are compatible with the hub, then they must be compatible with HomeKit, but I wouldn’t dare be so presumptuous as to state that with complete certainty. The devices that are listed, which cover roughly two screens worth of listings, with all of the devices belonging to categories that are supported in HomeKit, so it’s not unreasonable to assume these are all HomeKit compatible.

This includes the basics, like motion, temperature & Humidity, and contact sensors, as well as roller blind motors, curtain motors, and light switches. They also list a retrofit roller blind motor just like the recently released Aqara Roller Shade Driver E1, which looks fairly similar, and is in all honestly, probably identical under the cover. We’ll be reviewing that soon.

One thing that could be of interest to those looking to expand their homes on a budget, is that the ZemiSmart website claims that other devices that are certified to work with Tuya, not just ZemiSmart products. This opens up a door to a lot of cheaper sensors, motors and switches that previously required something like HomeBridge to get them exposed to HomeKit.

One final point on this is that there ‘seems’ to be no issue with regional restrictions on devices that work with this hub, so unlike Aqara, you only need the one hub – regardless of where you purchase it – to work with an apparently large pool of compatible devices. The potential downside of this is access to regional support if something goes wrong, so in some ways, it makes sense that Aqara sell certain products with regional locks, so the consumer gets support closer to home, including returns and replacements.

IN USE

As the hub has little to do other than provide an entry to HomeKit for its sub-devices, there’s both little that can go wrong, and little to report on. With this being the case, the only thing I can say is that it has so far worked 100% without any issues (maybe due to its wired connection), and although it’s only connected to one double rocker switch at this time, there have been zero issues, no instances of a ‘no response’ and no reboot required in the four weeks I’ve been using it.

That said, there is a bug, which I immediately reported to my contact at ZemiSmart; The hub initially showed as solid green for the LED ring, and pulsed red when I initially added the smart switch. However, once the switch was added, the hub stayed in the red pulsing state. I thought there was a problem and spoke to ZemiSmart about this, who said that although it shouldn’t be like this, they are aware of the problem, and are working to fix it. It still works as expected, and as I actually don’t really want or need to see a constant green LED glaring 24/7, I’ve hidden the hub in a corner, so I don’t see any LED unless I pick it up.

Would I recommend this? Well, I’ve been neck-deep in the Aqara ecosystem, and really had no plans to deviate from it in terms of Zigbee-based products, with only Hue being the exception that was in place even before Aqara, so I would recommend this, if you’re starting out, and want to try some budget devices, before going full-on into ZemiSmart, as it’s still early days as to how much support it will offer, especially with other devices that are Tuya certified. That said, I can’t really fault Aqara’s range of hubs and products, especially their industrial design, which for Tuya compatible products, seems a bit hit and miss. However, there are some products that Aqara don’t yet offer, like triple and quadruple button smart switches, so it really depends on your needs. At the end of the day, there’s also no reason why you can’t have both of course. It’s your call, but the bottom line here is that my initial scepticism of this device has been overtaken by a curiosity to see just how much it can support.

Full disclosure: ZemiSmart provided HomeKit News with the ZemiSmart Zigbee Hub for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was made, requested or has not in any way influenced our opinion of this product.

The post ZemiSmart HomeKit Zigbee Hub (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

Of course, the HomePod Mini in all its colour variants, is an important part of the HomeKit ecosystem in that it’s a ‘Home Hub’ for HomeKit automations, as well as a hub for both Bluetooth and Thread devices, not to mention it has Siri built-in for voice control of your smart home devices.

Enjoy/Endure*

* select as appropriate…

The post The New HomePod Mini ‘Color’ – In Orange! appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

This includes basic sensors like temperature/humidity, motion, contact, and smoke detectors, along with blind motors, curtain controllers, smart switches, and smart bulbs.

For the relevant devices exposed to HomeKit, they can be controlled in both the Home app as well as the Tuya app for the best experience. The hub itself connects to your home network via 2.4GHz WiFi or its built-in Ethernet connection and features a colour LED ring to display the status of the hub.

More information via the ZemiSmart website.

The post ZemiSmart HomeKit Hub appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

Thinka For Z-Wave is a special kind of HomeKit accessory, just like Philips Hue, it is a bridge. Thinka bridges to HomeKit. This opens up a whole new range of possibilities for Z-Wave accessory owners, who can now use their Z-Wave devices such as lights, curtains, thermostats, garage doors along with their other HomeKit devices, like Philips Hue lights, Sonos, Somfy, Netatmo, HomeKit cameras, Logitech, Danalock door lock, Gardena, Velux, Lutron and Honewell accessories, and more. All from the Home App, and create scenes and automations with all of them.

Or connect their audio/video from Arcam, Bang & Olufsen, Bose, Bowers & Wilkins, Cambridge Audio, Denon, Harman Kardon, JBL, LG, Loxone, Marantz, MOON, NAD, Naim, Onkyo, Pioneer, Revox, Sony and Yamaha.

specifications;

The post Thinka For Z-Wave appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

Since then, with a little of a delay, the company has released many more hubs – at the last count, not including forthcoming products at the time of this review, Aqara has a lineup of ten different Zigbee hubs, although, of these, only eight are HomeKit enabled (The Camera Hub G2 and the original Air Conditioning Companion are not HomeKit compatible). I personally own eight of these ten hubs, and so I would say I know my way around them fairly well. You can read our article on the main differences between the available hubs below;

Aqara Zigbee Hubs and Their Differences (updated 7/24/21)

One of the newest hubs, aside from the recently reviewed Aqara Camera Hub G3 (full review HERE) that came out at roughly the same time, is the Gateway E1. Whilst many of the hubs have their differences, the E1, which is part of their ‘Economical’ range, strips things down to a minimum in terms of size, whilst also retaining some of the core features of their other hubs. Today’s review examines this ‘pint-sized’ device, so if that piques your interest, read on…

I want to start by just stating a couple of things; first of all, at the time of writing this review, the Gateway E1 was only officially available in Mainland China, although it is now available on Amazon stores in the US, Canada, the UK, and France. The model I have here, which I purchased myself, is the Mainland China version. I also wanted to say that this isn’t going to be a terribly long review, as, let’s face it, hubs aren’t that exciting! That said, the Gateway E1 does have one extra function that might interest you.

PACKAGING/UNBOXING

So, as this is model is from Mainland China, pretty much all text on the box and in the manual is in Chinese, although setting this up in the Aqara app is easy enough, as all instructions are onscreen when installing it. Here are the specs for the device, as listed on the back of the box;

• Input voltage: 5V = 0.5A
• Wireless protocol: WiFi 2.4GHz b/g/n
• Connectivity to child devices: Zigbee 3.0
• Dimensions: 108 x 30 x 8mm / 4.25 x 1.18 x 0.31in (HWD)
• Working temperature: -10ºc ~ +40ºC / 14F ~ 104ºF
• Working humidity: 0 ~ 95% RH

As you can see, like all of Aqara’s products since the introduction of the G2H, the E1 is a Zigbee 3.0 device in terms of its connection to child devices when acting as a hub, and a standard 2.4GHz WiFi device when connecting to your local network. All pretty standard stuff. Even though a fair percentage of Aqara’s product has been exclusive to HomeKit and their own Aqara Home app, the E1 can work with Xiaomi’s own ecosystem, via the Mi Home app whilst still being exposed to HomeKit.

THE GATEWAY

Given its size and shape, you could be forgiven for mistaking the E1 for one of those old WiFi sticks you would use for a laptop, when built-in WiFi antennas were a rare thing. Indeed, the fact that it has a USB-A plug on the end really makes it appear as such a device. Oddly enough, this does have additional WiFi capabilities beyond its initial connection to your network, which I’ll touch on later.

Aside from the fact that it’s quite a departure from the company’s other hubs, like the M1/M1S and M2, in and of itself, it’s not especially remarkable, and one could argue is just as simple and unassuming as their other hubs. The fact that this is small, and can be plugged into any reasonably powered UB port (I have mine plugged into a USB socket that’s part of a Xiaomi power strip) makes it even less assuming.

The only form of external control for the E1 is a small button that, like Aqara’s other hubs, serves mainly for setup, reset and pairing functions. Below the button is a small multicolour LED that helps you know the status of the hub, be that connection status, pairing status, or other modes.

One thing of note is that the E1, despite its size, is still capable of supporting up to 128 devices, on the condition that amongst those are repeater devices, like Aqara smart bulbs, smart plugs, or wired switches with a neutral wire.

Due to both its slim size, and the fact that you can angle the USB plug by 105º in either direction for a total of 210º, you could easily have this hidden behind a variety of household items like sofas and chairs, flat-screen TVs, or other places where you either want it hidden or simple don’t have enough space.

What’s missing, you may ask. Compared to the M1/M1S hub, you don’t get either the speaker or the night light, and you don’t get the IR blaster found in the M2. As there’s no speaker when adding child devices, you would have to rely solely on the Aqara app, and the LED indicator in order to know whether you’ve been successful or not at adding a device, as there’s no way to hear the voice prompts without a speaker, of course. It does have a couple of other functions, one of which is not found in its larger siblings…

AQARA HOME 

In the Aqara Home app, as I have here, it’s set to the Mainland China server, and as you can see in the settings for the E1, it’s all standard stuff. Within the settings for the device, you have the ability to turn on an option that prevents the hub (and any connected child devices) from being accidentally deleted.

The exclusive function I alluded to earlier is mentioned in the ‘More Settings’ section, namely a WiFi repeater or Hotspot. When this option is turned on, the E1 creates its own mini-network that uses the network it’s connected to for connecting further devices. You can change the name and password for this network yourself, or give it the same SSID and password details as the hub it’s ultimately connected to if you prefer. This could be of use for devices that are on the periphery of your network, maybe a future video doorbell from Aqara, for example, that would use both a WiFi connection and Zigbee functionality as well. It should be noted that the Hotspot is limited to connecting only two devices, so it would only be of use in quite limited or exceptional circumstances, especially as there’s no 5GHz hotspot option.

HOMEKIT

In the Apple Home app, the E1 is primarily designated as a hub, but it does have a separate ‘service’, namely a security system, and just like the M1S and M2, all four alarm modes are exposed. Of course, as there’s no speaker, it can’t trigger a siren by itself as the aforementioned hubs can, but assuming you have the E1 in addition to other hubs, this is another option to set an alarm for the entire system, or as part of a separate system within your home.

I also have the following hubs in the home that support the four alarm modes; M1S, M2, and P3, as well as the alarm service in the Aqara G3. The good news is that selecting any of the four alarm modes for the E1, syncs the alarm modes for these other hubs as well, so it’s good that everything works as it should do in this respect.

At present, I’m only using the E1 as a hub for an Aqara wireless double rocker switch (one of the original multi-function ones) that I’m using to control a separate Aqara device I’ll be reviewing soon (…), but it’s good to see that the older wireless switches are supported and exposed to HomeKit still. You can see that the E1 is listed as the bridge/hub/gateway for the switch, whilst the E1 also gets listed as a hub in the Bridges section of the Hubs & Bridges settings within the Home app.

CHILD DEVICES

As you might expect now, with Aqara having such a large lineup of products, it’s no easy task (nay, almost impossible) for me to test and list every device that works with the E1 hub and which ones are exposed to HomeKit. If you’re new to either Aqara or HomeKit, you’d quite innocently think that everything Aqara makes is exposed to HomeKit. Unfortunately on one level, not everything that Aqara makes has a corresponding category in HomeKit, like the company’s Smart Clothes Drying Rack, for example, or the new Smart Sleeping Monitor, whilst some products that are a supported category, just haven’t been made HomeKit compatible, like the S2 or S2 Pro smart locks.

Having tested the following devices, I can confirm they both work with the Aqara E1 hub the Aqara app, and are also exposed to HomeKit;

• AQARA LIGHT SENSOR T1
• AQARA MOTION SENSOR T1
• AQARA CONTACT SENSOR T1
• AQARA TEMP/CONTACT SENSOR T1
• AQARA WATER LEAK SENSOR
• AQARA MINI WIRELESS SWITCH
• AQARA CONTACT SENSOR P1
• AQARA WIRELESS ROCKER D1
• AQARA ROCKER SWITCH (ORIGINAL)
• AQARA WIRELESS ROCKER H1
• AQARA WIRELESS ROTARY DIAL H1

Additionally, the following Mi/Mijia branded sensors were able to be added successfully (unofficially), and are also exposed to HomeKit as normal;

• MI MOTION SENSOR
• MI TEMP/HUMIDITY SENSOR
• MI WIRELESS BUTTON
• MI CONTACT SENSOR

the only device I tested that failed to be added to the hub, and the Aqara app is the Mijia Light Sensor, which does work fine with the original Aqara Hub M1 and the Aqara Camera Hub G2H. Something to bear in mind is that there may be a time when the Mi branded sensors may not work with Aqara hubs.

PERFORMANCE / FINAL THOUGHTS

Hubs, to a great degree, aren’t terribly exciting devices, especially if they don’t have any even vaguely interesting extras, like a speaker or night light, and the E1 fits into that category only too well. That’s not to say it isn’t any good or doesn’t do its job well enough, as it has indeed done so without any issues so far. It sits there, out of sight, doing its job, and that’s fine. I have to admit I’ve not been making use of the WiFi extender, but in my simple test, it once again worked as expected.

So, who is this aimed at, or what purpose could it serve? I suppose it could be considered a second hub to take on some of the workloads of your main hub, which if you have some devices that are on the edge of connectivity, this would be an ideal and cost-effective device for such a task. That’s all on the assumption that you have a spare USB socket available, which is certainly the case in our home. With the WiFi extender, this may well find niche use cases, so I do think despite the number of hubs that are coming onto the market from Aqara, there’s a seat for the E1 at the table.

You can buy the Hub E1 from the usual international resellers, like AliExpress etc, although as the only version currently available is designed to work with the Mainland China server, this version will be the one you’ll be buying, so you’re going to have to go down that route if you do buy from these stores. The price seems to start at just under US$23 / £17.00 / €20 for pretty much all resellers on AliExpress, so if you think this is something you could use, and don’t mind using the Mi Home or Aqara app connected to the China server, have at it!

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