Should you avoid the new Aqara M3 Hub?

[@DanielTekmyster]

I’m tired of these clearly sponsored videos with the exact same talking points with no information on whether or not it can integrate with third party zigbee devices.

[@Broke_IF]

Thank you!

[@josephstacklin3853]

It can’t.

[@sendo427]

Amazon just delivered my m3 hub, just now can't wait to play with it. But I'm kind of disappointed that the Aqara matter products don't have any settings on the m3 hub, well that's what I've heard.

[@howardzhao4685]

Again, another wonderful and informative review. I was waiting this hub since CES, but knowing what I have learned from your review, I am pretty much decided not to upgrade from my current M2. With my over 100 aqara devices running in my Apple Home, not looking forward to having to reset or re-add all the device and automations in Home again. I am using both Home and Aqara automations, so far everything are working as expected. Will keep the m2 for now. Thanks again for the review.

[@CarlRyds]

I’m sorry…. HOW MUCH!… £130, I was expecting £99 tops since the M2 is £55 (£46 on sale). If it could take Zigbee devices from ANY manufacture, like IKEA (without a Philips Hue Hub), then maybe but as it is, it’s far too expensive in my eyes. I was hoping to ditch my IKEA hub and have everything ran through one hub, the limited third-party Matter support is laughable for the price.

[@richardshepherd1216]

Yes it's expensive for a hub. I too wanted to ditch my Dirigera/Hue hub and run everything through the M3. It's very solid once I've swallowed the bitter pill of the cost.

[@alexiliakis]

Do I actually NEED to move my devices from the older hub?

[@LATerr0r]

Im glad I waited to dive deep into smart home stuff. I feel like Matter and devices with thread radios coming out and Home Assistant to fill in the gaps is going to make it better and easier for new implementations but, much like this video shows, for people who are already invested its going to be a challenge.

[@alpachino468]

Jeez, can I not find one video where the manufacturer has not sent the product out?!

[@vviinniiee3]

I’m new to smart home stuff. I have Aqara products like the U100 lock and video doorbell. They both already work with HomeKit. What is the point of an Aqara hub? Isn’t my HomePod mini already my hub?

[@sophiethewestie]

my question as well. I like to keep things simple.

[@gobi13]

Interesting video! What I’m still not sure is if an Aqara Hub is required for FP1E FP2 sensors or if I could use them using Matter with/ an Apple TV 4K?

[@BlaqViper]

As many Aqara devices I may have along along with their M1S 2nd gen hub, I still have to have an old Wink hub for my ZWave Schlage smart lock. I was hoping the M3 would have to resolved that by including ZWave support. But given its Matter issues, it seems to have bigger problems.

[@JosephDawson]

If you don't have an Aqara hub today and you need to buy one to connect devices to homekit would you buy the M2 or M3 today?

[@EricWelander]

M2

[@ml4319]

Absolutely m2!

[@richardshepherd1216]

@@ml4319 Why? I have an M3 and an H2 Pro camera/hub. The M3 provides everything the camera does plus Matter/thread. Sure the M2 is cheaper but what does it offer the M3 doesn't?

[@VegasGuy1975]

M2 based on what I’m seeing about the M3. My current M2 is fantastic.

[@ml4319]

This is their homepod, doesn’t make sense to buy this if already commited to apple home eco system.

[@xavierlevaux621]

Will it be possible to have Aqara device connected to Apple HomeKit via matter/thread be updated and fully configured (all options) without a Aqara hub?

[@ml4319]

@@xavierlevaux621 Yes!

[@jaackelliott]

Would I be able to bring the Matter devices connected to the M3 Hub over to HomeKit or would it only show first party Aqara Matter devices in HomeKit?

[@EricWelander]

I am not sure since I don’t have any of the limited number of third party Matter devices currently supported by Aqara. But given they are Matter devices, you can just add them straight into Apple Home instead.

[@richardshepherd1216]

The first ecosystem you attach a Matter over Thread device to sort-of owns it. Once it's owned if you want to add it to another Matter controller you use a pairing code generated from the first ecosystem app. So if I add a Nanoleaf bulb to an Apple TV thread border router/controller then you have to use the Apple Home app to generate a code to add it to Alexa or Aqara.I tried exactly that with a Nanoleaf bulb. It paired fine with Apple using the QR code on the bulb. However once paired that code couldn't be used to pair it to an Echo Hub I had to generate a new pairing code from the Home app. For Matter over WiFi I believe you can use the original device pairing code but I'm not sure about that.

[@Jason-bw4hl]

I use Aqara as home security system. It does show up in HomeKit. But I tried upgrading the M1S hub to Matter and link it to HomeKit, and the security system will not appear in HomeKit. All of the Aqara devices show up in HomeKit except the security system. Am I missing something?

[@richardshepherd1216]

Security systems are not supported by Matter. So to have the security system working you have to pair with HomeKit.

[@kevinpoinsett]

Yup, what he said, add it to Apple Home without making it a Matter device

[@RedstonerVid]

Hi there! Great video! Can you also try controlling IKEA's smart light from M3 directly? Thanks!

[@richardshepherd1216]

Sort of. I have just got the M3. It will not pair Ikea lights direct to the hub from zigbee. Nor will it accept a Dirigera hub over Matter (yet). I have the Dirigera and tried - it failed with "this device is not supported" after trying to pair the hub Matter code. However it WILL accept Ikea lights if they are exported over Matter from a Philips Hue hub. I have one of those aswell and paired my Tradfri bulbs to it (both bulbs and drivers) and they are accepted by the M3 fine. They even work for automations.

[@The-Cat]

this video is a sponsered one so you wont get any answers its just a glorified advertisement

[@jameslynch8868]

Yes you should avoid it until they live up to the hype of supporting any and all matter and zigbee devices.

[@Dr_Cole]

Great overview and honest appraisal. Thanks, Eric.

[@EricWelander]

Thanks Dr. Cole

[@Obtuse94]

Does it still have the IR blaster?

[@EricWelander]

Yes it does

[@douggottlieb]

Great review. ❤ This will be my first hub. I’ve had a bad smart home experience with lots of wifi bulbs, probably because I foolishly didn’t use a dedicated hub. They were constantly failing, and dragged my wifi network to a crawl. (I think). What bulbs do you recommend with this hub? I’ve got both Apple and Alexa devices now. THANKS!!!

[@PsychoticShine]

I was the same way. Had nothing but wifi devices but reliability wasn't great. then i tried using a hub instead. I was using an echo 4th generation with zigbee as a hub for a while, but it was very limited on what devices and automations could run. So my first official hub is my aeotec hub i got for 97 Dollars on black friday. I don't have experience with aquara.

[@joshuahaney1135]

Bought mine today

[@zenmorris182]

will the M3 integrate my xiaomi devices ?

[@The-Cat]

this video is a sponsered one so you wont get any answers its just a glorified advertisement

[@kithem8308]

Can m3 hub bridge FP2 to smartthings and homey pro?

[@keithpointon4067]

I can’t even pair my FP2 to the M3!!

[@The-Cat]

this video is a sponsered one so you wont get any answers its just a glorified advertisement

[@Dampney_]

Aqara has questionable privacy

[@josephiyere4491]

The only truthful guy out here. ❤

[@nagyba]

Failover haha - Honestly, if a smarthome device requires hub, I don’t buy it. They won’t close me in an ecosystem, I don’t need even more junk.

[@AndrewDee]

I'll tell you a secret, you homepod, or echo, or nest hub are all hubs So you can't avoid it 😅

[@jbponzi1]

I used to have the same opinion and for many items I still prefer not to have additional hubs. There are a couple of hubs that are indispensable in my setup. The Hue hub and the Lutron hub are terrific, and Philips and Lutron have provided equally good support and lifespan. This helps when other radios are needed, such as Zigbee. Outside of those most everything else is on Bluetooth or WiFi. Lots of Lifx. Level locks. Ecobee. Nest Protects via Homebridge. Ring also via Homebridge. Nanoleaf over Thread; I like Thread...so far 😃. Arlo which uses a hub specifically for the cameras to get on HomeKit. What do you have in your home setup? Always interested to see how others build out their smart homes.

[@AlmightyEye]

@@AndrewDeehis point is, and I totally agree, that these other hubs are just hubs and offer no other functionality. The fact that an Apple TV or HomePods serve as hubs now is irrelevant. Most people didn’t buy an Apple TV or HomePod with Hub functionality in mind, they just happen to serve as hubs. I didn’t purchase any of my HomePods or Apple TVs for their hub functionality, just glad they do have double the purpose now in my Smart Home. Having to purchase more devices/hubs to integrate into a smart home, especially an Apple Centric one, defeats the purpose of having Thread/Matter capable devices. I have over 70 devices in my home, with just ONE hub, the Phillips Hue hub, all the other devices work natively with Apple HomeKit with devices I already own like the Apple TVs and HomePods. Purchasing multiple devices from different platforms just so they serve as “Hubs” for other devices, is not the same as having devices that perform many other functions, and also happen to serve as hubs. You’re comparing Apples to Oranges.

[@nagyba]

@@AndrewDee I tell you a secret in return - I don't have neither.

[@ramymounir6946]

You should have mentioned if I can add a learned remote control to Siri and HomeKit or not