Aqara Smart Hub M3 for Home Automation, Matter Controller, Thread Border Router, Features Aqara Zigbee(Not 3rd-Party), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, PoE, IR, Supports Alexa, Google Assistant, HomeKit, IFTTT

I upgraded to the Aqara Smart Hub M3 to replace my old Aqara hub, and I’m so glad I did! The setup was a breeze, and it integrates seamlessly with all my smart devices. The hub supports Matter, Thread, Zigbee, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi, making it incredibly versatile. It works perfectly with Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit, SmartThings, and IFTTT, giving me full control over my home automation. It's a fantastic, reliable hub with excellent connectivity. Highly recommended!

I'm gradually building my smart home and wanted a hub that could integrate with Home Assistant, work offline, and still support features like the Aqara G3's facial recognition. After five months, it's working well, with a few important details to keep in mind:Zigbee Support: The hub supports Zigbee but only for Aqara Zigbee devices. If you have other Zigbee brands, they won’t work directly with the M3 hub.Matter Connectivity: Matter devices, such as plugs and lights, do work. But I seem to get the best results if I connect them to the M3 hub first, then add them to other ecosystems like Home Assistant or Apple HomeKit. But this is just personal preference.Infrared (IR) Control: The M3’s infrared sensor works well for controlling devices like TVs and heaters. However, only Aqara devices connected to the M3 will show up in Home Assistant, not the infrared or Matter devices. To work around this, I’ve set up an Aqara button that works in both the Aqara app and Home Assistant. In the Aqara app, for example, a single button press turns on the TV, while in Home Assistant, that same press triggers automations to control non-Matter devices.Offline Functionality: The M3 is connected via Ethernet, and I’ve restricted its internet access, allowing it to function mostly offline. However, for some automation adjustments, internet access may need to be restored briefly.Expectations: When the M3 was first announced, I expected more from its Zigbee capabilities. But since I use Home Assistant for broader automation, this wasn’t a major issue. In practice, it has become a solid addition to my smart home setup.Overall, if you’re considering purchasing the Aqara M3 hub, as long as you're aware of its limitations and capabilities—especially regarding device compatibility—you likely won’t be disappointed. It's a compact size and good value for money considering what it can do. If you can get it reduced, even better.I'm giving the M3 4 stars, as I can't give it 4.5 due to the review system. It doesn't deserve a full 5 because it's not fully Zigbee compliant, but it's close.

Great hub ,looks modern with a square frame with a 360 ir blaster. Which I was was able to set up with a fan and paired with a button . I have paired hue with matter and most devices have been paired easily. It is powered through a usb type c or with POE . The unit is a bit small and has great connectivity. Definitely value for money and performs well . Also works with alexa and Google home well and voice automations work well . Good starter hub to get into smarthome

Finally a worth replacement for Smartthings, the latest firmware update to the Meross Matter Smart Plug Mini (UK), means that plug has working power monitoring in the system, so able to set rules based on power consumption.(when first add the plugs there is no, need to add to Aquara App, then add to Meross app, update firmware, remove the plug, then add again)

Most likely the worst product Aqara has ever made, I love Aqara products my house is littered with it. But this product is just rubbish, all my automations stopped working, can’t load anything Matter related and the IR Blaster can not pick up my LG TV or Shy Box. Adaption into Apple Home worked and transferred most of my kit but left out many items in the transfer.Only thing I feel is worthwhile is the new built in speaker to use as an alarm, speaking of which, this hub has broken that too.My advice is AVOID, AVOID, AVOID. it pains me to say that as a Aqara fan boy, but don’t waste your money!

I bought this item looking to replace my Home Assistant setup hoping to simplify my entire system with a better user interface and not something that preoccupies me with coding. At the time of this review, the Aqara Hub was easy to install but the big problem was that hardly any of my Zigbee and Wi-Fi devices are compatible with it. This hub is quite proprietary and seems the only Zigbee devices that it works with are mainly those made by Aqara. Shame as I liked the hardware compactness and the intuitive user interface all at a reasonable price. Anyone starting to build a smart home system from scratch should not have this issue as long as compatible devices are also purchased. I am staying with HA on an intel NUC for now as I have too much invested in a mixture of smart device manufacturers.

Great device and needed. Worked straight off the bat. Used an old Apple iPhone charging plug which is perfect for it.