The Aqara M3 is The Perfect Matter and Thread Device! Well, Almost...

the Aqara Hub M3 is a major leap forward for Aqara, coming at a time when the smart home landscape is changing due to both Matter and Thread. The M3 is both a Thread Border Router, and a Matter Controller for the Aqara ecosystem, which means for the first time, third-party Matter devices will work in Aqara's app. There are caveats of course, so watch the full video to know its current limitations, as well as any issues I had with it.

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Timestamps:
0:00 intro
0:10 Introduction
2:01 What's in the box?
2:41 A closer look
3:26 Installation options
5:06 P2 Motion Sensor
5:42 Smart AC Control
6:53 Hub Migration
7:48 Third-party control
9:30 Speaker comparison
10:20 Does it work well?
11:10 Pros vs Cons
12:32 Outro

#smarthome #homekit #applehome #matter #thread #homeautomation #Aqara

[DescomplicandoTech]

Great video as always 👏 I've been using the M3 Chinese version, and it's working great around here. I was also able to connect a couple of Tuya Matter devices and the Yeelight Cube. I wasn't aware that Matter Hub support was being released. This is going to be great to use with Aqara automations!

[RichAesthetic]

I am so happy right now—I am having the exact same issues! I also have Belkin WeMo and Nanoleaf smart plugs and smart bulbs, respectively. After adding the M3 hub to My Home and then updating the firmware of those other smart devices, they all slowed down. I took the time on one of my weekends to delete everything and completely redo my smart home setup from scratch, as in re-adding everything to a completely new home after having deleted the old home and the iCloud backup. Then, everything started working just fine again. I'm talking about the Nanoleaf and smart products, right? However, about a week after I did that, there was another firmware update. After updating the firmware on the M3, those devices from Belkin and Nanoleaf are now slow to respond again. I don't want to take the time to redo it all yet again, but I'm thinking that I will have to at this point. Although, I am waiting for the next firmware update as it has already been a few weeks since the last one. I will do it after that, so I have the most amount of time to see if the devices work correctly for longer than a week after setting them all up again.

[Sanka]

Great video, this gave me hope that I don't have to replace my Leviton smart switch. I was having problems connecting to HKSR.

[Frederikstott]

Great video, going to get this as soon as Amazon DE has it back in stock

[Codyak]

Excellent video! I love how you lay these videos out and test some many different functions. We currently have an M2 and are happy with it.

Weird question for you but is there any point to matter or thread if a home is 100% HomeKit and has no WiFi connectivity problems even on the edges of the house? Only thing I could think of was the offline functions but I don’t know that I’ve ever needed that.

[anns]

I had the Aqara HUB (1st Generation) worked fine until I had to connect to a new wifi, just wouldn't connect anymore. So I got the M3 and everything works.

[myHomeKithome]

Beautiful job is always Simon! I may have missed this part, but is there a limit to the number of devices that can be bridged over Matter like the SwitchBot Hub too?

[Zombzap]

Hey looking to get the M3 do you find since the last review the updates fixed some of the stability issues you were saying. Also for someone brand new trying to get into automation would you recommend the M3 thanks

[Siltoneous]

Excellent coverage of the device, especially wrt to Matter. I shouldn't be surprised that it's Matter support is so shoddy, but it's a dang shame. I'd been looking for this device for some time to consolidate all my Smart Home devices, but I'll be waiting some more. I learned long ago to never, ever buy a device on promises, and at this point, Aqara's promises to support more matter devices is simply unfulfilled promises with no weight.

[comm]

or me all Aqara child devices works only with Apple Home Kit. Both Smartthings and Google Home works only with Aqara Door sensor, Temp sensor and Plug EU. Wall Light switches, leak sensor doesn't work. And I used all Aqara HUBs - no progress :(

[rny]

For an upcoming system in a home, I’m planning a 95%+ all Apple and Aqara setup from scratch . Do you recommend going with the M3 straight away?

[Bad.]

If you are already have a M2 hub and switch over to the M3 hub you mentioned that the M2 hub is automatically reset to factory defaults. Other that using the M2 hub in perhaps a different location (i.e. cottage) can it be reused for something else - like a standalone IR blaster for example ???

Thanks for sharing this video.

[JamesMeyerMusic]

I really want to use the m3 via matter with Apple home(for AC) but when I tried it there was a lot of no response and 3-10 second wait times in the home app. Has there been any improvements or do you have any tips?

[PraneetTulshyan]

great video! just out of curiosity, would the G3 and M3 hubs allow controlling the AC temperature through HomeKit?

[akemals]

Good video 😊 can I use ac controller with Apple HomeKit ?

[omarr]

Hi great video, one simple question : using m3 magic pad s1 can control matter devices and not only native aqara devices ? I want control hue bulb or nest thermostats from magic pad

[examdse]

Nice video, can matter-paired devices trigger the aqara security system?

[Izak-zl]

Im currently using aqara hub m2 with all aqara products to expose them to homekit do you recommend to replace the m2 hub with m3 ?

[simon.m]

How do I get the M3 to show as a thread border router in the Eve app?

[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.