Do you want to know in real time the temperature and humidity in your home? This is the xiaomi aqara temperature humidity sensor connected weather station from Elgato, which offers several connected accessories for your home with the special feature of being HomeKit compatible.

When opening the pack, the content is classic, but presented in an aesthetic and neat way. So here is the contents of the package:

In a very good quality packaging, and with an Apple-style presentation, there is a user manual and a card with the serial number that will be useful during installation. The module code is also on the small case, and xiaomi aqara temperature humidity sensor is powered by a replaceable battery.

Product description

The xiaomi aqara temperature humidity sensor measures temperature, humidity and air pressure, both inside and outside your home. Its digital display shows you precisely the data you need on a daily basis. Aqara collects useful statistics to provide you with an analysis over time. All this information will be stored in the Aqara Home app.

With this data, you will be able to make decisions to control the indoor climate in your home. You will have the possibility to program your fans and air conditioners or your heating.

Xiaomi aqara temperature humidity sensor benefits from low power consumption and truly wireless operation thanks to its innovative Zigbee Low Energy technology.

Product characteristics

This small box offers some quite honourable features, as you can see below:

To use your xiaomi aqara temperature humidity sensor, you will need an iDevice running under iOS 11.2, such as an iPhone, iPad or Apple TV. The sensor has a Low Energy wireless connection.
The temperature operating range is -18 °C to + 55 °C with an accuracy of ± 0.3 °C, for humidity: between 0 % and 100 % with an accuracy of ± 3 %. The pressure sensor can accurately measure air pressure.

Getting started and using

Thanks to anodized aluminum, this mini station benefits from a modern and elegant design. There is also a real aesthetic work on the packaging. The xiaomi aqara temperature humidity sensor works perfectly when placed on a surface or fixed to the wall. Thanks to its rainwater protection index, you can place the station outside without protection and withstand light rain.

Once out of the box, simply press the button on the back of the device once to activate xiaomi aqara temperature humidity sensor. This button will allow you to switch between the temperature display and the humidity display. At the back, in addition to the reset button, we find the location of the battery, the announced autonomy is one year.

The Aqara Home app, available on the App Store, offers the advantage of being able to manage all the brand’s products.

Once the application has been downloaded:

Press Add accessory and follow the steps to register the device. You can now access all the devices in your home and also manage statistics, rules and scenarios. Thanks to the application, HomeKit compatibility and the entire Aqara range, you can easily automate your home.

Siri
The information collected by xiaomi aqara temperature humidity sensor is also accessible in Siri. Just ask:

”What is the humidity in the living room?” Siri will answer you instantly….
”What is the temperature in the living room?” Siri will give you the last collected temperature value.

Homekit
Thanks to Apple HomeKit technology, you will be able to connect the xiaomi aqara temperature humidity sensor to your other Aqara or Homekit devices. The app is more complete and allows you to design rules that automatically trigger scenarios under certain conditions, for example:

If your fan is connected to the Aqara outlet, it can start automatically when a certain temperature is reached or exceeded. If the air is too dry, a HomeKit rule activates the humidifier.

Conclusion
So I tested Xiaomi Aqara temperature humidity sensor for a few days, a very practical product with a very nice design. I recommend this product of very good quality. Installation is quick and easy.

• Apple HomeKit compatible
• Accurate temperature and humidity measurement
• Saving measurements
• Can be installed outdoors

Today I will give you a little feedback on my Xiaomi Aqara sensors after a year of use. Is the promise of reliable and easy-to-install low-cost sensors being baked? This is what we will see in this article.

Easy installation and integration

Installation of sensors in the rooms

For Xiaomi / Aqara temperature and humidity sensor

there are two models that exist.

Well, I used squares, but apparently there is no noticeable difference.

For the installation nothing simpler: a double face is already present at the back of the sensor, no wires (and yes it’s on battery!). So we take off the double side and stick it where we want.

Then the Xiaomi Aqara door/window sensor

There are 2 models but from what I could read there is no noticeable difference.

Always with double sided and battery included, the larger part is glued to the door jamb and the smaller piece (which seems to be a simple magnet) to the moving part.

I really appreciated the discretion and ease of installation of these small modules. Garage door, bay window, front door,… whatever the type of window or door you will always find a way to position the sensor.

In terms of discretion, the day you put them down you only see that, but you get used to it quickly. My friends are often surprised when I tell them that I have sensors on all doors and windows, on white PVC it’s very discreet.

Information feedback in Mi Home app

So, now that the sensors are installed in the rooms, it will be necessary to collect the information. All this information goes through the Xiaomi gateway (not necessarily but we will talk about it again, let’s say it’s the easiest). You therefore need a Aqara gateway that you will have ideally connected in the middle of your home.

This gateway centralizes the feedback from the Aqara sensors and will make them accessible on your wifi network. It will also allow you as a bonus under jeedom:

• -Recover ambient light
• -Play a predefined sound (siren for example)
• -Flashing or illuminating with the color and intensity of your choice (convenient for making visual notifications)

Well, once she’s plugged in, she’ll talk to you in Chinese/English. Don’t panic! Don’t panic! You can do anything with the English application. So you need to download Mi Home to your smartphone, create an xiaomi account and follow the steps that are well explained (in English though).

Once your Mi Home application is connected to your gateway, simply add equipment to Mi Home, press a small button on the sensor, and you pair your sensors one by one with the gateway. A bit like adding a Bluetooth speaker to a smartphone.

From there, we normally have all its sensors that go back to the Mi Home application. Nothing very complicated for anyone who is not allergic to English.

Sensor range

So I don’t have precise data on the range of the Aqara sensors. In my experience, if you put the gateway in the middle of the house it should cover about 140 m² without any problem. On my side when I moved I had a problem because the signal was bad from one end of the house to the other with sensors in the basement.

So I bought an xiaomi plug that looks like a zigbee repeater and will therefore increase the coverage of the gateway like the trendy little devices that extend your wifi coverage. I plugged in the plug, added it to Mi Home, and… that’s it! My farthest sensors were reporting the information.

After that you can also add a second gateway. Especially if you are starting to have a lot of sensors because a gateway I can only manage 31 sensors max. The jeedom plugin manages several gateways.

Reliability and batteries

When you buy Chinese on batteries, you wonder if it will be reliable and how long the batteries will last (especially if the batteries are supplied as standard!)

As far as reliability is concerned, I’m completely amazed. After more than a year with a dozen sensors and now more than 6 months with a 20 groin I haven’t noticed any failure!

As for battery level, here again I am pleasantly surprised, with the original batteries I do not have a sensor below 55% of batteries. So I would say that the batteries will have to be changed every 2 and a half years!!!!

Conclusion

If you do not want to wire, solder and are looking for discreet and easy to install sensors, the Xiaomi Aqara (this is the name of the product range) is for you. The only thing that’s a little unfortunate is that the plugs connected are not in compliance with the CE standard. I strongly advise you not to play the sorcerer and / or DIY apprentice with 220V on a product that is not designed to work in France! If your house catches fire because of these devices I’m not even sure your insurance will cover you!

However, Xiaomi has decided to Conquer Europe in recent months, with smartphones to start with, but we should see the home automation range coming on stream quite quickly.