Aqara ZHWG11LM WiFi Zigbee Smart Gateway HOMEKIT Version ( Xiaomi Ecosystem Product )

This was the first AQara product that I purchased and was really worried about the homekit compatibility and reliability, I was used to the Philips Hue Hub and the Philips hue was not that stable (even when it was connected directly to the router using cable), so I was mostly worried about the Wifi connection to manage all of the devices and trigger the actions via homekit. When it first came out I had a little issue to setup due to its compatibility to 2.4GHz only Wifi, so I had to change the frequency that I was connected on my phone (since the setup is using the phone's wifi connection) and then setup the device... After that, everything worked flawlessly, the actions were all triggered instantly, I rarely see any communication issues between homekit and the hub via the Home app (I see that a lot with the Philips Hue Hub). Also, this is not only a Hub, it includes an alarm system and a night light, which by itself is very good compared to other hubs that actually are only hubs and nothing else.

The advantages in my opinion are:
- Cheaper and higher quality than competitors;
- Supports 220v (most of the competitors don't);
- Is more than a Hub, since it includes an alarm and a night light;
- Uses Zigbee so it does not interfere on my wifi setup.

For me the disadvantages currently are:
- I need to use an adapter since there is no Brazilian version of the power plug, so I had to use an adapter to power the Hub (which also was already included on the box);
- There is no south american server to use the AQara cloud functions, which for now is Ok since I control everything thru Apple Homekit;
- The hub has voice feedback but only in English and Chinese, that is good, but since there is no Brazilian Portuguese, I opt to have that disabled.

The Hub is constantly being updated and always getting better, I've already started the process to decommission my Philips Hue setup and implement a full AQara setup.

May 23,2019

I was thinking about smart home application already for some time and then finally I decided to go to Aqara solutions
even the support for EU is not sufficient - nor EU plug, nor full support of EU servers and latest information is no support of Aqara app for EU at all.
Luckily Xiaomi Home application is still working (Including firmware update of Aqara hub - Aqara hub arrived with 1.5.9_000, but was able to update currently to 1.6.2_003) for Aqara products and I did not have hard time to set everything up.
There was and is still some glitch at first where all added devices went offline, but it seems it was issue of Chinese server which is needed to be set and used for proper function of Aqara smart products (I assume Xiaomi too) in EU.
At the moment I am using one Aqara hub with 8 Temp/Hum/Press sensors and one motion sensor, without any issues.
Update of temperature through this hub is not online, there is always needed update of screen to get actual temperature - but this is due to long battery performance plan - so update of temperature and humidity,
as well as pressure is not online, but only in the case where there is any bigger change in its values.
History data could be seen in Xiaomi Home application - I would like to have possibility to export them into Excel or any other software for further processing.
I am planning to buy additional Temp/Hum/Pressure sensors as well as another smart devices soon.
I got with package also EU plug, but it is too huge for seamless application of this Hub into the wall socket. As for the price, it was bit pricey in comparison to Mijia and Xiaomi hub and support for EU is not as it should be in these days for such modern product.

Sep 23,2019

Opté por la marca AQARA porque había oído a varios podcaster hablar de ella con buenas referencias. En concreto por unos 30€ o 40€ (en función de promociones) puedes optar por este HUB o GATEWAY con el que controlar el resto de dispositivos de Aqara (que son bastantes y los necesarios para comenzar con esto de la domótica).
Además tiene la ventaja este hub de ser compatible con Homekit / aplicación HOME (Apple), con la aplicación de Xiaomi (Mi Home), y con la propia de Aqara, como no podía ser de otra forma. De esta manera puedes darle órdenes a SIRI (el asistente de Apple) para que vaya ejecutando acciones además de automatizar procesos.
De cara a la CONFIGURACIÓN hay que tener en cuenta que el primer día no me funcionó. Parece cómo que los servidores de Aqara tienen que reconocer el aparato y darlo de alta en el sistema. Ni con distintas WIFI, ni con distintos móviles, ni haciéndolo 20 veces lograba configurarlo. Pero al día siguiente todo iba!!!
Tanto con la aplicación de Aqara (poniendo "Other Region") como con la aplicación Mi Home (Xiaomi) (poniendo China continental) funcionan todos los dispositivos.
Una vez tienes el HUB instalado a través de este dispositivo vas instalando los otros componentes: bombillas, enchufes, detectores de puertas, de movimiento, temperatura, etc.
Totalmente aconsejable. Consejo: No desistas a la primera cuando empieces la configuración. Paciencia!!

Jan 16,2019

Come tutti gli accessori Aqara anche il Gateway ha un ottimo rapporto Qualità/Prezzo.
Le 5 stelle sono per i tempi di spedizione e per l'hardware ben fatto volessi dare un giudizio sul software darei un 2:

Infatti l'unica critica che posso fare è su un software ancora acerbo su molti punti di vista..
(e che non so se aggiorneranno per le versioni europee)
Possiedo diversi sensori e purtroppo non posso usare un unica app per poter gestire la demotica:
- Sono obbligato ad usare l'app di Aqara per potere collegare i miei sensori all'Hub a meno che non utilizzi il server Cinese. Peccato che l'app Aqara non sia in grado di gestire le automazioni.
- Quindi devo ricorrere all'app MiHome, che come detto prima, non mi permette aggiungere dispositivi perché non riconosce l'Hub Aqara (Nel server Europeo).

Inoltre è ancora più acerba la parte Voice Control:
- Siri funziona discretamente.. anche se mi crea dei problemi il fatto che utilizzando i wall switch, questi vengano riconosciuti solo come interruttori per le luci mentre a me serva che vengano riconosciuti per aprire e chiudere le serrande.. quindi se ordino di aprire le tapparelle il tasto mi rimane attivo anche una volta che sono tutte aperte e mi tocca dire una cosa come: " ehi siri, spengi "apri tapparelle"... "
- Per quanto riguarda Alexa.. non è compatibile praticamente con niente, inutilizzabile.. la skill Alexa non è acerba, di più.

Aug 06,2019

Hey there! I am using this hub with door/window sensors and temerature/humidity sensors. In combination with the HomePod i can ask Siri everywhere on the world if all of my windows are closed, how warm it is in the living room and so on.
Wifi is good, haven't had any problems with that, the distance to the access point is about 7 meters through a ferroconcrete ceiling. ZigBee is powerful enough to communicate with all sensors (distances between 2 and 9 meters).
Could recommend this product for everyone who wants a cheap and easy start to the smart-home topic.
The App is available in the german App-Store, the app does support different languages such as english. The hub itself sometimes gives voice-feedback (For example when pairing with a new sensor) - that is always on Chinese - but that doesn't matter.
The Wallplug also is the Chinese one - Gearbest delivered an wall-plug-adapter with the bridge, so no problems with that.
At all: Great Product.

Jan 22,2019