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HomeKit Aqara Video Doorbell G4

Itinj24

Itinj24

Contributor
Original poster
Nov 8, 2017
4,634
2,705
New York
This just went live on Amazon (US, CA, UK) as of last night.

Very reasonably priced as are all Aqara products and I’m hoping they follow with Aqara’s legacy of speed and reliability.

I’m currently using the 2nd Gen Google Nest wired doorbell with a Starling hub. Nothing but great things to say about this setup, since the original Google Nest Hello doorbell up to now. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work great in my application. The 2nd Gen Nest doorbell has a narrower FOV and is not getting my full front yard (I have a wide house with a circular driveway and I’m not getting the right side). The original had the perfect FOV but doesn’t support HKSV through Starling like the 2nd Gen does. Going into this, I knew this would be a temporary solution until other third parties hit the market.

That said, I purchased two Aqara G4’s, one for my front and one for my rear doorbell. Should be arriving tomorrow but we’ll see how they work out. FOV of these are similar to the original Nest Hello according to the specs so hopefully they fulfill my requirements.

I also tried the WeMo Doorbell. The FOV on that was pure insanity. I could see everything including my porch light directly above it and everything below it on my porch. I swear it was getting parts of my porch even behind the camera lol. Unfortunately, that camera sucked as a whole. Night vision was non existent, camera went offline constantly, missed several motions, etc. Could’ve been great but wasn’t.

Anyone else looking into these?

Promo codes for Amazon from ModernDayTech (has a good YouTube HomeKit channel):
Amazon US / CA Promo code: USCAVDG4
Amazon UK Promo code: EUDOORBELLG4
 
I bought one for myself just now, also for delivery tomorrow. For the price, it seems like there’s little risk in trying it out. Plus just last week my wife was asking if we could get a Nest doorbell (emphatic no). It will be my first HKSV device so wish me luck.
 
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pup said:
I bought one for myself just now, also for delivery tomorrow. For the price, it seems like there’s little risk in trying it out. Plus just last week my wife was asking if we could get a Nest doorbell (emphatic no). It will be my first HKSV device so wish me luck.
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Haven’t had many issues with HKSV in a while. Currently running 20 Logitech Circle 2’s and the Nest with Starling. Been pretty good for me lately. It was kinda messy in the beginning though. There was time in the middle of the night (EDT), around 2am, when they were offering same day delivery, meaning today. Strangely, I ordered last night around 11pm and got it for tomorrow.

Hopefully Aqara lives up to its legacy with this one.
 
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Shane Whatley on YouTube has just done a review on this. He was quite pleased with it but did mention two issues: the first one being missed events in HomeKit but were fine within the native app and, this one is subjective, but he preferred the portrait view whereas this is more of a landscape view.
 
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StumpyBloke said:
Shane Whatley on YouTube has just done a review on this. He was quite pleased with it but did mention two issues: the first one being missed events in HomeKit but were fine within the native app and, this one is subjective, but he preferred the portrait view whereas this is more of a landscape view.
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Ah ok. Yes, I need the landscape view due to my very wide front yard so hopefully this works for me. I think I saw someone else on Reddit that had the already released Chinese version complain about the missed notifications too. Hopefully this is something that can be fixed with firmware or 16.4.

Usually Shane does his videos on Sundays. I’ll check it out. Thanks for the heads up!

Edit* Just checked YouTube and it looks like the majority of the HomeKit YouTubers I’m subscribed to have videos up. Curious to see different opinions on it.
 
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I just received one of these and so far so good. I have not put it on the door yet. I will do this when I get home but set up in the office it seems really good. I am currently using the Logitech Circle View Doorbell. I am hoping that this doorbell actually allows me to see things in the dark.
 
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sam3020 said:
I just received one of these and so far so good. I have not put it on the door yet. I will do this when I get home but set up in the office it seems really good. I am currently using the Logitech Circle View Doorbell. I am hoping that this doorbell actually allows me to see things in the dark.
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The Wemo doorbell night vision was absolutely atrocious. That was one of their marketing points on the website but couldn’t see anything past my 5’ long porch. Total darkness. I’m hoping for an improvement with the G4 as well.
 
Got mine but HKSV facial recognition does not always work. It shows on push notification the name of the person but HomePod does not say the name. Any ideas? Is HKSV just buggy like all everything HomeKit?
 
Night vision is pretty much as poor as the circle view doorbell. The Microphone is also really tinny compared to it as well. I’m going to be going back to my Logitech Circle View.
 
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sam3020 said:
Night vision is pretty much as poor as the circle view doorbell. The Microphone is also really tinny compared to it as well. I’m going to be going back to my Logitech Circle View.
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Wow that sucks. Was really looking forward to this doorbell.
 
iphonehype said:
Got mine but HKSV facial recognition does not always work. It shows on push notification the name of the person but HomePod does not say the name. Any ideas? Is HKSV just buggy like all everything HomeKit?
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Yeah had the same experience with the other doorbells as well- Logitech, Wemo, Nest with Starling
 
I think they’ve pulled it from all markets, unless demand was that high it’s sold out on all markets!
 
Possibly it’s selling out. You can still order it on Amazon US but with what looks like a two week back order now.

Mine arrived late yesterday and I haven’t done anything with it except pull it out of the box. It’s a nice design and matches my door trim almost perfectly, so it tics the aesthetic boxes.

I want to hard wire it, which means doing a bit of work since my current doorbell is only about waist high.
 
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Got mine installed this morning. Super simple installation. Feels much more responsive than running my Ring 3 Plus through Homebridge. Unfortunately the video keeps giving me a purple/pink image. Tried restarting it and have the same issue. Amazon can’t ship a new device for two weeks. Will at least give me some time to decide whether to keep it.
91BE5C22-91B1-42B1-B2CC-483D3F66D910.jpeg
 
steinbch said:
Got mine installed this morning. Super simple installation. Feels much more responsive than running my Ring 3 Plus through Homebridge. Unfortunately the video keeps giving me a purple/pink image. Tried restarting it and have the same issue. Amazon can’t ship a new device for two weeks. Will at least give me some time to decide whether to keep it.View attachment 2178547
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Wow that’s funky. Is that during the day? Looks like it’s stuck in night vision mode even though it doesn’t need it like on a bright sunny day. If it’s sunrise or sunset, could be stuck in between deciding if it should be in night mode or not. I seen something similar with my Logitech Circle 2’s.
 
Set mine up today, seems to be working fine. Setup via HomeKit was quick and painless. Video quality is ok - not amazing but it’s our first camera so nothing to compare it to. It’s adjusting its exposure for the street and so our porch seems a bit dark. I haven’t downloaded the Aqara app so maybe they have settings for exposure and contrast. But overall for the price it seems like a good buy.

Response time from HomeKit seems good - when the doorbell is pressed it chimes twice in succession and by the end of the second chime I’ve had a notification on my phone.
 
I had really high hopes for this doorbell and was disappointed. The quality of the doorbell itself feels quite cheap and the picture is grainy. The microphone is very tinny when speaking to people. The night vision is slightly better than the Logitech Circle View Doorbell but the picture is definitely sharper on the Circle View and feels like a more premium device. I also prefer the orientation of the video itself being able to see a lot more of who is in front of the door. Would be good to hear other peoples views on this.
 
I've had the G4 installed on my door for three days and my experience has been good so far. I disabled its internet connection via my router to make sure that it doesn't try to phone home. It is relatively responsive. There is a bit of a delay (roughly a second or two), but I expected as much from a battery powered doorbell.
 
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