Aqara Smart Button Guide: Mini Switch, Hub Kit or Wall Switch?

Most Aqara buttons talk using Zigbee, a low-power wireless language that lets a coin-cell button run for a long time. Your phone and Wi-Fi router cannot speak Zigbee directly, so you need a hub: a small box that plugs in, joins your Wi-Fi and translates between your Zigbee devices and the Aqara Home app. The Mini Switch listings are clear that it has to be an Aqara hub; hubs from other brands are not supported.

Once your button is on an Aqara hub, the hub passes it through to Apple HomeKit, Alexa or Google Home depending on the hub and app. Matter is a newer shared standard meant to let devices from different brands work together, and Thread is a low-power network that Matter devices often use. The M100 hub works as a Matter bridge, meaning it can expose Aqara Zigbee devices to other Matter platforms.

Aqara

Aqara Zigbee Wireless Mini Switch, Works with HomeKit Google Home Alexa

8.8/10Our score, based on listed specifications and buyer feedback

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Price and specifications are read from the Amazon product page and can change.

Aqara Zigbee Wireless Mini Switch

Best for: Existing Aqara hub owners adding a button

Pros

• Single, double and long press
• Emergency and doorbell uses
• Works with HomeKit, Alexa, Google

Cons

• Aqara hub required
• No other-brand hubs

The Aqara Zigbee Wireless Mini Switch is the classic Aqara smart button. It is a small wireless push button that can do three different jobs through single press, double press and long press, such as switching a lamp, triggering a scene or turning everything off at bedtime.

It needs an Aqara hub, sold separately. The listing names compatible hubs including the Hub M2, M1S, M1S Gen2, E1 and Camera Hub G2H Pro and G2H on 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, and the Camera Hub G3 and Hub M3 on 2.4 or 5 GHz. It should sit within about 400 inches of the hub. It can also serve as an emergency button that sends a phone alert or sounds the hub’s alarm in another room, or as a doorbell with selectable ringtones. Pull the battery tab before first use. Aqara lists 12 months of after-sales support.

This suits people who already have an Aqara hub. If you use a camera hub, our Aqara camera hub guide explains how it doubles as a Zigbee hub. Beginners with no hub should look at the M100 kit.

Aqara

Aqara Zigbee 3.0 Wireless Mini Switch T1, Smart Button Requires Aqara Hub

8.0/10Our score, based on listed specifications and buyer feedback

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Price and specifications are read from the Amazon product page and can change.

Aqara Zigbee 3.0 Wireless Mini Switch

Best for: Hub owners wanting the updatable T1

Pros

• Zigbee 3.0 with OTA updates
• Rated for 50,000 presses
• Flame-retardant PC panel
• Sticks anywhere

Cons

• Aqara hub required
• IP00, not water resistant

The Aqara Zigbee 3.0 Wireless Mini Switch T1 is the updated version. Its main difference from the original is OTA (over-the-air) update support, which lets Aqara send firmware improvements to the button through the app for better stability and features.

It needs no wiring and can sit on a table or stick to a surface. It works as a doorbell with Aqara hubs that have speakers, with ringtones set in the Aqara Home app, and as an emergency button that pushes a notification and sounds the hub alarm. It is rated for up to 50,000 presses and uses a V-0 grade flame-retardant polycarbonate panel. At 1.77 x 1.77 x 0.47 inches it is tiny. It is rated IP00, meaning no water protection, so keep it indoors. An Aqara hub is required.

Pick the T1 over the original if you want firmware updates; pick either if you already have a hub.

Aqara

Aqara Wireless Mini Switch and Aqara M100 Hub kit,Zigbee Connection, Versatile 3-Way Control Button for Smart Home Devices, Compatible with Apple HomeKit, Works with IFTTT

8.6/10Our score, based on listed specifications and buyer feedback

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Price and specifications are read from the Amazon product page and can change.

Aqara Wireless Mini Switch and Aqara

Best for: First-time buyers with no Aqara hub

Pros

• Button and M100 hub together
• Matter bridge to other platforms
• Zigbee and Thread support

Cons

• Hub limit of 20 Zigbee devices
• No third-party Zigbee devices

The Aqara Wireless Mini Switch and Aqara M100 Hub kit solves the “which hub” question by including one. The button offers the same single, double and long press controls, emergency alert and doorbell functions as the standalone Mini Switch.

The M100 is a multi-protocol hub that supports up to 20 Aqara Zigbee devices and 20 Thread devices, though not third-party Zigbee devices. As a Matter bridge, it lets Aqara Zigbee products work in other Matter ecosystems, and the listing names Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa and Home Assistant as compatible, plus IFTTT. It powers over USB.

This kit is the easiest gift for someone new to smart homes. Later, you can add sensors such as an Aqara door and window sensor to the same hub.

High score Our score: 9.8/10

Aqara

Aqara Zigbee Smart Plug with Energy Monitoring, Overload Protection

9.8/10Our score, based on listed specifications and buyer feedback

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Price and specifications are read from the Amazon product page and can change.

Aqara Zigbee Smart Plug with Energy

Best for: Automating lamps, fans and heaters

Pros

• Energy monitoring
• Handles 15A appliances
• Acts as Zigbee repeater

Cons

• Aqara hub required
• Not a button itself

The Aqara Zigbee Smart Plug with Energy Monitoring is not a button, but it is what many buttons end up controlling. Plug a lamp, fan or kettle into it and you can turn it on from your phone, a schedule, a timer or a scene, including one started by a Mini Switch press.

It handles appliances up to 15 amps, such as window air conditioners and space heaters, with overload protection, and it monitors power use. It also acts as a Zigbee repeater, strengthening the signal for sensors, lights and locks farther from the hub. It needs an Aqara hub and is white.

It suits anyone who wants a button to control an ordinary plug-in device.

Best for: Replacing a single or 3-way wall switch

Pros

• Single-pole and 3-way support
• Extra wireless scene button
• Power-off memory

Cons

• One wired channel only
• Power monitoring needs neutral

Best for: Controlling two light circuits from one box

Pros

• 2 buttons, 2 channels
• Matter-over-Thread or Zigbee
• Neutral or no-neutral wiring

Cons

• In-wall install needed
• Power monitoring needs neutral

The Aqara Smart Light Switch H2 (2 Buttons, 2 Channels) replaces a wall switch and controls two separate electrical circuits, such as a ceiling light and a porch light wired into the same box. Both buttons can also act as wireless buttons in “decoupled” mode, where pressing them runs an automation instead of cutting power.

It supports Matter-over-Thread and Zigbee, and works with Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa, SmartThings and Home Assistant; Zigbee mode unlocks the full Aqara Home feature set. It works with or without a neutral wire, but power monitoring and overload protection need a neutral. Power-off memory lets you choose what happens after an outage. It is rated 10A at 120V.

It suits homes with two circuits in one box. Wiring work may call for an electrician.

The Aqara Smart Light Switch H2 (2 Buttons, 1 Channel) has one wired switch and one purely wireless button. It supports single-pole and 3-way setups, which means it can replace a switch that shares a light with a second switch elsewhere, and it works with or without neutral.

It shares the Matter-over-Thread and Zigbee support, platform list, power-off memory and neutral-only power monitoring of the 2-channel version. The spare wireless button is a built-in smart button on the wall, handy for a scene like “all off.”

Choose this for a single light circuit; choose the 2-channel for two.