Aqara E1 wireless 2 Gang Switch

I wanted to look into the viability of Aqara as my home main smart home system. One of the devices that came out recently is the Aqara E1 switch. I wanted to know if this would work with Aqara M2 Hub global or Home Assistant with Zigbee Adapter (CC2531).

There are two variant of this switch, the wireless and the wall switch. Since it is so cheap, if they are great I wouldn’t mind using them as my main switches.

Aqara has made 2 variant of this switch, wireless and wall switch. Since these are pretty inexpensive, if it works great it maybe a great choice for all my switches in my upcoming home renovation.

Paring the Aqara E1 Switch.

I purchased the Aqara E1 with the intention of testing its compatibility with the Aqara M2 hub. Currently, it pairs and functions properly when the region is set to ‘China’; unfortunately, it does not work in the ‘others’ region.

Moreover, switching the region to ‘China’ has caused other Aqara devices to be removed from Alexa and Google Home.

When I switch the region back to ‘others,’ the Aqara E1 switch disappears from the list of devices. However, it remains connected to the M2 hub because pressing the left button multiple times prompts the M2 hub to announce the link quality. It seems that we will have to wait for Aqara to release an update for the E1 switch to provide support in the ‘others’ region.”

Pairing with Home Assistant

I attempted to pair the Aqara E1 with Home Assistant, but unfortunately, it didn’t work. After some investigation, I realized that the issue was due to my Zigbee Adapter (CC2531) not being up to date. Furthermore, I discovered that it is currently not included in the recommended list of Supported Adapters | Zigbee2MQTT.

Regrettably, I couldn’t update the firmware because I don’t have the CC debugger required for the process. Considering that the CC2531 is already not recommended, I believe it would be more beneficial to invest the money in updating the adapter instead.

Hardware

The Aqara E1 switch is the most affordable option in the Aqara lineup. However, it is worth noting that the switch has a mushy button and gives a cheap overall feel.

Conclusion

• Button presses feels cheap
• Others region not support
• Pairing with Home assistant CC2531 requires a firmware update

The Aqara E1 switch feels cheap and not up to my liking. The main issue I have is that it only works in the ‘China’ region and it required an update to my adapter to function with home assistant.

In terms of performance, the switch operates without any problems. However, due to the aforementioned limitations, I will be exploring alternatives.

Shopee: https://shope.ee/4KomV6eSt3