This was posted 1 year 5 months 4 days ago, and might be an out-dated deal.

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Xiaomi Mi Smart Home 4-in-1 Starter Pack for $29.95 Delivered ($0 C&C) @ PCByte

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Previously found at https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/775342, but seems to be back in stock. Personally I have bought a few of these kits the gateway is good as a night light. [Update - seems this version gateway does not have a light, but on the flip side might also support bluetooth sensors] Not sure if these are the Australian model [Update - seems that this is most likely an Australian version], but if not then (unless you can get the key for local access eg via https://github.com/PiotrMachowski/Xiaomi-cloud-tokens-extrac… and https://github.com/rytilahti/python-miio) if you want to use the gateway then you need to set up the Xiaomi app with an account in the Chinese mainland (don't need a vpn or anything like that - you just say you are in China). Overall it's a cheap starter kit for people who want to start to play with home automation, using perhaps the button as a door bell and the door sensor to alert you if the door is left open for too long. It would perhaps be better if it included a power switch or light bulb so you could use the door sensor to - say - turn the light on in a room when you open the door but it is a start.

Anyhoo, I just use the (Zigbee) sensors in combination with a Sonoff ZB Dongle-E and Home Assistant so even if you toss the gateway away it still ends up as just $10 for each sensor (remote button, temp/humidity, and door) which isn't too shabby.

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  • Can you explain the night light comment re the hub?

    I have a few of these but didn’t realise that’s as an option.

    • +1

      You can turn the Gateway light on and off in an automation. At least you can in Home assistant. I assume you can in the xiaomi home app as well.

      Not a bad deal just for the sensors to be honest…

      • Were you able to add the hub to Home Assistant without setting up the Xiaomi app? How?

        • +2

          You will need to set it up at least initially using the app. After that you can potentially get the key and then enable local access. I'd probably then also look at blocking the device from getting to the internet. Personally, it's a lot of effort to go through - I'd recommend saving the effort and getting something like the Sonoff ZB Dongle-E so you can also support other zigbee devices such as Ikea TRÅDFRI lights etc.

        • +1

          No. You need to initially set it up in the xiaomi app and then get the key for local access.
          I'm in the process of just transferring all of my devices on my current hub over to zigbee2mqtt though, so probably won't have any use for the new hub…

    • You could use a timer to have it go on at night at a set brightness. I use a separate motion sensor (originally I got some of the kits that included a motion sensor) - when motion is detected the automation turns the light on. When the motion sensor stops detecting movement, I have the light turn off. You could set that automation up in the Xiaomi app, although now I do it all via Home Assistant.

    • hahah i had no idea too. You don't mean the little status light do you? Though I guess that would be pretty bright in a dark room.

      • My bad - seems you may have the slightly newer version that doesn't have the light like mine does. If you look at the example use images you'll see what I mean (ie it has a whole lot of speaker holes on the front, and one of the photos shows the light glowing). Yours, and most likely the one that will be shipped, is probably the one in the first photo that has a plain front with no holes.

    • this model only has a led indicator built in,

      https://miot-global.com/sockets-and-sensors/xiaomi-mi-gatewa… comes with night light

  • +13

    Thought they were selling a dinner set for a second

    • +3

      There's nothing stopping you from repurposing it

  • +1 on the use of the gateway as a nightlight, I use a few of the older models as nightlight - although FWIW from the photos it seems this smart hub may not be the LED one

    • Curious - yes the product photo of the gateway doesn't look the same (there are no speaker holes) as the one in the other photos which shows it glowing (and it has speaker holes - and is like the ones I have). The other photos also show a motion sensor that "Notifies you when your pet comes in or out of the home" but is not included. What the hey, for me the gateway is probably going into the parts bin anyhow. ;-)

  • Can the gateway operate as a hub?

    • +2

      Not really worth it, considering how cheap (and reliable) the Sonoff zigbee coordinators are

      • That's my point. I have a Sonoff coordinator, so I was planning to use the gateway that comes with this kit as a router to extend the range.

        • Nope it won't do that. FWIW I've had good results flashing a Sonoff-E with the router firmware.

    • +1

      Yes - the term gateway and hub tends to be used interchangeably. Technically it is a hub for the zigbee devices to talk to, and a gateway to your wifi network so you can access the zigbee devices via wifi. You use the app to talk to the gateway that then in turn manages the zigbee sensors. If later on you want to expand and support non Xiaomi zigbee devices then you can always move over to something else - keeping the zigbee devices and just retiring the gateway. Oh point to mention - I suspect this is the older gateway that does not support bluetooth sensors.

      • It's not the latest gateway, but it does also support Bluetooth child devices.

      • My question was more like if I can use this gateway as a router to extend the range of my Sonoff coordinator. It looks like I can.

  • How do you tell whether it is the Australian model once received?

    • You log onto the app with your account that is set to Australia, and try to add in the device. If it says no, then you need to setup an account on the Chinese server. You can use the same email address, FWIW.

  • +3

    These don't have the night light and work with the Aussie server. The one with the light is an older version.

    • Thanks for the info - updating the description!

  • -1

    now ccp will know when I turn on the lights

    • +8

      only if they didn't know this already ;)

    • +3

      LOL, you made my day :)

    • +1

      damn ccp quickly sent their agents to downvote my comment

    • +1

      now ccp will be able to turn on your lights u mean

  • These don't work with any Zigbee Hub from AliExpress?

    • They can work with sonoff hub if you are using home assistant

  • How to smartify 70s home?

    • Smart bulbs, smart switches, IR blasters, motion sensors, and something like Home Assistant to control it all

      • Is whole electrical upgrade required first?

        • +2

          …upgrade required…

          I would say no.

          We're currently renting a 50's brick home, and aside from having to grab an extra access point to get the range needed to reach everything reliably, it does what we need. Most of what I use is wireless - Xiaomi, Mirabella, and Ikea globes, Xiaomi motion sensors, Meross smart plugs, various google homes (mini, OG, Max speaker, Max display, small display, Lenovo clock), Broadlink IR blaster. Our router is an OG Unifi Dream Machine located towards the front of the house, with a (wirelessly meshed) UAP AC Lite AP towards the rear of the house. To tie everything together we have a Raspberry Pi 3B that runs Home Assistant and PiHole.

          Ignorant language incoming…All the smart stuff lives on a 1-way(?) VLAN that only does 2.4G because that's what most of the smart stuff seems to run on. I say 1-way because we can still cast music to the speakers, and video to the Shield (TV), but the devices on the VLAN can't talk back to the main network. Privacy aside, once everything was put on a separate network the responsiveness certainly increased.

          I'm sure our setup could be streamlined, but it's grown slowly over the years and I've never spent the time to work out a solution. One day…

  • Wondering if anyone can help: would it be practical to use the door sensor for a fridge door? The fridge does not have an alarm to notify when the door is accidentally left open.

    • +1

      You could, yes. I use it for a gate so can't see why it wouldn't work as long as you can get the sensors close enough to each other when door is closed (uses a magnet I think).

    • +2

      I can't comment on the Xiaomi but we use this sensor that beeps when the door is accidentally left open:

      https://www.amazon.com.au/Wsdcam-Security-Wireless-Magnetic-…

      It gets progressively louder/angrier the longer it is left open and works quite well

    • +2

      Technically sure - the trick would be working out how to mount it properly due to most fridges having a decent gap between the door and the fridge body because of the rubber seal. Probably would need to get some perspex or similar to mount the sensor and magnet with some hot glue.

  • +1

    can we use this hub with Tuya zigbee devices?

  • I got this starter pack last year in a deal with a fan. The idea was to buy additional sensors but I haven't stumbled across any deal for them. Is it stupid to buy this just for the additional temp/door/switch? Could a second hub be useful/useable.

    • +3

      Checking prices on aliexpress, the sensors currently are around the $15 mark each so no, it's perfectly sensible to get this just for the sensors if you plan to use them. Personally that's what I'm doing.

      The second hub can probably be used to extend the zigbee network so doesn't have to be e-waste - it will probably do it automatically, but I'd (for example) consider having one at the back of the house and link the sensors there to that, and have the other at the front and link front sensors to that.

      • Thanks mate - trigger pulled.

      • Hi, so this particular smart hub could get some use as a zigbee repeater for a HA setup? Plug and play back to Sonoff coordinator (hopefully)

        • That doesnt work

  • These work ok with Conbee? Or frequently disconnect?

    • +1

      Yep - the sensors linked quite happily to my Conbee II dongle on Home Assistant. Never had any issues with the temp/humidity sensors but a couple of my four door sensors would drop out until I did some tweaking by setting up zigbee (powered) switches near them. I recently migrated over to using a Sonoff ZB Dongle-E and find that it is a little better with respect to range- no doubt helped by the antenna.

      • Will give it a go. I have a few aqara temp sensors, they drop off every now and again but not too bad. I do have an Aqara door sensor too and that's actually been rock solid, don't think it's ever dropped off. Everything improved greatly after moving the Conbee to a USB extension though.

        • If you still have issues, highly recommend getting a repeater or two - either dedicated, or a powered zigbee device like a light or power switch and put it nearer the device that is dropping out.

          • @PlasticSpaceman: I do have a couple now, a few Smartthings switches and also an Ikea repeater (though these don't work with the Aqara stuff, Xiaomi either I believe)

            The Smartthings are near the temp sensors but didn't seem to improve things unfortunately. Luckily it's not too frequent anyway.

            • @bamzero: FWIW I've found these things seem to work pretty well both as lights but also as repeaters: https://www.ikea.com/au/en/p/tradfri-led-bulb-gu10-345-lumen…

              Yes I've also heard that it can be hit or miss as to what does and doesn't work as a repeater. Word is the Ikea power switch is not good at it, but the Ikea dedicated repeater is ok although it sounds like it's not really doing the job for you. Checking my zigbee mesh I can see quite a few of my Xiaomi and at least one Smartthings water leak sensor are actually going through my GU10 lights…

    • Had no problems with Conbee with zigbee2mqtt, didn't need any zigbee routers (the Xiaomi sensors tend to not like the routers and want to connect to the coordinator itself).

      If the batteries are a bit flat I've found the door sensors won't pair, a fresh set of batteries fixes the pairing (then you can put the flat batteries back in after to use them up)

  • +1

    Will this work with Google home assistant without delving into the xiaomi ecosystem? Could I set up the switch on the garage door, and use IFTTT to send a notification everytime the door is open?

    • +2

      Yes would like to know this too

    • You'll have to set up the devices in Xiaomi first. And this won't necessarily be all that easy. You can link Xiaomi devices to Google through either "Mi Home" or "Yeelight", with the latter doing lights only.

      I have a Xiaomi smart plug that is officially only sold on the Chinese market. It will only work when I use the Mainland China server, so I am stuck with that. I also have a Xiaomi Arwen ceiling light, which will only be visible to Google when linked through Yeelight, not Mi Home. So now my Google Home setup can't see my smart plug, nor could I add other non-light devices without losing the ceiling light. Unless I link both Yeelight and Mi Home, and end up with duplicated devices.

      So yeah, your mileage may vary..

    • You can, but you need something like Home assistant and a zigbee dongle.

    • If all you have is the kit above, then no - you need to use the Xiaomi app etc.

      If you are willing to setup something like Home Assistant with a Zigbee dongle such as a Conbee or Sonoff then technically yes, but expect to have to dedicate some time to it. You basically would connect the sensors to Home Assistant so you can do what you want there. Then once you have local control you need to go through the hoops to setup access via Google - https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/google_assistant/

  • Good price.Thank you.

  • Im going to be COMPLETELY honest I thought this was a plate and cups set at first glance…

  • What's the difference between this and the Mijia's?

  • This is worth it for the sensors alone. I chucked the gateway in the bin and paired the sensors directly to Home Assistant via their Skyconnect Zigbee dongle.

  • Got this last time. Great package. The button alone is worth it. I hope I can use two hubs to extend treatment

    • +3

      If you only need buttons the IKEA shortcut button or cheaper wireless dimmer can be good options too if you've got an IKEA nearby.

      • Big thumb's up for the wireless dimmer if you have a hub that supports it. Has been out of stock for ages, but seems to be available again - yay!

  • Im actually looking for some decent zigbee door/window sensors. Are these rated well or are there better options?

    I dont really need temp sensors as i have that covered with my ecowitt weather station. And i take it that other sensor is a universal remote tyoe thing if i understood right, again, not something i need.

    It sounds like these xiaomi ones are rated well, just seeing if theres a better option or deal for just the door/window sensors.

    • +1

      For the price the door/window sensors are excellent. They are not weather proof - although having said that, I do have one on the outside of the front door and it's lasted a year. In general I'd mount them inside where possible both for protection but also for signal strength. There are likely better options - these Aeotec rebranded Samsung Smarthings sensors look good although I haven't used one https://www.amazon.com.au/Aeotec-Smart-Multipurpose-Sensor-S…. These https://www.ozsmartthings.com.au/products/aeotec-recessed-do… are worth considering if you have zwave as they are both discreet and protected from the weather.

      The temp sensors are useful for me to help with the central heating - I use them to trigger closing/opening vents in different rooms. The button is yep, a remote. It can do multiple actions based on how you use it - single click, double click, long click etc. I generally use them to turn lights on/off (eg bedside table light where the normal on/off is awkward to reach), and use a wall mount (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3441034) to hold them.

  • I have a eero 6, so it'd be possible to connect the sensors directly to the eero right?

    Does anyone have any pointers on how to linking this into Home Assistant? Have a Synology NAS humming along in the background that I could run a bunch of things off..

    • +1
      1. Connecting the sensors to eero - word is people have been able to do it, but the reliability has not been great for some devices. It might work perfectly for you, don't know. Can always give it a go!
      2. Linking into HA - I think that the Eero integration relies upon Alexa so that's one extra step where issues could appear. You can setup a Xiaomi account and with the gateway just use the built in integration.
      3. If you have the right NAS eg one that can support containers, then yes you could install HA on that and then plug in a zigbee dongle (like a Sonoff ZB Dongle-E) and connect the sensors to that. That would probably be the best option.
      • Thank you for the pointers!

  • -3

    better a dumb home than big brother always watching

    • +2

      Zigbee devices can work locally.

  • Thanks, ordered 1 to try pairing with my existing Aqara G3 hub.
    From what I've read Aqara and Xiaomi use the same sensors.

    • No problem. Good luck! I think officially Aqara only support their own sensors, but people seem to be able to connect the Xiaomi Mi sensors up fine. Long term I'd still look towards migrating away from either of their hubs and use something like a Conbee or Sonoff dongle to open up access to other zigbee devices like those from Ikea, not to mention not reporting back to the mothership. :-)

    • Confirmed all 3 works with Aqara hub.
      Going to get another set.

      • Sorry to ask, is your g3 Aus or Chinese version?

        Looking to setup using Aqara but still deciding if I will get them here or from China given the price difference.

        • Hey my hub is Australian version connected to Aqara oceania server

  • Would these work with Alexa/Echo?

    • Alexa reads the temperature sensors. Yet to try the rest.

  • I bought one from the last deal. Using the temp sensor along with the gateway so far. Not bad for the price.

  • I'm new to the whole smart home security and sensors thing, and I could really use some help.
    Just wondering, does this thing support Apple HomeKit? can you advise any other brands that are reliable, reasonably priced, and work well with HomeKit?
    Also, I was wondering if I can find these products or other similar brands on Amazon or eBay? Thanks a bunch!

    • These Xiaomi kits are good value, and can be fun to play with, but if you want something easy to setup and stable then I'd recommend paying more for Philips Hue which, yes, works with Homekit. Get a hub, a motion sensor, and a light to start with - then you can setup an automation to turn on the light at different times to look like you are at home when you are away, and also turn on the light automatically when you enter a room. Over time you can expand that and, if you want, can use the kit with something like Home Assistant to do far more complex things. There are starter kits that include a light or two plus the hub and maybe a remote. Look out for sales on Amazon and/or Bunnings eg https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/747014 and https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/662616

  • Not sure what I'll use this for, but I just bought a tiny pc and about to get Home Assistant up and running (hopefully!), so I'm sure it'll come in handy for something!

  • OK pulled trigger. I have a mix of alexa and google home speakers, most switches are Wemo, some Meross, Kasa and Grid connect switches, cameras are ring and arlo, few sensibos for AC units. Can I use this new setup to control any of that?

    • +2

      Not as such, but if you want to integrate devices from multiple different systems (eg use the button from this kit to turn kasa switches on/off etc) you may want to consider something like home assistant.

      • OK it arrived and I set up home assistant. Having trouble getting the zigbee parts to appear in home assistant. The extension is asking for a code xxx-xx-xxx from the unit.

        The hub seems to show up in HA, I registered it in Australia, not China. Can I use it that way or do I need to buy a separate zigbee controller?

        • +1

          If the only zigbee controller you have is the Xiaomi hub then you need to add the sensors to that via the app and then they should appear in Home Assistant once you have connected the hub to HA. You have two ways to do that - using the cloud credentials ie your xiaomi username and password (Xiaomi Miio integration), or directly by getting the network security key (Xiaomi Aqara Gateway integration). I would suggest initially just using the cloud version and later decide if you want to jump through the hoops to get the security key(s) or simply get a dongle.

  • I just recieved mine. Connected to zigbee dongleE without any issues. Very small and neat looking sensors.

    Shame the hub is kinda useless right now though.

    All sensors connected fine and are very repsonisve in HASS. Cant complain. Wish i had more of the door/window sensors now

    • Yeah, it's sad that the hub is pretty much e waste for me as well, but the sensors are pretty decent. Was surprised they didn't have plastic strips to pull out to connect the battery - I swear they used to. Means the batteries for me weren't at 100% but no matter. I don't need any more, but just checked and they seem to still have stock…. ;-)

      • I was thinking the same thing about the batteries. The temp sensor is at 83% after a day. Still though the sensors seem responsive and appear to work very well

      • I know you said that the hub is e waste for you. But I would like to re confirm with my setup just to be absolutely sure. Apologies if this has been answered before.

        My setup is:
        HomeAssistant and using Conbee II to connect all Zigbee devices using Zigbee2MQTT.
        So the Zigbee button and Temp sensor connected fine without using the HUB.
        But I am having a bit of issue with connection as such, the Zigbee button does not always register the button click. I sometime have to click it a couple of times to get things done. I am guessing that is because of the distance from my conbee II being a few rooms away.

        Question is, IF there "any way" to re purpose the unused HUB as a Zigbee repeater? I am not sure how but asking if you any of know.

        • +1

          The hubs will act as repeaters for their own network, but pretty sure not for the conbee network. Yes distance can be an issue - you can try putting the conbee on a usb extension cable and trying it in different locations - placing it in a way that avoids things that might block the signal.

          Personally I retired my conbee and went for the sonos at it definitely improved coverage.

          One hint though is if it seems it takes a couple of clicks to register - check to make sure its not, say, registering the first click as a long click or something else. Sometimes it's worth setting up the automation to look at all of the possible variations to do one thing, unless you do want to perform different actions on long/short/double/etc clicks.

  • I am interested in using these to monitor my greenhouse, does anyone know if the sensors talk back to the hub, or do they connect directly to the wifi itself? I suspect the green house is too far from the house for 2.4Ghz but bluetooth.. maybe..

    • Zigbee from sensor to hub, then 2.4ghz wifi from hub. So might work if you put the hub in the house but near the greenhouse, or in the greenhouse on a wall near the house - if you have power there and it can see your wifi.

      If you want to measure soil moisture etc, might be better off with something like Ecowitt as can get moisture resistant sensors and they are perhaps a little better range wise.

      • ohh thank you, I will checkout the ecowitt…

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