Aqara Aircon Control: Infrared, Sensors and Automations

Two of the hubs we sell can control an aircon by infrared: the Hub M3 and the Hub M200. The M100 has no infrared emitter, and neither does the Camera Hub G350 that replaced the G3. The hubs also differ in Matter, Thread, speaker and storage features, so don't choose on aircon control alone.

Both send infrared out in all directions (360 degrees), connect over dual-band Wi-Fi or a PoE cable, and run supported automations locally. The M3 adds infrared state tracking, and when it's paired with an Aqara temperature sensor it can present a supported aircon as a thermostat to Matter apps. For a room that just needs its aircon in scenes and automations, the M200 is usually enough; choose the M3 if you want the thermostat in Apple Home or another Matter app.

We no longer sell the Hub M2 or the Camera Hub G3. If you already have one, its infrared blaster still works and everything below applies to it. A global product page or firmware announcement doesn't mean we stock that model, or that the app behaves the same way here.

Infrared light can't pass through walls. Put the hub in the same room as the indoor unit, close enough and without a cabinet door, TV or shelf in the way. A spot on a table in the middle of the room often works better than a network cupboard by the front door.

'360 degrees' means the hub sends the signal out all around it, not through solid objects. Walls can bounce the signal around a room, but don't rely on a narrow bounce that disappears when someone moves a door or curtain.

Test from the final position with the furniture and doors as they'll normally be, sending power, mode, temperature and fan commands several times each. If another bedroom behind a wall also needs control, plan a second infrared controller for it, even if one Zigbee hub covers both rooms.

Start with the aircon library in Aqara Home and try your exact brand and remote. Aircon remotes usually send the whole setting at once, including power, mode, temperature and fan speed, rather than one button press, so the right profile has to reproduce all of it reliably.

If automatic matching doesn't work, use the manual matching or learning option. Note the model of your original remote and keep it. Some features, such as swing patterns, quiet modes, ionisers or the maker's own comfort sensors, may be missing from the virtual remote even when basic cooling works.

Then try the awkward cases: turning off from cooling, switching from dry mode to cooling, the lowest and highest temperatures, fan speeds, and restarting after a power cut. Turning the unit on once doesn't mean the setup is finished.

Ordinary infrared only goes one way. The hub sends the signal and gets nothing back from the aircon. The app knows which command it sent, but that doesn't prove the aircon was powered, in range or ready to receive it.

The M3's newer infrared features can track the state of supported aircons and may pick up commands from a compatible remote, which helps keep things in step. It still has limits: a blocked signal, someone using the remote out of the hub's range, or a power cut can leave the app showing a different state from the aircon.

Don't build safety-related automations on an infrared state you can't confirm. Where confirmation matters, use the temperature trend, power readings from suitable equipment or a physical check. If the profile allows it, send the full setting you want each time, rather than a power toggle that could switch the unit the wrong way.

Put an Aqara Temperature and Humidity Sensor or Climate Sensor W100 where it reflects the part of the room people actually use. Air blowing straight from the aircon, sunlight, outside walls, TVs and enclosed shelves all throw off the reading. The aircon's own sensor measures the air returning to the unit, which may not match the sofa, the desk or the bed.

The M3 can pair a supported Aqara climate sensor with an infrared aircon and present it as a thermostat to compatible Matter apps. Aqara Home still holds the infrared profile and the link to the sensor.

How often the sensor reports, and where it sits, affect how quickly things respond. A battery sensor is fine for comfort automations, but it won't react like an industrial controller. Watch how the room actually behaves before you set your temperatures.

If cooling turns on at 25.0°C and off at 24.9°C, it will keep cycling on tiny sensor changes and normal air movement. Leave a gap instead: turn it on above a higher temperature and off only once it falls well below that, with numbers chosen for the room and the people in it.

Add minimum on and off times, so a new reading can't restart the compressor straight away. The aircon's own electronics will protect the compressor, but an automation that sends commands every minute is badly set up. A scene that sets cooling mode, a sensible temperature and a fan speed is clearer than several actions competing with each other.

Be conservative with occupancy and time conditions. Someone being in the room can allow cooling, and the room staying empty for a while can switch it off after a delay. Keep the remote or a scene button available for guests and unusual situations.

People at home will keep using the original remote. If your hub supports state tracking, keep the remote somewhere the hub can also pick up its signal, and let everyone know that pressing it from an odd angle may not update the app.

Hiding the remote to make people use the app takes away the quickest backup when the network, account or hub has a problem. Anyone at home should be able to cool the room without opening a phone or working out why an automation didn't run.

If the app and the aircon often disagree, simplify the automation so it sends full settings, and use the room temperature to see whether it worked. If particular modes or temperatures fail more than others, set the remote profile up again.

Test infrared control with the internet disconnected but the home network still on. Aqara documents local automations on the M3 and M200, while remote access and cloud integrations stop. Check what your automations actually contain and which hub firmware you're on, rather than assuming everything runs locally.

Restart the hub, the access point and the aircon's power separately. See whether the app state recovers, whether schedules run again and whether the aircon comes back after a power cut. The original remote should keep working throughout.

Write down the remote profile, where the hub and sensor are, the temperatures and minimum times, which account owns the setup and how to override it by hand, so the rules aren't only stored in an app.