Awesome Aqara magic cube home automation ideas
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- Опубліковано 29 сер 2024
- Twist, flip, shake and slide this small Aqara Magic cube to trigger over 50 different automations in Home Assistant. In this video I show you what the cube is, how it works and how you can connect it to Home Assistant without using the Aqara Hub. I also show you how I use this cube to control things in my home office and my living room.
Links from the Video:
What is Zigbee? : • What is Zigbee?
Using Zigbee with Home Assistant and ZHA : • Set up Zigbee in Home ...
ZHA Aqara Magic Cube Home Assistant Blueprint : community.home...
Canva Stickers Template: www.canva.com/...
#homeautomation #smarthome #aqara #magiccube #homeassistant
Your summary at the end was really spot on, especially around accessibility.
Thanks! I firmly believe that there is huge potential for home automation to help with accessibility.
Using your implementation as guidance I was able to get it going with Node-Red. I found I had better control with commands than with the BluePrint where some commands like rotate fired off when the face of the cube was on a side I didn't want. Thanks for the inspiration.
Great tip, thanks for letting us know!
Love your demo’s & explanations. Just got the pro version of the cube & hoping for better reliability. Love your example of using the cube on HA. Have never used HA & watching your video makes me realize why. You have to realize what Zigbee program your using to support specific blueprints & hoping the one you chose supports your current & new devices, seems like no standards are in place & lots of chaos ensues!
That's sadly true of Blueprints
As a relative Home Assistant noob who has scoured UA-cam for info and ideas, I really appreciate the way you deliver information and explain things. Subscribed
Thank you! Glad you like it! I try and explain things the way I wish people would explain them to me
My brother got me one of these cubes for my birthday and I hadn't been able to think up any use cases, but I like the idea of dimming lights/audio with a simple flip and twist! I can only imagine the chaos if you accidentally drop the cube on the floor tho haha
I was curious along those same lines, how smart is it to realize accidental actions. Also, what when you set it back down does that register as a tap or is it smart enough a purposeful little up-and-down tap.
@@jamesd7448 in the end I only setup two rules for "flip to a particular side" - one for turning on the lights and the opposite side for turning them off again. I rarely actually use it because I'm getting something like a 30 percent success rate on it ever actually registering, so if I did drop the thing I think about as much would happen as were I to intentionally flip it (nothing). I've also setup three sides for "double tap" actions and they are just as poorly recognised. The only action I can depend on is shaking the cube.
The "twist to control volume" I quickly disabled - I found it's too easy to trigger that by accident
Dropping the cube is an issue if, like me, you have cats.
Take note of all this cool funcionalities!! Stickers was a smart move.
Are you still planning on making a video of how you set it up with zigbee2mqtt? I am very interested in setting up side specific controls.
I would like to see this also please. I've just bought a cube and am at a loss on how to get it working well with Zigbee2MQTT. Thanks
Same here. I've tried a bunch of things but couldn't get it to work for most of the actions.
No need for zigbee2mqtt. I use extra input_variable which I set to the face the cube is turned to. Then left/right rotate automations check that variable in order to execute the corresponding action.
@@Alex-nt1br Thank you! Mind posting a few images of what you did on imgur perhaps and sharing them here? I'm still fairly new to all this so I'm unsure about how this needs to be approached.
Thanks for an informative video. I got a cube as part of a bunch of used aqara devices, and I had no idea what I would use it for. To me it seemed like a really silly gimmick, but now I can see that it has some practical uses.
The labeling process was a good hint. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
I love your sensible approach to and clear explanation! I would love to see more explanation on HOW you did play/pause media etc
I just use the media player play/pause service calls.
www.home-assistant.io/integrations/media_player/
Thanks for your nice and useful ideas!
Could you maybe make a video on how to use the magic cube with Zigbee2mqtt. What blueprint are you using for that? I think the advantage of knowing which side shows upwards when rotating the cube is so big, it opens so many possibilities.
Hey Home Automation Guy, start the show!? :D
I like how you explained at the end
I would love to see your automations on Zigbee2MQTT, did you do another video?
Another great video. It's just a few days that I'm following you, but your videos are so much beautifully created! I'm watching them all! Thanks for the great work!
Thank you!
Another way to create different actions depending on which side of the cube is facing up (when using ZHA) is to have an automation select the "cube mode" from an input_select list when a side is up, then automations for rotate based on which cube mode is selected
Very clever Dave! Do you think that is something that could be added to the blueprint, or do you need to manually create the input_select outside of the blueprint?
@@HomeAutomationGuy it could probably be included in the blueprint. I haven't yet tried creating a blueprint so can't say for sure. All my configuration is old school yaml.
Please explain more.
Thanks for covering the cons.
Thanks for the video and the great ideas. I have a cube and I view it more as a fun gimmick that is probably not for everyone. Your office set up looks good and I may borrow some of your ideas! I too find the cube to be unreliable when turning it over or moving it and I therefore find myself reverting back to using Shelly buttons.
Thanks Ian! I agree that it's mostly a bit of fun, I really enjoy playing with different types of smart home interfaces
Which blueprint do you recommend for zigbee to mqtt
Thanks
Great video
I control the cube from node-red and find it very useful. I have one function node which subscribes to the mqtt events. That node parses the data and sends the info to one of 7 outputs (slide, tap ...). Any other node can then connect to the output and do whatever you want. Currently I use the twist to change brightness of lights or volume of speakers and the slide to start a particular music source. I have the google mini's as speakers and use TTS to nag me to take my meds. After I have taken them I toss the cube and it shuts off the reminder until the next day. You are correct that it would not be obvious to a guest and there is always the problem of a cat knocking it off the desk and triggering. Thanks for the video.
Those are really cool use cases! Maybe I should look into node-red...
@@HomeAutomationGuy I was a NodeJS programmer for many years before I retired so node-red is a good fit for me. When I first got the cube I was not using zigbee2mqtt so I just listened to Dconz events in node-red, parsed the data and published mqtt messages. After switching to zigbee2mqtt I just subscribe in node-red. I actually use node-red for many things not related to home assistant (parsing feeds from ADB-S aircraft tracking radios, parsing feeds from my weather station). If you have a programming background node-red will be easy to master, especially because you can write your own functions to do what you need to do instead of hunting around to see if someone else has already done it. I use Home Assistant for displaying information but do all my control in node-red.
@@HomeAutomationGuy Yes would be nice. The way you explain are so great!! Maybe some youtube live (not only NR) once/twice a month where we can ask questions and you just go with the flow, then we also see the mistakes and process.
Awesome.. loving the stickers! Cheers for video mate!
Hey, you should do a new video speaking about the T1 !! :)
Ah so funny ! I couldn’t resists and just ordered one !!! Thanks 🙂
Thanks. I love the sticker idea!
This is genious! Great ideas to implement for the magic cube in my office
It's been really useful in the office for me!
Thanks for this video -- I just bought one and looking forward to playing with it. I dont suppose you've ever tried the fibaro swipe? I like the idea of hidden gesture controls and want to try that next. Maybe i'll learn how to do my own blueprints and give back
I think I'd enjoy using a cube and like you, the process of planning how I'd use it and setting that up would be quite fun too. But... it's kind of expensive in Australia (and hard to find). Hopefully sometime in the future it or something like it will come along. Thanks for the video and hi I'm a new subscriber!
Welcome to the channel!
Pretty imaginative. Instant subscribe.
Thanks 😊
i will go crazy with my 3 yo playing with the cube. excellent video though
How did you end up controlling the lights on your desk? Are they just being turned on through smart sockets, or something through an app on your computer?
10:40 A fellow Sea of Thieves player I see. I also heard some sax, Boxy fan?
Hello
Do you plan to make a video about the new cube model T1 Pro?
I just got it and the blueprints do not work correctly.
Great video, thanks 👍🏻
A year on, do you still use this or is it an expensive paper-weight?
Buy a Silhouette Cameo and some printable stickers. Print and cut the stickers. Attach. Spraying the sheet with a clear coat before cutting can increase the longevity of the sticker.
I'd never heard of a Silhouette Cameo, thanks for the suggestion!
can you share your spotify automation for cube?
Thank you for the introduction of your very interesting and useful configuration of the cube. One question: how do you control your elgato keylight with it?
I use the Elgato Home Assistant integration which brings the devices in as Light entities. When I twist the cube it calls the light.turn_on service to increase or decrease the brightness by 10%
cube is a future and it will have low power monochrome display ;) just saying
Awesome
hey man cool project, what option do you use to change the next track of the song am using ZHA btw.
The action of my Automation is a Call Service, and I use it to call the media_player.media_next_track service and set the target to my office Google Speaker.
can u tell me how i specify the automation of rotation based on face?
I would like to implement the music part aswell to a side of my cube But I want it to be the radio. And I just cant figure out how to do this. Anyone have some advice on how to automate this?
Just curious, I have my lutron lights and shade system connected to HA and can control that in HA. Light devices show up as light.x and shades as cover.x. Can this cube also control Lutron lights (and shades)? Thanks.
Has anyone tried using 2 identical Aqara sensors with a conbee 2 and ZHA? I'm having a problem when I add them into HA. The first one works, and the Entity ID is correctly renamed (as I name it), but the second one gets an Entity ID which contains parts of the IEEE, and all the names have very long names. It doesn't matter which one is added first (Let's call them device A and device B, the first one added will always be renamed correctly). I have confirmed this behaviour several times with 2 temperature sensors, 2 motion sensors, and 2 cubes. The same behaviour does NOT happen with Sonoff sensors, only with Aqara (I have 6 sonoff temperature sensors, and they were all correctly renamed).
What is the smart speaker you use in your office? I just ordered two cubes after getting two Aqara sensors setup today!
I use a Google Nest Audio speaker, that way it acts as a speaker to play my music and I can ask the Google Assistant to do things as well.
could just use a pencil. pretty sure those sides are eraser-safe. thank you for your work!
nice Ideas ...... let me order one, Let me update u after checking
Nice! Let us know what kind of automations you create with yours. I love learning more about other people's setups
my cube battery level always unknown . any Idea?
Mine too, I am not sure if that value is supported in Zigbee2MQTT or ZHA.
Do you have a link to the vendor who sells the stickers? I currently just use nail polish to paint the cube like a die.
I used moo.com for mine.
Could you share your sticker icons you used on moo? Maybe the canva link?
What a great idea! I didn't even know you could share Canva designs.
Here you go: www.canva.com/design/DAEeFGcOvyI/njeSi3gRU1c--k1bz6x57A/view
Thanks! What size are the stickers?
1.5 inches across
@@HomeAutomationGuy Thanks!
Can you listen to Apple Music or only Spotify?
You can use any Media Player that works with Home Assistant. I'm not sure about Apple music specifically as I don't use it
@@HomeAutomationGuy Did you do a video explaining how to use mqtt to create automationsfor twisting depending on whats facing up?
I did the installation and I didn't get any device in the Blueprint configuration.
Do you see it in your Entities area and has it been detected as the appropriate device type?
Thanks for answering! I am using zigbee2mqtt. In the device information only this information appears "Mi/Aqara smart home cube (MFKZQ01LM) by Xiaomi". In the automation window appears the basic features to configure, such as flip90. flip180, ...
No problems!
The blueprint in the video description only works with ZHA. For Zigbee2mqtt you'll need to use this different blueprint: community.home-assistant.io/t/z2m-xiaomi-cube-controller/263006
Thank you very much!
ummm...weird way to go. get some water slide decal paper, find some images online and print your own.
zigbee2mqtt vs zha what is your choice? and Y
I use Zigbee2MQTT because it gives me a bit more control and works well with my Docker Home Assistant setup. But most people I know use ZHA and it works perfectly fine for their needs
@@HomeAutomationGuy i'm one of that prople.
@@jagadeeshv2763 There's absolutely nothing wrong with that!
@@HomeAutomationGuy I'm using sonoff zigbee hub (tasmota) .. it have some connectivity issue. when my pc (HA) reboot , Zigbee hub will be disconnected . we have to manually turn off and turn ON the hub to connect or wait for 15 to 30 to connect. so only planning to change to hace new device. so only thing Zigbee2MQTT or Zha
@@jagadeeshv2763 Start with ZHA.
it looks cool but dont buy it....
I was watching for about 3 minutes and he did not said How the F*** he controls some devices with this cube. I will search somewhere else. Dislike
That's because the video is 15 minutes long and the "how" is later on...
Pretty stupid you can't buy the Cube with colours on each side
100% agree. But making the stickers was fun :-D
Once again, greeat video 🙌
Do you happen to know if there's a sweet zigbee2mqtt blueprint with many actions? I can't seen to find any that's compared to yours.
Unfortunately the one I used to use stopped working and I've also been unable to find a replacement 😢
@@HomeAutomationGuy if I found out I'll let you know.
But node red could also be figure out.
Should be more straightforward, but I'm new to that so still trying to understand stuff 😅
Hi, I'm also trying yo find a good blueprint to use. For the moment I found Blueprint to use
"Aqara Magic Cube Zigbee2MQTT - 2022-05-05" to be the most advanced. Please let me know if you find any other good blueprint.
Hi, really great explanation and ideas to use the cube. As you said you use, zigbee2mqtt in your home automation. Which blueprint you found the best ? I tried multiple one's but the blueprint
"Aqara Magic Cube Zigbee2MQTT - 2022-05-05" by SirGoodenough seems to be the most advanced 38+54 unique commands. Thanks a lot.
Thanks for the great video!
Turning on/off and dimmig lights works great now, but I am struggling with media controls through zigbee2mqtt. The blueprint I used for this does not give me those options and everything I tried in yaml didn'T work... maybe got any advice for that?
I use the media_player.stop and media_player.start services for this.
@@HomeAutomationGuy of course, how could i not think of that 🤦♂
Thanks for the quick response!