Several months ago I came across the Xiaomi Aqara Door and Window Sensor. It appears to be a simple reed switch with ZigBee connectivity, and they are very affordable at the price of approximately 8,50€ (10$) including shipping when buying from the regular sites.
The internet never ceases to prove you can read whatever you want. I read several post it is impossible to connect the sensor to VeraPlus, the main reason being cited is that the Aqara sensor deviates from the ZigBee protocol and only supports the Xiaomi Aqara Hub. However other people successfully connected the device.
I ventured and bought one of the sensors. Below I’ll describe how I succesfully connected the Xiaomi Aqara Door and Wndows Sensor to VeraPlus
Pairing Process
- Press button on Aqara for 3-5 seconds to ‘reset’ it
- Add Generic ZigBee device in VeraPlus through the UI
- Press and immediately release button on Aqara every few seconds until it pairs (this only seems to work when close to the Vera device).
- Complete the wizard in Vera (name device and select room)
Changing Generic ZigBee device to Door Sensor
- Go to the newly created device -> Advanced -> Params
- Change category_num to 4 (Security Sensor)
- Change subcategory_num to 1 (Door Sensor)
For a complete list of device category and sub category values see http://wiki.micasaverde.com/index.php/Luup_Device_Categories
Polling
Some people mentioned that Vera reports “Can’t Detect Device” which makes sense considering that it appears the Aqara sensor only activates when a change is detected (most likely to save battery). And therefore when Vera wants to poll the device it can’t find it.
To disable polling go to device -> advanced -> params and set PollEnabled to 0 (it was already disabled in my case)
Some Additional Observations
- Sensor manafacturer shows up as LUMI (not Xiaomi as expected)
- Sensor model shows up as lumi.sensor_magnet.aq2
- Device is recognized as catagory 11 (Generic I/O) because we selected a generic ZigBee device. This needs to be changed in order for Home Assistant to pick up the device. When changing it to Security Sensor – Door Sensor it will be recognized as binary sensor in Home Assistant.
- When I tried to change the category in Vera I initially caused the device to go into ‘ wait for wakeup to configure device’ state. This was resolved when I brought the device next to the VeraPlus.
Because Making is more Fun 
Hi! I stumbled across your post and I ventured into buying one door sensor, the Aqara MCCGQ11LM, as in your link. 60 days later it arrived and I tried your method, multiple times with variations, but to no avail. The VeraPlus doesn’t see the sensor. I have the latest Veraplus firmware.
Could be that they changed the firmware of the sensor in the meantime. Without an Aqara hub I can’t even tell anything. Oh well…
Any pointers would be appreciated
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Since this post I acquired Aqara motion sensors which would not connect to VeraPlus so eventually, I bought an Aqara Hub and then moved all Aqara ZigBee devices (including the door sensors) to the Aqara Hub. I didn’t have any issues up-to-that point with the door sensors but it made sense to have all the ZigBee devices controller from one Hub.
One of the issues that I did run into which might be something you can consider is Bluetooth interference. There are certain areas in and near my house which have a lot of Bluetooth interference. So trying the pairing process in another area might be worth trying.
If that doesn’t work I would try to connect the sensor to the Mi Home app (the one that ‘comes with’ the Aqara sensors), to verify and check if the sensors connect that way. Not a final solution but it might give additional insights in what the problem could be.
When I get the opportunity I will try to connect one of the sensors to VeraPlus again and post the firmware versions.
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I just tried with VeraPlus firmware 1.7.4970 (7.31) and it did NOT work.
Whether this is because of the firmware or another reason, that is difficult to say with certainty. As far as I know I haven’t changed the firmware on the Aqara sensors, but finding a firmware version number proved to be too challenging for me
When connecting the sensor to the Mi Home app again I noticed the instructions said press for 5 seconds and light blinks at least 3 times. Perhaps that makes a difference.
Personally I’m kind of done with VeraPlus, they do excellent marketing but the experience is disappointing.
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Thanks for your comments and suggestions.
Indeed I tried more but I lost hope.
I only have this cheap sensor, no Aqara hub, heck, no other Zigbee devices.
You are right about VeraPlus. At this time I only use it as a “dumb” hub.
All my automations are done in Homekit, Alexa, etc.
It was worth trying though.
Thanks again!
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Um Xiaomi Aquara Sensoren und Geräte von dem VeraPlus controller erkennen zu lassen, war es bei mir nötig das pairing (open join) manuell über einen http request an die Vera zu starten. Mit dem pairing über die WebUI hat es nie funktioniert.
1. Gib im Webbrowser folgenden Befehl ein: http://deine_Vera_IP:3480/data_request?id=invoke
2. suche den Eintrag “Zigbee Network” und wähle ihn aus.
3. wähle danach “open Join” aus.
4. gehe nun zur WebUI der Vera und wähle “Devices” aus – nun mit “add Device” den Eintrag “Generic Zigbee” auswählen und mit “Next” bestätigen bis der Suchvorgang angeszeigt und gestartet wird.
5. Jetzt den kleinen Button an dem Aquare Sensor so lange drücken (3-5 sec.) bis dieser kurz mehrmals aufblinkt.
6. In der Vera WebUI sollte jetzt der Sensor gefunden und eingerichtet werden können.
Es kann sein das man den Vorgang wiederholen muss, wenn es bei ersten mal nicht geklappt hat.
Ich hoffe das hilft Dir.
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Sorry – now in english:
In order for the VeraPlus controller to recognize Xiaomi Aquara sensors and devices, it was necessary for me to start the pairing (open join) manually via an http request to the Vera. With the pairing via WebUI it never worked.
1. enter the following command in your web browser: http://your_Vera_IP:3480/data_request?id=invoke
2. look for the entry “Zigbee Network” and select it
3. then select “open Join”.
4. go to the WebUI of Vera and select “Devices” – now select with “add Device” the entry “Generic Zigbee” and confirm with “Next” until the search process is displayed and started.
5. press the small button on the Aquare Sensor (3-5 sec.) until it flashes several times.
In the Vera WebUI you should now be able to find and set up the sensor.
It may be that you have to repeat the process if it did not work the first time.
I hope this helps you.
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And in English:
You made my day! And saved the sensor too as it was about to go in the garbage!
I had to try it a few times and I was about to give up after a few times and then, at one more try, BAM!, Vera told me “device added” and that I should give it a name and add it to a room.
I hope this will help somebody else too!
Thanks again!
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hello, I followed all the steps and the device is recognized by both true plus and home assistant, but home assistant does not display sensor status updates that vera plus marks without problems, do you know why?
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What entities are created in Home Assistant when you connected Vera? (You can view entities at Configuration -> Entities -> sort on Vera (it should show all Vera integrations).
Were you able to verify the connection between Home Assistant and Vera? for example can you still control other ‘vera connected’ devices through home assistant.
I no longer have vera connected with Zigbee devices, however I still have Z-Wave devices (three smart plugs and a wall switch) that report without much issue, and can even be switched on and off.
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Yeah, same here.
I was able to see the sensor in Vera. I can see the status change. I can even do automations (in Vera) based on the sensor. So it is working as intended. However, I can’t get any of my other programs to see the correct status. I also have Home assistant and I also run Homebridge.
I guess the Zigbee devices don’t get pushed nicely to home assistant nor to homebridge, only the Zwave ones.
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