Aqara
Aqara Camera E1
- Native integration
- Local control
- Wi-Fi
Prices verified September 2026
See more cameras picks on our Amazon storefront →Our verdict
A tidy £50-ish 2K pan/tilt that pairs locally with Home Assistant via HomeKit Controller — no cloud subscription needed. But there's no RTSP or ONVIF at all, night vision is infrared-only (no colour/starlight sensor), and the HomeKit stream in HA can lag noticeably behind the Aqara app's own view. The £20-25 Tapo C210 and £39 Tapo C225 both undercut it and add real RTSP/ONVIF for Frigate, with the C225 also adding colour night vision. Buy the E1 only if you're already deep in Aqara's ecosystem and want native HomeKit tie-in; otherwise a Tapo is the smarter, cheaper pick with better HA support.
What can Home Assistant control on the Aqara Camera E1?
| Control | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Live view | Camera | Streams the feed into HA over HomeKit; functional but known to lag noticeably behind the Aqara app's own live view. |
| Motion | Binary sensor | Generic motion sensor — fires for any detected motion, not specifically a person, since Aqara's person-detection result isn't relayed over HomeKit. |
| Identify | Button | Standard accessory identify action; flashes/beeps the camera to confirm you're controlling the right device. |
| Pan/tilt person tracking | Unsupported | Runs entirely on-device through Aqara's own firmware logic; HomeKit's camera profile has no pan/tilt characteristic, so this never becomes an HA entity — it's automatic and invisible to Home Assistant. |
Home Assistant's homekit_controller only inherits what Apple's HomeKit camera profile exposes — a live-view camera entity and a generic motion binary sensor — so the E1's on-device person detection and pan/tilt follow run entirely in firmware and never surface as a distinct HA entity; automations can trigger on motion but not specifically on a person. A documented GitHub issue covers a laggy/hanging stream that was closed as stale with no fix from the homekit_controller maintainers, so expect the HA camera card to lag noticeably behind the Aqara app's own live view. Setup only works over 2.4GHz — despite the Wi-Fi 6 radio the E1 won't join a 5GHz network, so band-steering needs disabling before pairing.
Specs
| wifi | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax, 2.4GHz only), Bluetooth 5.2 for setup |
|---|---|
| power | USB-C 5V/2A |
| storage | microSD, Class 4 or above, up to 512GB local recording; HomeKit Secure Video optional |
| pan tilt | 350° pan with person tracking (tilt angle not published by Aqara) |
| placement | indoor |
| streaming | local via HomeKit Controller pairing only — no RTSP/ONVIF |
| dimensions | 69 x 69 x 104mm |
| resolution | 2K 1296p |
| night vision | infrared night vision, monochrome only — no colour/starlight sensor; Aqara does not publish an IR range figure |
| field of view | 101° diagonal |
How does the Aqara Camera E1 compare?
| Product | From | Protocol | Local control | Integration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aqara Camera E1 (this product) | £48.98 | Wi-Fi | Yes | Native |
| Aqara Camera Hub G3 | £119.99 | Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Matter | Yes | Native |
| Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro (Wi-Fi) | £159.98 | Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Thread, Matter | Yes | Native |
| eufy Indoor Cam C120 | £39.99 | Wi-Fi | Yes | HACS |
Frequently asked questions
- Does the Aqara Camera E1 work with Home Assistant locally?
- Yes. The Aqara Camera E1 is controlled locally in Home Assistant through a built-in Home Assistant core integration (homekit_controller), so it keeps working if your internet connection or the Aqara cloud goes down. Control and state updates stay on your own network.
- Which protocol does the Aqara Camera E1 use, and do I need a hub?
- The Aqara Camera E1 uses Wi-Fi. To pair it with Home Assistant you need no hub — it joins your Wi-Fi network directly. Aqara's own hub is not required when you integrate through a built-in Home Assistant core integration (homekit_controller).
- How much does the Aqara Camera E1 cost in the UK?
- The lowest price we have listed for the Aqara Camera E1 is £48.98 at Aqara UK, with other UK retailers at up to £48.99. Prices were last checked in September 2026 and change often, so confirm on the retailer's page before buying.