This article is sponsored by Aqara. Product choices and opinions expressed are from the sponsor and do not reflect the views of Android Police editorial staff.
You just bought a sleek new smart sensor, only to realize it doesn’t work with your voice assistant. Or worse, you’ve built the perfect Apple HomeKit setup, but when you switch to Google Home, half your devices become expensive paperweights.
This isn’t just annoying, but it’s the reality of today’s fragmented smart home market. Most devices lock you into one ecosystem (Apple, Google, Amazon) or protocol (Zigbee, Thread, Wi-Fi), forcing you to replace devices when switching platforms or deal with a bunch of incompatible devices.
Enter Aqara’s Dual Protocol devices. These clever sensors, hubs, and lights support both Zigbee and Thread, so they adapt to your smart home, whether you’re a beginner or a smart home veteran looking to upgrade your connected home. No replacements, no relearning — just seamless control across Apple, Google, Alexa, and more.
Why smart home devices are so hard to get right
While there is no shortage of smart devices, getting them to work together is an uphill task. This is because smart devices use different protocols (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, Thread, and Z-Wave) to connect and communicate with each other. If you’re just getting started with home automation or don’t know how each protocol works, you might end up buying devices that don’t play well together.
For example, if your smart lock supports Zigbee but your interior lights rely on Thread, getting them to work together in your third-party ecosystem, like turning on the lights automatically when you unlock the door, you always need to purchase an extra hub. As a result, homeowners are often forced to stick with a single brand or protocol to ensure their devices sync properly.
Otherwise, they need to buy hubs from different brands and spend time configuring, which is not beginner-friendly.
This lack of interoperability not only locks users into one ecosystem but also makes switching platforms costly, as you’ll have to replace your perfectly functional devices, which can turn into an expensive overhaul.
How Aqara’s Dual Protocol solves compatibility headaches
Aqara is a popular name in the smart home space, offering a whole ecosystem of smart devices. Lately, the smart home device maker has been releasing new gadgets with dual protocol support, including their newest W100 climate sensor. At its core, Dual Protocol is the product that supports Zigbee and Thread, allowing users to switch protocols without replacing hardware.
Each Dual Protocol device contains both Aqara Zigbee and Thread radios, allowing it to seamlessly integrate with whichever system serves you best. When using Thread mode, devices connect directly through Matter to major Matter-compatible ecosystems without needing an extra hub.
Flip them to Zigbee mode, and you can unlock Aqara’s full suite of advanced features, such as instantaneous automations and enhanced security protocols like face recognition.
This is a game-changer for anyone setting up a smart home. Even if you’re not familiar with the technical side of smart devices, these dual-protocol devices will have your connected home up and running in no time.
Even better, smart home veterans can switch protocols or expand their systems in the future without replacing existing devices. A simple mode change is all it takes to adapt your setup to either Zigbee or Thread.
Aqara’s Dual Protocol devices: future-proof picks for any home
The versatile Light Switch H2 comes in three configurations (2-button 1-channel, 2-button 2-channel, and 4-button 3-channel), offering both wired relay control and wireless automation for complete lighting flexibility. With dual protocol support, this smart light switch integrates seamlessly into both Zigbee and Thread smart homes.
It defaults to Thread mode out of the box, which delivers plug-and-play Matter support with Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa, and more. Switching to Zigbee unlocks advanced controls such as precise power monitoring, overload protection, and circuit decoupling, which lets you use physical switches as wireless triggers for automations.
Installation is remarkably flexible, too. The Light Switch H2 works in any home, with or without neutral wires, in single or 3-way setups.
Aqara Light Switch H2
Aqara Climate Sensor W100
“”>Source: Aqara
The Climate Sensor W100 is Aqara’s latest and most advanced climate sensor. Like the Light Switch H2, it has the option of Thread or Zigbee, so you can monitor your indoor climate with ease, whether using HomeKit or Aqara’s ecosystem.
It has a 3.4-inch display that shows real-time readings of temperature, humidity, and more. The sensor also includes three programmable buttons that are exposed to Matter platforms, allowing for customizable automation triggers in Alexa, Apple Home, and other smart home systems.
The real advantage of the W100 comes in Zigbee mode. In this mode, the display can show secondary data from other Aqara sensors or real-time weather conditions, making it ideal for monitoring multiple rooms. Even more compelling, it can sync with your Aqara thermostat to enable intuitive, remote HVAC control.
Smart bulbs offer the easiest and quickest way to transform any space. If you want something that works right out of the box across multiple ecosystems, Aqara’s newest dual-protocol LED Bulb T2 should be on your radar.
This innovative smart bulb supports both Zigbee and Matter over Thread, delivering 16 million vibrant colors and adjustable color temperature (2000K-9000K) for perfect ambiance lighting. It even features adaptive lighting in both Apple Home and Aqara Home, automatically adjusting color temperature throughout the day to match natural circadian rhythms.
The LED Bulb T2 works seamlessly with all Matter-enabled ecosystems, but offers most of its killer features in Zigbee setups. When paired with an Aqara hub, you unlock advanced controls like multi-bulb grouping, smooth light transitions, and customizable dynamic lighting effects. A particularly useful feature is its power-outage memory, which ensures the bulb maintains its previous on/off state after power interruptions.
Aqara LED Bulb T2
Why this is the last smart home upgrade you’ll need
Aqara’s dual protocol devices present a huge leap in empowering cross-platform flexibility and reducing user friction. No matter how your smart home evolves or expands, these devices will always stay compatible.
If you’re starting with home automation, devices like the Light Switch H2 and Climate Sensor W100 let you quickly set up your smart home using Matter over Thread without requiring extra hubs as long as your Matter controller features a Thread border router, which is popular.
You can then expand later with a multifunction Zigbee hub like the Hub M3, and the Hub M100, which is the latest and most cost-effective hub Aqara has released, to unlock Zigbee’s advanced features.
Even if you switch between ecosystems down the road, your Aqara devices simply adapt rather than become obsolete. Ready to build a smart home that grows with you? Explore Aqara’s devices here.
