Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410 (review)

Aqara’s launch of the Doorbell Camera Hub G410 represents a significant upgrade from their now two-year-old G4, with many of the improvements being exactly what I had hoped for. Having previously been very satisfied with its predecessor, the G410 has already become my go-to video doorbell. Yet, despite all this, there are some surprisingly noticeable compromises – some of which may or may not matter to you. That said, the G4 and G410 remain the only HomeKit-compatible video doorbells that offer the flexibility of being hard-wired or battery-powered, which is a major advantage. Read on to find out more.

PACKAGING | OVERVIEW

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If you’re familiar with the look and basic function of the original G4 – a video doorbell – you’ll immediately notice that the G410, pictured on the front, has a very similar design. There are some differences, which I’ll cover later, but the overall dimensions and design of both the doorbell and the chime remain the same. What is noticeably new is the appearance of the combined ‘Built on Thread’ and ‘Border Router’ badge. This is because the G410 goes much further in its role as a doorbell, incorporating a built-in Thread Border Router (TBR), a Zigbee 3.0 hub (which also acts as a Matter Bridge), and a Matter Controller, although the latter is not explicitly mentioned.

This effectively makes the G410 a complete Matter solution for Aqara Home – a Zigbee hub for Aqara’s own Zigbee devices, a Matter Controller for adding both Aqara and third-party Matter devices to the ecosystem, a TBR for Matter over Thread devices – again from Aqara or third parties – and, of course, a video doorbell. Let’s not forget that.

Looking at the specs, it’s also clear that connectivity has been improved, with the addition of dual-band Wi-Fi support. So if, like me, you prefer to keep the 2.4GHz band less congested and make use of the under-utilised 5.0GHz band, this provides exactly that option.

One common criticism of the original G4 was its 16:9 aspect ratio, which wasn’t ideal for package detection. This has now been addressed by switching to a 4:3 field of view. While this may not appear as wide on paper, it captures more of the scene at the top and bottom, aided by a slightly wider viewing angle of 175º. Although the 4:3 view solves one issue, it does come with a caveat – which I’ll touch on later. Finally, this does offer 2K, but for the third time, this also comes with preconditions I’ll bring up.

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On top of all these spec improvements, it can still be wired or battery-powered, offers local facial recognition much like Apple Home, and includes an mmWave sensor in place of the G4’s built-in PIR sensor. This last feature is another example of a welcome upgrade that comes with a bit of a caveat – all of which will be addressed.

CONTENTS

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If you’re not already aware, the G410 comes in two parts: the video doorbell itself and the chime. The latter is actually the component doing most of the heavy lifting, so to speak. The chime is the device that connects the camera to your Wi-Fi network and your smart home. It also serves as the Zigbee hub/Matter bridge, Thread Border Router, Matter controller, and of course, the speaker that plays sounds when the doorbell is pressed. The doorbell connects to the chime via a separate device-to-device Wi-Fi network, which is a common setup. Eufy, for example, uses a similar approach with some of their cameras that require a hub.

Along with the doorbell and chime, you’ll find an angled bracket if you prefer the camera to be pointed slightly inwards (20º, I believe). There’s a USB-A to USB-C cable to power the chime, six batteries for the doorbell, a set of screws and rawl plugs, a small screwdriver, and some documentation.

THE DOORBELL AND CHIME

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The more eagle-eyed among you will notice a couple of changes to the front of the G410. The first, and perhaps initially the least significant, is a larger bell icon. This now lights up when the doorbell is pressed, which wasn’t the case with the G4. The G410 still features the LED ring around the edge of the doorbell. The small bump found below the lens on the G4, which housed the PIR sensor, is now gone, with only the light sensor remaining. It can reasonably be assumed that the previously mentioned mmWave sensor is housed beneath the black (translucent?) plastic surrounding the camera.

The removable back section remains unchanged, with a large and strong double-sided sticker covering the entire panel. Once this panel is removed, you gain access to the same internals as the G4 – namely the battery compartment, a reset button, and a pair of terminals if you wish to connect it to permanent power.

What I – and many others – was particularly pleased about is that the back section’s design has not changed at all. In my case, this meant I was able to leave the angled bracket from my originally installed G4 in place and simply swap out the main camera unit, with no need to remove any wires or brackets. It saved a bit of time and effort.

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The sides of the G410 are also essentially identical to those of the G4, with a rubber weatherproof seal that covers the screw used to secure the video doorbell to the back panel – and by extension, the angled bracket and/or your wall. The opposite side features the same audio speaker, used for both chime sounds and two-way communication.

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Even more so than the doorbell, the chime remains completely unchanged – at least externally. You still get the same front-facing speaker, a pill-shaped mute/reset button on the top, and on the underside, a USB-C port for power along with a slot for a microSD card.

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IN THE AQARA HOME APP

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In the Aqara Home app, things are much the same as with other cameras. However, despite the G410 using a 4:3 aspect ratio, this isn’t immediately obvious from the preview window when viewed alongside other 16:9 cameras. The only clue is the presence of black borders on either side of the image. It’s only when you open the full live view that the 4:3 aspect ratio becomes apparent.

The usual features are present – Integrated Events (with the full set of features only available through the Home Guardian subscription), Bound Devices (which allows you to display related devices like a door lock), Albums, and Face (for face detection). Below the live stream window, you’ll also find the four standard controls – screenshot, record, microphone (for two-way audio), and pause.

The Playback option gives you access to recorded events from both the Aqara cloud and a microSD card, if one is installed. In both cases, if you don’t have a Home Guardian subscription, the events shown on the timeline are limited to facial recognition, lingerer detection, and doorbell presses.

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One area that seems to have improved since I last checked (which was a while ago) is the option to download clips. Files are now organised by date, and further sorted by hour. From there, you can select your clips and download them in full resolution (1600 x 1200).

Now, if you’ve been paying attention, you’ll remember I mentioned that the G410 offers 2K (DCI) recording, compared to the G4 which maxes out at 1080p. While this is technically true – with the G410 capable of up to 2048 x 1536 – it only applies if you use Aqara Home exclusively and don’t add the G410 to any other smart home platform.

Since we’re focused on Apple Home, which is capped at 1080p, you might think this wouldn’t matter much. However, before the G410, even though Apple Home was limited to 1080p, you could still rely on getting full 2K with the G3 or E1 cameras (or 2.5K with the G5 Pro). That’s no longer the case when it comes to the G410. If you want 2K recordings, you now have to use the G410 only within Aqara Home – which feels like an unnecessarily limiting move.

What’s slightly more frustrating is that 1600 x 1200 on the G410 is actually a lower pixel count than 1080p (1920 x 1080):

• 1600 x 1200 = 1.92 million pixels
• 1920 x 1080 = 2.07 million pixels

That said, it does appear they’ve improved something in the image sensor, as overall, the G410 image looks sharper than the G4 to my eyes. Combined with the more practical aspect ratio – which is generally seen as better for doorbell use and package detection – it’s perfectly fine for HomeKit users. It’s just a shame that adding the camera to other platforms ends up reducing the quality even within Aqara’s own app.

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Staying with the subject of recorded video clips and storage, the G410 offers the previously mentioned option to record footage locally to a microSD card installed in the chime, which is a very cost-effective solution. However, if you have a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device, you can also store footage that way. In my case, while I don’t have a dedicated, always-on NAS, my iMac is on the network, so I can access any drives on or connected to it and assign them for use as NAS.

Both options allow me to record event-based clips (such as motion detection or facial recognition), or, if your doorbell is wired rather than battery-powered, you can opt for continuous recording.

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As the G410 functions as both a Zigbee hub and Matter bridge, as well as a Matter controller, you have a few options related to these features. I already have a Matter controller in my G5 Pro (review HERE, video HERE), which is currently acting as the primary Matter controller for the Aqara ecosystem, but I could switch to the G410 if I planned to retire the G5 Pro.

From the Matter section in the settings page, I can also expose the G410 as a Matter bridge to other ecosystems. However, it’s important to note that, since Matter does not yet support cameras, only the Matter bridge is exposed in this setup – not the doorbell or its video feed. Only Zigbee devices connected to the G410 will be shared in this way. Additionally, if you’ve already added the G410 to Apple Home using the standard HomeKit integration (which is currently the only direct option), enabling the G410 as a Matter bridge will result in duplicate entries for any connected Zigbee devices.

As an example, for this review, I’ve connected a door (contact) sensor to the G410.

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I won’t go through all of the available settings, but since the doorbell is useful for detecting visitors or loiterers (or lingerers, as Aqara puts it), the detection settings are worth highlighting. Face detection is optional but can be useful for triggering automations within the Aqara ecosystem – and even beyond, if you use their tools to expose scenes to Apple Home. To enable this feature, you’ll need to upload examples of the faces you want recognised.

Lingerer detection replaces the ‘Motion Detection’ setting found in the G4, although it largely serves the same purpose. In this case, the mmWave or presence sensor is used to detect someone lingering near your door.

Doorbell Ringing includes a few basic options, such as a handy Do Not Disturb mode, push notifications, and cloud recordings tied to doorbell presses.

Tamper detection remains the same as before and can trigger an alarm if someone attempts to remove the doorbell from its back panel. This also includes push notifications, which should ideally be activated by the lingerer detection feature before any attempt is made to remove the G410. It’s a setting I’d recommend keeping enabled, though it’s important to remember to turn it off when replacing the batteries or removing the doorbell temporarily.

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You can set how many seconds must pass before someone standing in front of the doorbell is considered to be lingering, with the duration adjustable between zero and 30 seconds. The mmWave sensor’s detection range can also be set anywhere from 1 to 5 metres, allowing people who pass by but do not get close enough to the doorbell to be ignored for detection purposes, which is handy. Finally, the frequency at which detection is checked can be adjusted to 15, 30 or 60 seconds.

Whilst the mmWave sensor is a clear improvement to the PIR sensor, it is unfortunately not of as much use in Apple Home…

IN APPLE HOME

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If you’ve been using Apple Home for a while, you’ll know that device types often offer the same generic functions, regardless of brand – and to a large extent, that’s also true for the G410. On the Home screen in Apple Home, it appears alongside your other cameras, and when you enter the ‘Cameras’ section, the same 16:9 10-second snapshot window is applied to the G410, even though its native screen ratio is 4:3. As with the Aqara app, it’s only when you go into the live stream that you see the full view.

If you choose to use HomeKit Secure Video with the G410 and set it to record and stream, you’ll get the standard scrubbable timeline at the bottom. The icon with four squares allows you to add other accessories you might want quick access to. Apple Home populates this automatically by default, although it doesn’t always get it right. A smart lock on the same door as the G410 is a logical choice here – in my case, it’s the Aqara A100 ‘Zigbee’ smart lock.

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As the G410 offers generic features in Apple Home, you tend to see the same standard options. However, since this is more than just a video doorbell, there are a couple of extras – two ‘Accessories’ are listed, which we’ll come back to shortly. With Stream & Allowing Recording enabled, you can set activity zones, which – assuming you want to avoid lots of false triggers – is a useful feature. Unfortunately, these zones rely on pixel-based changes in the live view, so the previously mentioned presence sensor doesn’t influence what is or isn’t detected.

With recording active, you can also choose whether any motion or only specific types of motion are detected. As I live in an apartment, vehicle detection isn’t necessary, so I’ve disabled that option. While package detection is likely to be more useful now thanks to the updated aspect ratio, it doesn’t help much in my case, as our deliveries go to an office on the ground floor. That said, it will definitely be useful for many of you – especially as the Aqara app does not currently offer package detection for the G410 (it is supported on the G5 Pro, though).

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So, back to the two accessories I mentioned earlier. One of these is the alarm system that comes with all Aqara hubs – which, if you recall, is one of the many features of the G410. You get the usual four modes: Home, Away, Night, and Off. If you have other hubs on the same account and server in Aqara Home, the alarm modes across up to three hubs should sync automatically – or at least, that’s the intention.

The second accessory is the presence sensor. It’s worth noting that when the G410 is added to Apple Home, this sensor is listed as a motion sensor, even though it is technically a presence sensor. I’ve renamed it for clarity in my own setup, but you’ll still see the label ‘motion sensor ready’ beneath the name.

With this sensor, you only get a status option that can be included in Home Summaries. Unlike most sensors in Apple Home, there’s no option to enable push notifications. So, when you consider that this sensor doesn’t influence the G410’s motion detection and can’t trigger notifications, it becomes somewhat limited in usefulness. That said, it can still be used in automations, and the detection range set in the Aqara app is respected within Apple Home. This means you could, for example, use it to trigger a porch light – but only when someone enters the detection zone defined in Aqara Home.

TH G410 IN USE

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First things first, I see the G410 as a substantial upgrade over the G4. The addition of dual-band Wi-Fi alone is enough to win me over. The shift to a 4:3 aspect ratio, while not particularly useful for me when it comes to package detection, still provides broader coverage, especially when combined with the 175º field of view.

Does it need to be a Zigbee hub? In my case, probably not – I already have several. But if you’re looking to extend your Zigbee setup to a front garden or patio, then why not? The same applies to its role as a Matter controller. While this mainly benefits Aqara’s own devices, the G410’s Thread Border Router can still contribute to your existing Apple Home Thread network.

The inclusion of an alarm system is standard across all Aqara hubs, so it’s expected – though possibly redundant if you’re already covered. However, if this is your first Aqara device, it ticks almost every box: Zigbee hub/Matter bridge, Matter controller (for Aqara), Thread Border Router – and, of course, a video doorbell. It’s a very capable multi-functional device.

We’ve already touched on the drawbacks, but let’s recap. 2K recording isn’t available if you add the G410 to any ecosystem outside of Aqara’s. This limitation is stated on the website and possibly in the documentation, but considering this is only the first of two Aqara devices to impose such a restriction, it feels like a compromise. For users exclusively using Apple Home, this may not matter much at all, but if you were expecting to benefit from 2K recordings via the Aqara app as well, then it’s a minor disappointment.

As for the presence sensor limitations, these might be more down to Apple placing restrictions on bundled features like this, rather than any shortcoming from Aqara. I can’t say for certain, but considering how HomeKit Secure Video works (being pixel-based), it makes sense that the presence sensor can’t be tied directly to motion detection from the camera. That said, it still respects the detection range you configure in the Aqara app, so it does have practical uses – just not as part of the camera’s own detection system.

Although I was unable to test its weather resistant credentials due to living in an apartment, it is only IPX3 rated, with even Aqara recommending that it be placed under some cover, or purchasing an additional cover the company sells.

All in all, despite the downsides, I’m already really enjoying the G410. I was already very happy with the G4, and this builds on everything I liked, adding improvements that I can genuinely appreciate.