Aqara Doorbell Camera G400 (Wired) Review: The HomeKit Secure Video Doorbell That Runs on PoE
Sharp 2K head-to-toe video, battery-free PoE or transformer power and local 24/7 recording, let down by a quiet chime and subscription-gated AI.
The Aqara Doorbell Camera G400 (Wired) is the doorbell to buy if your smart home runs on Apple Home. It pairs natively with HomeKit Secure Video, shoots 2K in a 3:4 ratio that shows a visitor from head to package, and takes its power from PoE or existing 8-24V doorbell wiring, so there is no battery to charge. Owners consistently describe fast, reliable notifications and an easy install, and the RTSP and ONVIF streams make it one of the few doorbells that drops straight into Home Assistant or an NVR. The trade-offs are the included chime, which many find too quiet and which cannot drive an existing mechanical chime, and the cloud AI detections that sit behind a paid plan.
- Apple Home and HomeKit Secure Video
- PoE and hardwired installs
- Home Assistant, Frigate and NVR users
- No-subscription local recording
Pros
- Native HomeKit Secure Video, with live view and recordings that open almost instantly in Apple Home
- PoE or 8-24V doorbell wiring, so there is no battery to recharge
- Sharp 2K video (1536 x 2048) in a 3:4 ratio that frames visitors head to toe
- 165 degree diagonal field of view with 940nm infrared night vision
- 24/7 continuous recording to a microSD card of up to 512 GB, with SMB NAS backup
- RTSP and ONVIF streams for Home Assistant, Frigate and ONVIF NVRs
- Also works with Google Home, Alexa and SmartThings displays
- IP65 weatherproofing, Wi-Fi 6 with WPA3, and a slim body owners prefer to the older battery model
Cons
- The bundled chime is quiet, cannot drive an existing mechanical chime and accepts no custom sounds
- Package, vehicle, animal and familiar-face detection plus cloud storage need a subscription
- No battery backup, so a power cut stops recording entirely
- Infrared black and white night vision only, with no colour mode and no spotlight
- Fussy about the doorbell transformer, which is not included
- Very little space behind the unit for a PoE cable, and the wedge bracket offers limited adjustment
- Some owners report motion notifications arriving badly delayed
- No Matter support, so non-Apple ecosystems rely on Aqara's own cloud integrations
Who is the Aqara Doorbell Camera G400 (Wired) for?
This is a wired-only doorbell aimed at people who already have a hardwired chime circuit or an Ethernet run to the front door. It takes IEEE 802.3af PoE or 8-24V AC/DC doorbell wiring, and Aqara is explicit that there is no battery mode at all, so it is not an option for a door with no wiring. In exchange you get a device that never needs charging and can record continuously. The camera shoots 1536 x 2048 through a 165 degree diagonal lens, and the unusual 3:4 portrait ratio is the point: it frames a caller from head to toe and keeps parcels on the doorstep in shot. Dual-band Wi-Fi 6 with WPA3 is there for anyone not running a cable. The natural buyer is an Apple household, since HomeKit Secure Video is supported natively, but the RTSP and ONVIF streams widen that to Home Assistant, Frigate and ordinary NVR setups, and the doorbell can also throw a live view onto Google Home, Alexa and SmartThings displays.
What buyers love
Apple Home integration is the single most repeated compliment, across every region. Owners who came from Ring, Nest and older Aqara doorbells describe live view and recordings opening almost instantly in the Home app, rich notifications with a snapshot of whoever is at the door, and the doorbell press arriving on the phone as a video call they can answer from anywhere. Several call it the best HomeKit-compatible doorbell available right now, and more than one notes it costs far less than rival cameras with HomeKit Secure Video. The second theme is power: PoE draws praise for being one cable for data and power, for surviving weather better than Wi-Fi alone, and for ending battery maintenance entirely. Installation is repeatedly described as quick, often around fifteen minutes on existing wiring. The 3:4 field of view wins people over once they see it, and the slimmer body is welcomed by owners upgrading from the chunkier battery-powered G4. Tinkerers single out the RTSP feed for recording to a NAS or an NVR without touching the cloud.
What to know before you buy
The included chime is the most common complaint. Owners in several countries report it is too quiet even at maximum volume to hear across a house, it cannot trigger an existing mechanical door chime, and it will not accept custom sounds. If you rely on a chime rather than phone alerts, plan around that. The second caveat is the subscription: local motion and person detection run on the device for free, but package, vehicle, animal and face detection, cloud storage and rich cloud notifications all need a HomeGuardian plan. Power is fussier than the spec sheet suggests. One owner only got the doorbell to pair after swapping in a transformer rated for at least one amp, another had to disable night vision to stop the unit dropping offline overnight, and the transformer itself is not in the box. PoE installers should know there is very little room behind the unit for the cable, so a slim Cat5e or Cat6 works better than a thick shielded one, and the 15 degree wedge bracket offers less adjustment than some want. Night vision divides opinion: it is infrared black and white only, with no colour mode and no spotlight, and while most call it clear, one owner found low-light footage unusable. A handful also report motion alerts arriving badly delayed even though the doorbell press itself is instant. Finally, with no battery, a power cut stops recording.
Is the Aqara Doorbell Camera G400 (Wired) worth it?
For an Apple home with wiring at the door, yes, and comfortably so. Native HomeKit Secure Video at this price is unusual, the head-to-toe framing genuinely solves the parcel problem, and 24/7 recording to a microSD card of up to 512 GB plus SMB NAS backup means you can run the whole thing without paying anyone monthly. Add RTSP and ONVIF and it is one of the more open doorbells on the market. Reception is broadly positive rather than unanimous, and the pattern in the criticism is consistent: the camera and the integrations are strong, the accessories around them are where corners were cut. Buy it for the video and the ecosystem support, budget for a proper transformer if you are not using PoE, and do not count on the bundled chime as your main alert.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Aqara Doorbell Camera G400 (Wired) require a subscription?
No, not for the core features. Motion and person detection run locally on the device, and 24/7 recording works from a microSD card of up to 512 GB with optional SMB NAS backup, all at no cost. A HomeGuardian plan is only needed for cloud storage and the cloud AI detections (faces, animals, packages and vehicles) and the rich cloud notifications that come with them. Apple's own HomeKit Secure Video recording uses your existing iCloud+ plan instead.
Does it work with Apple Home and HomeKit Secure Video?
Yes, natively. You scan the HomeKit setup code on the doorbell body and add it in the Apple Home app, and you can then view live video, get notifications and use two-way audio on Apple devices. HomeKit Secure Video needs an iCloud+ plan and an Apple home hub (a HomePod, HomePod mini or Apple TV), and inside Apple Home the stream is limited to 1200p. This is a native HomeKit accessory, not a Matter one.
Can the G400 run on battery?
No. Aqara states the doorbell has no battery-powered mode, so it must be wired. You can use PoE (IEEE 802.3af, 48V) over a single Ethernet cable, or existing low-voltage doorbell wiring in the 8-24V AC/DC range. A suitable transformer is not supplied, and owners with older or undersized transformers have had to upgrade them before the doorbell would pair.
Does it work with Home Assistant?
Yes. Aqara documents Home Assistant support through the doorbell's RTSP and ONVIF streams, which is also how owners feed it into Frigate or an ONVIF-compatible NVR. No cloud account or subscription is involved in that path.
Is a chime included, and can it use my existing door chime?
A plug-in chime is included in the box and comes pre-paired with the doorbell at the factory, and you can unpair it if you prefer phone or smart speaker alerts. It cannot drive a traditional mechanical chime, which Aqara states explicitly, and it will not play custom sound files. Its volume and ringtone are adjustable on the unit itself, though several owners still find it too quiet to hear across a whole house.
How good is the night vision?
It uses 940nm infrared LEDs, so night footage is black and white. There is no colour night vision and no spotlight on the device. Most owners describe the results as clear enough to identify a caller, but it is the part of the camera that draws the most mixed feedback.
