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Setting up the XIAO Smart IR Mate

Setting up the XIAO Smart IR Mate

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure that:

  • You have Home Assistant setup and running.

  • You have access to the Home Assistant dashboard.

  • You have a Xiao Smart IR Mate and a USB-C cable to power the device.

Setup

Connecting your Xiao Smart IR Mate to the network

  1. Power on your Xiao Smart IR Mate by plugging it in with the USB-C.

  2. The device should start blinking — when this happens the device will have created a Wi-Fi hotspot named something similar to xiao-ir-mate-123456789. Connect to this Wi-Fi, it has a default password of 12345678.

  3. After you connect you will be redirected to a web page. Select your home’s 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network (SSID), scroll down and enter the password.

  4. Once connected, make a note of the device’s IP address (you can find it in your router or via discovery in Home Assistant). This can be useful if auto-discovery doesn’t work later.

Integrating Xiao Smart IR Mate with Home Assistant

Once connected to your Wi-Fi, you can now integrate the IR Mate with Home Assistant.

       1. Setup ESPHome

        2. Adding the Device

    • Navigate to your Home Assistant dashboard. From there, go to Settings, and under settings go to Devices and Services.

    • Home Assistant should discover the device automatically.

    • If it doesn't happen you can add the device manually via the IP. 

Learning IR Codes with the Xiao Smart IR Mate

To control your appliances, the IR Mate needs to learn the IR codes from your existing remotes. This can be done directly through Home Assistant.

  1. Select a Signal Slot

    • In the IR Mate card, use the Signal Select dropdown to choose a slot (e.g. Signal0).

  2. Enter Learning Mode

    • Click the Learn button. The IR Mate will now wait for you to send a command from your remote. If this has worked, the device should begin vibrating.

  3. Capture a Code

    • Point your appliance’s remote control at the IR Mate and press the button you want to capture (e.g. Power On).

    • The device will record the signal into the selected slot. If successful, it will stop vibrating after the button has been pressed.

  4. Confirm the Code is Saved

    • The Is Learned Signal? toggle should be switched on if the device has saved the signal.

  5. Send a Stored Code

    • To test, click the Send button. The IR Mate will transmit the stored command from the chosen slot to your appliance.

  6. Repeat for Each Function

    • Change the signal slot and repeat the process for Power, Volume, Channel, Mode, etc.

Using Xiao Smart IR Mate in Home Assistant

Once you’ve stored your IR codes, you can start using the IR Mate in Home Assistant:

Next article Setting Up ESPHome on Home Assistant OS