As I understand it, Aqara hasn't fully follow the Zigbee spec. They work perfectly w/their own hub (which they want you to buy of course) and can be very reliable on platforms like the Conbee II USB stick w/Home Assistant. HE has a hard time playing well w/devices that are non-standard, and Aqara has shown no interest in doing anything to improve compatibility. @kkossev may be able to expand on the issues around Aqara/HE compatibility.
They do have some new devices that support Matter, and as HE adds that capability that may provide improved compatibility w/those newer devices, like below:
https://www.amazon.com/Aqara-Requires-Contact-Automation-Supports/dp/B0BTL8B72D/ref=sr_1_1_sspa
Above all said, I'm using Aqara contact sensors and buttons (the Zigbee 1.2 versions) on my C8 reliably (and last year I was having success on my C7 as well).
Could be partly due to Zigbee repeaters I have on my mesh, but the Aqara devices are connnecting to both my C8 hub directly and via Zigbee repeaters, so it's not clear if/how the repeaters I'm using are affecting the improved reliability of Aqara devices. My repeaters are SonOff USB Dongle P and Sengled plugs (Zigbee 3.0) and Iris and Centralite plugs (Zigbee 1.2).
