Home automation thread

[paquet]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

I'm doing all of my presence detection in Apple HomeKit automations. If everyone in your household has an iPhone, HomeKit's built-in "when anyone arrives home" and "when the last person leaves" automations can do just about anything...except unlock a door. (Simple workaround for that, though.) My DW and I both also have Apple Watches, and frequently use them via pushbutton Siri to flip inside lights and stuff on/off. Siri is *not* set to work with "hey, Siri" on any of our devices, only by button push. If you want to know why, picture a burglar sticking a megaphone up against a window and saying "Hey, Siri/Alexa/Google, unlock the front door" while everyone is out.

Admittedly, I don't know of *all* locks, but the Schlage smart locks require a passcode before they will unlock through a home voice assistant.

[ryan stewart]

I don't know about the other assistants but Google will not natively allow you to unlock a lock by voice. You can lock one and you can check the status of it but you can't unlock it

[Tyga11]

I have to agree with Ryan Stewart. Why would a home invader pull up to your house with a laptop and try to hack your security system unless it's an inside job / they knew something was valuable in there.

I'm not saying it's never happened but that probability to deter me from anything automated makes no sense. Most people who try to steal stuff from your house are likely crack heads - not MacGyver.

[M_Six]

I'm about ready to throw this HomePod Mini out into the cold woods behind our house. Aside from the annoying need to play music, it's been working as expected. But tonight it suddenly became unresponsive in the Home app. I checked it and sure enough, no lights or anything except for a quick one second flash if I tap the top. I can't reset it in the app because it won't connect, so I unplugged it, let it sit for few minutes, and then plugged it back in. After 20 minutes it's still just giving me a one second flash if I tap the top. Nothing else. My new Apple TV 4k dutifully took over as the main router, but now it also wants to play tunes. WTF, Apple???

[M_Six]

Just started the long process of restoring the HP Mini via my MBP. Hopefully this is not something I need to do often.

Update: That worked. Back up and running. What a pain in the ass, though.

[M_Six]

Continuing down the rabbit hole, I bought an Eve Home camera for the garage and a 3-pack of the Eve Door and Window sensors. Those will cover our 3 outside doors. I have a meross garage door opener supposedly arriving tomorrow.

[M_Six]

Garage door opener switch set up in HomeKit (though not installed in the garage yet).

[M_Six]

Garage door opener gizmo installed and working properly. Tomorrow I'll attempt to set up and test geofencing.

[M_Six]

Geofencing was underwhelming, but I guess I understand why Apple set it up that way. If I have to tap my AW twice to approve the automation, it's easier to just tap the side button to bring up favorites and then tap Home where the only favorite is my garage door opener. Tap, tap, tap and it's opening. Plus I couldn't get the automation to even start running until I was in the driveway in front of the garage. With the other tap method on my watch, I can open it from a bit down the street.

[vreihen16]

You have learned your first lesson in why HomeKit is still not ready for prime time even after many years. It still needs an external hub or something to create useful automations.

The easy way to bypass the "can't unlock without authorization" limit in Apple's automations is to use another light or switch as a trigger for the lock device. Apple will gladly let you create an automation that unlocks the door when a light turns on. Most home automation systems offer virtual or dummy switches to do stuff like this, including HomeBridge and HOOBS in the Apple ecosystem. No need to buy another device to act as the trigger.

Here is my complete list of HomeKit automations:



The first and last one flip virtual switches when someone arrives home or the last person leaves, which are tied to automations on Home Assistant to lock/unlock the door, turn on outside lights, and disarm/arm the alarm system.

My front door lock is a pure HomeKit accessory, and Home Assistant can't control it directly. Enter another virtual switch. The second/third automation flip the virtual switch when the door is locked/unlocked by code or manually, so that Home Assistant knows the lock status.

The fourth/fifth automations watch the same virtual switch, and lock/unlock the door via HomeKit if Home Assistant flips the virtual switch.

HomeKit's presence detection is the cat's meow of everything that I've tried, and HomeKit also makes a great front-end for a more capable home automation system through Siri and the Apple Home apps. The lack of basic things like creating an automation based on temperature or rainfall quickly expose its faults. Fortunately, almost every other platform can expose its stuff to HomeKit, via HomeBridge, HOOBS, or even natively in the case of Home Assistant. Best of both worlds.

My thought on your garage door geofence circle being too small is to make an automation with the map pin down the street to open the garage door. By the time you reach your driveway, the door should have just finished opening.....

[ryan stewart]

I do something like this with the garage doors and smartthings but instead of using a second virtual device they have these things called handlers, which is basically how the device is defined.

I got a hold of a handler that basically replicated the door opener as a light switch, down is off and up is on. And it uses the signal from the door sensor to know which way is which. Then you just setup a routine of "close the car door" to turn the light switch off, etc.

Wont help you specifically with homekit but if anyone else is shopping z wave/zigbee that is something you can do in smartthings as well.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

You have learned your first lesson in why HomeKit is still not ready for prime time even after many years. It still needs an external hub or something to create useful automations.

The easy way to bypass the "can't unlock without authorization" limit in Apple's automations is to use another light or switch as a trigger for the lock device. Apple will gladly let you create an automation that unlocks the door when a light turns on. Most home automation systems offer virtual or dummy switches to do stuff like this, including HomeBridge and HOOBS in the Apple ecosystem. No need to buy another device to act as the trigger.

Here is my complete list of HomeKit automations:


The first and last one flip virtual switches when someone arrives home or the last person leaves, which are tied to automations on Home Assistant to lock/unlock the door, turn on outside lights, and disarm/arm the alarm system.

My front door lock is a pure HomeKit accessory, and Home Assistant can't control it directly. Enter another virtual switch. The second/third automation flip the virtual switch when the door is locked/unlocked by code or manually, so that Home Assistant knows the lock status.

The fourth/fifth automations watch the same virtual switch, and lock/unlock the door via HomeKit if Home Assistant flips the virtual switch.

HomeKit's presence detection is the cat's meow of everything that I've tried, and HomeKit also makes a great front-end for a more capable home automation system through Siri and the Apple Home apps. The lack of basic things like creating an automation based on temperature or rainfall quickly expose its faults. Fortunately, almost every other platform can expose its stuff to HomeKit, via HomeBridge, HOOBS, or even natively in the case of Home Assistant. Best of both worlds.

My thought on your garage door geofence circle being too small is to make an automation with the map pin down the street to open the garage door. By the time you reach your driveway, the door should have just finished opening.....

Originally Posted by ryan stewart

I do something like this with the garage doors and smartthings but instead of using a second virtual device they have these things called handlers, which is basically how the device is defined.

I got a hold of a handler that basically replicated the door opener as a light switch, down is off and up is on. And it uses the signal from the door sensor to know which way is which. Then you just setup a routine of "close the car door" to turn the light switch off, etc.

Wont help you specifically with homekit but if anyone else is shopping z wave/zigbee that is something you can do in smartthings as well.

Thanks for the tips. I had read about the workarounds using a switch and I have an Eve Energy outlet in my garage that I could use, but now that I have my AW set up where I can give it a few quick taps and open the door, I'm set. I may investigate Home Assistant and/or HomeBridge as I have an extra R-Pi laying around and could also run it on my Mac Mini box. Tomorrow I have an Eve cam, a Logitech Circle View, and four Nanoleaf bulbs being delivered, so there will be plenty of things to set up to keep me busy for a bit. Once I have all the gizmos in place, I'll look at HA or HB and start playing around with them.

On another note, I had a 2 hour phone conversation with a friend last night and used the HomePod Mini as the speakerphone. Best speaker phone I've ever used. The sound was amazing. Like my friend was sitting right there beside me.

[kscarrol]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Thanks for the tips. I had read about the workarounds using a switch and I have an Eve Energy outlet in my garage that I could use, but now that I have my AW set up where I can give it a few quick taps and open the door, I'm set.

OK, so ignorant question and I'm sure that I am missing something but is tapping your AW a few times really that much more convenient than reaching for the garage door remote clipped on the sun visor or reaching for the programmed homelink on the rearview mirror?

As I am now heading down this rabbit hole with the new house this is one I struggle with. I can be down the block from my house, press the button and by the time I pull up to the garage door it is almost fully open.

[ryan stewart]

Originally Posted by kscarrol

OK, so ignorant question and I'm sure that I am missing something but is tapping your AW a few times really that much more convenient than reaching for the garage door remote clipped on the sun visor or reaching for the programmed homelink on the rearview mirror?

As I am now heading down this rabbit hole with the new house this is one I struggle with. I can be down the block from my house, press the button and by the time I pull up to the garage door it is almost fully open.

I cant speak to the apple watch (im on android and have similar options) but I have a couple of reasons I use Google Home: Running/riding/dog walking - I dont take an opener, one more thing to carry and I usually have my phone/watch for tracking the run/ride and music. Also on the motorcycle, I have bluetooth in my helmet and I dont have to mess with an opener with the motorcycle gloves. I have a routine for the motorcycle door and I can just holler "Ok google, open the motorcycle door" as Im rounding the corner onto my street and its open when I pull in. I often do that in the car as well if Im in a hurry (aka have to pee) because the range on the homelink in the car isnt the best.

Then additionally there is the "security" functionality. I can close and/or check the doors status from anywhere, which is a big piece of mind. I also have it as part of my sleep routine and as geofencing+time for closing the door (I didnt do geofencing for opening because it was often delayed to the point of not being useful).

[kscarrol]

Originally Posted by ryan stewart

I cant speak to the apple watch (im on android and have similar options) but I have a couple of reasons I use Google Home: Running/riding/dog walking - I dont take an opener, one more thing to carry and I usually have my phone/watch for tracking the run/ride and music. Also on the motorcycle, I have bluetooth in my helmet and I dont have to mess with an opener with the motorcycle gloves. I have a routine for the motorcycle door and I can just holler "Ok google, open the motorcycle door" as Im rounding the corner onto my street and its open when I pull in. I often do that in the car as well if Im in a hurry (aka have to pee) because the range on the homelink in the car isnt the best.

Then additionally there is the "security" functionality. I can close and/or check the doors status from anywhere, which is a big piece of mind. I also have it as part of my sleep routine and as geofencing+time for closing the door (I didnt do geofencing for opening because it was often delayed to the point of not being useful).

Thanks! Certainly the security functionality makes sense. And I get the walking/running etc for unlocking door, turning on lights etc. My question was specific to pulling up in a car and opening the garage door. It's just the steps of tapping a watch multiple times versus one press of a button. I even get the motorcycle scenario as you won't have a homelink button like our cars and likely won't carry a garage door remote. As you can see, I have a long way to go on this journey!

[ryan stewart]

Yeah on the car thing I still use the button most of the time.

[jsf721]

What routers are driving the elaborate system.

I’m headed your way have ring alarm, several cameras, Philips for lights , genie Wi-Fi garage doors, Lutron for blinds and sonos for music. Need to upgrade the wifi.

Suggestions ?

Originally Posted by Chick Webb

I've been a serious HA geek for quite some time now. Our system has evolved over time, but as of now we've got window/door sensors, locks, cameras, and some lights on SmartThings. All other lights are on a Philips hub. SmartThings is integrated with Philips, Alexa, Bloomsky (weather station), Plantlink (houseplants), Keen (vents), Honeywell (thermostat), and automations are driven by WebCore. Android phones provide presence sensors.

Pretty much everything in the house is under voice control; haven't touched a light switch in months. Modes (Morning, Day, etc.) determine what should be on and what expected conditions of sensors are. In some rooms lights are triggered by motion, in others by voice. Lights are automated and start coming on in the evening, based on a luminance sensor outside. That and others trigger lights on at night in case we have intruders (mostly deer and other critters, but...) We get voice/phone notifications for "abnormal" conditions.

None of this would be possible w/o WebCore. I've probably got 3 dozen WebCore "pistons" (automations) that I've written. Unfortunately, one of these days SmartThings is going to drop support for WebCore, and at that point I'm likely going to jump ship for Hubitat; there's one in a box in the closet waiting. In fact, since I just maxed out my Philips hub (63 devices), I bought a new hub and will probably set up the Hubitat hub so that I can integrate it with the new Philips unit and ease into the new ecosystem. It's literally going to take months to migrate everything, and frankly things work so well that I'm not in a hurry to do it.

Pro tip - use Philips lights. They are expensive, yes, but they just work. All the other Z-wave lights that I started with - GE, Osram, others - have proven eventually to be flaky and not worth the trouble. As they have shown their true colors I have replaced them with Philips units, and other than the hit to my wallet I have no regrets.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by kscarrol

OK, so ignorant question and I'm sure that I am missing something but is tapping your AW a few times really that much more convenient than reaching for the garage door remote clipped on the sun visor or reaching for the programmed homelink on the rearview mirror?

As I am now heading down this rabbit hole with the new house this is one I struggle with. I can be down the block from my house, press the button and by the time I pull up to the garage door it is almost fully open.

In my case I have the crappiest garage door remote on the planet. I literally have to be sitting in front of my garage door for it to work. The Homelink button sometimes works from a hundred feet away or so, *if* I hit it at just the right moment. The Apple Watch thing will open my garage door if I'm sitting in BFE. Plus when I ride my bike I don't carry a remote. I have to get into the driveway, get off the bike, go through the side door of the garage, and then open the door from the inside. (Major 1st world problem there, I know.)

On top of all that, I'm a tech geek. I like cool shit like this. So why not?

[kscarrol]

Originally Posted by M_Six

In my case I have the crappiest garage door remote on the planet. I literally have to be sitting in front of my garage door for it to work. The Homelink button sometimes works from a hundred feet away or so, *if* I hit it at just the right moment. The Apple Watch thing will open my garage door if I'm sitting in BFE. Plus when I ride my bike I don't carry a remote. I have to get into the driveway, get off the bike, go through the side door of the garage, and then open the door from the inside. (Major 1st world problem there, I know.)

On top of all that, I'm a tech geek. I like cool shit like this. So why not?

Haha, fair enough! And understood on the bike riding usefulness. Guess I'm lucky that my remote/opener have very solid range. We'll find out more when we actually move this summer and live with it on a daily basis!

[jsf721]

Just so you know, Ring just came out with glass break sesnors.
I have been using a listener to relay glass break but I just order 2 each 2 packs that should ship EOM.

Originally Posted by Patrick303

I have a lot of HA in the new house running on HomeKit using a HOOBS bridge:

• Yale deadbolts on front door and garage service door
• Level Lock on garage-to-house door (awesome if you want a smart lock that doesn't look like one)
• Ring PoE doorbell and security cameras (+1 battery powered spotlight camera for the dog run)
• Ring alarm w/contact sensors, motion sensors, water sensors, smoke/CO2 sensors
• Chamberlain WiFi garage door openers
• Nest thermostat w/additional temp sensors
• A shit ton of Insteon light switches

I'm using a wall mounted iPad in my kitchen as my Apple hub. This works out great because I love being able to tell Siri to turn on lights or set a timer when I'm cooking and my hands are dirty.


One thought on having smart locks...while I will admit that nothing is burglary proof, I think it's a lot easier for a criminal to watch a youtube video and make a bump key than figure out how to hack my wifi network and/or my smart lock. My Yale locks have no keyhole to use a bump key.

[M_Six]

Got my cameras up and working. The outside one will have to wait for better weather to get mounted. I have 3 of the 4 Nanoleaf bulbs updated to use Thread, but the 4th is stuck in a loop of updating, which I see from Reddit is a common problem. I'll have to play around with that. They're all in a group, so I'll set up auto on/off and a common color and temp. They're going to be my two outside garage lights, the light on a post in my front yard, and the light by the front door. Hopefully all working in unison. Still waiting on my door sensors.

[vreihen16]

If you're bored, set up all of those outdoor bulbs to flash in police/fire colors as an emergency setting, so that first responders can find your house at night after a 911 call.....