Can someone explain Josh ai to me and whether this would be recommended in a new build? I currently have a custom 5k sq foot house under construction. I am in the rough in stage- I’m having Lutron lighting and blinds, Sonos speakers. The audio guy has offered Josh ai- I’m pretty new to all this home automation stuff- is this something you would recommend? Thank you in advance, I’m sorry this sounds really elementary.

Moved into a new home. It was the model home for neighborhood and they left wireless sensors on all the windows and doors. Can I use re use them? I don’t see a panel anywhere. What would I need to do?

They all say “tyco PG x303” on the side of them.

Found this on internet. https://suretyhome.com/wp-content/uploads/PG9303-Manual.pdf

I have some installed in my house and I saw that there are some issues with them safety wise, are they actually unsafe and should I remove them?

I recently moved i to a new home. The builder gave me a free iq panel skybell camera and i can access in alarm.com for free. I was offered a 49.99 package for 3 years with safe haven/adt w came with 500 dollar voucher for equipment. However i rejected the additional package. A friend reffered me to another safe haven rep who is offering em all window and door sensor, panel, 1 alarm.com door bell camera and two exterior cameras from alarm.com all equipment for free with only 100 dollar install free basically for the 3rd camera. Says he waived the rest and is taking care id all the equipment cost for free. Only thing is charging amount 65.99 for monthly 3 year contract. I have called other placed like viviant and directly adt and having trouble deciding which route to go or if maybe there are other options. Feel free give me some ideas/opinions on this safe haven deal and or other options.

We are renovating and installing basic smart home features for the first time and we are not technical so want to keep it simple. Is it best to try to keep with same manufacturer as much as possible vs a mixture. Eg does a mixture get complex as requires a different app for each one (we use Apple devices). This is what we have had recommended:

Doorbell camera - Ecobee (or Nest)

Thermostat - Ecobee (or Nest)

Door lock - Schlage or Eufy (or Nest/Yale)

Garage door - Liftmaster

Light switches - Caseta Lutron

Thanks.

Hi there,

I'm a uni student, and for one of my assessments this semester, we're planning the development of a Smart Home Application which helps manage all your smart devices. Our first task is creating a questionnaire, and we must receive a large amount of responses in order to have a successful assessment. The 15 questions are all multiple choice, except the last one which is an optional open ended one. It should take less than 10 minutes to complete. If you have some spare time, you'd be helping a uni student out a lot!

Thank you in advance!

https://forms.gle/tTBHbz9UQpkqaW3w7

Does anyone know of any in wall modules (not full switch replacement) that can dim led lights that are either Z wave or Zigbee? Zooz has a product, Zen 54, but I don’t think it’s compatible with my lights. I have had good results with Zen 51 that can turn lights on or off but need something that dims lights for a different set of lights.

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share my recent journey in troubleshooting my MyQ garage door opener not connecting to WiFi, as I've finally found a solution that worked for me!

Recently, my MyQ garage door opener had some unexpected glitches - it randomly disconnected from Wi-Fi, showing an offline status, and to make matters worse, it started opening on its own at odd times. After some investigation, I suspected that my remote code might have gotten mixed up with another user's during my attempts to fix the Wi-Fi disconnection.

Through some online research, I stumbled upon a couple of helpful videos that guided me through the process. First, I followed this video (https://youtu.be/PkvBMFEJgqA?si=V7Xv6E7849mEhMIP) to clear the remote code and repair my remote to MyQ, which successfully resolved the issue with the remote.

However, the Wi-Fi problem persisted. I went to the MyQ mobile application, clicked on offline, and went to reconnect Wi-Fi and followed some steps there. Despite pressing and holding the square button between two arrows on the garage opener until it sounded a beep once, followed by three more beeps, and then pressing the yellow button three times did not sound a beep, and hence the Wi-Fi discovery mode wouldn't trigger.

Fortunately, I came across another helpful video (https://youtube.com/shorts/WyT17FVKLKo?si=PwrLOOQFBXxcUPZM) that demonstrated how to repair the garage door remote. Following the steps outlined in the video, I managed to repair the remote, which further contributed to resolving the issue.

What finally worked for me was opening the MyQ application, clicking on offline, and then navigating to Wi-Fi settings. Although the garage opener's hotspot wasn't discoverable, I discovered that restarting the garage door opener by unplugging and plugging it back in, and then opening and closing the door with the remote after it regained power, and following the same steps suggested in the MyQ app helped resolve the Wi-Fi connection issue. After restarting the garage door opener and following the same steps, it solved the Wi-Fi connection issue.

With these steps, I managed to fix the problems with my MyQ garage door opener and restore it to full functionality. I hope my experience might help someone else facing similar challenges.

Cheers!

The wife has requested that I install a ceiling fan in replacement of a light in the center of the bedroom. I am something of a novice on the electrical front, so I appreciate everyone’s patience.

There is a single switch for the room. I know that having the single switch would mean that the fan could only work with the switch (and lights) on. However, preferably we’d be able to run the fan throughout the night (with the lights off). Is this something I can accomplish with the Lutron Dimmer? Or would I need to install a Lutron switch and also get a smart fan. I got over eager and purchased the Caseta hub (clearly new to the Lutron world) and am hoping to build on from here.

I have had a tough time finding an answer so I would appreciate any insight!

Hey everyone!

I’m working on an IoT project and could really use some collaboration. If you’re interested in IoT and home automation, let’s learn and create something cool together! This isn't for profit or anything, and I can't say its the most high tech or cutting edge, but it would be nice to have people help me and add whatever features to my little project. thanks! I first made this so i could remotely open my dorm room door
https://github.com/khoaang/doorlock

I grew up in a house with these intercoms in all the bedrooms and as kids it was great for being able communicate in a big house.

I'm now wiring my home and would like something similar but a bit more modern and cannot find anything that fits the bills aside from this old Legrand system that's discontinued.

Is there a solution that can:

• something that's focused on audio communication, from room to room and doorbells
• Connected just via cat cable to a central location.
• Local only (Brilliant panels have intercom but it's cloud powered)
• Small or Sleek - or at least better than the old Aiphone system.
• Prefer not needing a backlit touchscreen for bedooms.

​

​

Edit: I'll be getting a free Wyse 5070 from work because we apparently still have some lying around. While this isn't as plug and play as a HA green or yellow, it's more powerful, more affordable (even after upgrades, a HA green costs over 150 USD where I live) and also more available where I live. Let's hope this is one of those fun projects instead of a chore.

Current situation
I rent and will do so for the time being and don't need too much in terms of home automation. Currently I have some Ikea ZigBee lamps, Sonos speakers and a Dreame vacuum. Other than that, I don't own any real smart devices apart from Android phone, TV and Desktop PC.
Importantly, I don't own or plan to own any further specific Amazon, Google or Apple devices and I don't use any voice assistants.

Reason to automate
I recently got a water fountain for my pet and got annoyed that the pump runs all day long. My first thought was one of those old-timey mechanical timer plugs... smart plug... rabbit hole... master-slave power strip for my pc setup recently broke... smart home dreams.

Idea
Smart plugs, ZigBee lights, Sonos (if possible) and the Dreame vacuum are probably the main devices I'd want to be able to control at some point.
It's not needed for now, but I wanna do it like that because I don't mind spending a bit more right now. If it means that I won't have to throw everything away if I decide to integrate more stuff, like for example the vacuum, it's worth it. I do not need control over smart blinds, locks, garage doors, thermostats, security devices and so on. I'd say I need light to medium amount of integration possibilities.
Some of my lights are already smart home compatible, but the majority isn't. For example I'd really enjoy motion sensors in the bathroom, but the lamps are fluorescent tubes. From what I know about such a setup, I'd have to either get a smart tube or add something like a Shelly somewhere.

What do I need?

I have no Idea what one needs to control smart home stuff. I assume some sort of hub is needed? Can I just buy some plug and play device? I've seen people do their own stuff with RPi's, is this needed? Is everything compatible with any type of hub? Is this overkill?
Can you point me to the right direction? Maybe a beginners guide or parts list that's quite barebones?

Btw: I still bought a mechanical timer plug for my pet fountain because there's no need to have any more control than that.

I bought myself an AirGradient One V9 pre-soldered (Im lazy) version and it works.

Out of the box it wants me to add it's mac address to their online portal. No thanks.

So I went investigating and found a range of firmwares from GitHub using ESPHome. Got one of them install, it works, but no MQTT and no documentation on much. The ESPHome Yaml I choose is MASSIVE. This makes it quite difficult to deal with during deployment for me.

Anyway, that is not the main issue. The main issue appears to be that the OneV9 is there newest model. It has changed from the ESP8266 to the ESP32C3-Mini. The firmware bundle I downloaded was the only one including support for this chip. As I said the yaml is MASSIVE. Like when run, due to it's hierarchical include system, it produces well over 1000 lines of yaml. Not exactly easy to debug!

I am left with a device which:

Powers on. Displays data on the oLED, restarts itself every 10 minutes or so, no MQTT integration and no "LED Bar".

Most of the struggle is that 99 out of 100 search results are concerning the old models with ESP8266's. Google is rubbish these days.

I am not married to ESPHome and while I have HomeAssistant, for other reasons I just need a basic MQTT integration from the AIRGradient and I can take HA as a separate task.

Anybody have experience with this new model who could share some tips?

Hi there,

Currently interested in changing our physical-key lock with a smart lock for our rental property. Note that this is not an airbnb unit, so we don't have visitors coming in and out on a weekly basis. However, we think that it is quite a hassle having to change the key/lock everytime a tenant comes out after 1 year+.

So far, our top pick is the nest x yale smart lock. It is kinda expensive at $250, but we don't mind the cost if it is decent.

What smart locks (ideally without a physical key insert) are good out there for rental units?

Hello,

I bought a new house and would like to use motorized blinds on a few windows.

Any one have experience with motorized blinds from blinds.com, selectblinds or blindster?

Specifically their house branded shades.

Hello,

I'd like to know whether my setup (Sonos Era 100, Hue Motion Sensor, Hue e27 white & color bulbs) would allow me to do the following:

When someone enters the bathroom, I'd like the lights to automatically switch on and set to a light green - simultaneously, I want my sonos speaker to play forest ambiance.

I'm pretty new to all things smarthome so it would mean a lot to me if someone could help me out and tell me if the setup can achieve what I had in mind.

Thank you a lot!

I'm designing smart home for my new apartments.
I will use home assistant to connect everything together and I prefer ZigBee devices.

Right now I'm deciding which automatic curtains to choose. I need 2 pcs, one for 4 meters (3.4m) and another for 3 meters (2.8m).

I'm just newbie here and considering 3 options from Zemismart:

https://www.zemismart.com/products/zms1-tyz
https://www.zemismart.com/products/zm79-zb
https://www.zemismart.com/products/bcm500ds-tyz

I'm mainly interested in option 1, since it looks much smaller than others. What are difference between them? and which one to pick?

Also appreciate if you can advise some other brands.

​

Is anyone still using X10 Commander? I’ve been using it since 2010, everything has been great. I just got a new iphone and restored from a backup. X10 commander shows up on my new phone, but since it’s not in the app store anymore I can’t use it to control all my X10 stuff. Anyone have a way to fix? This is crazy that I can't use it (it still works on my old phone and I have a copy of the ipa still but not sure if that helps)

This is how the app worked with explanation http://www.usabilityinstitute.com/articles/images/x10commandersetup.gif

and here is screen shot on app

https://preview.redd.it/7diaki79cqpc1.jpg?width=392&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ef54a2053283feb1e08830ce40d93675c4d49f53

I want a plug timer (smart plug is fine) which has an easy, temporary override until the next on/off change is scheduled.

For example; comes on at 10 until 11 and then from 5 until 8. At 9 am I want to flick a switch on the plug/timer to turn it on and it will stay on until 11, or at half 10 I want to turn it off and it comes back on again at 5.

I don't want to use my phone to do this.

The old mechanical timers used to do this easily, but the electronic ones seem to have a permanent override.

Any suggestions?

We have a rear entry garage and making the turn to exit the driveway between the house and fence is very tight with my new pickup truck. The right side (house side) is fine using the side mirrors. The left side (fence) is more difficult and its basically a guessing game as to where the front of the truck is in relation to the fence. I'd like to be as close to the fence as possible to be able to exit to the street easily. Any ideas would be a great help.

https://preview.redd.it/820o2auoeppc1.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=acfa38d6ab5808c85cc37501b080b7170eea9530

Hello everyone,

I consider myself a novelist when it comes to home automation. I have Google home installed and a couple of basic smart switches, Meross garage door opener.. I’m in the process of renovating my large balcony, which only has one power source, and want to have 6 different outlets to work independently, mainly;

• ceiling lights
• ceiling dim lights
• fan 1
• fan 2
• Deck lights
• power outlets

One idea was to get 6 of the Sonoff smart switches I’ve used in the past, but the issue is that they are not reliable and need to be replaced after a couple of months and it’s always a big hassle. Was wondering if any of you gurus would have alternative options. I have a gypsum board in the ceiling, so i need the smart application to be more reliable than visually appealing as i can hide most of it.

Would smart relays be an option? Are they hard to set up? How many would I need for the set up? Any remediation on brands that don’t need me to buy a separate hub?

Grateful for a thoughts!

I recently bought a plant organizer that came with grow light strips.

I have connected plant lights to kasa smart plug which works perfectly. However, since plant light switch shown in picture resets to turns off position after each power cycle, i have to manually turn it on next time.

Need a way to keep the light switch in the “on” position through power cycles without complex rewiring. Open to simple, safe DIY fixes. Ideas?

Building a new home, getting close to Sheetrock time, and I’m wondering about a speaker system setup. Best to hardwire? WiFi options? Looking to do different zones. I’m pretty clueless on this kind of stuff, hoping to get some answers. Let me know if this isn’t the best sub for this question. Thanks in advance

Hello! I have a pretty basic setup where most of my main living areas use hue bulbs and I have scenes which I control via Alexa primarily as well as some very basic automations using my ring motion sensors via Alexa. I'm for the most part fine with the limitations of this.

Anyways over the years some of my hue bulbs are starting to die and rather than replace them all I'm looking at other options.

My question is thus. If I install some smart switches for some of my fixtures, but keep hue bulbs on my lamps and other fixtures (which aren't controlled by smart switches), am I still able to create scenes/routines via Alexa that will combine hue and Lutron (for example) scenes together for my main floor? I'm not talking about installing Lutron switches to control my hue bulbs, but rather a combination of smart switches controlling dumb lights and dumb switches controlling smart bulbs in my home.

I'd be fine with using just one of the two systems but I already own like over 20 still good functioning hue bulbs so it would be a waste to not use them

Thanks for advice 🙂