I am looking for ways to make this door bell smart. I am renting so replacing it is not an option. I was thinking about some mechanized way of clicking the button that opens the front door. Any suggestions? How do people do it? Thanks!

I’m in some real need of help right now. I have been wanting to figure this out but never could.

Product list follows the description:

As you can see, I have a TV without optical or analog outputs which is the connection the phonak devices want to use. I want to use my phillips hue lights on the back of my tv with my apple tv like I do now, but also with phonak. I only need to use either the select or tv connector, I just listed them both as they are both options. These will allow direct streaming to my hearing aids. Right now my apple tv uses the tv speakers in addition to two homepod minis. My ultimate goal would be to have the ability to add on the option of connecting/using the hearing aids on an as needed basis. I do not want it to silence all other outputs though as I am the only one who wears hearing aids and that would mean then other would not be able to hear the television.

I mentioned the soundbar as it could be used with the tv again in the future but is not at the moment.

——

These are the products I will be mentioning and using/an option:

Phonak Rogers Select - has guide at bottom of page with visuals. Seems to use optical/toslink or analog. May be helpful to see guide.

https://www.phonak.com/en-ca/hearing-devices/microphones/roger-select

Phonak Audeo M70-R Hearing Aids - They are bluetooth enabled for those unfamiliar and have the FM system added as well.

Phonak TV Connector Seems to use the same as the rogers select above, optical/toslink or analog

https://www.phonak.com/en-int/hearing-devices/accessories/tv-connector-for-hearing-aids

Phillips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box

https://www.philips-hue.com/en-ca/p/hue-play-hdmi-sync-box-/046677555221#overview

Phillips TV Lights

Apple TV 4th Generation

Homepod Minis

Soundbar with Aux and Bluetooth capability

Seiki TV Model LC-40G69. Has the following:

3 HDMI ports,

PC Audio,

VGA,

RF (75 (horseshoe symbol)),

Coaxial,

Component section; First line, all circled with label component Y PB PR L R

Second line, each lines up with the line above, First three are circled together and say AV video L R Next two are circled together and say audio out L R

So going left to right, top then bottom would look like

Y - Video

PB - L

PR - R

L - L

R - R

——-

Are there any possible solutions, even with splitters or connectors?

Can someone suggest for me best top quality Z wave devices/companies?

Initially I wanted to go the KNX route, but after some research.... it seems z wave quality is acceptable

So please help me with this.

Also. I'll be traveling to China soon, ant Chinese brands you would recommend?

I’m looking into replacing my current thermostat with a new (smart) version but I’m not interested in placing smart radiator valves in the rooms, since I won’t be able to in the bathroom anyway which I consider the most important room. Was initially looking into Tado but don’t know if it would be worth it since I’m not using the TRVs. Nest also seemed like a possibility but feels a tedious to install for the purpose. The two main things I would like to be able to do is schedule temp of the room where my thermostat is in and to adjust it from my phone when I’m out. Anyone that has some advice in this regard? Much appreciated!

I bought a Chinese lamp called "DoHome" where I had an app also with that name. But now this app is no longer available, this lamp works as follows:

I turn it on and it starts blinking, and then I go to the app and click to connect, then on my Wi-Fi network and then a new network called "DoHome_8221" is created, so I just enter the network and is ready to use.

Well at least it should be that way. The app went down and now I can't connect, I tried using some apps like "tuya" or "smart life" but that didn't work, this is because these apps look for a Wi-Fi with a specific name (like smartlife_8221) I'm almost sure that if I find some way to change the name of the lamp's network I would be able to use these apps (I tried using gatway as on a normal network, it doesn't work) Attached I will include the error that occurred in the Dohome app Attached I will include the error that occurred in the Dohome app

Is it possible or even feasible to replace the X10 motion module on X10 motion controlled floodlights? The lights work fine, I would just like to upgrade the motion sensor to make them easier to use.

I'd like to switch these lights from X10 to zwave or IOT - something easier to integrate into Home Assistant.

If this isn't something I should do, might you have a recommendation for a new unit?

How reputable is AliExpress, getting into more home automation and the prices look amazing if you don't need the thing quickly but wondering how reputable it is.

Hi all,

I have an older Russound system (6 zones, in wall wired speakers pairs, multi-zone controller, amps, etc), controlled with a bunch of in-wall Uno keypads + some ISK2s.

I really dislike the Uno keypads and with the announcement yesterday of the Amazon Echo Hub, was thinking it would be awesome if I could replace those keypads and have intuitive smart home controls throughout the house.

So my goals are: best wall mounted touch screen for smart home control AND the ability to use that screen to control my sound system, i.e. play music in a zone or zones that I can also select from the hub.

But before I go out and pre-order a bunch of these things, I need to figure out the best way to upgrade my sound system. Here are the options as I see them; if anyone has any thoughts let me know!

1. Replace all Russound equipment with Sonos and Echo Hubs - not a viable option IMO because of cost; my understanding is that i would need to have a Sonos port/amp for each PAIR of spealers. So that's out

2. Upgrade existing Russound system: keep wired/wall speakers, upgrade the multi-zone controller to one of that is Alexa compatible.

2a. Replace keypads with upgraded Russound touch panels - my understanding is that this is essentially an android tablet they mount to the wall; so I'd be able to get easily pick my music zones through the Russound app and also use any number of Android apps. The downside here to me is I won't have the Smart Home UI that I really like from the Echo Hubs

2b. Replace keypads with Echo Hubs - I just don't know how controlling the Russound system would be on the hub. Will it recognize each "zone" as a speaker pair that I can select? I know there are Russound skills I can use for Alexa voice control but I won't always want to do that.

2c. If I can't control the Russound controller directly through the Echo Hub, perhaps I can program a bond bridge or similar with the commands I need to pass onto the controller

My ideal set up is 2b but I don't want to risk a jerry-rigged music situation.

To my support request on asking this, they wrote (emphasis mine):

Hi there, thanks for reaching out. We are sorry you feel this way and value your feedback. We will be sure to pass this along to the relevant department. However, we do want to mention that eventually, it will be essential to have a Hue account to control the Bridge and/or bulbs themselves.

I hate the Samsung/Aeotec button. It just feels cheap, thick, unstable and has weak click.

I love the Ikea Tradfri buttons but they aren't supported natively and the community drivers work aren't good and drain the battery in a few days. The Aqara button looks okay but I don't want to fiddle with drivers that could just stop working one day.

Is there any decent button that works natively?

If I bite the bullet and buy the Ikea Smart Hub can I control smart plugs in Smartthings easily via Thread? I already run Smartthings, Hue and Home Assistant and don't really want another hub.

Hello guys,

I am looking for help on making my old intercom smart, if possible. I am in the process of getting the phone inside my apartment installed, so before doing that I want to see my options on making it 'smart'.

The system in the building is PROEL KDC-1803.

I have checked Nuki and Ring, both are sadly not compatible with my system, according to their websites. The switchbot seems a clumsy solution, that I would rather skip if thats the only choice.

But I cant imagine how its more complicated than translating an analog signal to a digital one, which should be doable without much compatibility checking, or so. Am I missing something?

Maybe theres a possibility of hiring a professional guy who can rewire it, or so that it could be compatible with Nuki or Ring?

​

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

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P.S:

As a layman I think I found this quite techy article that seems to explain what I would want to do with mine:

https://michael.stapelberg.ch/posts/2021-03-13-smart-intercom-backpack/

I just got a new home but I have a Nest thermostat that was gifted to me. Is this thermostat setup Nest compatible?

It is connected right where city water comes into house. System says we use @140 gallons a day and says @400 gallons a day.

Saw the last post was 9months ago and maybe opinions changed or new options have came up?

I got an Arlo and returning it now after I saw it has a subscription service.

How are you guys backing up your phones?

Ideally I would like my android phone's photos amd video's to back up to my own personal cloud. I think setting up a personal cloud might be a little involved or a stand-alone solution expensive, and i don't really need to have a server running continuously.(electric is expensive here)

So far I can turn my own pc on remotely, and a little familiar with tailscale and robocopy which I use to backup an offsite pc to mine.

A one click back up or sync app would be good.

I currently use free dropbox and box for work related stuff.

I'm thinking nextcloud might be a good free solution, but i think i might prefer something simpler, just for backing up.

Any suggestions are welcome.

Update I'm going to try the Syncthing app

I have no hub currently. All lights (except the hallway) are running on smart bulbs via WiFi and are managed by Google Home routines. This works well enough for my needs and I'm not looking to get into Home Assistant. I can't justify that rabbit hole/time suck.

The hallway light is dumb and controlled by a two way wall switch. I want the hall light to go on automatically based on motion sensing and go off 10-20 seconds later. I figure I need to buy a sensor for this and relay so the two talk to each other. I figure Aqara's eco system is affordable and good quality so I was going to get the Aqara M2 hub, an Aqara sensor and cheap zigbee relay that sits before the bulb fitting in the ceiling which will turns the light on an off when instructed. I'd leave the wall switches alone. I want to know a) my HW choices are ok? b) Google Home routines are limited. Can I program the Aqara software to manage the functionality separately? I.e sensor movement turning on the lights and then off again after 10 seconds? I'm guessing yes, but would like confirmation before purchasing.

Thanks

Not sure how to set the following up, would be great to get some ideas! Basically I want to have:

1. Two stereo speakers fixed on the wall or on the shelf
2. A Bluetooth vinyl player
3. A Samsung TV

I would like to set an Alexa routine to change the lights and start a disk on the vinyl player. At the same time, the speakers should be used for either the TV or the vinyl player. I found some switches for stereo cables but they are all physical switches so I would not be able to activate them with Alexa. Any ideas?

Has anyone used this in their smart home? Did it work as advertised? Was it any good?

https://bondhome.io

Anybody know how I can setup a motion detector to trigger a loudspeaker to play a custom .MP3 file?

The system that I've used for the past 2 years used Sonos for the speakers and Arlo cameras for the motion detection. What I had setup was this:

Arlo camera motion detection ==> Alexa routine ==> Yonomi scene ==> Sonos app running on a Mac mini play local MP3 file

Unfortunately, this BROKE today because Sonos issued a software update that doesn't work with my (less than) 2 year old Mac Mini. They say my computer is "unsupported" even though it is running Apple's latest OS.

I would like to use existing off-the-shelf automation tools like Alexa, IFTT or Yonomi to do this. I don't want to have to write a custom script.

I hope you guys could tell me some way to have one of my motion detectors (either Arlo or Yolink) trigger a powered PA speaker like the Rockville BPA12 to play an MP3 file, or to play audio from a locally-connected Echo Dot that plays the MP3 file. Unfortunately, I don't think Alexa can play a custom MP3 file.

Any ideas?

​

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An open source solution would be best, but the two I found didn't look promising. I'd settle for an assistant that let you completely delete the stored data on you from talking to it/what it picks up.

I tried using Alexa for a bit, but even though it lets you delete your voice logs, it keeps a permanent text log of everything it hears and I don't like that.

Hello, working on a project where we are trying to automate "Rooms" as in have certain rooms in the house be for certain things.

Our plan is to have a media room, and as an experiment we want to see if we can send a command to a tablet every time it is taken out of the room in order for it to not allow the launching of video games.

We think we have the coding figured out, but I have no idea how to set up a proper fence.

Do you all have any tools you would recommend? Off the shelf products to produce such a thing?

I will admit that I have not kept up with the technology over the last few years so this question may annoy some and I am sorry. My home is almost completely "smart". It's full of Wemo/Enbrighten switches, Hue bulbs, smart thermostats, motion detectors, etc. all tied together with HomeAssistant and integrations with other platforms. Now, everything isn't necessarily the same manufacturer, for example my door sensors might be from 3 different manufacturers, etc. but it all works.

I recently had a Wemo light switch go out and I went to purchase a replacement and saw that it was about $50. I saw the Enbrighten switches were about 1/2 the price and since I already use some of those, I figured I would replace the switch with that, but I also saw some switches being marketed as "with matter." I start researching what matter was, and while I understand it, my question is "do I need to make it an active requirement to purchase matter compliant switches/devices as things fail?" I would have been happy just grabbing an enbrighten swtich, adding it to my z-wave network, changing all my automations, and moving on, but if I need to start making the transition, I'd rather do that starting now. If it's just a matter of convenience, I'll just continue to replace things with what makes sense instead of making sure its "matter".

Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone.

I'm searching for a Zigbee (or anything that has a local Home Assistant integration) RGB controller that can power a 230v LED stripe.
Unfortunately, I can only find ones with Tuya wifi, infrared, or bluetooth such as this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/293061086985.

The ones with Zigbee weirdly all only support up to 24v.

Does anyone know a good controller for this kind of stripe?

I had to factory reset one of my Nest thermostats (I have three).

Now the Home Assistant integration doesn't see it. I reloaded the integration and it didn't help. In the device page > logbook, it says "No Logbook Events Found."

Any suggestions what do do?