Home Doorbell Advice w/ HomeKit/HomePod integration - Please

[roland.g]

I'd like to get a video doorbell. Ring. Nest. Arlo. Eufy.

But my number one criteria is HomeKit support so that I can use our HomePod (and eventually HomePod Minis) as a Chime Network.

I've seen that people have set Home Shortcuts / Automations / or something to make their Doorbell ring through a HomePod or Flash Hue Lighting, or both.

I believe that Ring has yet to support full HomeKit but have seen things like Raspberry Pi, or HOOBS or HOOBS on a always on Mac to get the HomeKit into Ring. Haven't seen much on Nest or Arlo. And I believe Apple lists Eufy which is kind of new as providing HomeKit support.

I have Arlo cameras, but I think the doorbell somehow works separately from that network.


ANYONE who can chime in. I guess I don't mind going the HOOBS route but I'm trying to avoid something extra complicated just to achieve this goal. I know some believe use the HOOBS to bring Shortcuts and Home/HomeKit to non-HomeKit devices galore. I guess that's a benefit.

Anyone who can help I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

 

[Itinj24]

So far, the Eufy doorbell cams are not HomeKit supported. I believe they’re supposed to be at some point, but who knows when. Another option is Netatmo which is native HomeKit and just released in the EU/UK. It’s supposed to release in the US by the end of the year. Keep in mind they were announced at CES 2019 which was almost two years ago.

If you want something simple, right now, I highly recommend the Nest Hello with Starling Hub (for HomeKit support). You get every feature the Hello offers in HomeKit. Package delivery/pickup, facial recognition, loud sound alerts, ability to turn chime on/off, home occupancy, etc. I believe Ring plus HomeBridge/Hoobs still has limitations. With Starling you can add most of the Nest products to HomeKit if you want to expand (Hub Max, Nest Protects, other cameras, the Nest alarm system, etc...). The Starling is basically a Pi but just programmed for Nest. Hoobs is more versatile but there is a bit of a learning curve with it. Starling is plug and play and the developers are constantly updating it. I’m eventually going to pick up a Hoobs myself to add more versatility to my HomeKit system but for now, Starling plus Nest is IMO, amazing. But what do I know...

 

[mmomega]

I never found a Doorbell I wanted that has HomeKit support, or cameras, or many things.
If you have some willingness to do a work around you can use practically anything you want.

I had a Ring Doorbell Pro working on Homekit. It shows in all the Home apps, shows on the Apple TV's when someone rings the bell. All the things a supported version does.
I also have my Nest Thermostats on.
I replaced the Ring with a UniFi doorbell, cameras were already Unifi protect so it works out.

I already had an UnRaid NAS at home anyway. So in their "app store" is a HomeBridge with GUI app. Download and start it up and you go in that and search for pretty much any app controlled device and add to HomeKit through a single interface.
So I have much older Insteon switches, Nest Thermostats, my swimming pool lights/filler/heater, sprinklers, garage door, cameras... just so many things I've randomly got throughout several years all working together in a single app. The only things actually homekit supported out of I have are a handful of Hue bulbs.

The things showing No Response at the moment are a few bulbs that are connected by regular light switches. Most of the switches in the house have been swapped with controllable switches if the room has multiple bulbs.

 

[Itinj24]

I never found a Doorbell I wanted that has HomeKit support, or cameras, or many things.
If you have some willingness to do a work around you can use practically anything you want.

I had a Ring Doorbell Pro working on Homekit. It shows in all the Home apps, shows on the Apple TV's when someone rings the bell. All the things a supported version does.
I also have my Nest Thermostats on.
I replaced the Ring with a UniFi doorbell, cameras were already Unifi protect so it works out.

I already had an UnRaid NAS at home anyway. So in their "app store" is a HomeBridge with GUI app. Download and start it up and you go in that and search for pretty much any app controlled device and add to HomeKit through a single interface.
So I have much older Insteon switches, Nest Thermostats, my swimming pool lights/filler/heater, sprinklers, garage door, cameras... just so many things I've randomly got throughout several years all working together in a single app. The only things actually homekit supported out of I have are a handful of Hue bulbs.

The things showing No Response at the moment are a few bulbs that are connected by regular light switches. Most of the switches in the house have been swapped with controllable switches if the room has multiple bulbs.
View attachment 967645

Does two way audio work with the Ring Pro in HomeKit using HomeBridge?

 

[roland.g]

I never found a Doorbell I wanted that has HomeKit support, or cameras, or many things.
If you have some willingness to do a work around you can use practically anything you want.

I had a Ring Doorbell Pro working on Homekit. It shows in all the Home apps, shows on the Apple TV's when someone rings the bell. All the things a supported version does.
I also have my Nest Thermostats on.
I replaced the Ring with a UniFi doorbell, cameras were already Unifi protect so it works out.

I already had an UnRaid NAS at home anyway. So in their "app store" is a HomeBridge with GUI app. Download and start it up and you go in that and search for pretty much any app controlled device and add to HomeKit through a single interface.
So I have much older Insteon switches, Nest Thermostats, my swimming pool lights/filler/heater, sprinklers, garage door, cameras... just so many things I've randomly got throughout several years all working together in a single app. The only things actually homekit supported out of I have are a handful of Hue bulbs.

The things showing No Response at the moment are a few bulbs that are connected by regular light switches. Most of the switches in the house have been swapped with controllable switches if the room has multiple bulbs.
View attachment 967645

That sounded awesome. Until I went to UnRaid and looked up UnRaid and Homebridge. Already seems too complicated.