HomeKit ecobee Smart Doorbell Camera - early impressions

[flynz4]

No hub. A sub is only required if you want recordings. Otherwise you get snapshots of motion activity only. And it works great with HomeKit. Just not HomeKit Secure Video.

Correct that you do not get recordings without the subscription. I also have not purchased a subscription and I agree it isn’t necessary (for me). However, you will get live video on demand in the Ecobee App or on the Apple Home app. Also, when the doorbell is pressed, you can see the video on the thermostat screen and it also pops up in the corner of yout TV if you have an Apple TV.

Speaking of which, I’ve recently lost the ability to see the video on my thermostat following a doorbell press. Now I usually get s spinning icon, and sometimes the thermostat reboots. I’m not sure what the problem is. I can select the doorbell from the thermostat and see live video. I should give Ecobee a call.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

This ecobee device is my first experience with a door bell camera and HomeKit. (I also have their thermostat.)

Could you please cover how you created this automation?

I'm not going to go into great detail, but basically you have to first integrate the ecobee devices with HomeKit.

Setting up HomeKit with your ecobee Thermostat

ecobee and HomeKit: Setup, Scenes, and Troubleshooting

support.ecobee.com

For lights, you'll need some kind of system like smart switches or bulbs that are HomeKit compatible. In my case, I replaced my dumb light switches with Lutron smart switches and use their hub to provide integration with HomeKit. Replacing these switches was quite the project since a number of my lights are 3-way and even 4-way switches. I basically had to replace one switch in these cases with a smart switch, then bypass the lines for the other switches and use Caseta remotes in their place that pair to the wired smart switch. Inside the house, I have recessed LED dome lights that are only compatible with one specific model of Lutron's dimmers. Anything else causes hum when dimmed.

Integrating Apple HomeKit with the Lutron App

This article will provide instructions on integrating Apple HomeKit with your Lutron Lighting control system via the Lutron App. It will provide step by step instructions on linking, programming and voice commands associated with Siri voice control.

support.lutron.com

You then use Apple's Home app to create the automations. Basically I created one that, when motion is detected on the ecobee doorbell, it kicks on my outside lights and selected indoor lights. They remain on for a designated time period before automatically turning off. And it's only enabled after dark.

Create scenes and automations with the Home app - Apple Support

With the Home app, you can automate your accessories and create scenes to do what you want, when you want.

support.apple.com

Apparently some people have used Scrypted to create a RTSP feed from the ecobee doorbell camera. Check out this Redit thread. If you can get it to work, perhaps you'd add your experience to your other comments here.

That looks promising. I've had no luck figuring out how to use my ecobee doorbell with HKSV, but I'll dig into that discussion more when I get a chance.