I’ve been thinking of getting a HomePod mini for my garage to replace the 30 year old shelf system that I play my iphone through. The issue I have is I have an ga door opener that I can open with a Siri command. Is there a way to shut that command off for one HomePod only?
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HomePod Garage door security issues?
- Thread starter omerbaker
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You can't shut it off that I'm aware of, at least not with a simple toggle. You could modify the Siri Shortcut to check the Device Details of the device it's running on first, such as the Device Model or Device Name. Then do your stuff based on that. The example below uses the Device Model. With Device Name, you could restrict it to only run on certain devices (i.e. "omerbaker's iPhone").
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OP you don't mention if your opener is integrated into HomeKit. If it is, nobody should be able to use a HomePod to open a door - it should tell the person issuing the command to authenticate on their iPhone.
If the opener instead has its own app and is commanded via an iOS Siri Shortcut on your phone, I believe those require that "Personal Requests" be enabled on the HomePod or they won't run. You can turn Personal Requests off on individual HomePods, or roll the dice and hope voice recognition works and strangers can't run shortcuts on your iPhone. In that case, I like iStorm's answer as a safeguard as well. Hope this helps.
If the opener instead has its own app and is commanded via an iOS Siri Shortcut on your phone, I believe those require that "Personal Requests" be enabled on the HomePod or they won't run. You can turn Personal Requests off on individual HomePods, or roll the dice and hope voice recognition works and strangers can't run shortcuts on your iPhone. In that case, I like iStorm's answer as a safeguard as well. Hope this helps.
My Yale door locks for my house can be locked by Siri using a HomePod. If I ask Siri to unlock the door, she replies “you will valve to continue on your iPhone or iPad”. I have no idea if your garage door would act the same. Perhaps do a test run with one of your existing HomePods before taking the plunge.
Changing the subject (but still consistent with the thread title), I’ve always thought using in-car garage door openers to be a security risk if you ever park it in the driveway. Cars are just too easy to break into and then the thief perhaps has easy access to the house. I have a buddy who had this happen. I only use the MyQ app now from my phone. I wish it was HomeKit compatible but such is life. It is also good because Amazon deliveries are placed into my garage.
/Jim
Changing the subject (but still consistent with the thread title), I’ve always thought using in-car garage door openers to be a security risk if you ever park it in the driveway. Cars are just too easy to break into and then the thief perhaps has easy access to the house. I have a buddy who had this happen. I only use the MyQ app now from my phone. I wish it was HomeKit compatible but such is life. It is also good because Amazon deliveries are placed into my garage.
/Jim
Garage doors are also considered security devices, and require authentication for direct control.
you can make automations that will run without authentication. For example you could make an automation that opens the garage door and is triggered when the garage light turns on. You can ask siri to turn on the light, and the door will open without requiring authentication. You can also add geolocation conditions to that, so it will only happen if you're at home.