Six HomeKit and AirPlay 2 Accessories Worth Checking Out

[Morgenland]

my homekit isnt working for weeks now, chrome cast works fine - so why should i buy more homekit crap, when its useless?

have no idea how to fix that ...

Hello Austria. I want to help you.
Nowadays you can read and learn a lot on the Internet.
Apple has a lot of documentation that you and your friends obviously don't know.

https://www.apple.com/de/ios/home/

HomeKit has become an industry standard. In your language area you will find a comprehensive selection at Amazon here:

https://www.amazon.de/s?k=apple+hom...7652&tag=googhydr08-21&ref=pd_sl_1a22l1jutw_b

You're welcome to be a Chromecast fan. But then don't condescend to things you haven't done enough with.

 

[jimthing]

As a UK reader, a lot of these are US only products (like the whole Leviton brand), unfortunately.

Also, regardless of location, I want products that work with all three of the main ecosystems: Apple, Amazon, Google. So therefore I can use either of them.

And as another user above states, we need products that can work in a fail safe mode (i.e. not come on full blast if LAN goes down; wired or WiFi), and work in manual mode (i.e. wall switches that can be pressed without the need for an app, imagining situations where a friend or outside person in our home, needs to turn lights on/off without resorting to any app control).

Until these functions are de rigueur, nothing will convince me to buy in to anything outside of the Ring Pro doorbell I have as I live in a first floor flat).

 

[justperry]

As a UK reader, a lot of these are US only products (like the whole Leviton brand), unfortunately.

Also, regardless of location, I want products that work with all three of the main ecosystems: Apple, Amazon, Google. So therefore I can use either of them.

And as another user above states, we need products that can work in a fail safe mode (i.e. not come on full blast if LAN goes down; wired or WiFi), and work in manual mode (i.e. wall switches that can be pressed without the need for an app, imagining situations where a friend or outside person in our home, needs to turn lights on/off without resorting to any app control).

Until these functions are de rigueur, nothing will convince me to buy in to anything outside of the Ring Pro doorbell I have as I live in a first floor flat).

Assuming you read post before, I am in the same position, I am rebuilding my appartement right now, so I did a lot of research, Z-wave is the most interesting, problem is it is a bit too geeky.
Homekit isn't the one I am looking for, too limited, Zigbee neither.
Z-wave isn't cheap, and you need a controller, some of them are really expensive like the Fibaro home controller, there are USB stick for Z-wave, running it on a computer is just overkill, a RaspberryPi would do the job just fine, but they UI is just horrible, someone needs to step in to make it as easy as click and go.

 

[ddhawk]

MyQ is trash. Insignia is way cheaper, more compatibility and works flawlessly.
[doublepost=1556226579][/doublepost]You also forgot Schlage smart sense, AQARA products - all around cheapest and best products, Ikea smart plugs and lights

My experience over the last year:

MyQ retrofit on two 8 year old Liftmaster/Chamberlain garage door openers - took some effort to install and setup, but has been solid and reliable since. I have set a schedule to make sure the doors are closed at night.

Schlage Smart Sense door locks on two doors - nice design, easy to install on door, finicky to setup, reliable operation.

30 Leviton HomeKit switches, dimmers, some with multiple switches per light - generally reliable, occasionally one will go offline, requiring a reboot by cycling the breaker (switches) or air gap (dimmers).

Eve window/door sensor - easy to setup, reliable.

 

[ipedro]

As a UK reader, a lot of these are US only products (like the whole Leviton brand), unfortunately.

Also, regardless of location, I want products that work with all three of the main ecosystems: Apple, Amazon, Google. So therefore I can use either of them.

And as another user above states, we need products that can work in a fail safe mode (i.e. not come on full blast if LAN goes down; wired or WiFi), and work in manual mode (i.e. wall switches that can be pressed without the need for an app, imagining situations where a friend or outside person in our home, needs to turn lights on/off without resorting to any app control).

Until these functions are de rigueur, nothing will convince me to buy in to anything outside of the Ring Pro doorbell I have as I live in a first floor flat).

Yeah, I need a dumb proof/offline setup. Some friends just came over to look after my dog while I’m away and I struggled to explain to them what comes to me as second nature. I use Siri on my HomePod to control all aspects of my home. Feels perfectly natural, yet it was like I was trying to teach them Chinese.

I have an iPad on the wall with the Home app permanently on but again, it just seemed like they were so confused.

I’m going to invest in some Hue light switches that work like wired ones. They only need the hub to be powered, not necessarily online. It’s pretty ironic that after living in a smart home for years where I don’t worry about controlling anything and just ask Siri for anything, that now, I’m trying to dumb down my home and it seems impossible.

 

[Wolffie]

MyQ is trash. Insignia is way cheaper, more compatibility and works flawlessly.
[doublepost=1556226579][/doublepost]You also forgot Schlage smart sense, AQARA products - all around cheapest and best products, Ikea smart plugs and lights

I would like to hear what issues you had with MyQ. I have been working great with the opener, the app and Siri shortcuts.
The installers only offered the option with MyQ but it location in the garage I didn't think it would work. It is one of the first product to connect to the WiFI after a power failure.

 

[nbwallace]

The Homekit experience using Chamberlain’s equipment has been nothing but exasperating since the beginning. User’s waited for the promised Homekit integration for two years. The integration required hardware, which was supplied to the customer base free of charge. The setup with the new system was extremely painful and often failed. Old equipment needed to be replaced, sometimes at no charge.

For a brief period it all worked, then there was a systematic failure mode where the system showed the status but was unreachable to open or close the garage door. This issue has persisted for nine months now and effects many users.

There are multiple threads on the Chamberlain forum devoted to these issues. It’s not a cheap system and it should be trivial. I mean it’s really just a WiFi’s witch and sensor that sends a signal to the garage opener.

Many users have had better luck using homebridge.

 

[NightFox]

The Chamberlain MyQ Wi-Fi bridge required for Homekit isn't available for EU Chamberlain doors. Whilst Chamberlain in the US and Chamberlain in the EU are the same company, their product ranges are completely different. Some of the EU doors can be operated from the Chamberlain iOS app, but Siri/Homekit requires the Wi-Fi bridge which is only compatible with US doors.

It's not just a matter of importing the Wi-Fi bridge from the US or updating firmware on an EU door - the door openers are totally different models between the two regions.

 

[jimthing]

Haha, from the sounds of many posts here, this whole smart device sector is still very much in its infancy.

Until things are better worked out, then this whole sector really is for the early adopters, as anyone with sense can see the serious flaws with even basic manual operation outside of the 'smart' functionalities they offer.

...come back next year, or at least until after WWDC2019 (when Apple will likely offer nothing new to make device manufacturers happier to make decent products, no doubt! Reason: Apple not bothered enough, ®2019) :-/

 

[Sciomar]

Haha, from the sounds of many posts here, this whole smart device sector is still very much in its infancy.

Until things are better worked out, then this whole sector really is for the early adopters, as anyone with sense can see the serious flaws with even basic manual operation outside of the 'smart' functionalities they offer.

...come back next year, or at least until after WWDC2019 (when Apple will likely offer nothing new to make device manufacturers happier to make decent products, no doubt! Reason: Apple not bothered enough, ®2019) :-/

I'd say it's in toddler phase now lol, the current offerings have come a long way from our initial choices. We're still nowhere near true smart home capability with seamless functionality and instant user intuitiveness, but the areas like smart plugs, light switches, and bulbs are real close.
I'd like to go all-in on smart home tech, but I worry with companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon gaining access to the house features, I do not trust those companies to act in the best interest of consumers at all. Eero and Nest showed us we can't even count on start-ups to stay free of corporate control.

 

[PastaPrimav]

Those Hue light strips are just insane. $70 for 7 feet. Outrageous. You’re much better off buying some normal lights and connecting them to 1 HomeKit outlet.

 

[Brien]

Leviton Homekit switches are the best kept secret in wall switches and dimmers. Very well built, easy to use and completely reliable.

Mine go ‘No response’ and I have to reset them quite often.

 

[deeddawg]

anyone with sense can see the serious flaws with even basic manual operation outside of the 'smart' functionalities they offer.

Plenty of products provide basic / traditional manual operation while also offering homekit capability.

If a person chooses to purchase products that don't support manual operation, that's on them not on Homekit.

Sure, we're still very early on these products, but one can be smart about one's requirements and choose products accordingly. In my case, anything replacing an item with manual operation must also support manual operation. Leviton switches/dimmers work fine manually. Schlage deadbolt works fine manually. Ecobee thermostat works fine manually.

[doublepost=1556548412][/doublepost]

Mine go ‘No response’ and I have to reset them quite often.

I've been using Leviton dimmers and switches for over a year and haven't had a single problem.

 

[PastaPrimav]

Mine go ‘No response’ and I have to reset them quite often.

And I'm sure you assume the switches are the problem. Couldn't possibly be the way they were installed, your network configuration, interference, or any of a dozen other things.

 

[Beerstalker]

Mine go ‘No response’ and I have to reset them quite often.

Have you updated the firmware on them?

I bought and installed these last September I believe, shortly after moving into our new (to us) home. As soon as I got them hooked up to the internet they ran a firmware update. I have not had a singe issue with them since they have been installed.

When I was first looking into them I did see a few reviews complaining about connection issues, but it seemed like many of they said they went away after a firmware update.

So far I just have these switches on my outdoor lights so they all come on at sunset and turn off at midnight. They then come on again at 6am and turn off at sunrise. If we happen to be out late and get home after midnight it is as easy as asking Siri to turn on the outdoor lights as we pull into the driveway. I'm sure I could set it up with geo-fencing as well, but I haven't taken the time to figure that out since asking Siri is so easy and it happens so little.

 

[Brien]

And I'm sure you assume the switches are the problem. Couldn't possibly be the way they were installed, your network configuration, interference, or any of a dozen other things.

You don’t have to be condescending. Jeez.

 

[mdhwoods]

Mine go ‘No response’ and I have to reset them quite often.

i had this issue with the original firmware and have not since i updated them all. Make sure you have them all updated. Also weak wifi can cause this issue. I have pretty decent whole house coverage with my wifi.
[doublepost=1557762183][/doublepost]

You don’t have to be condescending. Jeez.

ignore people like this, not worth the energy.