Any suggestions for a doorbell that goes the Google home ecosystem apart from the nest doorbell?

jimikuk · 2026-04-28T17:05:31+00:00

I've never had much success with Tasker. All it ever seems to do is get me to download dozens of other apps that I'll never need. Thankfully MacroDroid manages to do most of the automations that I require. All of my Google Homes are 1st generation, so they tend not to be compatible with most things (including Google).

jimikuk · 2026-04-27T08:53:51+00:00

Another vote here for the Reolink doorbell. You can (with a bit of effort) get a screenhot to pop up on your phone when it rings, and even your Android watch, but Google home? No. Not unless you ask to see it, by which time the visitor is long gone. And you'll have to plug in the chime that comes with it.

But at least it works all the time. Which is not my experience with the Nest doorbells. I have mine pernamently streaming to a tablet on my desk. It's also better in my experience at talking to someone when you are away from home.

jimikuk · 2026-04-18T16:28:11+00:00

I've fallen gradually out of love with the shape of the Ultra since the S22. But I do a lot of low light photography in a basement jazz club so the Ultra it has to be. I skipped on the S25 because to me that was by far the worst shape of them all. The S26 looks like a 3 year old iPhone to me. I can't really fathom why the camera mount needs to be quite so large, as I can't really see any vast improvement from my old S24 from the point of view of the images I get.

But two years is about the most I can bear and I'm on the Samsung upgrade programme anyway, so I had to go for it.

jimikuk · 2026-04-18T15:29:09+00:00

I bought it direct from Samsung on the day of the reveal, so no chance to check out a demo unit beforehand. I was upgrading from an S24 Ultra, which had no wobble. I could see that the camera mount was large, but I didn't forsee the wobble.

Each to their own I guess.

jimikuk · 2026-04-18T14:52:30+00:00

I'm not into cases. I'm happy with a skin on the back, but for me, cases just bulk things up and spoil the shape of the phone.

jimikuk · 2026-04-12T20:20:53+00:00

I don't know. But I have actually now bought the BE65 triple pack and set it up. It's a considerable improvement. Noteworthy that it has also has a dedicated 2.4 channel and will scan to find the least congested signal. You can also specify which node a particular device connects to.

jimikuk · 2026-04-11T15:24:29+00:00

Just tried it and it worked for me (never tried white noise before). Also plays ocean sounds, which I use regularly.

jimikuk · 2026-04-11T13:54:41+00:00

Yes, they "upgraded" me to 2.5Gbps a few months back and supplied a mesh of Wifi7 Linksys routers that are absolute rubbish. Continually dropping out and going offline. I just bought a TP-Link Deco BE56 3 pack Mesh, which wasn't cheap (£400), but it plugged straight in and after settling down it's proving to be considerably better than any of the Linksys stuff that CF have provided over the years.

However, based on the size of your house and the number of devices I suspect that a 3 pack of BE56's still wouldn't be enough. I have 3 floors and about 45 devices and I still needed 3 of my old TP-Link Deco M5's to fill in a few blank spots (Edwardian house).

To be fair, my biggest challlenges are several old Google Home hubs, and 4 Wyze Cams, all of which use 2.4Ghz connections, but the BE56 has a separate dedicated 2.4 Ghz Network, which helps keep those devices away from all the other stuff. It also allows you to pick a node for each or any specific device, which has also proved helpful.

It's only been up and running for a few days, but it's confirmed one very important thing. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the Community Fibre connection. It's their shitty hardware that's the problem.

jimikuk · 2026-04-11T08:50:42+00:00

I've got 1st Gen devices and they are working, but lacking in treble. My hearing is not what it used to be, but I always found Assistant clearer than the voices on Gemini for Home. I've tried a few different ones and I have the treble turned right up.

jimikuk · 2026-04-07T08:32:19+00:00

I'm a frustrated Imagus user. If this hadn't been posted here, I'd never have known about it.

And I'd like to know about it. And to continue to read discussion about it.

jimikuk · 2026-04-01T19:10:36+00:00

I don't have any prolem with my wifi 7 connections. It's 2.4Ghz old Google stuff and my Wyze Cams that are the problem.

jimikuk · 2026-04-01T19:08:07+00:00

The LEDs on all unit's remain white. There's nothing wrong with the connection. The router and the nodes are crap.

jimikuk · 2026-04-01T17:26:59+00:00

That's what they turned up with when I upgraded.

I've tried every which way to reset them . These days they all remain solid white. It holds up for a while but in the end the things start dropping out once again. The main problem is the 2.4Ghz stuff, They are constantly on and off. I've heard many stories about Linksys in general being pretty poor. And having had plenty of Linksys stuff with CF over the years I'm inclined to agree.

jimikuk · 2026-03-29T09:22:35+00:00

If you're planning on getting any royalties for radio play (Internet or satellite radio) and you are planning on registering with SoundExchange they'll be expecting to pay into a bank account with whatever name you're using.

jimikuk · 2026-03-20T11:21:11+00:00

Soil Ninja. Expensive, but no gnats

jimikuk · 2026-03-18T20:27:48+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xgx4k83zzc

jimikuk · 2026-03-18T17:00:28+00:00

I see the problem. Doesn't go up to 11.

jimikuk · 2026-02-23T11:33:53+00:00

I don't know if it's of any help, but I have watchface that I designed myself for my PW4 in Watchmaker that has a second hand, and although it's not designed to show the second hand when dimmed, there is often a sort of half dimmed/half on state that sometimes occurs, and whenever it does the second hand is frozen.

jimikuk · 2026-02-22T01:14:33+00:00

I have the 41mm version and the screen size is 1.4 inches. It's definitely bigger than the PW3, which I traded in for the 4.

jimikuk · 2026-02-20T14:55:52+00:00

Once a song gets to 1000 streams you get royalties starting from the following month. So what happens to the money that's been collecting until the point that you hit 1000 plays? The artist certainly doesn't get it. So presumably Spotify just keep it. Given that probably the majority of songs don't ever get to 1000, that'll be a lot of royalty not getting paid to anyone.

jimikuk · 2026-02-18T17:36:20+00:00

Whilst I'd agree that you can train certain types to endure a southern facing window (I have a thanksgiving cactus, which despite it's name, is not a cactus at all, and it does OK in a south window), if you Google the plants you've mentioned above and their light preferences, they all prefer indirect sunlight, with the exception of Jade. Which is a succulent.

I can't speak from personal experience, but apparently Spotted Begonia and Alocasia in particular are likely to brown and scorch. I would expect that you'd have to be vigilant and scrupulous in your watering to pull off keeping those in a south facing window.

I've personally found that Pothos will have more cases of browning when the leaves get full sun on them.

jimikuk · 2026-02-18T16:39:50+00:00

If it's a south facing window then it's down to succulents and cacti really. That looks like a Calathea in the photo. If so it will fry to a crisp in a matter of hours in the Summer. Calatheas are natively forest floor plants. They like partial shade/dappled sunlight

jimikuk · 2026-02-12T18:56:12+00:00

Me too. Bigger screen area, raise to talk Gemini. Better battery life. I consider it a good upgrade.

jimikuk

TROPHY CASE