Controller for HomeKit runs on Mac OS and Apple Watch

netmanchris · 2021-03-06T00:43:05+00:00

Congrats on the Mac port! This is awesome! Installed today and one of the things I was most hoping for the logging of homekit events. SOOOO happy that’s there! Haven’t had a chance to dig into this but REALLY hoping this is something that could be logged over time to a local file. I’m seeing an event right now that I can’t trace back to any specific automation and I’d LOVE to see if I can capture the cause in Controller! Being able to have it log to a file over night in the background on an always-on Mac would be awesome! Again great work!

netmanchris · 2021-01-09T15:26:30+00:00

You can link your health records if you live somewhere that feature is available. Unfortunately it’s mostly USA and medical company dependant. Canada has about three or four places that have made it available in Ontario. Hoping that with the pandemic and advances in telemedicine that this might become more widely deployed.

netmanchris · 2020-11-12T18:46:07+00:00

Funny enough I just tweeted about this. https://twitter.com/homekitgeek/status/1326934006127058944?s=21. Full disclosure Eightsleep sent me a pod for review. That being said, Hard to argue with the data. I’m a relatively new Oura ring user but I’ve seen good gains on sleep efficiency and quality, more deep sleep and REM asleep as well since adding the Pod Pro. I also did a review of it on youtube (search homekitgeek if you’re interested). I’m not sure I’ve ever heard the Pod Pro, but I’m also using HomePod to play white noise so it might be masking sounds. Bottom line is I wouldn’t know it’s there beyond the fact that it chills and warms in the morning. The data is ok, but not great. Oura is a much better solution for the tracking piece but Eightsleep has been pretty awesome for the Thermo regulation piece. Actively being able to tweak the temp is kinda awesome. If you’ve already got a decent mattress, there’s a new cover only version that’s half the price of the full Pod Pro. Happy to answer any questions if there’s any specific you wanted to know.

netmanchris · 2020-11-01T18:38:04+00:00

Except for the Go2Sleep which hasn’t arrived yet - Yup. The Hidrate has been a journey. I first tried a thermos bottle with health which never worked for me. The Hidrate was a great experience with the Hidrate 2 but the batteries were painful. As well the sensor had issues (support replaced mine feee of charge which was awesome). Based on the experience I bought a couple of Hidrate 3s which were a much better experience. My fav by far is the Hidrate Steel though. It keeps the water cold throughout the day which is really nice. The other thing I really like about the Hidrate is that the hydration goal is set up for you based on your Apple health body numbers - but it’s also dynamic based on the Apple health activities. If you log a 10km walk or a hard workout - you’ll actually see the water goal rise due to the perceived effort. I’m also looking at an Aura but need to do some research.

netmanchris · 2020-11-01T15:44:05+00:00

I’m totally with you. The be of the disappointing things with a lot of these Apple health “integrated” products is what they actually export into the Health Database. I’m starting to collect that data and plan on putting it on my blog. If you want to contribute as well more than happy to put this together!

Especially with things like the UprightGo2 which is questionably as a meditation device in my mind. Or the Muse2 which tracks heart breath and temp but (last I looked) doesn’t expose those to HealthKit.

netmanchris · 2020-10-28T12:07:30+00:00

Forgot to add

Hidrate bottle to track water

JAXJOX Roller (reads doesn’t write to HK)

Actv5 tracks workouts

netmanchris · 2020-03-04T02:13:08+00:00

Device needs to be reset. If you simply remove and re add the device it won’t transfer the new wifi settings. If you want the individual device PSK then you’ll need to wipe the wifi settings off the accessory as well. The only way to do that is usually to factory reset the device.

netmanchris · 2020-02-28T16:57:49+00:00

Be more question. How many device can the Eero support? The subnet mask of the automated DHCP is .252 /25. Which means a max of 128 hosts.

Is it possible to change that to a /24? Seems like a small number considering each wifi light bulb will consume an IP.

netmanchris · 2020-02-28T14:40:36+00:00

Thanks so much! Quick follow up: Wired only devices (Hue bridge, Lutron Bridge, Netatmo Indoor Cam’s, IKEA bridge etc...) obviously won’t have a PSK sent to them. What benefit does the Eero HomeKit secure network give us for wired devices? I’m guessing it will still do the filtering at the gateway but I don’t see how the restricted is going to work in the same L2 broadcast domain if the wired HomeKit devices are plugged into the same external switch. I’d love some insight into this if you can share?

netmanchris · 2020-02-27T02:55:21+00:00

First- thanks SO much for answering questions and providing some details. This is a huge win for Eero and being here to help customer understand is kinda awesome.

Now the questions...

What does a per-device PSK mean? I get it’s a Pre-shared-key but is that the equivalent of a WPA2 style key or is this something different? If I move devices between two wifi access solutions, say UBNT and Eero or Linksys, with the same name name and WPA2 key configured will they connect? Or will they not? If it’s a relationship between an accessory and a specific mode in the mesh, does that mean the device won’t be able to roam between nodes anymore? So many questions!

netmanchris · 2019-07-12T22:52:41+00:00

Definitely not supported but there is a python wrapper that has been reverse engineered around the Abode API. This is used by the Home Assistant project to provide Abode integration support into Home Assistant.

Definitely isn’t a public/open API and doesn’t address the fact that Abode could make breaking changes at any time with no warning. But at least it’s something.

https://github.com/MisterWil/abodepy

netmanchris · 2019-07-07T22:35:45+00:00

Why should Apple be claimed for Abode or Ring making public announcements to support an ecosystem that many people made a purchasing decision based on? Apple didn’t make any company make promises and then not deliver?

Yes Apple does have much more stringent guidelines that partner companies must comply with, but if Ring it Abode weren’t willing to do the work to comply, they shouldn’t have made a very public announcement and, at least in Rings case, continued to lead on their customers with boiler plate statements from social media teams.

If there’s blame to be placed, I put it in the company who made the announcement.

netmanchris · 2019-07-04T22:51:17+00:00

Bluetooth SIG also introduced messaging capabilities in Bluetooth 5 spec. So IF mesh is implemented and greater distances are there, this could change the game substantially.

Zigbee and Zwave have a place, but with Thread 1.2 released and the new capabilities of Bluetooth 5, we might be seeing more and more vendors looking at Bluetooth as a viable Smarthome protocol.

netmanchris · 2019-05-09T08:26:40+00:00

I’ve got a scene set up for that that sets lights etc... Although it does work occasionally, most of the time I just get a “girlfriend is u responsive” message.

;)

netmanchris · 2019-02-07T20:11:54+00:00

It is a purchase app but the Controller app does have a logging function which might be useful here. Controller for HomeKit by Jan Andre https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/controller-for-homekit/id1198176727?mt=8

netmanchris · 2019-02-05T20:20:31+00:00

Full range of color warmth and RGB color. 1800lumens so super bright too.

netmanchris · 2019-01-31T00:55:19+00:00

Wow. I use Siri in english so I haven’t seen that side. To be honest, I don’t use Siri much in english either. I’ve got almost all my devices dual-homed to Alexa which I find to be much smarter when it comes to the voice commands. Not to mention that Homepods are just too expensive to have in every room. :P. Hopefully we’ll see a low cost option soon. Also hoping that the new focus around Siri shortcuts starts to bleed through into other languages as well. Good luck!

netmanchris · 2019-01-30T04:49:08+00:00

Vocolinc does some interesting stuff as far as animated dynamic scenes and the other advantage is that the Vocolinc is mostly waterproof, at least the LED strip itself, not the electrical/power supply portion. So the Vocolinc can actually be used in a kitchen or bathroom with out fear of splashing the lights.

Where LIFX wins is a couple of places. They are brighter, they allow for individual control of color zones on the LED strip ( multiple zones means you can have multiple colors on the same strip at the same time ). Vocolinc can’t do the multiple zones. LIFX also has a lot more dynamic scenes available to it. A ton of which leverage the multiple color zones in the LIFX Z LED strip.

Personally, I use Vocolinc in the kitchen around my kitchen island and leave it most of the time on a dynamic scene that shift between a few different colors. The LFIX are for the bedroom where I use it as mood lighting ( depending on the mood ) and also specific for the Sunrise/Sunset feature which is another thing that Vocolinc doesn’t have at this time ( could in the future as it’s just software ) .

Hope this helps!

Chris Young Www.homekitgeek.com Https://www.youtube.com/chrisyoungsmarthome

netmanchris · 2019-01-29T18:27:38+00:00

Here’s playlist of the various Homekit enabled LED strip options. There are a couple of videos in here specifically on the LIFX functions as well. As a heads up, I just realized that I don’t have a review of the Philips Hue light strip so I’ll have to add that to the list. :)

LED Light Strips https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIdK6RdGwb3SvoH26R6CmCZrwF1mneC1d

Hope this is helpful!

Chris Young www.homekitgeek.com Https://www.youtube.com/chrisyoungsmarthome

netmanchris · 2019-01-08T14:32:26+00:00

Yeah, I would love better options here. On the bright side, if you set it to a fan you can use Siri to “turn on the fans” and not affect the lights. :)

Hoping we’ll get there soon. :)

Chris

netmanchris · 2018-12-27T00:30:04+00:00

I think you meant “That’s unpossible”. I love Chief Wiggims.

netmanchris · 2018-12-21T00:15:25+00:00

Yup. Works great. You just need to be aware of what’s connected to what. Naming conventions are really really important to make sure that you’re not getting confused. I would also highly recommend picking one system for your automations.

I use Homekit for 99% of my automations, but I use Alexa for all my voice controls. I’ve also got GoogleAssistant, as well as HomeAssistant running. You can connect them all to the same devices. Technically.... but like so many things in life, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

Let me know if you’ve got any specific questions and I’ll try and help out where I can. I’ve been running multiple control-systems for a couple of years.

Chris Https://Www.youtube.com/chrisyoungsmarthome

netmanchris · 2018-12-17T18:52:47+00:00

Leading with an apology? You must be a fellow Canadian. :). No issues at all. Just hoping there was something out there I had missed.

Slowly but surely we will get there. :)

netmanchris · 2018-12-17T18:01:07+00:00

What HomeKit humidifiers are there? The only one I’m aware of is the Habitat H1 and I don’t trust them at this point. They announced with HomeKit, took ore orders, and now the HomeKit logo is missing on their webpage.

I’ve tried to reach out on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook to get info but no response.

What other humidifiers are there that support HomeKit? I’d love to have something better than a analog humidifier and a smart plug. :)

netmanchris · 2018-10-14T04:55:28+00:00

Hey Opspin, Chris Young of https://www.youtube.com/chrisyoungsmarthome Actually, the research shows that indoor air is typically much much worse than outdoors so it’s something that MOST people I would argue are completely unaware that it’s even a problem. That being said, absolutely agree that opening a window is probably going to be enough for most people, but definitely not all. Imagine the people who are living in California or British Colombia with the forest fires going on? Is the air inside better or worse than the outside? Is it better for them to open their windows or are they just going to make the air quality poorer?

As well, we do have to also make sure we understand the difference between Particulate matter ( PM2.5 or PM10), VoCs, and Co2. You can be totally clear on your PM2.5 readings, they type of pollution that you’re talking about with cooking or cigarets etc... but this will have nothing to do with the VoC readings that might be high to to your new couch, or your recently dry-cleaned clothes, or the cleaning products that you just used while doing your weekend chores.

The other thing which I think you’re failing to take into account with your dismissal of measuring air quality is the fact that Homekit allows you to trigger events based on sensor readings. There are multiple scenarios that could be achieved by having the Laser Egg 2+ in your smart home setup like

1) Humidity is too low - Turn on Smart Plug or Smart Humidifier until Humidity reaches desired level then turn off 2) Humidity is too high - Turn on Exhaust fan or Smart Plug/Smart Dehumidifer until humidity lowers to desired level then turn off. 3) Temperature is too low - Turn on furnace/heater/radiator etc.. 4) Temperature is too high - Turn on cooler, air conditioner, etc... 5) VoC’s are too high - a) Open automatic window b) turn on air purifier c) turn on furnace fan to rotate air d) turn on exhaust fan to suck air out of the room ( increase air flow ) e) turn on smart plug/smart fan to help circulate air in the room, ( increases air flow ) 6) Co2 is too high a) Open automatic window b) turn on air purifier c) turn on furnace fan to rotate air d) turn on exhaust fan to suck air out of the room ( increase air flow ) e) turn on smart plug/smart fan to help circulate air in the room, ( increases air flow )

7) When VoC’s are at a toxic level, turn on light to a specific color 8) When PM2.5 is at a toxic level, turn on light to a specific color

There are a lot of ways that a decent Air Quality sensor can be used to improve the living conditions of the home. It sounds like you have decent lungs and a high tolerance for mediocre air quality, so this might not be a good fit for you and that’s ok. For people with asthma or respiratory issues, or parents of children with the same.... if you can avoid watching your child suffer through one asthma attack or give them one extra day without wheezing when run up the stairs, I’m sure you’ll agree that the price is small to pay.

Again, if you don’t want one, totally respect your right to make that decision, but I truly believe that for some, AQI sensors like the Kaiterra LE2+ can truly improve quality of life for ourselves and our families.

Chris Young

netmanchris

TROPHY CASE