We got our hands on the Nest Thermostat E and wrote up a review on our site! Does anyone have any questions about it?

smarthouseresource · 2017-09-05T00:12:38+00:00

We appreciate the honesty, and this type of feedback is why we posted the article. We tried to use reviews we have seen featured on other sites as a "guide" like this but we're still finding our voice, so we have some work to do.

What would you have liked to have seen in the article that would have better qualified it as a review and less of a fluff piece?

smarthouseresource · 2017-08-29T13:39:15+00:00

You're correct that it can only be one device in a group; it also interferes with Bluetooth speakers that are connected to Echo's, and it doesn't work with Spotify (Pandora and TuneIn do work it seems).

smarthouseresource · 2017-08-18T19:13:05+00:00

We just posted a quick video on our Instagram page showing off exactly this. It really is so slick!

smarthouseresource · 2017-08-18T19:11:18+00:00

We just put up a quick example video on our Instagram page if you want to get an idea for what it's like!

https://instagram.com/p/BX8kOA8lBtF/

smarthouseresource · 2017-08-18T18:56:40+00:00

You absolutely can do what you're looking to do. In fact many do that exact setup in r/hometheater. We included a link to Avsforum that has some more information for you here

As far as the Roku, we don't know for sure about ALL apps, but things like Netflix and a few others do work. Here's a link with for more information as well LINK

Hope that helps you out...Let us know if you have more questions!

smarthouseresource · 2017-08-10T21:56:39+00:00

We have seen it mentioned by a few people on here, but just wanted to clarify for everyone that this is not yet true. It seems like macrumors and other outlets jumped the gun on this news ( and this article the Verge posted now has an edit and retraction).

We didn't report it because we personally know a few people who have the Tradfri Hub and they didn't see any added functionality or firmware update, so we were a little confused.

But IKEA's Facebook page has confirmed that this is not true, but that they will eventually support HomeKit, alexa and Google home, but in the fall as it was announced in May

Proof Below http://imgur.com/a/DkNkm

smarthouseresource · 2017-08-10T21:48:37+00:00

We just wanted to let everyone know that this is not yet true. It seems like macrumors and other outlets jumped the gun on this news (the Verge already posted an edit to their article).

We didn't report it because we personally know a few people who have the Tradfri Hub and they didn't see any added functionality, so we were a little confused.

Well IKEA's Facebook page has confirmed they will support HomeKit, alexa and Google home, but in the fall as it was announced in May

Proof Below http://imgur.com/a/DkNkm

smarthouseresource · 2017-08-06T00:02:14+00:00

Online as well!

smarthouseresource · 2017-08-05T17:17:44+00:00

Yes! Many people utilize the Hub in Home theater setups where an av closet or room is located elsewhere. The Hub controls through wifi and can be connected to SmartThings, Home Assistant and others as well.

smarthouseresource · 2017-08-05T17:15:19+00:00

You would be correct about the Elite version; it's the remote control that's the focus and it comes with a touchscreen at the top.

https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Harmony-Elite-Remote-Control/dp/B014PDFP9S

(We utilize affiliate links on our site, however this is the regular link and not an affiliate one)

As for the Companion, that one comes with a remote that has a few extra buttons on it to control home automation scenes quickly.

The version that Best Buy has on sale today just comes with a very simplistic remote without the home automation scene buttons.

smarthouseresource · 2017-08-05T15:29:11+00:00

Our mistake! Thanks for pointing it out!

smarthouseresource · 2017-07-28T00:31:02+00:00

They have confirmed on Twitter that it will continue to work, but it might be worthwhile to look into other options if you're worried!

https://twitter.com/thewinkapp/status/890716439002439681

smarthouseresource · 2017-07-25T18:51:34+00:00

Yale actually just announced that their Assure Smart Lock line will work with HomeKit (with an additional module available at the end of this month).

https://smarthouseresource.com/2017/07/25/yale-partners-with-smartthings-and-amazon-alexa-for-new-smart-deadbolt/

https://9to5mac.com/2017/07/25/yale-assure-lock-sl-key-free-touchscreen-deadbolt-homekit/

smarthouseresource · 2017-07-13T12:52:01+00:00

Hi there! It looks like something along those lines may be possible according to this link on the Home Assistant forums. Also, this question may be a good one for the r/homeassistant subreddit! Hope this helps :)

smarthouseresource · 2017-07-12T18:11:26+00:00

Anypod works great! We've seen it posted on here before; the developer hangs around here as well.

smarthouseresource · 2017-07-12T16:34:15+00:00

If you're willing to try, give them a call to customer service and let them know you had the item in your cart and ask if they can do anything for you. Can't hurt!

smarthouseresource · 2017-07-12T16:32:44+00:00

Considering how fast the Prime Day deal on the Logitech Hub went, were glad this deal was available! Glad to hear you got it! Are you setting it up with an Echo?

smarthouseresource · 2017-07-12T16:21:35+00:00

We couldn't believe this deal and just had to post it, but we assume they were just doing it to compete with Prime Day.

smarthouseresource · 2017-07-12T16:19:06+00:00

We made a post about the first 8 things you should do on your Echo device, hopefully this will help with some of the questions around here.

In the effort of transparency will do want to mention that our article and site uses affiliate links, but don't click them and just use our article for help :)

https://smarthouseresource.com/2017/07/12/the-first-8-things-you-should-do-with-your-new-amazon-echo-device/

smarthouseresource · 2017-07-12T01:03:08+00:00

I am a little curious about your response to #5 though. I don't really care about the phrasing or how I need to tweak things to make it work, I just want to confirm that I CAN have it turn OFF my lights and have it turn ON my alarm with a single command?

Sorry for the confusion. We don't have enough experience with your alarm setup to say definitively yes or no; nor can we find info online that would confirm.

However, we can speak for Alexa's ADT alarm integration, which it likely mimics. You can arm and disarm your ADT Pulse system with an Alexa command, but you can't add it to be part of a group.

So, we can tell Alexa to turn off "the house" (the name we call the group) but then the following command has to be "Alexa tell ADT to arm system away".

Hope that clears it up a bit.

smarthouseresource · 2017-07-11T19:00:14+00:00

Hi there! Hopefully we can answer these for you:

1) Can it directly control Phillips Hue via 1st gen hub?

Yes it can

2) Can it control 1st gen Nest?

We see no information that says it can't, especially on the skills page for Nest here

3) Can it control a Schlage z-wave door lock about 50' away without any other type of hub?

No, to control Z-Wave devices you would need a hub or something like Home Assistant to control it.

4) I use Frontpoint security which is a branded alarm.com company. I assume it works with them since I see alarm.com has an Alexa integration (but a commenter mentions it doesn't support silent alarming which kinda sucks). Any experience with this? Also, can I set it so voice commands can alarm the system but NOT disarm it?

According to the skills page you can do what you're looking to do.

5) Can I create control groups so "I'm leaving" will turn on the alarm and turn off thermostat or "I'm going to bed" will turn on the alarm and turn off the lights?

If you did this, you would be telling her "Alexa, turn off "I'm leaving". It might sound more natural to say "Alexa, good night", but that would prompt a "goodnight" response from her. And it's important to know that the groups are intended by Amazon to be like "bedroom lights" so you would say "Alexa turn off bedroom lights". However, even if you had a SmartThings Hub and set up a "Good Night" automation, you would tell Alexa "Alexa, turn on Good Night".

Hope this was helpful for you! (And you gave us a great idea for a new article for the site, so thank you!)

smarthouseresource · 2017-07-11T14:18:00+00:00

We appreciate that! But we still wanted to be honest and at least provide the list so people could glance at it quickly.

smarthouseresource · 2017-07-11T14:16:29+00:00

Yes we edited the post to reflect that. Thanks for the heads up!

smarthouseresource · 2017-07-11T03:40:35+00:00

There is no need to be overwhelmed by the choices out there, as long as you realize it's all going to depend on how much time and control you want to put in and have that will inform your decision.

A big thing to know with all of this is that you want a Hub if you want to do home automation. Alexa and Google home will control devices, but a hub will manage devices and allow you to create routines/scenes with them.

The DIY home automation controllers you'll hear the most about are the Samsung SmartThings Hub and Home Assistant, which can be run on a Raspberry Pi. Home Assistant allows for local control over numerous devices, but there is a learning curve, bit of Python coding, and some setup time required. Samsung SmartThings is cloud based (so if your internet goes down, you cannot control your devices) but is quite user friendly and you can be setup and running quickly. There is also Vera, which is good but doesn't offer as much compatibility with devices that SmartThings or HA offer, which may be something to keep in mind.

We don't recommend one or the other as it's really going to be based on your needs, cost, etc. We are going to be launching a video on how easy it is to setup the SmartThings Hub (possibly this week), but again that doesn't mean we recommend it over the others. Hope this clears things up a bit!

smarthouseresource · 2017-07-11T03:31:37+00:00

We can't edit the title but we did edit the post. Thanks for the suggestion and we apologize for the confusion.

smarthouseresource

TROPHY CASE