Unable to find HomeKit compatible smart plugs, bulbs, infrared remote hub on usual places.
any suggestions where I can get them?
any suggestions where I can get them?
if you have access to an always running PC (even a rpi will do), you can run homebridge on it to link pretty much any plug/light to homekit
Lookup homebridge on github
Lookup homebridge on github
Don’t have a desktop.
I do have an unused Rpi3. I would want to avoid this as it’s a pain to use.
I was googling and found out that I can add Siri Shortcuts via smart life app.
seems to be working for stuff I can control via smart life app.
problem Is with Stuff that I cannot control with smart life like remote hub.
I do have an unused Rpi3. I would want to avoid this as it’s a pain to use.
I was googling and found out that I can add Siri Shortcuts via smart life app.
seems to be working for stuff I can control via smart life app.
problem Is with Stuff that I cannot control with smart life like remote hub.
homebridge (or home assistant) is the only practical option you have …unless you want to replace all existing IoT devices with homekit compatible stuff.
rpi3 will work fine for the former.
It’s a one time effort - but totally worth it as it should work absolutely perfect for years to come.
All added devices show up (and behave) as native devices in the home app (or for homepods etc) unlike the roundabout way of using siri shortcuts
Ok.
Right now smart life app is taking care of some of my existing bulbs and plugs.
Using that I can control that stuff via homepod.
Oakter doesn't seem to have a homebridge plugin or integration with smart life/tuya app.
It seems like I will have to invest in another remote hub of I can't find solution to oakter.
Any suggestions for how to make oakter play nice with homekit?
so I googled for Oakter homebridge and the first set of results included my own github page ..:lol
I had forgotten that i had added an Oakter remote at some point for AC control..
Here are the details:
GitHub - superczar/home-assistant: Configuration and setup details for Home-assistant
Configuration and setup details for Home-assistant - GitHub - superczar/home-assistant: Configuration and setup details for Home-assistant
github.com
I know how to install plugins on homebridge.so I googled for Oakter homebridge and the first set of results included my own github page ..:lol
I had forgotten that i had added an Oakter remote at some point for AC control..
Here are the details:
GitHub - superczar/home-assistant: Configuration and setup details for Home-assistant
Configuration and setup details for Home-assistant - GitHub - superczar/home-assistant: Configuration and setup details for Home-assistant
Don't know how to do the above. Is it homeassistant?
yes -
yes - but the key part in the details is that the oakter IR remote is a ESP8266 chip - so you can flash other firmware (like tasmota) on it which will make it compatible with homebridge
@superczar hmmm. Never flashed firmware like that before.
currently I’ve my AC, ceiling fan, tv remotes being controlled by Oakter. I’m assuming I can do that again after flashing.
how do i flash firmware?
edit : can I connect Oakter remote via micro usb to usb cable to a computer and flash tasmota f/w via this web installer?
currently I’ve my AC, ceiling fan, tv remotes being controlled by Oakter. I’m assuming I can do that again after flashing.
how do i flash firmware?
edit : can I connect Oakter remote via micro usb to usb cable to a computer and flash tasmota f/w via this web installer?
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I wish it were that simple.
I doubt the oakter device will have a USB data link to the ESP chip.
The board has 4 headers for serial communication and you'll need to use USB -serial adapter from pc to connct to the serial headers on the oakter
dont have the skills or the confidence to do that. Also, I will have to do that using rpi3 which may make it hader.
I guess I’ll just buy a tuya homemate ir hub. I think it costs ₹1000 on Amazon.
any suggestions for IR hub that will be best for homekit?
edit - Any idea if this saber smart bulb can be made to play nice with HomeKit either via homebridge or Siri Shortcuts. This bulb is an odd duck. Powered by something called gridOS.
Just posting an update.
I've been using a homebridge on rpi 3 to make my smart stuff homekit compatible.
It's been a mixed experience so far.
I've developed a lot of respect for Amazon echo devices after this.
They are cheaper, have the most skills, and are generally fast to respond to voice commands.
Homekit siri is definitely more polished and works great with the apple ecosystem. The important caveat is "when" it works.
Siri/homepod can be very unstable, slow to respond sometimes.
Apple needs to do something about cross platform compatibility with homekit or homekit will never take off.
I know they are working on something called MATTER to address that but right now homekit in India is just a nightmare to use.
The siri shortcuts are nice but they are primarily for voice commands. If you want to do other stuff like view security cams on your apple tv, ipad control centre, they are useless in that situation.
Edit : I also bought a broadlink rm4 mini to play nice with homebridge as oakter was not working with homebridge. The temp/humidity sensor is a nice touch. I like seeing the indoor humidity/temperature on my air conditioner icon on the iphone control centre
. When homekit works, life can be beautiful
I've also ordered a cheap 5mp v1.3 raspberry pi camera module for security cam feature. Let's see how that goes.
I've been using a homebridge on rpi 3 to make my smart stuff homekit compatible.
It's been a mixed experience so far.
I've developed a lot of respect for Amazon echo devices after this.
They are cheaper, have the most skills, and are generally fast to respond to voice commands.
Homekit siri is definitely more polished and works great with the apple ecosystem. The important caveat is "when" it works.
Siri/homepod can be very unstable, slow to respond sometimes.
Apple needs to do something about cross platform compatibility with homekit or homekit will never take off.
I know they are working on something called MATTER to address that but right now homekit in India is just a nightmare to use.
The siri shortcuts are nice but they are primarily for voice commands. If you want to do other stuff like view security cams on your apple tv, ipad control centre, they are useless in that situation.
Edit : I also bought a broadlink rm4 mini to play nice with homebridge as oakter was not working with homebridge. The temp/humidity sensor is a nice touch. I like seeing the indoor humidity/temperature on my air conditioner icon on the iphone control centre
. When homekit works, life can be beautifulI've also ordered a cheap 5mp v1.3 raspberry pi camera module for security cam feature. Let's see how that goes.
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My homepod OGs keep having internet connection issues.
Don't know why. May be doing a reset and see if that helps.
My echo uses the same network. Solid as a rock.
I am doing something goofy somewhere. I guess it will take time to transition to homebridge.
On the logs in getting a lot of warnings ovee tuya plugin. Illegal brightness value over one wipro/tuya bulb.
The homebridge logs have been a revelation. It gives me an insight into the smart life traffic in my home.
Off topic- my TCL tv remote is not playing nice with the rm4 mini pro kiwi plugin. Except for power button, no hex code is being detected
good that I noticed this thread for during a Raspberry search in the forum
since there has been discussion going on here regarding Apple Homekit enablement via homebridge.. I have few questions
I have few Sonoff smart switches at home working via Google assistant (currently using Google home app as the UI for these devices which is very slow and sluggish on my iPhone), hence I checked if Sonoff works with Homekit and found out that there are options like Homebridge and Home assistant
Currently just to test, configured Homebridge on my MacBook and the Homekit integration is working fine with Sonoff plugin an dI am now looking for a permanent setup via Raspberry Pi
1). so which Raspberry Pi model should I opt for ? considering a 3-4k budget
2). there is another option for sonoff switches to integrate with homekit thru flashing a Tasmota firmware and does not need a Raspberry Pi, is this a better option for a
stable connection ?
since there has been discussion going on here regarding Apple Homekit enablement via homebridge.. I have few questions
I have few Sonoff smart switches at home working via Google assistant (currently using Google home app as the UI for these devices which is very slow and sluggish on my iPhone), hence I checked if Sonoff works with Homekit and found out that there are options like Homebridge and Home assistant
Currently just to test, configured Homebridge on my MacBook and the Homekit integration is working fine with Sonoff plugin an dI am now looking for a permanent setup via Raspberry Pi
1). so which Raspberry Pi model should I opt for ? considering a 3-4k budget
2). there is another option for sonoff switches to integrate with homekit thru flashing a Tasmota firmware and does not need a Raspberry Pi, is this a better option for a
stable connection ?
All I have is a Echo show, Alexa speakers (lot of them) smart plugs and few some Xiaomi bulbs and smart tubelights...and they work perfectly fine and almost idiot proof.
Problem with Alexa or Google assistant is that they are not compatible or u cant integrate them with Apple Homekit
option 1 for stability and extensibility.
Get the Rpi4 base model - that will be enough and more for running homebridge to handle tons of devices as you add more.
Sonoff works great on tasmota and it is pretty easy to flash . However, as far as I am aware, Tasmota does not support homekit emulation natively (and i have over 10 devices running tasmota)
There could be some tasmota branch that may support it but given the minimal amout of flash space on the esp8266, I sort of doubt it will work very effectively.
If you want to go the whole hog - home assistant is a great option for a central broker server that also supports homekit integration (amongs other things)
homebridge OTOH is a single purpose stack - but woks great for the intended purpose.
@MarioBros
raspberry pi is the recommendation for me. I am using the version three model and it’s good for experimenting with home bridge without breaking the bank.
I just installed a Homebridge camera using the pi v1.3 camera module. It’s a pretty shoddy camera but it was cheap it cost me Rs.250 only. reason I bought it is I wanted to see how HomeKit video worked so that in the future I can make a better decision when I buy a real security camera.
Edit : @superczar Any idea if the raspberry pi v1.3 camera module can be made to detect motion of people? Maybe via software? Or is it a hardware thing?
Any suggestions?
raspberry pi is the recommendation for me. I am using the version three model and it’s good for experimenting with home bridge without breaking the bank.
I just installed a Homebridge camera using the pi v1.3 camera module. It’s a pretty shoddy camera but it was cheap it cost me Rs.250 only. reason I bought it is I wanted to see how HomeKit video worked so that in the future I can make a better decision when I buy a real security camera.
Edit : @superczar Any idea if the raspberry pi v1.3 camera module can be made to detect motion of people? Maybe via software? Or is it a hardware thing?
Any suggestions?
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And that's why I love it.
I work in iMac and a MBP and at times use an ipad just as a Logic remote ( wonderful control surface for logic and being able to control the faders precisely with touch makes the entire workflow much faster and not going to spend anymore on controllers which basically do nothing...but a very expensive mouse)
And that's the only relation I want to keep with Apple ( beside uploading to Apple music)
Everything else is Android and I'm perfectly happy with Google and Amazon for now.
It's just a personal preference and as a noob I am far more comfortable with Android compared to iOS ( even after using iphones for year after year)
Sorry for going OT once again.