Smart home stuff and home assistant

johnw100

johnw100

johnw100

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Joined
20 Dec 2010
Posts
66
So I’m suffering from an addiction to smart home tech and started dabbling with home assistant on my NAS.

I’m off work after an op so I thought I’d fill my time trying to connect my 30+ smart devices.

All I can say is, what a massive headache. I’m spending hours trying to find how to add a certain device from one of about 10 manufacturers. Just so I can automate a light coming on when I walk into the room instead of just pressing a light switch.
I can see some advantages but it all seems like a lot of time and money to do a simple job.
Don’t get me wrong the doorbells, cameras, plugs and lamps are all great. It’s just trying to get them out of 10 different apps on my phone into one is proving beyond my limits of patience.

Anyone else struggling with all of this?
Cheers
 
There's a massive thread in here already - think similar woes are not uncommon :p

The latest Linus Tech Tips video also illuminated some of the issues.
 
What Nas your using?
I was using a Synology and found it had more restrictions than a Rasberry PI and with HA installed.
Yes its a bit of a steep learning curve and if i was to pair the smart stuff again now I wouldn't know how to as it took a lot of trial and error and some help from others.

However when you do get something working its very rewarding. Youtube and Google will get you through most of it.
 
Home Assistant is one of those things that's very daunting at first (even more so in the past when most stuff could only be configured in yaml), but the more you use it the more you get used to it and know where to find things. It took me well over a year to properly start making use of its features. It's well worth it once it's all set up.
 
dLockers said:
There's a massive thread in here already - think similar woes are not uncommon :p

The latest Linus Tech Tips video also illuminated some of the issues.
Click to expand...
Ha ok thanks will check and funnily enough I watched that Linus tech yesterday. I had little sympathy for someone who spent 10 grand on light switches having a tough time.lol
 
Schizophonic said:
What Nas your using?
I was using a Synology and found it had more restrictions than a Rasberry PI and with HA installed.
Yes its a bit of a steep learning curve and if i was to pair the smart stuff again now I wouldn't know how to as it took a lot of trial and error and some help from others.

However when you do get something working its very rewarding. Youtube and Google will get you through most of it.
Click to expand...
I’m using a Qnap. Yeah I I’ve been through some YouTube videos. I have some devices working but some I can’t seem to add even though there are instructions. It’s all the ssh business that’s driving me nuts as I bought a usb zigabee sniffer for it and can’t seem to get it to find it on my container. So getting close to giving up with those.
 
johnw100 said:
Ha ok thanks will check and funnily enough I watched that Linus tech yesterday. I had little sympathy for someone who spent 10 grand on light switches having a tough time.lol
Click to expand...
I had little sympathy for him when he was putting in motion sensors in the most bizarre places.
He's made it overly complicated for what he's actually needs IMO
 
I've started to make sure all my IOT devices are Smart Life / Tuya compatible. They make pretty much everything and it's all pretty cheap, so it's not hard to do.

I can now control all my smart devices using only a couple of apps /accounts.
 
Bluecube said:
Why do you need SSH? Just about everything can be configured through the GUI.
Click to expand...
Trying to setup a sonoff zigabee usb which needs to be setup via ssh. And I spent about 10 hours trying to get it to work so on the verge of returning it and giving up. Seems the usb drivers need to be added to my home assistant container but all the links I’ve tried give you a few commands but mine fails and can’t find the answer.
 
Urgh. That sounds nasty. I think your issue could be down to using a container which has added another level of complication. I personally run Home Assistant as a VM which has proven to be much easier to handle. Is it possible to use VMs on your NAS?

I understand your frustration btw. I installed and uninstalled Home Assistant three times over a period of two years before I finally found time to sit down and persevere with it. Once you’ve got your Zigbee adapter working and devices in Home Assistant you’ll have a bit more fun.
 
johnw100 said:
I’m using a Qnap. Yeah I I’ve been through some YouTube videos. I have some devices working but some I can’t seem to add even though there are instructions. It’s all the ssh business that’s driving me nuts as I bought a usb zigabee sniffer for it and can’t seem to get it to find it on my container. So getting close to giving up with those.
Click to expand...

The latter bit sounds like deployment issues. Installing HAOS bare or as a VM is a lot easier to get to grips with than deploying as a container. I don't think you even get supervisor with container deployment which will give you a right headache unless you've got complete familiarity with HA.
 
Should be illegal to call something a "smart whatever" if it's actually worse than the dumb version.
See: smart meter, smart lightbulb, smart phone, smart tv, smart car, smart thermostat, smart doorbell, ...
 
johnw100 said:
Trying to setup a sonoff zigabee usb which needs to be setup via ssh. And I spent about 10 hours trying to get it to work so on the verge of returning it and giving up. Seems the usb drivers need to be added to my home assistant container but all the links I’ve tried give you a few commands but mine fails and can’t find the answer.
Click to expand...

Is that not already supported natively? Have a look through HACS. I bought a conbee2 which works with the Deconz app, so it's a breeze to add ZigBee devices.
 
Bluecube said:
Urgh. That sounds nasty. I think your issue could be down to using a container which has added another level of complication. I personally run Home Assistant as a VM which has proven to be much easier to handle. Is it possible to use VMs on your NAS?

I understand your frustration btw. I installed and uninstalled Home Assistant three times over a period of two years before I finally found time to sit down and persevere with it. Once you’ve got your Zigbee adapter working and devices in Home Assistant you’ll have a bit more fun.
Click to expand...
Ah yes I’ve read about using a VM. Maybe that’s the way forward. I’ll look into that. Down another rabbit hole I go.. lol
 
Semple said:
Is that not already supported natively? Have a look through HACS. I bought a conbee2 which works with the Deconz app, so it's a breeze to add ZigBee devices.
Click to expand...
Ok I will have a go before I move onto trying a VM solution. My HA just got wiped after following someone’s idea on Reddit, so need to start fresh. Thanks.
 
throwaway4372 said:
Should be illegal to call something a "smart whatever" if it's actually worse than the dumb version.
See: smart meter, smart lightbulb, smart phone, smart tv, smart car, smart thermostat, smart doorbell, ...
Click to expand...
Actually a lot of stuff is really handy. Like smart plugs that tell you your power usage. I just found out I was using 70w for a load of gear in my media cupboard that was on standby!

Doorbell that I can speak to someone when I’m not around and ask to give to a neighbour.

Lots of it is crap and a pain in the arse to setup but when it works you realise it’s worth it.

I’m not sure about all the motion sensor stuff though, just remember to turn the light switch off.
 
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