Home Automation Xiaomi Magic Cube Setup

Hey everyone! I've got two Phillips hue products linked up to my google Home/bridge (a light strip and a colour bulb) and I absolutely love them. I've moved to a new place which has chandeliers and I'm looking at buying atleast 6 bulbs up to a maximum of 8.

Why I like Hue and why I'd prefer to stay with the HUE ecosystem

Love the software that allows me to sync it with music/games/movies and tv. I also absolutely love the scenes and how the bulbs come together to create that.
They have worked flawlessly with me so far and I'd like to combine them with my current HUE ecosystem.
A great app and desktop program and it also connects to Razer Synapse (a gaming peripheral application if you aren't aware what that is).

So my question is, does anyone know where I could get 6-8 bulbs at a reduced price so i won't be charged like $500AUD. Or can anyone suggest a new, cheaper ecosystem that matches up with points 1 and 3?

In regards to the Phillips Hue 3 pack bulbs, These aren't exactly ideal as they all include bridges. I don't need or want 3 bridges

Thanks for your help!

submitted by /u/Davian__Thule
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Just about done with Wemo, what next?

Posted: 01 Mar 2021 09:29 PM PST

I am at the end of my rope with my five or six wemo switches (and several plug switches as well). This flaky junk is unreachable by their app half the time when I need to do anything, keeps getting stuck trying to update certain devices' firmware, etc.

Today, these shitty things have apparently forgotten how to connect to my Wi-Fi. Nothing like fiddling with my freakin' light switches because some bozo messed up something on a server somewhere.

I am about to call it a loss and buy replacements.

I am wondering if anyone here has any good recommendations.

I am mostly trying everything to HomeKit with a HOOBs device, and the native HomeKit stuff, and am pretty opposed to buying any additional hubs and getting into a parallel ecosystem.

Is there anything that is relatively affordable that has relatively straight-forward integration with HomeKit (via HOOBs if necessary) that isn't going to blow up my beer budget?

submitted by /u/ExtruDR
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Can a motorized roller shade be activated with dog barks?

Posted: 01 Mar 2021 04:12 PM PST

I have recently installed a motorized shade that can be controlled using the BroadLink RM4 pro Smart IR/RF Remote Control Hub / Alexa and am wondering if I can somehow program the shades to auto close when my barky dogs start barking at passers by?

Here's the roller motor's Amazon description:

AC 100-240V Electric Roller Shade Tubular Motor Kit Build-in Power Supply with Remote Control Compatible 1.5 Inch Shade Tube Brand: AOK motor

Thanks for any ideas or suggestions!

submitted by /u/HoBromoNo
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Smart switch, smart light question.

Posted: 01 Mar 2021 06:48 PM PST

We have 4 lights in our living room controlled by one switch. But we want to be a able to turn 2 lights next to the tv most of the time.
We were thinking a smart switch and adding 2 smart bulbs next to the tv and have them be off but not sure if they stay off when power returns. In my research I couldn't find any smart switches that work with smart bulbs. What would this community's recommendation for this situation?

submitted by /u/greendragon2010
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Has Zigbee 868/915 MHz operation been discontinued?

Posted: 02 Mar 2021 12:19 AM PST

I have not been able to find any official statement, but to me, it seems that Zigbee (at least according to the Zigbee Alliance as of 3.0) has quitely dropped support for sub-1 GHz devices (868 MHz in Europe, 915 MHz in North America). No sub-1 GHz mention on the ZBA webpage.

But is this true? Or is 868 MHz still fully supported by Zigbee 3.0?

Is it just the Zigbee Alliance webpage that is incomplete or incorrect?

A lot of third-party Zigbee information (e.g., google results from Zigbee component manufacturers) that is a few years old often state that Zigbee supports both 2.4 GHz and 868/915 MHz devices, and Zigbee Alliance states that ZB 3.0 is backward-compatible. But that would require that the operational frequency is the same for both new and old devices. They still use IEEE 802.15.4 as the underlying protocol, and that has support for sub-1 GHz operation, but would that be part of "Zigbee 3.0"?

On another note, I have googled a lot of Zigbee devices, and almost none of them state which frequency they use. But it appears as if 2.4 GHz is the most common by far.

submitted by /u/DuDuSmitsenmadu
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Moderately cheap ways to automate manual blinds operated with bead chain?

Posted: 01 Mar 2021 01:16 PM PST

Trying to see if there is any way to automate the opening and closing of blinds operated manually with a bead chain? I found only one product that was $150 which is cost prohibitive! Thank you for your input and pointers!

submitted by /u/winabi6056
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Smart lock w/ remote options and Alexa's smart home

Posted: 01 Mar 2021 04:48 PM PST

I am trying to find a smart lock that connects to wifi which allows a user to change/manage pin codes remotely from their app, and also work with Alexa's smart home as a smart device. Unfortunately, these two specific details seem to not be very important to people because it's barely ever talked about in reviews. I know there are a lot that can be activated through Alexa voice but I need one that shows up as an actual smart device to be used in routines. This is an easy thing to test but it would require me to have my hands on the lock and I'd rather not buy a bunch of different locks and return them if they don't work for my needs so I'm turning to reddit. Anybody got any ideas??

submitted by /u/Elitepete456
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Given the option to start over, would you do anything differently?

Posted: 01 Mar 2021 07:52 AM PST

In the next few months I'm going to move houses into an as-of-yet completely un-smart house (I live in the UK), and while I've got some smart home stuff, it gives me an opportunity to start over from scratch and streamline the way everything works.

Some context: we are an all-Apple household in terms of phones, computers, iPads etc, and I already own four HomePod Minis and a lot of Hue lamps, and we're all Unifi for networking gear. I'm aiming to make the house as automated as possible, and ideally as HomeKit-compatible as possible.

The brands I'm looking at are:

Hue for the majority of the lighting, mixture of Colour Ambiance, WW, and White Ambiance depending on the location, with the occasional Tradfri bulb thrown in (mainly for the light quality and power-on behaviour of OFF), with Hue motion sensors in most rooms
Gledopto RGBCCT drivers linked to Hue for LED strips around the place (probably the 2ID version for long runs, and the new Pro version for short runs for places that need to go really dark at night)
Tradfri Smart Plugs for any lamps that can't/don't need to be Hue, as they're the cheapest Zigbee smart plug available (as far as I know)
Nest thermostats (x4... eeesh) for the four different heating zones in the house, although I'm not wedded to that idea and happy to take advice on other UK-compatible thermostats
AirPlay 2 as my audio solution of choice, either to the HomePod Minis or to my home cinema receiver
Unifi G4 Doorbell and G3 cameras where needed
Home Assistant with Node-RED for the more complicated automations
Homebridge for the Unifi cameras and anything else that needs it
room-assistant to keep track of which room I'm in
KADRILJ blinds in some rooms with a Tradfri bridge (just for blinds)

Is there anything that I should reconsider or that obviously won't work together in my system? What would you do if you could pick your brands from (almost) scratch? There are so many different ecosystems and my priority is that nothing is harder to use than if it weren't smart (so I will be putting Hue dimmer switches in most rooms, etc), and that there is some central point that can control everything I've got.

submitted by /u/undercover_filmmaker
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Help With Setting Up Apartment?

Posted: 01 Mar 2021 04:49 PM PST

Heyo, I just got my first apartment and was hoping to get some advice in regards to my potential setup.

I was thinking of having a 4th Gen Dot in my bedroom and one that's kinda in the kitchen and living room. This feels like enough coverage to be able to talk out loud from anywhere and they could hear me.

Then I wanted to put speakers in the living room and bedroom so I could have music play throughout the apartment. I'm not sure how good the audio is on the 4th Gen Dots but I do need speakers for TVs and PC anyways.

Lastly for lighting I had these in my cart for the living room and bedroom along with these for whatever lamps I might get.

I also wasn't sure if this was something that was better to do with Google Assistant. I use Assistant on my phone but the TVs will have Firesticks and I don't know any other factors affecting the choice so I just don't know which is better.

My main concerns are things like which brands to absolutely avoid, which versions of things are overkill for what I want, etc.

Any advice/suggestions for what I should do/add is welcomed! Like I said, first place so I'm kinda scatterbrained on what's the right way to go about this.

submitted by /u/ThisIsMyDJAccount
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Are the new budget robot vacuums better than a used very expensive one from past years?

Posted: 01 Mar 2021 08:39 AM PST

I'm looking to get myself a robot vacuum cleaner for a small flat.

I know theres already hundreds of "what to buy" posts, but I'm not asking which robot vacuum to buy but if new budget vacuum cleaners are better than, let's say, an expensive Roomba from 3 years ago, (in good condition).

Has the technology improved so fast that I'm better off getting a circa 200$ budget robot?

submitted by /u/Totoro12117
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Inovelli LZW36 Fan/Light switch

Posted: 01 Mar 2021 03:59 PM PST

My Original setup had a power connection into the switch box. Load from the Switch connected to Fan Light. It also has a power connection into the fan box that connects directly to the fan motor. Fan was controlled using a pull-chain.

I installed a new Inovelli LZW36 switch following the 1st Wiring diagram https://support.inovelli.com/portal/en/kb/articles/inovelli-wiring-diagrams-ceiling-fan-light-switch#Wiring_Diagrams

I disconnected the power connection going into the Fan motor directly.

The fan part does not respond at all. The light part does seem to control lights but the lights keep flickering when the switch is in off state. I am not sure what I am missing. I tried to reach out to the support and created a ticket but have not got a response back yet. Any help/pointers on the issue?

submitted by /u/vgnt639
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Aqara Motion Sensor Hack for 5 sec

Posted: 01 Mar 2021 11:12 AM PST

First off I'm making this post as a somewhat easier way to hack the Aqara Zigbee sensor devices.

This is from the original links here

https://community.smartthings.com/t/making-xiaomi-motion-sensor-a-super-motion-sensor/139806

and here

https://community.home-assistant.io/t/aqara-motion-sensor-hack-for-5-sec/147959

I'm using "Bare Conductive Electric Paint" as I don't have a steady hand for soldering. It was a lot easier than I thought and only took a me a few minutes to do.

Step 1

Remove bottom battery cover.

Step 2

I used a Stanley knife to open around the edges of the piece keeping the sensor in place. Please refer to the photo's I uploaded.

Step 3

The sensor pops out easy. Put it on something steady.

Step 4

Please refer to the links above to have a better view of what to join together. I took photos but the black electric paint is not the best to showcase.

I used a a toothpick and placed a very small amount of the paint on it. Worked like a charm.

Step 5

Leave it sit for a while to dry(15 min on the paint I used) and then put it back together

Disclaimer: I 'm not responsible for if you break your own sensors. At your own risk

submitted by /u/frizbeano
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MotionEye laggy on mobile

Posted: 01 Mar 2021 02:00 PM PST

submitted by /u/BMXnotFIX
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Do you have to flip your switch twice with a shelly?

Posted: 01 Mar 2021 01:43 PM PST

I have a shelly 2.5 connected to a switch and the app works perfectly. But the physical switch is a weird one.

Sometimes I can flip the switch once and it works as expected, sometimes I have to flip the switch twice for it to work as expected.

Did I do something wrong, or is that just how it is?

submitted by /u/budding_camera_guy
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Switchbot on a sure stop water isolation switch

Posted: 01 Mar 2021 01:37 PM PST

Anyone used a switchbot in a sure stop water isolation switch? Not sure if it'll have the power to push. ??

submitted by /u/dgillings
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Electrifying/Automating existing roller blinds

Posted: 01 Mar 2021 07:12 AM PST

My apartment came with pre-installed roller blinds that are integrated into the wall. They are actuated by a hand crank, which is ok, but still annoying.

Some images here: https://imgur.com/a/YAhO2WW

I'm now trying to look into electrifying/automating these. The professional solution would be to replace the whole blinds with something like the Somfy automated blinds, but that is too expensive for my taste and this is only a rental apartment, so I also don't want to do such elaborate changes.

My idea now was to just replace the hand crank with a motor. It is only hold in place with 4 screws, and basically directly attaches to a square-tube which is connected to the gears inside the blinds.

Some searching on the internet and I found this company in Switzerland, which basically does exactly what I am looking for: https://www.so-oder-so.ch/index.php/eroll-set.html#customer-reviews

They attach a motor to the shaft that would normally attach to the hand-crank and then some control electronics and a mounting plate and that is basically it. But... 280chf (that's over $300) plus international shipping (which they don't even offer) is again too much...

Has anyone anywhere seen similar products? or DIY projects? I have a 3d printer and am fairly good with electronics, so I'm confident I could built that part of the project myself, but I am worried about the motor mount and coupling to the shaft, it might be difficult to find strong enough components.

submitted by /u/corny96
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Robot Vacuum for roaches?

Posted: 01 Mar 2021 12:52 PM PST

Okay I'm extremely terrified of roaches. I don't like killing them and I also don't like picking up their dead bodies. I'm moving into my own place and will probably have to deal with this. Of course I will still have to deal with the killing part, but is there a robot vacuum that is capable of picking up large roach bodies? Like roaches you find in the swampy south large?

submitted by /u/TaytayCaminante
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Made this door unlocker with a nodeMCU and a servo motor. Currently using blynk app to control it. Could anyone please help me write a program using “HomeKit-esp8266” library by Mixiaoxiao so I can integrate it into apple home app? I’m a beginner with very little knowledge of coding...

Posted: 01 Mar 2021 02:49 AM PST

submitted by /u/Skullector
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Smart vents to solve issue with upstairs getting overheated when heater is on

Posted: 01 Mar 2021 08:26 AM PST

Just bought a new house and we haven't experienced all weather yet, but yesterday the upstairs was unbearably hot while it was comfortable downstairs. There is no return duct from the two rooms upstairs. Our HVAC guy thought about installing a full zoned system but said that it would be more expensive than installing a two-unit mini split for the upstairs.

I'm thinking that some smart vents may be enough to solve the problem.

When heating:
1. If upstairs is hotter than downstairs, close the upstairs vents.
2. If downstairs is hotter than upstairs, close the downstairs and turn on "booster fans" in vents upstairs.
When cooling, do the opposite of the above.

I've heard that there are concerns that opening/closing louvers on vents can overload the HVAC blower, but I figure if there are also booster fans being used in the vents that that compensates a little, and also... really how big of a problem is it to close off vents? If it's so bad, why is literally every vent in every house installed with a louver to close off the vent?

Are there smart vents that also have the booster fan built in? I think I would only need to booster fans in the two vents upstairs because there are a lot more vents downstairs and I'm not worried about too much pressure being formed from just closing the two vents upstairs.

submitted by /u/if_yes_else_no
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Home Automation Xiaomi Magic Cube Setup

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