Hello,
I had an iCOMEN boiler switch that worked for many years. And I used iCOMEN app on my phone to manage it. Short time ago app started to have an error message that it cannot connect to the server, and after some time the device also stopped working.
Some of you may know that I took at shot at building an alternate geofencing solution for Vera. The core of it was system agnostic, using the OwnTracks application and AWS lambdas to track devices and keep a central data, then disseminate that to the Vera via a websocket-based plugin. It worked with other apps as well, including Tasker and GPSLogger, but of the dozen people that were testing it, most used OwnTracks.
A lot was learned in the process, not the least of which is that the success of any such solution is highly dependent on the phone and its settings. Phone manufacturers love to set things up for the longest battery life, of course, but that's usually very anti-geofencing behavior. In the case of at least one brand, it was unusable and the settings could not be modified. It was also cost-prohibitive to maintain on Amazon, as AWS grabs a dime here and a dollar there and before you know it, it added $100/month to my AWS bill, which my wife deducted from my Scotch budget. Unacceptable.
But it's quite reasonable to use OwnTracks to a local endpoint, and I could pretty easily replicate the functionality as a local application, or maybe even as an additional endpoint built into MSR's API (still separate port and process, but in the package).
So the question really is... would you do it, or would you be too concerned about the security risks associated (e.g., dynamic DNS and NAT mapping in the firewall necessary for the phone to contact the service when not on LAN)?
Hello forum instigators.
Not sure who host/runs the forum software but a couple of challenges:
The chat is not currently usable, as the scrolling is all not right and it's not possible to read chats or send chats reliably.
There are a lot of female members that should perhaps be on another forum; where they can advertise their skills more appropriately. Note: I agree it's a job, like any other.
Whoever you are - thank you for your invaluable work.
I run a B&B and am looking for a way to turn the lights off whenever a room is unoccupied for X amount of time. The guest should still be able to turn the lights on and off manually, but should not be able to disable the auto turn off feature if the room is unoccupied.
I guess I am looking for a light switch with a built in presence sensor? I guess a presence sensor would be better as if it is a motion sensor, the lights may go off unwanted if the guest fails to make sufficient movement e.g. if the guest is lying down watching a film.
Are there any products on the market that would work for my application?
I currently have an HVAC system in the attic - for heating and A/C. 120v is supplied to the unit to run the gas heating. A/C uses 240v. I have an ecobee thermostat...which sometimes goes offline....not often. When it goes offline, I need to turn the 120v power to the HVAC system off and then back on (the ecobee gets its power from the HVAC system). That resets the ecobee and all is fine. I spend the summer away from this house and if the ecobee goes offine..I have no current method to reset the HVAC 120v power remotely. My idea is to replace the current 120v plug in the attic with a smart plug...then I can remotely turn the 120v power off and the ecobee will reset and come back online. I use Wyze and Lutron Casita in the house currently and was hoping I could find an in-wall smart plug from Wyze or Lutron. Obviously, I don't need diming, etc...just the ability to turn the plug power on/off. I've seen some options...but one problem I have is the attic can reach up to 135F in the summer...many of the smart plugs I've seen are not rated for that temperature. Might any of you have any thoughts on a smart plug I might want to look at? I don't want to invest in anything that would require a new hub - so either WiFi based or Casita HUB based. I need 120v and 15amp ratings. Thanks in advance.
Hello,
I am in search of a device capable of using Bluetooth to connect with a smartphone and serve as its primary sound source on demand. This device should function similarly to conventional Bluetooth headphones, which automatically become the phone's sound output upon activation. However, this device should differ in that it transmits the audio signal to an amplifier via a jack, SPDIF, or similar connection. Alternatively, it could be an integrated amplifier that directly sends the signal to passive speakers.
The control of this process should be manageable through an API such as MQTT, REST, MODBUS, or similar. Are you aware of any devices that operate in this manner?
The concept is as follows: upon entering the bathroom, I would press a wall-mounted switch. This switch would send a signal to the Bluetooth device, prompting it to connect to my smartphone and seamlessly continue playing the audiobook I am currently listening to. Instead of using the phone's speakers, it would seamlessly start playing through ceiling-mounted speakers.
Many thanks 🙂
Hi folks,
I currently have some cheap Zigbee hub and some Amazon Alexas running my smart home which mostly consists of Zigbee power strips and Zigbee battery powered switches.
It all worked OK originally, but now whenever I press a Zigbee switch the light in the corresponding plug switches on then immediately off again.
If I ask Alexa to turn the light on it works fine. Likewise if I switch it on from my phone.
Any ideas what the issue could be?
I've tried unplugging the hub a number of times but that doesn't seem to fix it.
I was thinking about getting a Homey Pro 2023 to speed things up (tmas the Zigbee hub seems to be really slow now as well, for some reason) but I'm not sure about that either.
Any suggestions greatly appreciated!
Looking for a recommendation:
Locksmith is trying to talk me into the Yale Assure Lock Touchscreen with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth - the original 1st generation because they said it's built better than the Assure Lock 2. Any thoughts on this? Which would you recommend?
I see Mul T Lock makes a cylinder (KW-KIDYRL) for Yale Smart Locks. Would this fit the 1st gen Assure Lock, as well as Assure Lock 2? Has anyone tried replacing the cylinder with this on either lock?
Other smart lock I was considering is the Schlage Encode Plus.
Thanks!
Hi. So when I had my house build I ran a bunch of stuff, one of which being two pairs of speaker wires to each bedroom and to 4 spots around my living room… Over the years I have used them here and there with different success.. But today they sit in my walls just unused.
I converted all the cat6 or 5e (I don’t remember) over to basically eithernet jacks. The cable coaxial well it’s there but now unused. But I was thinking there has got to be some use for two pairs of speaker wires to each room. Can I make them usb plugs? Not sure so looking for ideas.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this.
Kevin
Hey guys...
We are replacing the heat pump and furnace this week and I will also need to replace my nest thermostat at the same time 'cause Nest is ending the cloud thing end of the month.
Anyway, I'm looking to use the
T6 Pro Z-Wave Programmable Thermostat | Smart Home | Honeywell HomeThat's what the heat pump installer recommend BUT, using Nest I was also using it to control the home humidifier using a single wire connected to nest... but no low voltage thermostat is able to do that, I checked all of them...
So I need some help on how I can do that, to connect the home humidifier using zwave also....
Hi
We are looking for a solution where we can detect presence of a «thing» (people , car , dog, cat, and more..
We need:
fast detections, 1-3 seconds in range from 0 to 20 m from «base» fysical «client» , chip , transmitter , unit. base , receiver placed at a door, gate, house, etc uniq Identifying wirelessThe client:
no need for pressing any thing (no buttons) battery , hoply 2-5 years battery time.Have someone done anything like this?
What technologi will be best?
Hey everyone, I'm currently working on developing a bed sensor that can detect when you're out of bed. It could be used to trigger other smart home gadgets, like lights or blinds, temperature etc.
The sensors are placed under the legs of your bed post. Should look and feel like "smart furniture pads" with size 2 inches in diameter and 1/4 inch thick.
Before we go any further, I'd love to get your thoughts on this - would a bed sensor like this be something you'd find useful? We're still in the early stages of development, so any feedback you have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
@DesT, fenced code blocks display differently after the upgrade.
abc defThe above should display as abc and def on two separate lines. This works. But this fails:
verbose: true config: data: "auto"The above should display as three lines, verbose: true, config: and data: "auto", but this fails. In order to make it display properly, I now have to open the fenced code block with ```text (specify language, generic text). This displays without highlighting. The words yml and yaml (and the all-caps versions) don't seem to be recognized. I can also use js to get JavaScript highlighting, but this isn't great for YAML. Here's the same block with the language (text) specifier added (no other changes):
verbose: true config: data: "auto"Sure, we can start adding language specifiers to our new posts, but I suspect if we start digging around old posts, we're going to find a lot of broken display of the fenced code blocks (plain ``` at the start with no language specifier) in the thousands of old posts in these forums, upon which people still rely for answers and information.
Log file snippets also get similarly brutalized:
[###BUILDVERSION###]2023-04-26T19:41:51.683Z <ZWaveJSController:NOTICE> ZWaveJSController#zwavejs added file logger to zwavejs.log [###BUILDVERSION###]2023-04-26T19:41:51.747Z <ZWaveJSController:WARN> zwavejs_capabilities defines x_zwave_device_cfg, which is not consistent with the recommended naming [###BUILDVERSION###]2023-04-26T19:41:51.747Z <ZWaveJSController:WARN> zwavejs_capabilities defines x_zwave_mfg_spec, which is not consistent with the recommended naming [###BUILDVERSION###]2023-04-26T19:41:51.747Z <ZWaveJSController:WARN> zwavejs_capabilities defines x_zwave_device_ver, which is not consistent with the recommended naming [###BUILDVERSION###]2023-04-26T19:41:51.747Z <ZWaveJSController:WARN> zwavejs_capabilities defines x_zwave_values, which is not consistent with the recommended naming [###BUILDVERSION###]2023-04-26T19:41:51.837Z <ZWaveJSController:INFO> ZWaveJSController#zwavejs connecting to ws://192.168.0.10:3000 [###BUILDVERSION###]2023-04-26T19:41:51.874Z <ZWaveJSController:NOTICE> ZWaveJSController#zwavejs connected [###BUILDVERSION###]2023-04-26T19:41:51.874Z <ZWaveJSController:INFO> ZWaveJSController#zwavejs sending connection initialization [###BUILDVERSION###]2023-04-26T19:41:51.931Z <ZWaveJSController:INFO> ZWaveJSController#zwavejs greeting from server: [Object]{ "type": "version", "driverVersion": "10.16.0", "serverVersion": "1.28.0", "homeId": 3631280043, "minSchemaVersion": 0, "maxSchemaVersion": 28 } [###BUILDVERSION###]2023-04-26T19:41:51.932Z <ZWaveJSController:INFO> ZWaveJSController#zwavejs performing initial inventory [###BUILDVERSION###]2023-04-26T19:41:52.325Z <ZWaveJSController:INFO> ZWaveJSController#zwavejs manufacturer-specific data for 134 (AEON Labs) from package ver 22315.1 [###BUILDVERSION###]2023-04-26T19:41:52.328Z <ZWaveJSController:INFO> ZWaveJSController#zwavejs configuring node 1 endpoint 0 (entity "1-0") [###BUILDVERSION###]2023-04-26T19:41:52.339Z <ZWaveJSController:INFO> ZWaveJSController#zwavejs manufacturer-specific data for 543 (Elexa Consumer Products Inc.)I think this is going to be a problem. Is there a way in NodeBB to configure the default language for fenced code block markdown for the entire forum so that these display more as they did before the upgrade?
EDIT: Examples below of old posts with corrupt formatting now:
https://smarthome.community/topic/1101/dynamic-groups-controller-filter-expressions
https://smarthome.community/post/11362
This last old post is interesting, because the first block displays incorrectly, but the second block is OK. In playing around, there seem to be triggering character sequences, suggesting that the markdown processor is trying to "guess" the language but not getting it right, perhaps:
Can anyone help with the MIOS UI5 weblink? Not the getvera one.
Still running UI5 on a couple of sensors & lights and need to tweak PLEG but for the life of me I can't remember the link to tunnel back to the trusty machine....
The wifi on my router is turned off, and wifi around the house is provided using a mesh - 3 units altogether (one connected directly to the router) that are spread around the house.
I would like to start automating certain tasks around the house and intend to try adding a few smart sockets to my setup.
The mesh system I have supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz, and does not provide me with the option to control them - i.e. turn one or both on/off, give each a different SSID, etc.
The devices I wish to purchase/use only support 2.4GHz.
Will turning the mesh units off and temporarily turning the 2.4GHz wifi on the router to allow me to set them up be enough? Will I then be able to return to my usual setup and everything will work as it should?
Many thanks in advance
ChatGPT samples:
Me:
Tell me about an iot program called openLuup.
It:
OpenLuup is an open source home automation system that is built on the VeraLuup platform. It is designed to be easy to install and configure, and provides users with a powerful and versatile way to control their home automation devices. OpenLuup offers a wide range of features, including support for many popular home automation devices, scheduling, scripting, and integration with other services. OpenLuup is designed to be customizable, allowing users to create their own home automation systems. It is an excellent choice for those looking to create their own home automation system without spending a lot of money.
Me:
Write an iot program using openLuup.
It:
--openLuup IoT Program-- -- Initialize Variables -- local device_id = "MyHomeDevice" local temperature_sensor_id = "MyTemperatureSensor" local temperature_threshold = 75 -- Create Devices -- luup.create_device("OpenLuup Temperature Sensor", 0, device_id, "D_GenericSensor1.xml", "I_GenericSensor1.xml", "S_TemperatureSensor1.xml", "") luup.variable_set("urn:upnp-org:serviceId:TemperatureSensor1", "CurrentTemperature", 0, device_id) -- Start Timer -- luup.call_delay("check_temperature", 10, "", false) --Function to Check Temperature-- function check_temperature() local current_temperature = luup.variable_get(temperature_sensor_id, "CurrentTemperature", 0) --Check Temperature Threshold-- if current_temperature >= temperature_threshold then --Send Alert-- luup.call_action("urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:HomeAutomationGateway1", "SendTextMessage", {PhoneNumber="1234567890", Message="ALERT! Temperature exceeded threshold!"}, 0) end --Reset Timer-- luup.call_delay("check_temperature", 10, "", false) endMe:
Write an iot program using openLuup.
It:
Write an iot program using openLuup. -- openLuup IOT Program -- -- Variables local lampState = false local lampTime = 0 -- Functions function lampTimer() if lampTime > 0 then lampTime = lampTime - 1 if lampTime == 0 then luup.variable_set('urn:upnp-org:serviceId:SwitchPower1', 'Status', 0, lampDeviceID) lampState = false end end end -- Setup luup.call_delay('lampTimer', 60, 0) -- Main Loop while true do -- Check for motion if luup.variable_get('urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:MotionSensor1', 'Tripped', motionSensorDeviceID) == '1' then if not lampState then luup.variable_set('urn:upnp-org:serviceId:SwitchPower1', 'Status', 1, lampDeviceID) lampState = true -- Set lamp timer to 5 minutes lampTime = 300 end end luup.sleep(1) endWhat??
luup.sleep(1)Not good - looks like I still have some semblance of a job to fulfill.
Me:
An iot program called openLuup was written by akbooer. Who is akbooer?
It: (note: answer redacted and as I understand it, also incorrect re: AltUI):
akbooer is the pseudonym of the software developer and home automation enthusiast. He is the creator of the openLuup home automation software, which is an open-source version of the Vera home automation system. He is also the creator of the AltUI graphical user interface for openLuup.
Me:
Who created of the AltUI graphical user interface for openLuup.
and
Me:
Who created of the AltUI graphical user interface for the home automation system Vera.
Names two different people - mmmm.
Regardless very impressive - give it a few more years.
...which I'd like to do. I know I go about these things all wrong (namely think of something I'd like to do, then try and work out what I need to know) but that's me 🙂
Just looking for some pointers on what I should google for really:
What I'd like is to provide a selection of (basically two word) phases which I can select from randomly (or even pseudo randomly) and pass to Alexa to be spoken. There are 10 such phrases only.
So what should I be reading up on to get me started?
TIA for any guidance
C
Recover an ‘assumed bricked’ Vera Secure
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Hi @rafale77
There was some interesting developments on the Vera forum about recovering a veraplus, through connecting a USB to TTY device to some connectors on the board . Opening up the unit and looking at the VeraSecure board, I can see 4 connectors too. (Photo posted on that forum) https://community.ezlo.com/t/can-the-veraplus-be-unbricked/204485/34
Is that a route you’ve used before ?
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Not really. The route used before was using a custom windows tool from vera designed for the vera3 which I believe to start a TFTP server which then injects a firmware image to the device over ethernet. This would be something new (well sort of since I think someone on the forum also used TTY to recover one unit as well but not through USB.)
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Thanks,
While I’ve got the vera3 program somewhere, although as yet I’ve not been able to get it to install/run, having built an XP machine just for that purpose..
it’s interesting you talk about a TFTP server, as I had to do a recovery with a different product, and they sent me instructions on setting up a DHCP server and a TFTP service all using tftd32/64 - http://tftpd32.jounin.net/tftpd32_download.html
I’ve also seen these..
And then for the cable/connection..
Assuming I can get to the command line via putty and the usb-tty cable on Vera; any idea what the sequence and command line(s) might be download and run the firmware update ?
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@rafale77 said in Recover an ‘assumed bricked’ Vera Secure:
Yup! These are the two known methods to write the flash memory of an embedded device (TFTP and TTY). I don’t have a vera secure and have only recovered vera plus and vera edge through TFTP. Sorry can’t help with the TTY USB as have taken down my veras.
Hello @rafale77 , I have G550-35-1.7.4061.bin, mt7621s_Luup_ui7-1.7.5187-en-mios.squashfs and newmios-hooks.sh files. Can you tell me how can I use these files for recovery? There is no a clear tutorial about it. Is it possible to tell us how can you recover your vera plus with TFTP ? I want to apply the same stages to my vera secure. Thanks.
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Is it means you use vera3_recovery_tool for recovery not TFTP? If it is yes, vera3_recovery_tool does not works at vera secure for me.
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Under the hood, the recovery tool is using TFTP... I just used it and didn't really bother to inquire deeper as to how one would reproduce what it does.
And as far as I know it should work for the vera secure as well (I tested on both the plus and the edge) since all three are based on the same platform. I just don't have a firmware image for the secure.
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Thanks @rafale77. After using that tool, i still have the warning at the firmware upgrade page.
cat: can't open "etc/cmh/PK_AccessPoint' No such file or directory cat: can't open "etc/cmh/PK_AccessPoint' No such file or directory. Manually upgrade the firmware to the latest release.
Do you have any idea about that warning?
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Yes, This file may not be present in the image you just uploaded to the vera and is unique to each unit. It contains the unique ID which is used by the vera cloud server to identify vera units and normally is retained between firmware upgrades. If you can SSH into you unit, you can create a new file there and/or ask for support to give you that ID for your unit. I don't remember having had this problem myself except when I created my vera emulator in a virtual machine.
It is also that I ran my unit entirely "off the grid" for many years and never cared for the cloud service. If all you are trying to do is to run a firmware update, a dummy number in that file may be enough. You may also find that number somewhere in the logs uploaded in the vera cloud if you can find those.
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The value is also written to NVRAM and may be still be there. Try:
nvram get serial_no
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@rafale77 and @toggledbits ,thanks both of you for this wonderful informations. What should I get when returning this
nvram get serial_no
code? I already have another (new unit) tried that code but no return any output. Maybe tomorrow I will need to ask support for that file -
You should be getting the serial number of your unit which should also be the content of your missing file.
You can then just create that file and insert that serial number in it using a text editor. I believe the vera only has "vi" installed but I had installed "nano" on mine which I vastly prefer. -
I will ask support tomorrow I hope I get a positive feedback.
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If the serial number is on the label of the unit, all you need to do is create the file with that number in it.
If you scratch it down on a piece of paper, do this to avoid the editor:
cat >/etc/cmh/PK_AccessPoint
That will just sit there doing nothing waiting for you to type. Type in, carefully the serial number from the label, then hit ENTER once, then hit CTRL-D once. You should get the shell prompt again. You can then confirm the file exists and has the right content.
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Thank you @toggledbits . I will try your advice tomorrow and see the result.
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The error from your screenshot is pretty explicit... You are missing the libjson library for some reason. It looks like your firmware image was incomplete and was missing a lot of stuff.
run
opkg update opkg install libjson
You likely will have other errors and will have to complete installation of dependencies.
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@rafale77 said in Recover an ‘assumed bricked’ Vera Secure:
The error from your screenshot is pretty explicit... You are missing the libjson library for some reason. It looks like your firmware image was incomplete and was missing a lot of stuff.
run
opkg update opkg install libjson
You likely will have other errors and will have to complete installation of dependencies.
Thanks @rafale77. Thats solve
curl :(7) Failed to connect to 127.0.0.1 port 3480: Connection refused
error but aftre I noticed that when trying upgrade the firmware manually I see thatcp -af PK_AccessPoint HW_Key HW_Key2 zwave_locale cmh.conf servers.conf users.conf services.conf user_data.json.lzo /etc/cmh/ cp: can't stat 'HW_Key': No such file or directory cp: can't stat 'HW_Key2': No such file or directory cp: can't stat 'zwave_locale': No such file or directory cp: can't stat 'users.conf': No such file or directory cp: can't stat 'services.conf': No such file or directory
errors at the very long upgrating scripts. It seems installing new bin file is hardware based at vera secure, maybe i need
HW_Key and HW_Key2 files