Guides and Reviews
Doorbird, Homey Camera Integration and Google Home Access Control
Posted by Mike Lim
Since the update of Homey firmware to v2.2.0, Homey allowed viewing of camera images in Homey app (https://blog.athom.com/introducing-homey-cameras/).
The images can be used in push notification as well as to cast to other devices. At the same time, the Homey Chromecast app also undergone a revamp with some interesting features which we would like to demonstrate in this article.
In this article we are going to do a quick introduction on how we put these together into a seamless way of welcoming guest into our office. Here's the scenario:
1. Guest arrive at our office door and presses on our Doorbird
2. Google Home announces that someone is at the door
3. Homey sends the image captured by Doorbird as a notification to our phones, without the need to open any app to view the visitor
4. Homey cast the same image to a chromecast device, it can be a Google Nest Hub or a TV (in this case we are casting to our projector).
5. We say "Ok Google, open sesame" (please do not try this this outside our door), Doorbird triggers the unlocking of Danalock and the Google Home near the door announces at max volume "Door is unlocked! Come in please!
Here's a sequence of screenshots the integration in Homey and a short video:
Bonus
Recently we have done an similar integration for a landed property a mail box. The owner's Google home throughout the house will also announce when someone presses the Doorbird.
The flushed model of the Doorbird has 2 relays, one opens the main gate while the other opens the mail box (on the left) for the courier services to drop their parcel for the owner when he unlock the Doorbird.
When the relay for the mail box is being triggered, the 2 electric bolt in the photo will retract, thus allowing the mail box to be opened by the courier to drop in the parcel. This implementation of a smart mailbox allows the owner to receive his online purchases securely without the need to open his gates.
Automate Asia Team
Read more
Since the update of Homey firmware to v2.2.0, Homey allowed viewing of camera images in Homey app (https://blog.athom.com/introducing-homey-cameras/).
The images can be used in push notification as well as to cast to other devices. At the same time, the Homey Chromecast app also undergone a revamp with some interesting features which we would like to demonstrate in this article.
In this article we are going to do a quick introduction on how we put these together into a seamless way of welcoming guest into our office. Here's the scenario:
1. Guest arrive at our office door and presses on our Doorbird
2. Google Home announces that someone is at the door
3. Homey sends the image captured by Doorbird as a notification to our phones, without the need to open any app to view the visitor
4. Homey cast the same image to a chromecast device, it can be a Google Nest Hub or a TV (in this case we are casting to our projector).
5. We say "Ok Google, open sesame" (please do not try this this outside our door), Doorbird triggers the unlocking of Danalock and the Google Home near the door announces at max volume "Door is unlocked! Come in please!
Here's a sequence of screenshots the integration in Homey and a short video:
Bonus
Recently we have done an similar integration for a landed property a mail box. The owner's Google home throughout the house will also announce when someone presses the Doorbird.
The flushed model of the Doorbird has 2 relays, one opens the main gate while the other opens the mail box (on the left) for the courier services to drop their parcel for the owner when he unlock the Doorbird.
When the relay for the mail box is being triggered, the 2 electric bolt in the photo will retract, thus allowing the mail box to be opened by the courier to drop in the parcel. This implementation of a smart mailbox allows the owner to receive his online purchases securely without the need to open his gates.
Automate Asia Team
Read more
Review : Google Nest Hello Video Doorbell
Posted by Mike Lim
Just to set the stage for this review, it might be a little biased because I'm a Google fan boy. I've 2 x Google Home, 1 x Google Home Mini, 1 x Google Max and 1 x Google Nest Hub (previously named Google Home Hub). Not to mention I've converted my wife from an iPhone to Pixel 3 XL so that she can simply ask "Hey Google, where is my phone" (Something that she used to ask me few times a day). I'm also using Pixel 2 XL waiting for Pixel 4 to be launched later this year but I digress.
I ordered a Nest Hello Doorbell from the US to see how well it would work with my home full of Google stuff. So here's how the unboxing looks like:
The box comes with everything you needed to install the doorbell even the drill bit!
However, like Ring Pro, the Nest Hello must be run from the mains, which will potentially require a new transformer powerful enough for the doorbell.
Apartments in Singapore do not have main powered doorbell system. As such, I'll need to install a power supply at my chime area (this is usually in the walkway or kitchen of the apartment) install a transformer in the picture above. This will supply power through the doorbell wires out to the main door. Please note that, as Nest Hello do not have distributor in Singapore, this transformer is not available out of the box. For products like Ring Pro, as the packaging is customised to Singapore market, they included a transformer to power the RIng Pro.
Here's some screenshots of the Nest:
As Nest Hello is not available in Singapore, in the country list, Singapore cannot be found in either the Asia or Asia Pacific region. We can only select China and Australia now and some features of the Nest Hello such as home detection may not work as well.
The full instructions of installing the Nest Hello is available in the next few screens in the wizard but most of them are more applicable to US users. We will skip those screenshots to the more relevant ones.
Once the Nest Hello is all setup, you can setup notification when there is motion or when someone pressed the doorbell. If you have a Google Nest Hub (Home Hub), you can also say "Hey Google, show me my Front Door".
Now, unlike Ring Pro that comes with a wifi chime, the Nest Hello does not come with one but is capable of using your Google Home as a chime. You will need to activate the visitor announcement in the Nest app to enable that feature and link your Nest account to Google account as follows:
With this, you will be able to hear the announcement when someone press the bell. Here's how my Google Max do when the bell is pressed:
Final Tip
Initially, I was only able to get all my Google Home speakers work with the visitor announcement. I wasn't able to get my Home Hub react to the doorbell and show the video upon pressing the bell. It took me sometime to realise that for Google Home Hub, you need to turn on the notification option (it is off by default). With that working, you can talk to the visitor on the Home Hub before unlocking your door.
Conclusion
As a smart home company, we do not carry nor install Nest Hello. As an individual, I do recommend the Nest Hello doorbell if you already have Google Home products in your place. For Amazon Echo users, I'd recommend going for Ring Pro instead. In the most recent Google I/O event, Google announced the end of Works with Nest program. This might mean that Nest Hello may only work with Google Home products in the future.
The Nest Hello, despite having a lower resolution compared to Ring Pro, has a video quality turned out to be equal or better in some lighting condition due to HDR. My only qualm about it is that when I asked to view the front door on my Home Hub or Chromecast to TV, the video does not fill up the screen as it is 4:3 instead of 16:9. It is also not available in Singapore. Otherwise, the Nest Hello doorbell is quite a strong competitor to the Amazon backed Ring Pro.
Automate Asia Team
Read more
Just to set the stage for this review, it might be a little biased because I'm a Google fan boy. I've 2 x Google Home, 1 x Google Home Mini, 1 x Google Max and 1 x Google Nest Hub (previously named Google Home Hub). Not to mention I've converted my wife from an iPhone to Pixel 3 XL so that she can simply ask "Hey Google, where is my phone" (Something that she used to ask me few times a day). I'm also using Pixel 2 XL waiting for Pixel 4 to be launched later this year but I digress.
I ordered a Nest Hello Doorbell from the US to see how well it would work with my home full of Google stuff. So here's how the unboxing looks like:
The box comes with everything you needed to install the doorbell even the drill bit!
However, like Ring Pro, the Nest Hello must be run from the mains, which will potentially require a new transformer powerful enough for the doorbell.
Apartments in Singapore do not have main powered doorbell system. As such, I'll need to install a power supply at my chime area (this is usually in the walkway or kitchen of the apartment) install a transformer in the picture above. This will supply power through the doorbell wires out to the main door. Please note that, as Nest Hello do not have distributor in Singapore, this transformer is not available out of the box. For products like Ring Pro, as the packaging is customised to Singapore market, they included a transformer to power the RIng Pro.
Here's some screenshots of the Nest:
As Nest Hello is not available in Singapore, in the country list, Singapore cannot be found in either the Asia or Asia Pacific region. We can only select China and Australia now and some features of the Nest Hello such as home detection may not work as well.
The full instructions of installing the Nest Hello is available in the next few screens in the wizard but most of them are more applicable to US users. We will skip those screenshots to the more relevant ones.
Once the Nest Hello is all setup, you can setup notification when there is motion or when someone pressed the doorbell. If you have a Google Nest Hub (Home Hub), you can also say "Hey Google, show me my Front Door".
Now, unlike Ring Pro that comes with a wifi chime, the Nest Hello does not come with one but is capable of using your Google Home as a chime. You will need to activate the visitor announcement in the Nest app to enable that feature and link your Nest account to Google account as follows:
With this, you will be able to hear the announcement when someone press the bell. Here's how my Google Max do when the bell is pressed:
Final Tip
Initially, I was only able to get all my Google Home speakers work with the visitor announcement. I wasn't able to get my Home Hub react to the doorbell and show the video upon pressing the bell. It took me sometime to realise that for Google Home Hub, you need to turn on the notification option (it is off by default). With that working, you can talk to the visitor on the Home Hub before unlocking your door.
Conclusion
As a smart home company, we do not carry nor install Nest Hello. As an individual, I do recommend the Nest Hello doorbell if you already have Google Home products in your place. For Amazon Echo users, I'd recommend going for Ring Pro instead. In the most recent Google I/O event, Google announced the end of Works with Nest program. This might mean that Nest Hello may only work with Google Home products in the future.
The Nest Hello, despite having a lower resolution compared to Ring Pro, has a video quality turned out to be equal or better in some lighting condition due to HDR. My only qualm about it is that when I asked to view the front door on my Home Hub or Chromecast to TV, the video does not fill up the screen as it is 4:3 instead of 16:9. It is also not available in Singapore. Otherwise, the Nest Hello doorbell is quite a strong competitor to the Amazon backed Ring Pro.
Automate Asia Team
Read more
Review : Ambi Climate V2 (and Homey Integration)
Posted by Mike Lim
This may be a very late review of the Ambi Climate but we were recently quite impressed by some of its features. For starters, Ambi Climate is a A.I driven air conditioner smart controller that was launched on Kickstarter October 2014.
Competing products like Sensibo and Tado that only works as a internet connected AC. Ambi Climate notched up by taking users input on whether the room feels comfortable, together with existing temperature and humidity information, to auto set your AC fan speed and temperature automatically. So once you activated it, you will notice that Ambi Climate occasionally send commands to your AC to adjust to what you define as "comfortable". The other interesting feature is, most of the time, these internet connected AC controller will not know if you have operated the AC with handheld remote controller but Ambi Climate actually detects such operation and updates the status in its app!
The Look
It is a simple minimalist device that stands upright with IR transceiver that covers an angle of 180 degrees. We really like the wooden looking base of the Ambi Climate, giving it a Muji-style look. We recommend placing it where you usually rest or relax because you will be providing input on whether you feel comfortable, too hot or too cold to more accurately measure your experience.
The App
Letting Ambi Climate learn how to communicate with your AC is a relatively simple process. If you have the brand and model number of your handheld remote, you can simply key search for it without the need to press any of your handheld remote. If the model of your handheld remote is not in its database, you just need to cycle through all the modes for Ambi Climate to learn.
Once it is up and running, you just have to provide inputs (whether it is too warm or comfortable, or cold) occasionally for a few days. We left the device to control the temperature and mode after that and most of the time it is quite comfortable.
The Ambi Climate works with Google Home, Amazon Echo and IFTTT. For a more detailed review of Ambi Climate, you can refer to Lester Chan's blog.
Homey Integration
Before this you have interacted with us or read our older blog, we would recommend Remotec ZXT-120 or Remotec ZXT-600 with Homey to control your AC. The Remotec AC controller is a Z-Wave to IR device. From now on, we will recommend using Ambi Climate instead for its AI capability.
We have developed the Ambi Climate app for Homey using its Official API. With the integration, you can also control Ambi Climate via the Homey mobile app.
You will also be able define flows (scenes) such that the lights and AC are activated when you are home. You can even make Homey remind you to close the door or window when someone operate the AC with a handheld remote!
Conclusion
The Ambi Climate V2 should be able to reduce your electricity usage as the AI will manage the AC temperatures and mode instead of keeping it a constant mode and temperature. Most of the time, there are other factors such as current temperature, humidity, weather which the AI will take in to make you feel comfortable. Once the "comfortable-ness" is achieved, Ambi Climate will change to a more energy saving setting.
With the Homey integration, you literally unlocked more use cases as you can now manage your smart lightings and sensors together with Ambi Climate with flows, expanding the AI throughout your smart home.
Automate Asia Team
Read more
This may be a very late review of the Ambi Climate but we were recently quite impressed by some of its features. For starters, Ambi Climate is a A.I driven air conditioner smart controller that was launched on Kickstarter October 2014.
Competing products like Sensibo and Tado that only works as a internet connected AC. Ambi Climate notched up by taking users input on whether the room feels comfortable, together with existing temperature and humidity information, to auto set your AC fan speed and temperature automatically. So once you activated it, you will notice that Ambi Climate occasionally send commands to your AC to adjust to what you define as "comfortable". The other interesting feature is, most of the time, these internet connected AC controller will not know if you have operated the AC with handheld remote controller but Ambi Climate actually detects such operation and updates the status in its app!
The Look
It is a simple minimalist device that stands upright with IR transceiver that covers an angle of 180 degrees. We really like the wooden looking base of the Ambi Climate, giving it a Muji-style look. We recommend placing it where you usually rest or relax because you will be providing input on whether you feel comfortable, too hot or too cold to more accurately measure your experience.
The App
Letting Ambi Climate learn how to communicate with your AC is a relatively simple process. If you have the brand and model number of your handheld remote, you can simply key search for it without the need to press any of your handheld remote. If the model of your handheld remote is not in its database, you just need to cycle through all the modes for Ambi Climate to learn.
Once it is up and running, you just have to provide inputs (whether it is too warm or comfortable, or cold) occasionally for a few days. We left the device to control the temperature and mode after that and most of the time it is quite comfortable.
The Ambi Climate works with Google Home, Amazon Echo and IFTTT. For a more detailed review of Ambi Climate, you can refer to Lester Chan's blog.
Homey Integration
Before this you have interacted with us or read our older blog, we would recommend Remotec ZXT-120 or Remotec ZXT-600 with Homey to control your AC. The Remotec AC controller is a Z-Wave to IR device. From now on, we will recommend using Ambi Climate instead for its AI capability.
We have developed the Ambi Climate app for Homey using its Official API. With the integration, you can also control Ambi Climate via the Homey mobile app.
You will also be able define flows (scenes) such that the lights and AC are activated when you are home. You can even make Homey remind you to close the door or window when someone operate the AC with a handheld remote!
Conclusion
The Ambi Climate V2 should be able to reduce your electricity usage as the AI will manage the AC temperatures and mode instead of keeping it a constant mode and temperature. Most of the time, there are other factors such as current temperature, humidity, weather which the AI will take in to make you feel comfortable. Once the "comfortable-ness" is achieved, Ambi Climate will change to a more energy saving setting.
With the Homey integration, you literally unlocked more use cases as you can now manage your smart lightings and sensors together with Ambi Climate with flows, expanding the AI throughout your smart home.
Automate Asia Team
Read more
Review : KeyWe Z-Wave Lock (and Homey integration)
Posted by Mike Lim
KeyWe is a korean company that launched its kickstarter "Smartest Lock Ever" campaign for their connected smart lock. Featuring connectivity such as NFC, Bluetooth, Z-Wave and a wifi bridge, the smart lock is also a typical battery operated deadbolt lock with a touchpad for fingerprint and a manual keyhole.
The price for the lock in the kickstarter campaign is very attractive at USD99. The reason that we backed the campaign is mainly we know that the company behind it is not exactly a startup and we have previously tested some of their locks before. So even there was a 4 months delay in shipping, it is generally a good and responsible campaign owner on kickstarter.
First Impression
The box comes with an array of accessories, everything you need to install the lock, together with batteries, NFC tags/wristbands and new deadbolt.
Features
Bluetooth
One of the key features is that it can simply detects your phone using a BLE signal and unlocks as you walk up to the door. As the lock comes with a magnetic sensor that locks after closing. This feature works similar to that of Danalock where you have to set a GPS fence. The auto unlock works only when you came from outside the GPS fence and come into proximity of the door. However, like all Bluetooth dependent features, it my work better on certain phones than others. For us, it didn't work 100% of the time but it doesn't take a lot to punch in your pin on the touch pad if the bluetooth doesn't work.
NFC
The lock comes with some NFC tags and wristbands for easy unlock. Each tag or wristbands can be tagged to a specific user of the lock. Not forgetting the logs available for you to monitor and review the history of lock usage, it serves a good use case of monitoring what time your kid (or even spouse is home!). In fact you can even unlock the lock by tapping your phone on it if the NFC model of your phone is compatible. We didn't do extensive test on many phones. It didn't work for Pixel 2 XL but worked for Samsung Note 9.
Like many connected locks, you are also able to invite users for permanent and temporary access. The lock does come with a Wifi bridge that enable remote unlock, great for occasions where you have a parcel that you do not want to be left outside your door. We didn't get the Wifi bridge for testing because we are integrating it to the Homey smart home hub.
Z-Wave
As a distributor and app developer of Homey smart home hub, we couldn't resist developing a Homey app for it. The well-documented Z-Wave specs is available out of the box. So we took a day or two to whip up the KeyWe Z-Wave Lock Homey app. With the integration to Homey, the KeyWe lock becomes way much smarter as every operation on the lock can be tracked by the Homey hub to trigger certain actions for your home. Below are some of the conditions that can be monitored.
And here's some rules that we have set for the smart home. Please note this is not screenshots of the KeyWe app. These screenshots are from Homey flow editor where smart home actions can be defined based on the various operation of the lock.
Conclusion
For the features available on a smart lock, it is really a steal for the kickstarter price of USD99. The functionality and possibilities is further enhanced with a Homey smart home hub. The price of USD 99 is no longer available on kickstarter as the campaign is closed. To get it officially in Singapore, My Digital Lock seems to be the only company carrying it ($399 on Lazada but not sure if it comes with installation). With this price and functionality, we would definitely prefer it over Yale Z-Wave deadbolt.
Read more
KeyWe is a korean company that launched its kickstarter "Smartest Lock Ever" campaign for their connected smart lock. Featuring connectivity such as NFC, Bluetooth, Z-Wave and a wifi bridge, the smart lock is also a typical battery operated deadbolt lock with a touchpad for fingerprint and a manual keyhole.
The price for the lock in the kickstarter campaign is very attractive at USD99. The reason that we backed the campaign is mainly we know that the company behind it is not exactly a startup and we have previously tested some of their locks before. So even there was a 4 months delay in shipping, it is generally a good and responsible campaign owner on kickstarter.
First Impression
The box comes with an array of accessories, everything you need to install the lock, together with batteries, NFC tags/wristbands and new deadbolt.
Features
Bluetooth
One of the key features is that it can simply detects your phone using a BLE signal and unlocks as you walk up to the door. As the lock comes with a magnetic sensor that locks after closing. This feature works similar to that of Danalock where you have to set a GPS fence. The auto unlock works only when you came from outside the GPS fence and come into proximity of the door. However, like all Bluetooth dependent features, it my work better on certain phones than others. For us, it didn't work 100% of the time but it doesn't take a lot to punch in your pin on the touch pad if the bluetooth doesn't work.
NFC
The lock comes with some NFC tags and wristbands for easy unlock. Each tag or wristbands can be tagged to a specific user of the lock. Not forgetting the logs available for you to monitor and review the history of lock usage, it serves a good use case of monitoring what time your kid (or even spouse is home!). In fact you can even unlock the lock by tapping your phone on it if the NFC model of your phone is compatible. We didn't do extensive test on many phones. It didn't work for Pixel 2 XL but worked for Samsung Note 9.
Like many connected locks, you are also able to invite users for permanent and temporary access. The lock does come with a Wifi bridge that enable remote unlock, great for occasions where you have a parcel that you do not want to be left outside your door. We didn't get the Wifi bridge for testing because we are integrating it to the Homey smart home hub.
Z-Wave
As a distributor and app developer of Homey smart home hub, we couldn't resist developing a Homey app for it. The well-documented Z-Wave specs is available out of the box. So we took a day or two to whip up the KeyWe Z-Wave Lock Homey app. With the integration to Homey, the KeyWe lock becomes way much smarter as every operation on the lock can be tracked by the Homey hub to trigger certain actions for your home. Below are some of the conditions that can be monitored.
And here's some rules that we have set for the smart home. Please note this is not screenshots of the KeyWe app. These screenshots are from Homey flow editor where smart home actions can be defined based on the various operation of the lock.
Conclusion
For the features available on a smart lock, it is really a steal for the kickstarter price of USD99. The functionality and possibilities is further enhanced with a Homey smart home hub. The price of USD 99 is no longer available on kickstarter as the campaign is closed. To get it officially in Singapore, My Digital Lock seems to be the only company carrying it ($399 on Lazada but not sure if it comes with installation). With this price and functionality, we would definitely prefer it over Yale Z-Wave deadbolt.
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Review : Homey firmware v2.0 and what to expect during an upgrade
Posted by Mike Lim
Homey v2.0 has been released in mid January 2019, and we’ve been upgrading and testing a few Homey(s) with the brands and devices that we commonly deploy. Before we go about talking about what to expect during an upgrade, let us take a quick look at the new UI and features.
Home Screen
First thing we noticed is that as promised to all our customers, the app is loading way faster than the previous app (now called the Homey Legacy app).
What we love about the redesigned home screen is that we finally can control favourite devices and flows without much navigation. The home screen also shows the timeline such as who has been home/away, upgraded homey app etc.
You can access your devices and flows from the bottom of the screen.
Devices
The device page looks very clean, with devices icons neatly laid out, almost Apple HomeKit-ish. Rooms and devices are listed in alphabetical order. For devices like lights, you can simply tap the icon to turn on and off. For dimming, you have to tap and hold the icon to reveal a bar to set your lights to a specific dim level. Other devices such as blinds and AC controller also requires tap and hold to reveal their respective controls.
We do hope that in the subsequent release, we can drag and drop to order the icons or to sort them into different rooms.
Flows
Flows are now being defined in the mobile app instead of on the browser. For us, it took a while to get used to when we perform setup for customer as it requires more taps instead of drag and drop on a browser.
We were quite worried that it will be cumbersome during setup. But trust us, defining flow on the new Homey app is still much more easy than defining automation on SmartThings app. In fact, SmartThings should really take a leaf out from Homey on user experience and consistency. We like it that we can now trigger flow with a single tap which was previously not possible.
What to expect during upgrade
Just in case we got too technical, this sections is for existing Homey users running on v1.5. Like all major firmware upgrades, it will not be 100% seamless and issues free. So let's take a look at the upgrade process.
Firstly, unlike the previous firmware upgrade that is done automatically, you can only upgrade your Homey from v1.5 to v2.0 using this new Homey app.
There will be a voice prompt from Homey saying that the upgrade is in progress and not to power it off. The upgrade process should complete within 15 minutes, followed by the respective devices's Homey app. i.e if you have Virtual Devices, Device Groups and Homey Kit, they will also perform an upgrade.
At the time of our testing, we encountered the following issues which can be easily fixed:
1. Flows with Virtual devices will need to modified
If you have any flows with Virtual devices, you might noticed that the cards are being greyed out. You will have to delete the virtual device card and add them back again for the flow to be working again.
2. Flows that are triggered by MCO Home might need to be modified
If you have any flows that is triggered by MCO Home switches (such one button to turn off everything), you might notice that the MCO Home card in the When section is being greyed out. You will have to delete the card and add them back for the flow to be working again.
3. Alexa and Google Assistant needs to be unlinked and relinked
You will likely need to unlink and relink your Alexa and Google Assistant to Homey again after the upgrade.
4. Built in Virtual device and HomeKit support
Homey has also build in native virtual devices and Apple HomeKit support instead of using 3rd party Homey app. You can enable these experimental features under settings.
Fortunately, all the Z-Wave and ZIgBee devices were migrated to v2.0 without any issues. For Wifi devices like Dyson, Doorbird etc, it didn't migrate well due to the fact that the app developer had to update their Homey app to support v2.0 firmware.
We also received feedback that Z-Wave and ZigBee devices works much faster and wider range from some of the customers who upgraded.
We will continue to use the list above to highlight any upgrade issues to serve as an FAQ for our customers.
Conclusion
For a team of around 10+ developers, Athom has pulled off an impressive software updates compared to other hub manufacturers. We also understand that the Google Home native support has been pending Google's approval since November 2018 and we look forward to the day we do not have to say "ask Homey to" to our Google Assistant.
Automate Asia Team
Read more
Homey v2.0 has been released in mid January 2019, and we’ve been upgrading and testing a few Homey(s) with the brands and devices that we commonly deploy. Before we go about talking about what to expect during an upgrade, let us take a quick look at the new UI and features.
Home Screen
First thing we noticed is that as promised to all our customers, the app is loading way faster than the previous app (now called the Homey Legacy app).
What we love about the redesigned home screen is that we finally can control favourite devices and flows without much navigation. The home screen also shows the timeline such as who has been home/away, upgraded homey app etc.
You can access your devices and flows from the bottom of the screen.
Devices
The device page looks very clean, with devices icons neatly laid out, almost Apple HomeKit-ish. Rooms and devices are listed in alphabetical order. For devices like lights, you can simply tap the icon to turn on and off. For dimming, you have to tap and hold the icon to reveal a bar to set your lights to a specific dim level. Other devices such as blinds and AC controller also requires tap and hold to reveal their respective controls.
We do hope that in the subsequent release, we can drag and drop to order the icons or to sort them into different rooms.
Flows
Flows are now being defined in the mobile app instead of on the browser. For us, it took a while to get used to when we perform setup for customer as it requires more taps instead of drag and drop on a browser.
We were quite worried that it will be cumbersome during setup. But trust us, defining flow on the new Homey app is still much more easy than defining automation on SmartThings app. In fact, SmartThings should really take a leaf out from Homey on user experience and consistency. We like it that we can now trigger flow with a single tap which was previously not possible.
What to expect during upgrade
Just in case we got too technical, this sections is for existing Homey users running on v1.5. Like all major firmware upgrades, it will not be 100% seamless and issues free. So let's take a look at the upgrade process.
Firstly, unlike the previous firmware upgrade that is done automatically, you can only upgrade your Homey from v1.5 to v2.0 using this new Homey app.
There will be a voice prompt from Homey saying that the upgrade is in progress and not to power it off. The upgrade process should complete within 15 minutes, followed by the respective devices's Homey app. i.e if you have Virtual Devices, Device Groups and Homey Kit, they will also perform an upgrade.
At the time of our testing, we encountered the following issues which can be easily fixed:
1. Flows with Virtual devices will need to modified
If you have any flows with Virtual devices, you might noticed that the cards are being greyed out. You will have to delete the virtual device card and add them back again for the flow to be working again.
2. Flows that are triggered by MCO Home might need to be modified
If you have any flows that is triggered by MCO Home switches (such one button to turn off everything), you might notice that the MCO Home card in the When section is being greyed out. You will have to delete the card and add them back for the flow to be working again.
3. Alexa and Google Assistant needs to be unlinked and relinked
You will likely need to unlink and relink your Alexa and Google Assistant to Homey again after the upgrade.
4. Built in Virtual device and HomeKit support
Homey has also build in native virtual devices and Apple HomeKit support instead of using 3rd party Homey app. You can enable these experimental features under settings.
Fortunately, all the Z-Wave and ZIgBee devices were migrated to v2.0 without any issues. For Wifi devices like Dyson, Doorbird etc, it didn't migrate well due to the fact that the app developer had to update their Homey app to support v2.0 firmware.
We also received feedback that Z-Wave and ZigBee devices works much faster and wider range from some of the customers who upgraded.
We will continue to use the list above to highlight any upgrade issues to serve as an FAQ for our customers.
Conclusion
For a team of around 10+ developers, Athom has pulled off an impressive software updates compared to other hub manufacturers. We also understand that the Google Home native support has been pending Google's approval since November 2018 and we look forward to the day we do not have to say "ask Homey to" to our Google Assistant.
Automate Asia Team