Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Home Assistant blocked from integrating with Garage Door opener API

home-assistant.io

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

261–270 of 655 posts

Re: Home Assistant blocked from integrating with Garage Door opener API

#261

Post by beeboobaa »

paulgerhardt wrote: post #234

Partially responsible for this. (Sold Lockitron to Chamberlain in 2017 which became the basis for Amazon Key integrations.) Contrary to the popular sentiment in a lot of the comments here, there’s not much value in the analytics. As we all painfully found out in the 2010’s, there are only two viable recurring revenue streams in the IoT space - charging for video storage and charging for commercial access. Chamberlain…

Why would any of those monetization strategies require fucking over your customers like this? How are they incompatible?

Re: Home Assistant blocked from integrating with Garage Door opener API

#262

Post by Eisenstein »

traviswingo wrote: post #252
whoopdedo wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A stressed out underpaid and overworked delivery driver is the last person I want in my garage. Verified deliveries are left at the wrong house, or the driver simply takes it with them after posting the porch picture. And I've seen boxes arrive that were forced open and the contents pulled out. But sure, it's the customers who are untrustworthy not the delivery people.

True. Delivery drivers consistently deliver to my neighbor instead of myself. The last three digits of our addresses are 885 and 855, and they consistently confuse the two. They’re tired, overworked, underpaid, and I honestly don’t blame them. But I wouldn’t trust anyone in my garage/home when I’m not home. Not sure why these companies think that will actually work.

They think it will work because if you refuse to do it they won't refund your stolen package unless you file a police report, and convenience with huge downsides wins with consumers 99% of the time over effort with no downsides.

This is just conjecture, btw, I have no authoritative knowledge of their plans to do anything.

Re: Home Assistant blocked from integrating with Garage Door opener API

#263

Post by bonestamp2 »

BenjiWiebe wrote: post #184
duxup wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have the MyQ app (iOS). I don't mind it at all. App works, fairly fast, the stupid extra stuff is just a chunk of the screen I can ignore / don't have to do / interact with. I don't approve of the API situation but the app itself doesn't feel particularly bad.

The iOS app sounds like it's better than the Android one.

Ah, ya that might be it. I use the iOS version and it works well.

Re: Home Assistant blocked from integrating with Garage Door opener API

#264

Post by organsnyder »

mikestew wrote: post #243
organsnyder wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought MyQ's Homekit bridge to allow local integration with Home Assistant. It was a bit of a pain to set up initially, and it's stupid that I have a separate device when the openers themselves support wifi natively, but it's been rock-solid.

You know that "bit of a pain to set up initially" you mentioned? Yeah, I've had to do that repeatedly because its little pea-brain forgets every few months. It's been anything but rock-solid for me. I just gave up on it. I initially bought the bridge because I thought a wireless relay spliced into the hardwired door switch would be too much trouble, so I'll spend a little and save some time. Boy, was I wrong.

I've been lucky, I guess. After I got it set up, it's just worked—even across various configuration changes I've made to Home Assistant and my network infrastructure.

Re: Home Assistant blocked from integrating with Garage Door opener API

#265

Post by rootusrootus »

mikestew wrote: post #243
organsnyder wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought MyQ's Homekit bridge to allow local integration with Home Assistant. It was a bit of a pain to set up initially, and it's stupid that I have a separate device when the openers themselves support wifi natively, but it's been rock-solid.

You know that "bit of a pain to set up initially" you mentioned? Yeah, I've had to do that repeatedly because its little pea-brain forgets every few months. It's been anything but rock-solid for me. I just gave up on it. I initially bought the bridge because I thought a wireless relay spliced into the hardwired door switch would be too much trouble, so I'll spend a little and save some time. Boy, was I wrong.

I had a version of your experience, but it resolved magically. No idea why. I originally set up the integration, and it worked. Then I completely rebuilt HA at one point and had to redo the bridge config, and it just refused. All sorts of errors, it just refused to even see the doors. Frustrated, I chucked the device in my closet and forgot about it for a while.

Then a few months later I decided to try again and be very careful and deliberate, and ... it worked. Just like it was supposed to. Sigh. No idea what incantation I did right, but now it has been working for several years without a hitch.

I did recently buy a ratgdo (well, ordered it at least, it hasn't arrived). That's my backup plan if the Home Bridge decides to go tits up.

Re: Home Assistant blocked from integrating with Garage Door opener API

#266

Post by cdchn »

Not at all surprising to me. Recently I got 3 new LiftMaster garage door openers with the built in cameras. Over the course of a few months the HomeLink connection to the box supplied remotes stopped working, never worked syncing to (multiple) HomeLink transmitters in vehicles, and the installer cited "supply chain issues" when I wanted a replacement. The only thing that worked was the MyQ app which was less good than just pushing the button. And of course the video for the cameras only worked with a damn SUBSCRIPTION after 30 days with no way to integrate them with a networked DVR system.

Just one of the most awful customer hostile products I've ever wasted money on.

Re: Home Assistant blocked from integrating with Garage Door opener API

#267

Post by bonestamp2 »

novakinblood wrote: post #102

I felt silly at first complaining to my wife I couldn’t get myQ working again, thinking I did something wrong after adding an automation. We tried to open the door (remote via hass) for my son when he got home but it didn’t work. Obviously it was something I did?(nope) Then I watched the discussion on discord and realized I’m not alone albeit still a small percentage. Then I see this as top post on hn. It’s frustrati…

It does suck, but can you still use it remotely via the myQ app?

Re: Home Assistant blocked from integrating with Garage Door opener API

#268

Post by seemaze »

traviswingo wrote: post #252
whoopdedo wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A stressed out underpaid and overworked delivery driver is the last person I want in my garage. Verified deliveries are left at the wrong house, or the driver simply takes it with them after posting the porch picture. And I've seen boxes arrive that were forced open and the contents pulled out. But sure, it's the customers who are untrustworthy not the delivery people.

True. Delivery drivers consistently deliver to my neighbor instead of myself. The last three digits of our addresses are 885 and 855, and they consistently confuse the two. They’re tired, overworked, underpaid, and I honestly don’t blame them. But I wouldn’t trust anyone in my garage/home when I’m not home. Not sure why these companies think that will actually work.

I've got an 80% hit rate at best across all carriers (in the US). I'm constantly trading mail with my neighbors due to mis-deliveries. It's a good thing we now have the option to go mostly paperless for important documents at least..

Re: Home Assistant blocked from integrating with Garage Door opener API

#269

Post by bonestamp2 »

HunterWare wrote: post #22

I use Home Assistant and have this openner. My installer recommeneded it because he’s had happy customers like me who use home automation. I can tell you that I a) will never recommend or buy the brand again, and b) have already complained to my installer about his recommendation of this line (and he is moving to another brand). I wish ratgdo a ton of success and have several on order.

I don't blame your installer for recommending it. I've had a myQ opener since 2015 and it's been rock solid... it has been the most reliable home automation product I have ever owned, until now.

Re: Home Assistant blocked from integrating with Garage Door opener API

#270

Post by vel0city »

sarchertech wrote: post #89

Any IOT device that requires the cloud for functionality is a trap. I bought a Miku baby monitor specifically because of the 2 devices that offered a feature I wanted, Miku had no subscription fees. And they advertised that they never would. It cost $400. Then they went bankrupt and during bankruptcy they sent out a proposal to start charging for previously free features. Then they retracted that proposal. Not sure i…

I had an internet connected baby monitor. In the end we decided to just get a local RF one and it is a far better experience. Pair it once, and it just works. Lower power. Very reliable. Coverage throughout the house without issue. No apps to crash in the background. No dropped streams. No needing to log in to the app. No worries about features getting taken away. No subscriptions. No having to send data out to the cloud just to pull it back down. Lower latency. Far easier to just hand the display unit to the baby sitter instead of trying to talk them into installing an app and sharing a login.

These days the local RF ones are very solid. Modern DECT-based systems use encryption and frequency hopping so once paired you're not realistically going to get someone listening in.

The only benefit I see for these cloud connected cameras is if you're out of the house and are going to check in on the baby sitter, but in the end I'm not even a big fan of that feature. There's tons of pros for the local RF ones and few negatives, and mostly a bunch of unknowns and concerns with the cloud ones.

Post reply on HN