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Kevo app shutdown

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Re: Kevo app shutdown

#61

Post by xmprt »

cortesoft wrote: post #45
ashayh wrote: post #29

Buy locally configurable stuff only. That means Zigbee and Zwave and use them with Home Assistant. There are many locks and devices which support either. There's a learning curve in the beginning, but once you set it up correctly not only you get privacy and control your own devices, you also get far more options for automations and useful or plain cool things in general.

This is fine for the HackerNews crowd, but most people aren’t going to have the skills and/or time to run a local setup, and it’s not unreasonable for them to want smart lock functionality.

If you buy a device that works over Zigbee or Zwave, a layperson doesn't need to have the skills to run a local setup because some third party can always come in and help with the integration (either some third party cloud solution or contractors who can come to your house and set up the local solution for you)

Re: Kevo app shutdown

#62

Post by bmandale »

flyinglizard wrote: post #48
theamk wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it's worse than that - those locks are bluetooth-based, so they don't care about the cloud. What happened is that they are disabling the app, so it is no longer usable.

Apps require constant maintenance. If you just leave an app in Play Store or App Store and don’t touch it for a while, in couple of years it will be gone. Compliance requirements, obsolete APIs, forceful upgrades by the Apple/Google all see to that. That means you need to keep the app project updated and all dependencies in reasonable form. It’s not outlandish if you are a big company but as someone who oversaw the d…

On the other hand, if someone searches "appname apk", they will be able to download it forever, and install it for another year (thanks google!).

Re: Kevo app shutdown

#63

Post by wilg »

rkomorn wrote: post #28
wilg wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really, they shut it down and basically now it's just not a connected thing. "An escalator can never break: it can only become stairs."

Aw man, I'm gonna be that guy who goes kind of off topic, but videos of runaway escalators definitely dispelled the "it can only become stairs" failure mode of escalators for me. Terrifying stuff. Mitch Hedberg just died too soon after YouTube launched to see it himself.

I also watched that video but we pretend it's not possible for Mitch

Re: Kevo app shutdown

#64

Post by dylan604 »

xmprt wrote: post #58
molticrystal wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe cut the wires from the current circuit board(s) and throw in a ESP32 with wifi and bluetooth and driver board for the servos.

My house lock is probably the one place where I'm not prepared to compromise security with a DIY solution. Not talking about the software security (in fact open source solutions are probably more secure) but literally the hardware and build quality of any DIY work.

that's kind of funny though as any lock can be picked. if someone wants into your house, most of the time they will not enter the locked front door. they'll find a window in the back that is easier to open with whatever they find in your back yard. they might exit the front door on their way out though. also, most locks are easily picked by someone with practice

Re: Kevo app shutdown

#65

Post by tpmoney »

wilg wrote: post #24
abtinf wrote: post #23

This is where proper Apple Home accessories shine. No need for apps to configure them or to use them.

The only problem is that Apple Home, Siri, and all related frameworks and APIs barely work. (I also have my entire Home on Apple Home. They've done an awful job!)

I was really hoping Apple’s involvement in the matter/thread design would have pushed the local control and configurable by default into the mainstream. Sadly it seems like it got tossed along the way. I have a new Honeywell thermostat that supports Matter and supposedly local control. But as far as I can tell in order to get access to the QR code / pairing data for connecting it to a matter network in the first place, you have to set it up online and sign up for an account on their (terrible) app. Zigbee and Z-Wave it is then. And anything that is WiFi connected must run or be earlier flashable to esphome.

Re: Kevo app shutdown

#66

Post by Polizeiposaune »

rkomorn wrote: post #28
wilg wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really, they shut it down and basically now it's just not a connected thing. "An escalator can never break: it can only become stairs."

Aw man, I'm gonna be that guy who goes kind of off topic, but videos of runaway escalators definitely dispelled the "it can only become stairs" failure mode of escalators for me. Terrifying stuff. Mitch Hedberg just died too soon after YouTube launched to see it himself.

In the best documented runaway escalator case I'm aware of -- see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Rome_escalator_accident -- it was determined to be the result of criminally negligent maintenance practices that included the use of zip ties to keep an emergency brake mechanism from engaging.

There was a similar incident this summer at a subway station in Atlanta but there doesn't seem to be a clear root cause published yet. As in Rome, the trigger was too many people on the escalator, but the mechanism is supposed to cope with overload by stopping the escalator.

Re: Kevo app shutdown

#67

Post by wilg »

tpmoney wrote: post #65
wilg wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only problem is that Apple Home, Siri, and all related frameworks and APIs barely work. (I also have my entire Home on Apple Home. They've done an awful job!)

I was really hoping Apple’s involvement in the matter/thread design would have pushed the local control and configurable by default into the mainstream. Sadly it seems like it got tossed along the way. I have a new Honeywell thermostat that supports Matter and supposedly local control. But as far as I can tell in order to get access to the QR code / pairing data for connecting it to a matter network in the first plac…

At this point, I don't care if they connect all this stuff directly to the NSA if that's what it takes to get it to function properly.

Re: Kevo app shutdown

#68

Post by molticrystal »

xmprt wrote: post #58
molticrystal wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe cut the wires from the current circuit board(s) and throw in a ESP32 with wifi and bluetooth and driver board for the servos.

My house lock is probably the one place where I'm not prepared to compromise security with a DIY solution. Not talking about the software security (in fact open source solutions are probably more secure) but literally the hardware and build quality of any DIY work.

I think you'll find it not as comprising as you believe, and might be a fun project.

Since you'll likely be scrapping it in some fashion, might want to try disassembling it first to see what would need to be done.

If you are not handy with electronics, there is also a chance their will be some work around the 3rd party server at some point, as in the protocol and such being deciphered, or a custom firmware you can build and flash.

If you do get it working, it would make a great spare.

Re: Kevo app shutdown

#69

Post by mikestew »

Moto7451 wrote: post #37
leakycap wrote: post #2

> "After more than a decade of service .... users can no longer open/close or manage their door lock via the mobile app or web portal." Wow, a whole ten years for a door lock. Kind of like wemo's recent abandonment/EOL of their plugs... a big company like belkin can't keep an on/off switch working?

As an owner of a few of those smart plugs I can attest they didn’t work properly when supported. You could get them paired in matter but they just fall off the network and never come back until you did a full reset. I’m sure a few people didn’t have trouble but the Wemo support forum and Reddit were justifiably full of anger at the products.

The old ones are rock-solid. I use one to control an attic fan, which isn’t easy to get to, but it has never failed in three or four years of use. Another sits outside under the eaves, to control the hummingbird feeder heaters. Again, several years, always works.

The new ones, however, are unreliable garbage. I have no idea what they broke, but they were a waste of money. Same symptoms you report.

Re: Kevo app shutdown

#70

Post by neilv »

They try to sell you replacement product in the same announcement:

> To help make this transition easier, we’re offering our steepest discounts ever on trusted smart lock replacements, available exclusively to Kevo users.

Are the executives confused by IoT, and it doesn't register that they are remotely disabling a product that they (the brand they bought) already sold?

Or do they know what they're doing, but they think a judge will be confused by IoT?.

(If only there were a mnemonic that would help everyone remember that ASSA ABLOY is to be avoided...)

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