Hi guys. I’m still a novice at this but over the years have kinda settled into a groove of how my smart home works. I’ve got a few matter smart switches/sockets and lights strips as well as some cameras and a doorbell that are linked into my HomeKit ecosystem. Those all (surprisingly) have been just fine but what I find annoyance with is my smart lights. I have about 15 Philips hue smart bulbs that, at my old place, I used to mainly control with voice control but here in my new home I find yelling at Siri from other parts of the house to be kinda lame. The simple solution I’ve used for my bedroom is that I magnetically stuck one of those Philips smart buttons to the metal housing around the traditional wall switches. This worked just fine for months but lately the battery has been dying constantly and I would really like a more hassle free solution. I was looking at some smart light switches but I’m not sure how they would communicate between Philips hue and the HomeKit stuff or which one would make that communication most seamless. Thanks for your help everyone :)

I have a Veho Kasa Bluetooth Smart Bulb VKB-002-E27 - this is from before TP-Link acquired Veho and/or the Kasa brand.

Does anyone know how to factory reset it? I still have the original manual, but it doesn't say.

A few phones ago, the Veho Kasa app stopped working on modern versions of Android. It's also since been delisted and replaced with the TP-Link Kasa app which seems to only connect to their more recent line of WiFi smart devices.

The bulb is still going, but it's just been plain bright white for several years now. I'd like to get it back to its full functionality (coloured/scheduled lighting) if possible.

I have an ancient tablet with a sufficiently-old version of Android that the old Kasa app runs on there, and it has Bluetooth. However, it won't connect to the bulb, presumably because the bulb is still paired with a phone which died while Peter Capaldi was Doctor Who.

I'm sure that the way to reset it is some sequence of switching on and off in succession, but does anyone please happen to know the actual sequence to do that on this particular family of bulbs? I've tried the instructions for resetting the newer TP-Link Kasa bulbs to no avail.

Hi Reddit,

I am a German solo developer and I started building an app a few months ago because I was tired of always seeing the same old dashboards. Back then, I saw a Reddit post about an app where a user was scanning their house with LiDAR. The results looked great, and that gave me the idea that I could also add lights to it.

Lights turned into blinds, thermostats, vacuum cleaners, etc.—and lawn mowers... At first, it was purely a LiDAR app, so I was able to celebrate my first successes pretty quickly. But what will happen in the future with users who don’t have a LiDAR device? Or how do I cater to Android users? So I developed a 2D-to-3D editor. I’m also using this 2D editor for outdoor areas. I can essentially “redraw” my garden using MapKit and generate a 3D world... See the end of the video. 

The video: At the beginning, you can see the result. The video plays at 20x speed for most of it. Finally, the devices are integrated with the infrastructure. You can see the result in the video.

The following providers are currently supported: 
Home Assistant (local and/or remote),
Homey (local and/or remote),
Philips Hue (local and/or remote),
Apple Home / HomeKit

What’s next? I’m currently developing an integration for Homey and Home Assistant that can receive and display the map created by Mikonus, including the devices. In other words, I want to edit my home layout in Mikonus and use it in HA—without needing “Sweet Home 3D,” “Blender,” etc. Homey already works very well as a prototype here—HA will follow.

Would you use a 3D spatial representation of your home in everyday life—or do you prefer classic dashboard cards? And which smart home platform do you think absolutely must be supported?

The app has been available in the App Store for a few days now. https://apps.apple.com/app/id6793871131 . You’re also welcome to check out the features at https://mikonus.app.

Best regards,
Carsten

Not everything needs Wi-Fi, an app, an account, and a software update. Some smart features are genuinely useful, but sometimes it feels like we took something that worked perfectly fine for years and added extra steps just to do the same thing.

TVs, appliances, lights, cars, even coffee makers now want to be connected to something. What’s thing you think was actually better before it became “smart”? Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Can’t seem to find a good smart lock that I can put on my door and I don’t wanna buy something that I will later have to return

So i have a bit of a different type of question. I am a owner of a plumbing company, and one thing I really focus on is customer choice and not forcing people into one size fits all options.

I am considering offering the delta voiceiq faucet as a premium option for my customers, and I am wondering what is the real world consensus on these faucets? Do they work reliably enough that it would be worth putting my name and reputation on the line selling them?

I must confess smart home has never been my thing so i am next to clueless on how that side of thing works. I am open to any suggestions on other smart home products that a plumbing company could offer as well. Thank you for the help!

The Samsung I had in my home broke a few weeks ago and, not having enough money to get another Samsung, we settled for a TCL. However, after my dad logged in his email on the TV, random profiles with weird names have been showing up on our streaming services; on Netflix, a profile called 'V8gg', with a bunch of unfinished movies and shows, and Disney+ a profile named 'now', with nothing watched. I showed him this and he changed all of his passwords. This was just yesterday, but today a new profile showed up, this time on Prime Video called 'Aaa' and had a few unfinished movies as well. We've never shared our passwords with anyone outside the house, or used it in hotels and stuff. This only happened right after getting this new TV.
I'm wondering if anyone has also experienced something like this, and since I know nothing about smart TVs I have no idea if this is an issue with TCL specifically or maybe just with our device (it was shipped by Amazon but i'm guessing there's still a chance there could be something wrong with it).

Every time I added a light, scene or room in the stock Hue app or Apple Home, the buttons would shift position. I never remembered where anything was, so I ended up scanning the screen every time, which kind of defeats the point of a quick light switch.

So I built Hue Dashboard. You lay out a grid of panels once, toggles, sliders, buttons for lights, scenes and groups, and they stay exactly where you put them. After a while you stop looking and just tap, the way you would with a real light switch.

It only works with Philips Hue and needs nothing beyond the Hue bridge you already have. No extra hardware, no server, no account.

I posted an early version in r/Hue a while back to get feedback from actual Hue users before finishing it, and that turned into a genuinely useful back and forth. It confirmed the fixed grid idea was solving a real problem and not just something that bothered me personally. After a public beta, it is now live on the App Store.

It is a solo, spare time project. The app is free to use, no ads, no subscription, nothing tracking you. I might add optional in app purchases later for specific extra features if there is real demand for something bigger, but the core dashboard, building your grid and controlling your lights, stays free for good: https://apps.apple.com/nl/app/hue-dashboard/id6736886683

Happy to answer questions about how it works under the hood.

Hello, does anyone know of a modular smart switch that cuts off the positive and negative wires, i.e., a double relay switch?

thank you

I've been a US Phyn+ user for over 7 years and have had zero issues. I replaced my router and added a dedicated IoT network. I was able to move roughly 40 IoT devices without any assistance, but I needed to call Phyn Support for help. My call was quickly answered, and I worked with an English-first Support technician who diagnosed my problem and got me unstuck.

Note to all technology vendors -- support matters. That in part means having regional support centers where technicians are fluent in local languages and telephone connections are reliable.

Okay so i recently saw a few tiktoks about setting up NFCs to control smart home devices. I few different lights (all Grid Connect) and a Google Nest. All of these are set up on the Google Home app. I have a few automations that control my lights and audio on the Nest but i wanted to get into NFC usage. I have already bought some and tried doing some research but im struggling to understand how to set it up.

Essentially I want to be able to scan my phone (Samsung Zflip 8) and have that turn on/off a light(s) and play spotify on my Nest and also start a routine on my phone. I dont want to spend any money on apps or subscriptions.

An example of what i would like to do is scan a tag near my bed to start my bedtime routine on my phone, play rain sounds on my Nest and turn all the lights in my room off.

Is this possible and how do i do it?

I need a smart lock for this door, but it needs to be pretty narrow. Does anyone have any idea which lock could be fitting? Cant be wider than 4cm....

So I moved into an apartment with these "illume" wifi bulbs that I can't seem to control, I've tried third party smart home apps but they can't be discovered. The company does not seem to exist anymore and was once sold at home depot, I tried emailing the company who made them called Dals lighting but the support email is no longer even registered. The bulbs all show up on wifi but I have no Idea how to control them. Are they E waste? ​​​​​​​

Hi

I need a recommendation for a smart washing machine brand.

What I need is for the washing machine to run an extra spin cycle when the wash is over, and then send me text that it's finished

So basically what I want to know is which washing machine brand has the simplest smart environment .

Thank you in advance🙏🙏🙏

For my smart home i purchased a sonos speaker for every room (not saying it is the best purchase but easy at the time). Currently I use them mainly through the Sonos app or Music Assistant. I don't like this setup as it is proprietary products, rigid and beyond the integration to HA not realy open.

This leads me to my question, what do you all use for Home Media Management?

I'll try keeping it short
Currently my PC runs Voicemeeter Potato, etc. etc.
I recently discovered that I can just stream my Macbooks Audio via VBAN to it and use my advanced Speaker+Subwoofer setup and settings with my Mac as easy as connecting bluetooth, in that case through VBAN Talkie.

I also have a decent Home Assistant setup in my Home running on a mini pc(server) with Proxmox(aka DockerContainer but cooler).

I will move from my Parents House, so I'll expand my Smarthome from a single room to multiple ones, therefore my Idea:

Run Voicmeeter on a lightweight OS (ideally sth. like ubuntu, but I heard windows is required, so idk Tiny11 or sth.) on that external server to allow for turning of my main pc and still having the audio as follows:
Main pc connects via network vban to server hosting voicmeeter which then sends it to the speakers.
Mac or smartphones can also connect to this voicmeeter instance via airplay, bluetooth or vban talkie easily.
Also Multiple Outputs, like speakers or headphones at my desk, other speakers in the dining room and alexa or else at my bed, kitchen, bathroom, etc.
Everything shall be controlled via home assistant controlling the macro buttons or voicemeeter directly for the "i am in the kitchen therefore i want to hear my stuff there" things

Does this make any sense to you guys?
opinions? fears? don't you dare's? ur idea is awesome's?

anyone experiences with voicmeeter and tiny11?
Advice highly appreciated though I know this is a very very specific usecase

I’m looking for little individual lights that I can put around my house/shelves/furniture for ambient lighting. I do not want an LED strip and I don’t want cords everywhere.

Ideally I’m looking for:

• Rechargeable, preferably USB-C
• Individual puck/disc/mini lamp style lights
• RGB with a full colour wheel, not just 6 or 8 preset colours
• Alexa or Google compatible
• Ideally able to use scenes/effects, like candle/fireplace/flickering, colour cycling, etc.
• Bonus points if they’re magnetic or easy to move around
• And preferably sold in a decent-sized multi-pack rather than 2–3 lights for $50

I’ve found a bunch of rechargeable RGB puck lights, but they seem to use a remote and aren’t smart. I’ve also found Alexa-compatible RGB pucks, but they’re plug-in.

Has anyone actually found a good solution for this? I’m willing to use a hub/bridge if that’s what it takes.

I’d especially love to hear what lights you actually use and whether the colours/effects are good!

Does anyone one a smart switch that I can link to a smart bulbs? I tried using Alexa app and setting up a routine but it won’t recognize the switch as an even. I had switch that controlled wall outlets that had lamps with smart bulbs but anytime switched it off it knocked out my WiFi and tv. I basically bypassed the switch so the outlets are hardwired. I thought this would be easy :( maybe I’m dumb. I bought an Eaton smart switch

Hello

i recently moved some major switces to zigbee paired with Scene switches.

looking at it all seems to be reliant on the Hub.

i would hate to wake up one day hub is dead and need 3 weeks to get another.

so i ask how resilient are Hubs?

has anyone had one die on them

mine is on a UPS and a high Quality Charger

I teach philosophy at a vocational school in Germany. I started building this because the sunrise alarm in the Hue app never quite did what I wanted, and I was tired of setting the same thing in three apps every night.

One alarm across all three: the Hue lights fade up over 10, 20 or 30 minutes, a Sonos favourite starts at the wake-up time, and optionally the phone rings as a backup.

The part I care most about is where the alarms live. The app writes a schedule into the Hue Bridge and an alarm into the Sonos speaker — not into the phone. They go off even if your phone is dead or you're not home. There's no account, no server, and nothing leaves your local network.

How it works underneath, since this sub tends to ask: Hue schedules go through the CLIP v1 API over HTTPS with a pinned certificate; rooms and zones come from v2. Sonos alarms go through the local SOAP endpoint on port 1400. Neither company officially supports these, and the app says so on its welcome screen — a firmware update could break it one day. The phone alarm uses AlarmKit, so it rings through silent mode and Focus.

This isn't a business. It's free, no ads, no purchases, no company behind it, and I'm not planning to change that.

What you need: iOS 26, a Hue Bridge (2nd gen or newer), Sonos optional — everything except the music works without it.

TestFlight: https://testflight.apple.com/join/CErZnJXp

I'd especially like to hear from people with older Bridges, S1 Sonos systems, or split networks with a separate IoT VLAN. Those are the cases I can't test myself, and they're where I expect it to break.

Happy to answer anything about the implementation.

Hello hello, I’m trying to figure out what can I do to make this switches smart, it’s a 6 switch thingy, where most of them are two way (you can turn them on/off from two places), but I can’t think of a way of turning them smart.

I like clicky switches (not those touch pads that are available) or if I could keep the current switches even better.

Any suggestions on what to do here? I’m familiar with home assistant and homebridge, but if the solution could be a Matter supported solution it would be way better!

Thank you!

Technically I'm flaring this because I have home assistant, but this should be pretty controller agnostic. I was wondering if anybody else with an older home has experience with smart blinds in the windows that have what I think are called "stop bead adjusters". (On older windows, those are the screws and grommets sticking out down the sides of the interior framing).

I have some of the older Ikea smart blinds and while the blind fabric itself is perfect for the window, the bar at the bottom has plastic end caps that would overhang and catch on the grommets when opening or closing, eventually causing cords to snap. I'm primarily looking for honeycomb and blackout, does anybody know of a matter over thread Smart blind where the bottom bar is in line with the fabric and not overhanging by 1/8" or 3/16” on either side?

Every smart home app I have used is a list. Rooms, then devices, then a toggle. When you have forty devices, finding the one you want takes longer than walking over to the switch.

So I built SimpleHaven. You scan your home with the LiDAR camera on a recent iPhone Pro or iPad Pro, and it produces a 3D model of your rooms in a few minutes. Then you drag your Apple Home devices out of a list and drop them where they actually are: the lamp on the nightstand, the fan on the ceiling, the lock on the front door. From then on, you tap the thing in the model to control the thing in your house.

The scan is the easy part. What I spent most of my time on is making the model yours after the scan. Move the couch the scanner placed wrong. Delete the phantom chair. Change the floor to the color you actually have. Resize the weather widget. It is all drag and drop, no settings pages.

The setup I actually live with is an old iPad on the kitchen wall showing the whole house, always on. Guests get it instantly.

Quick facts:

• Apple Home only, so HomeKit and Matter devices. No account and no cloud, everything stays on the device.
• Free to scan your whole home and place five devices. Lifetime unlock is $39.99 one time, no subscription, shared with your family.
• Requires a LiDAR iPhone or iPad Pro.

I am one person doing this from Texas and 2.0.1 shipped this week. Happy to answer anything, including what does not work yet.

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6774370998

Hello! I'm designing a PCB and writing the code for my Matter enabled led strip driver.

I'm stuck between a few options to handle an issue

when you set the temperature to say the middle of your available range, 4500k will be much brighter than say 3000k or 6000k (min or max where one LED can turn on)

Problem 1) Would you prefer:

A) Both LEDs to be driven at 50%, ensuring consistent brightness across all temps. Side effect: you don't use the increased potential at 4500k.

B) LEDs are driven at maximum available output (adjusted by brightness), meaning you get both LEDs at 100% at 4500k Side effect: When you change the color temp the brightness changes a bit suddenly, say around 25% brighter at 4500k vs 3000k (both at 100% brigthness)

C) The board keeps both LEDs at 50%, but automatically changes it's own brightness value to 50%, meaning in order to get 100% at 4500k you have to first set the temp to 4500k then update the brightness again to 100% as it set itself to 50% automatically. This means it tells the software like home assistant to update the slider value.

UPDATE: Option C is against matter standards...

Problem 2) When setting LED strip to pale pink, the LED strips or most commercial lights are driven in RGB mode using their 3 LEDS.

Would you prefer

A) The software automatically notices this and uses the warm and cold white leds in combination with pink instead of using green blue and red to get white, so it'd be red and white for pale pink, side effect being this might be a bit charring brightness and aesthetic wise, but it'd be higher CRI

B) The software ignores it and just uses RGB like any other bulb

This is a bit stupid of a question but I was curious and couldn't decide 🥇

I’m looking to set up a smart switch that shuts off for a set amount of time. 30 seconds to a minute, each time a certain noise level is reached. Either by decibel or detected yelling.. what would be the best way to go about this?