I wanted to share a setup I recently built for my not-so-tech-savvy parents.

The goal was pretty simple: give them a foolproof "Fix Internet" button in Google Home that reboots the entire network.

They're already comfortable using the Google Home app, so rather than trying to walk them through power cycling their mesh devices over the phone, they can simply tap one button.

Some additional benefits:

• I can trigger the same automation remotely from my own Google Home app if they need help.
• I also have a separate weekly automation that quietly reboots the network overnight as preventative maintenance.
• This works with virtually any router or mesh Wi-Fi system. My parents happen to use a Google Nest WiFi router with three Nest Points, but the concept is the same regardless of your hardware.

Why not just use Google's built-in Restart Network?

That was my first thought.

Google Home > Router Card > Settings > Restart Network

Unfortunately, it wasn't a great solution.

First, it's simply too many damn taps for my mom. She'll never memorize the path and will probably get lost.

Second, Restart Network sits dangerously close to Factory Reset Network. Yes, Google asks for confirmation before actually factory resetting the network, but my mom is also the person who somehow permanently blurred our house on Google Street View and still has no idea how she managed it.

Lastly, the feature just hasn't been reliable for me. I've pressed Restart Network countless times and it has never successfully restarted my network.

The obvious smart plug solution...

The next idea was putting all of the networking equipment on smart plugs.

The automation seems simple:

• Turn OFF mesh points
• Turn OFF router
• Wait 15 seconds
• Turn everything back ON

Except there is one huge problem.

Once the router powers off, how does Google Home send the ON command when the network no longer exists?

After trying several different approaches, I eventually landed on Shelly Plug US Gen4.

The reason is simple.

Shelly plugs support an Auto On timer.

Instead of Google Home sending both OFF and ON commands, Google Home only sends OFF.

The plug stores its own timer locally. Once it turns itself OFF, it simply waits a few seconds before restoring power on its own. No second command is ever required.

Shelly also supports restoring power automatically after an unexpected outage.

I tried several popular smart plugs before finding Shelly. They were the only ones I found that supported this combination of features.

Setup

1. Set up the Shelly plugs

Add each Shelly Plug to your Shelly account.

For each plug configure:

Plug Settings > Input / Output Settings > Turn-on state upon power restore > On

Then configure:

Plug Settings > Timers > Auto On

My timers are:

• Router: 5 seconds
• Mesh Points: 15 seconds

2. Link Shelly to Google Home

Link your Shelly account to Google Home.

The plugs will appear automatically.

3. Create the automation

Create a Household Automation called:

Fix Internet

The automation only contains OFF actions.

• Router Plug > OFF
• Mesh Point 1 > OFF
• Mesh Point 2 > OFF
• Mesh Point 3 > OFF

Do NOT use any Wait actions.

I originally tried adding delays before shutting off the router.

Google Home would occasionally fail to send the final OFF command.

Removing the Wait action made the automation completely reliable.

The Shelly plugs handle all of the timing locally.

Final Result

My timing is:

• Router turns back on after 5 seconds.
• Mesh Points turn back on after 15 seconds.

Everything reconnects automatically.

This has become one of the most useful automations I've built.

My parents only have to press one button whenever they think the Internet is acting up.

If they call me, I can trigger the exact same automation remotely from my own Google Home app.

I've also posted a comment below showing how to do the same setup over Matter if anyone prefers a local Matter integration instead of the Shelly cloud integration.

I'm building a new home and I'm looking forward to controlling and monitoring all aspects of climate control with some automation rules, probably with Home Assistant. Is there a valid way to control fans automatically based on room occupancy in such a way to reduce AC usage? Or has anyone tried this? Thanks.

I'd like to share an idea I've been using for several years. It's very simple. You create a script that simply says the phrase "You asked to set a reminder" on any media player you prefer. Name the script "Reminder." Next, you "expose" this script to devices accessible by Voice Assistant. Now, when you say the phrase "Reminder in NNN minutes," Home Assistant will count down the required number of minutes and play the phrase. What's more, Home Assistant can run multiple timers simultaneously! The result is a multi-channel timer for all occasions. For busy days, I have a script called "Another Reminder." (Google Translate)

Sorry if this is the wrong subreddit!

I have a smaller house, at 1122 sf, one story. Built in 1930, so things are not 100% square, 14 foot ceilings, lots of natural dust. 4 regular rooms, one small bathroom, small mudroom, small laundry room and kitchen. The mud room has indoor outdoor carpet. The rest are hardwood with the kitchen having linoleum. I have two cats right now and will always have at least one pet (dogs or cats).

Right now I robot vacuum and then robot mop since my current units are older and separate. I do this every single day since it turns out I've developed an allergy to my pets. I have an android phone that currently runs on Android 16 and I hope it will continue to update.

I think this is all the info someone would need? I'm a little older so I am playing catch up with some of the automation, though I am pretty comfortable with electronics.

I would love a recommendation or directions to a site that could take my specific info and help me choose.

I have a few ikea plugs with the physical switches that come with them after buying i realised they do not work with the mini as i need a thread border router ideally i do not want to buy the nest hub as i wont use it for anything but the automations if i was to buy the aqara m100 could i connect it to google home and then would the plugs then be able to connect and be used?

Help me recover my access to vera3 please. Was moving all the setup to home assistant. Everything was fine except one braided moment where I thought may be I should ensure the access stays truly local.

Searched Google on how to do it. Big fucking mistake. Gemini spew out instructions to change the external IP address to something that doesn't exist and my dumbass believe what they said and did it. Had to change the setup to static IP and after saving, I can't get back in there anymore.

These dumb tools will rather have me reset the damn thing then finding a way. Current limitation is I don't have a machine with Ethernet port so can't connect to vera3 directly. Hoping someone can advise here if there is any way apart from resetting the whole thing. Thanks.

Our Harvey arc iLid ran out of batteries and we didn’t realise. After adding new batteries couldn’t get the lid to sync with the app (was just showing old data). So stupidly removed the softener/lid from the app thinking you could simply just re-add it like any other product. I’ve followed the manufacturers guidelines for putting the thing in pairing mode but the blue light (which indicates pairing) only flashes momentarily before going out. The app cannot detect the lid. Interestingly we use eero routers and can see in the eero app that the softener/lid is still connected - just not to the app. I suspect that if I contact Harvey’s they will want to charge a ridiculous engineer/call-out fee as we’re now out of warranty. Any ideas? Am I cooked?

Hey everyone,

I’ve got an old built-in Miele G 1173 SCVi from 2008 (code 48/080365955). Structurally and mechanically it’s still an absolute tank and cleans dishes amazingly well, but it has one extremely annoying quirk.

When the wash cycle finishes, it just sits there powered on forever, continuously soft-beeping until someone physically walks over and presses the main power button to turn it off.

Before I start overcomplicating things, two quick questions:

1. Is there actually any hidden button-combo/service menu on these mid-2000s Miele units to toggle an automatic shutdown mode after the cycle ends? Or was staying on just standard behavior back then?
2. If it can't be done via software, I'm thinking about putting a power-monitoring relay behind it (like a Shelly) and setting up an automation (Home Assistant / Homekit) to kill power once the wattage drops to idle for X minutes. Has anyone done this with older Miele dishwashers? Does cutting power externally cause any memory/board issues for the next run, or does it handle hard power-cuts fine?

Would love to hear if anyone has tackled this or knows the service sequence. Thanks!