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Pilfered Pallbearers posted:Yeah I don’t think I have more space.  As for AirPlay adapters there's a bunch of cheap ones but no clue if any support AirPlay 2, or if that matters...or how well they work to begin with  . Otherwise find an old AirPort Express or that new pricey Belkin adapter. Not wall plate stuff but uh...well at least you have a big ol random cut out of the wall to work with apparently 
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May 21, 2021 06:36
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japtor posted:Wait what the hell is the point of it being a wall plate setup if you need to plug in a external brick Yes I know. This piece of poo poo is like $200 too. Airplay 2 is required for my plan because I want the HomePod to be the control (Hey Siri is easier for wife/kid) and be part of the system. Airplay 2 allows stereo/multichannel speaker control utilizing the homepod + any airplay 2 speaker. This thing has a 3.5mm jack (despite being WiFi, Bluetooth, and having USB in  ) so I’m considering that Belkin adapter. Seeing that release notice is what made me dive deeper on this in the first place. Just wondering aloud here, but I wonder if the HomePod could act as a floor subwoofer + left/right channel for the zero bass ceiling speakers… Seems like I need to go full research hole on this.
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May 21, 2021 06:56
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Pilfered Pallbearers posted:Just wondering aloud here, but I wonder if the HomePod could act as a floor subwoofer + left/right channel for the zero bass ceiling speakers…
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May 21, 2021 07:00
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Hi all! I'm generally disinterested in smart-home technology and I don't have or currently want a voice assistant device, but I am very intrigued by the idea of getting a set of blackout smart blinds for the bedroom that could be scheduled to automatically drop in the evening before bed and rise in the morning before my alarm goes off. I've had blackout blinds before and loved them, but I had to get rid of them because I was actually sleeping too deeply and occasionally ignoring my alarm as a result. This would be the best of both worlds. I searched the forums and didn't see much discussion about it, but what I did find said that Lutron were the best. I just checked, and for what I'm thinking of, it would cost $600 pre-installation for the double-window . That's... kind of staggering, but realistically I could afford it. Everything window-related is so insanely expensive, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I'm curious, though: - Are Lutron blinds still considered the best? - Do I have to have a voice assistant to operate them? Or could I do the scheduling via my computer or a phone app? - Any experiences in general with smart blinds? Thank you!
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May 23, 2021 01:43
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Anyone have a recommendation for a smart bulb that has really strong color programming schemes? I’m not taking about red at 5:00 and blue at 5:30, more light show-style colors fading into each other. I have some really cheap bulbs that do that, and it works, but when you get a good program together it’s almost by accident. The app stinks. The other kind I have I think is called smart life. I don’t really remember and the box just says “LED Smart Bulb” BigFactory fucked around with this message at 01:33 on May 25, 2021 |
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May 25, 2021 01:31
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BigFactory posted:Anyone have a recommendation for a smart bulb that has really strong color programming schemes? I’m not taking about red at 5:00 and blue at 5:30, more light show-style colors fading into each other. I have some really cheap bulbs that do that, and it works, but when you get a good program together it’s almost by accident. The app stinks. There is an app called HueDynamic that I use with my Hue bulbs that does that kind of thing. Like Thunderstorm lighting or campfire lighting or that kind of thing, if that is what you are talking about.
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May 25, 2021 06:00
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King Burgundy posted:There is an app called HueDynamic that I use with my Hue bulbs that does that kind of thing. Like Thunderstorm lighting or campfire lighting or that kind of thing, if that is what you are talking about. Sounds like it. Can you make custom programs too?
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May 25, 2021 11:18
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BigFactory posted:Sounds like it. Can you make custom programs too? Sadly no.
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May 25, 2021 16:49
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japtor posted:Wait what the hell is the point of it being a wall plate setup if you need to plug in a external brick This is actually super common with commercial controllers like Valcom. The idea is you have a power brick in your A/V closet that runs low voltage to all your wall plates and speakers which ensures they all have the same impedance and phase. Looks like the previous owner either didn't have the space for that or didn't want to bother since there was an outlet on the other side of the wall and just bought an off the shelf power supply that matched the volts/current that wall plate needed. McPhearson fucked around with this message at 17:04 on May 25, 2021 |
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May 25, 2021 17:01
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King Burgundy posted:Sadly no. Weird. This seems like it would be a feature a lot of people would be interested in, but you can only find it on the kinda no-name Chinese bulbs, and then it only kinda works. Or maybe I’m the weird one.
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May 25, 2021 17:11
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BigFactory posted:Weird. This seems like it would be a feature a lot of people would be interested in, but you can only find it on the kinda no-name Chinese bulbs, and then it only kinda works. Or maybe I’m the weird one. I don't know of anything that's self-contained with specific bulbs, but I've done some fun color transition automations with Home Assistant and Zigbee bulbs. My office lamp has three color smart bulbs. I can turn on "party mode" (either from the HA dashboard or via Google voice command), which changes each bulb to a random, highly-saturated color every second until I turn it off. If I wanted something more gradual, I could turn down the frequency and add a transition duration to the light actions.
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May 25, 2021 20:33
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WhiteHowler posted:I don't know of anything that's self-contained with specific bulbs, but I've done some fun color transition automations with Home Assistant and Zigbee bulbs. Hmm, that might be what I’m looking for. I’ll dig in. Thank you.
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May 25, 2021 20:38
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BigFactory posted:Hmm, that might be what I’m looking for. I’ll dig in. Thank you. If you're not already set up for Home Assistant, it's a bit more complicated than just plugging in a couple of devices and hitting "go". HA is very powerful and I'm happy I went down that path, but it can be an undertaking. You'll need something to run it on (I think most people use a Docker container or a Raspberry Pi) and a bridge to talk to your bulbs and other devices. You may be able to skip the bridge with wi-fi bulbs, but those are often proprietary and sometimes don't get along with HomeAssistant or other home automation ecosystems. For my setup, I'm using an old Raspberry Pi3+ running the HomeAssistant OS, a Zigbee/Zwave USB stick, and various smart bulbs, smart dimmers, and such. I listed my equipment in a previous post in this thread.
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May 25, 2021 20:57
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WhiteHowler posted:If you're not already set up for Home Assistant, it's a bit more complicated than just plugging in a couple of devices and hitting "go". HA is very powerful and I'm happy I went down that path, but it can be an undertaking. Ok, yeah that’s not what I’m looking for. Thanks though.
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May 25, 2021 21:09
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BigFactory posted:Ok, yeah that’s not what I’m looking for. Thanks though. There are/were some third-party apps that can do more complex color transitions on Philips Hue bulbs. I have not tried any of them, but is this more what you're looking for? https://www.howtogeek.com/301331/how-to-set-up-a-kickass-party-mode-for-your-hue-lights/
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May 25, 2021 21:13
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WhiteHowler posted:There are/were some third-party apps that can do more complex color transitions on Philips Hue bulbs. I have not tried any of them, but is this more what you're looking for? That’s much more of what I’m looking for, at least the 2nd mode there. It has some features the bulbs I have now dont (but also looks like it’s missing some). Thanks.
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May 25, 2021 21:26
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If anyone needs a hub or is transitioning away from SmartThings, the Hubitat Elevation is $15 off their normal ("discounted") price, plus free shipping.
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May 26, 2021 16:04
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First time home owner whose prior experience with home security involves a single Ring camera and some Simplisafe gear my husband poorly installed and we never actually used. Their customer service to set up was abysmal and we had billing issues so we just kind of left it alone in a box. Our new neighborhood has a recent issue with attempted car thefts and stolen packages, so we want to have something in place. Looking for something easy, something that works, and something that someone else installs correctly. We're ok with paying for convenience of this to get it set up sooner. Is Vivnt/ADT a horrible option for us? I recently heard Best Buy can help with installation and syncing of devices and wondering if that might be an easier way to go if we don't want to DIY?
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May 26, 2021 17:19
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Vivint/ADT are acceptable, but they're expensive. I ended up returning a Vivint system about 3 years ago I had installed from Sams Club. They lock you into buying only their approved hardware, and I was looking for something more expandable. I ended up using a local telco company, and getting a Honeywell Lyric based system. It's tied into a couple cameras, front door deadbolt, skybell doorbell camera, and the MyQ enabled garage door opener. The Lyric platform does Z-Wave so there is plenty of expandability, but it only works with Honeywell's not so great cameras and Skybell doorbell cameras. That's ok for me though. It's not perfect, but it's only 34.95 a month. Vivint was almost 70 and that was without cameras. Vivint also locked you into a crazy contract that I wasn't a fan of. 3 years initial term, and then I think it auto renewed for an entire year unless you contacted them during the 3rd full moon of the second lunar quarter while mercury is in retrograde and a bunch of other bullshit. If you don't want to DIY, try a local company with good reviews, or even Alarm.com. I'm the sort of person that rather buy my own equipment up front and then pay less for monitoring. You can also try seeing if there's some smart home people in your area. I'm starting to see a few local people setting up small businesses to help people setup things like DIY alarms, Smart Home equipment, A/V equipment and stuff like that. If you just want an installer, that might be a way to go.
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May 26, 2021 17:39
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amethystbliss posted:First time home owner whose prior experience with home security involves a single Ring camera and some Simplisafe gear my husband poorly installed and we never actually used. Their customer service to set up was abysmal and we had billing issues so we just kind of left it alone in a box. If you’re comfortable with it, rings setup is very very easy. Plus they offer active monitoring if you so wish, and it’s much cheaper that ADT. we were quoted ADT at $45 per month, plus the cost of each sensor (which would have piled up to a gently caress of a lot). Rings sensors are relatively inexpensive.
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May 26, 2021 17:41
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There are a million Hue light show apps but my favorite is Lightbow. It’s super customizable and there are good free presets you can use as examples and templates and a billion preset formula themes for sale. You can also mix non hue lights in apparently but I have not tried this.
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May 26, 2021 17:48
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Rick posted:There are a million Hue light show apps but my favorite is Lightbow. It’s super customizable and there are good free presets you can use as examples and templates and a billion preset formula themes for sale. You can also mix non hue lights in apparently but I have not tried this. That looks like exactly what I’m looking for. Thank you! Now to spend all my money on lightbulbs.
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May 26, 2021 18:44
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Pilfered Pallbearers posted:If you’re comfortable with it, rings setup is very very easy. Plus they offer active monitoring if you so wish, and it’s much cheaper that ADT. we were quoted ADT at $45 per month, plus the cost of each sensor (which would have piled up to a gently caress of a lot). Rings sensors are relatively inexpensive. I've got a full Ring setup at my shop. It took me less than an hour to install, including running a dedicated ethernet line to a spot in the middle about 15' off the floor. Monitoring is cheap and works, and it integrates with their cameras reasonably well. I'd do it again, and probably will at my house.
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May 26, 2021 20:41
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OK, I feel like I'm losing my mind trying to find a smart lock that will do what I want it to do. Schlage has so many weird combinations of products and integrations that I have no idea what talks to what anymore. I want a lock that I can control via my Google Voice Assistant, namely checking if the doors are locked and locking them. I'd like to integrate that with routines so we don't go have to go through a checklist of things every night. Schlage has some kind of support for Google Home, but it's not really clear what form that takes. Their wifi lock will integrate with Google Home via the Schlage Home app. Their Z-wave lock says it supports Google Home via Nexia, but it doesn't list any support for Nexia, so that feels like some outdated information. Smartthings integration with Google Home doesn't seem to include lock devices, so even though the lock will integrate with SmartThings, and SmartThings will integrate with Google Home, it doesn't appear that I could control a Z-wave lock with my voice using SmartThings as an intermediary. Though Schlage does say on another page that the Schlage locks can be integrated with Google assistant. The Z-wave lock requires the Nexia App on the phone, whereas the locks that connect via Wifi require just the Schlage App to setup the routine. So maybe I can do what I want, just as long as I don't get the Z-Wave lock and instead get one of their Wifi locks. The Google Nest x Yale lock also says it supports routines, but I would prefer something with a key, and I can't find much information on Yale capabilities for any other Smart locks. And Schlage seems to have a more secure key lock, so I'd prefer that.
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May 28, 2021 15:14
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FISHMANPET posted:OK, I feel like I'm losing my mind trying to find a smart lock that will do what I want it to do. Schlage has so many weird combinations of products and integrations that I have no idea what talks to what anymore. Depending on your Schlage deadbolt preferences, you could always get an august lock and stick it on there. Just installed an august on my B60 deadbolt and it was very very simple.
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May 28, 2021 19:44
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Anyone use Homebridge with their Harmony Hub? I only want to use it to run Harmony activities but I'm having trouble deciphering what I should be doing. I have my Nest thermostat added and it as well as the dummy switch show up on the Home app. The log screen seems to show the bridge connecting to the hub but nothing is getting published to the Home app. edit actually looks like turning random poo poo on might have got it working Teabag Dome Scandal fucked around with this message at 00:00 on May 29, 2021 |
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May 28, 2021 21:59
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This Ring is a piece of poo poo. I set it to smart alerts/people only recently because a car drives by my house on average every two minutes through the day and it's just too much garbage video to sift through. Then tonight at 2:30 am, a big bright loud diesel pickup pulls up between my house and the neighbors house and sits there idling for 5 minutes. I'm already awake because the baby isn't having a good night, and my window is open so I hear them out there. I look out the window and watch the neighbor walk up to the truck and couldn't tell if they got in or handed them something through the window. The person in the passenger seat was reaching into the back seat doing something. The driver got out, walked around the vehicle and opened the back door, did something, shut it, and got back in the front and they drove off. While all of this went on in full range of the camera, nothing recorded. Whatever the neighbors are doing is their business, and even if they're up to nefarious poo poo, they're good neighbors and nice people so I don't care. But this camera poo poo should work if I'm paying for it. I guess it's back to recording everything at all times, running up my data usage, and having so much video that it's pointless to even look at.
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May 29, 2021 11:06
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Costco has a 2-pack of Hue Calla bollard lights for $169. A base kit + extension kit is $260 on Amazon. I'm a sucker and bought one to start putting some lighting around our deck. 
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May 31, 2021 17:26
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Henrik Zetterberg posted:Costco has a 2-pack of Hue Calla bollard lights for $169. A base kit + extension kit is $260 on Amazon. I'm a sucker and bought one to start putting some lighting around our deck. I grabbed a bunch of the IKEA greedy ones thinking they were cheap (doing the math on it now, they weren't) since the driver works with zigbee thinking the folders could attach to the driver. The connectors are just different enough to now work, and I didn't want to shave them down to get them to work. I thought 'gently caress it, ill just pay the hue markup' until I browsed Invasion site to see if I could get more switches and saw this for $50: https://inovelli.com/red-series-smart-led-strip/ Not a continuous strip, its the type in the plastic segment shells, but supports weave and individually addressable I've had good luck with their switches, they stay connected (and are setup with security) to my zwave2js + HA setup, so ill probably get some to try. Gonna light my little server nook with them edit: costco used to be the cheapest way to get the color Hue bulbs, they were $70 for 3x white/color ambiance and a bridge, so I bought a few starter packs
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Jun 1, 2021 02:05
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FISHMANPET posted:OK, I feel like I'm losing my mind trying to find a smart lock that will do what I want it to do. Schlage has so many weird combinations of products and integrations that I have no idea what talks to what anymore. After my mini-spiral, I felt pretty confident in the capabilities after finding that January 2020 blog post. So I bought two Sense locks and the Sense Wifi Adapter this weekend and installed them. Trip report: I can use them in Google Home and with routines. I can ask Google to "Lock the back door" or "lock the front door" or "is the front door/back door locked" as I expected. I also made a routine that asks if the doors are locked, but I discovered that I don't even need a routine for that, "Lock the doors" will lock both doors, and "are the doors locked" will report on the status of both doors. Now onto my next automation/security problem, the garage door and the curious case of the 888LM/889LM.
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Jun 1, 2021 16:41
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FISHMANPET posted:After my mini-spiral, I felt pretty confident in the capabilities after finding that January 2020 blog post. So I bought two Sense locks and the Sense Wifi Adapter this weekend and installed them. Trip report: I can use them in Google Home and with routines. I can ask Google to "Lock the back door" or "lock the front door" or "is the front door/back door locked" as I expected. I also made a routine that asks if the doors are locked, but I discovered that I don't even need a routine for that, "Lock the doors" will lock both doors, and "are the doors locked" will report on the status of both doors. Did you have to install the Nexia app to do all of this, or does it natively support Google Home?
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Jun 1, 2021 16:57
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No Nexia involved, it works directly with Google Home. That was the part that was really confusing to me initially. It looks like If you want Google Home Support, without anything else, you need Wifi, which means either the Encode (connects to Wifi directly) or the Sense (which connects via the Sense adapter). The Connect Z-Wave is what appears to require the Nexia subscription if you want Google Home integration. The Connect Zigbee doesn't support Google Home at all it looks like. And if you go with the "Connected Keypads" those are Z-Wave only, so the same requirements as the Connect Z-Wave. I just needed to connect both locks up to the Schlage Home app on my phone, and then I was able to login to Schlage Home in the Google Home app to add the two locks as devices in Google home. Having put it all together it sort of makes sense, the devices need some way to communicate with the Schlage Home cloud (which is actually run by Yonomi I believe). So if the devices can get Wifi, they can connect to Yonomi. But if they don't have Wifi, they need some way to communicate with Yonomi, and it looks like the Nexia platform is the only supported way to do that. I've seen other hacks as I've looked around, you can make "virtual locks" in Home assistant and link them to the real locks, and then integrate voice control to control them there. It's also apparently possible to get the Connects paired with Home Assistant directly, but it's not documented. I think you might also be able to do some of that magic with Smartthings, and possibly other Z-Wave platforms. But I wanted this as simple as possible, and doing the Sense + Wifi Adapter made the most sense for me. The Wifi Adapter supports 2 locks, and I had exactly 2 doors. And it communicates with the lock via Bluetooth, so it needs to put in a place that it can communicate with both locks. And my house is small enough that I was able to find a spot.
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Jun 1, 2021 17:51
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FISHMANPET posted:No Nexia involved, it works directly with Google Home. That was the part that was really confusing to me initially. It looks like If you want Google Home Support, without anything else, you need Wifi, which means either the Encode (connects to Wifi directly) or the Sense (which connects via the Sense adapter). The Connect Z-Wave is what appears to require the Nexia subscription if you want Google Home integration. The Connect Zigbee doesn't support Google Home at all it looks like. And if you go with the "Connected Keypads" those are Z-Wave only, so the same requirements as the Connect Z-Wave. Connect Z-wave doesn't require Nexia, you can do it via Home Assistant (which is what I did) or any other home automation hub that supports both ZWave and Google Assistant. (I'd assume the same is true for the Zigbee Connect, since it's just running over Zigbee and the platform provides the Google Assistant smarts.) Pairing the Connects to Home Assistant is easy, you pair them like any other secure device. Nexia is probably just a platform that provides that support. I agree that the wifi adapter was probably the right solution for you, just don't want others to be discouraged or think that Nexia is actually required to use the Schlage Z-wave locks.
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Jun 1, 2021 19:13
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iOS Hue app was updated with a new UI. Once you open a room, all your lights are listed with horizontal scrolling now instead of vertical. What the hell?! That's ridiculously annoying.
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Jun 3, 2021 17:12
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Henrik Zetterberg posted:iOS Hue app was updated with a new UI. Once you open a room, all your lights are listed with horizontal scrolling now instead of vertical. What the hell?! That's ridiculously annoying. I am convinced that UI designers will change things just to make it look different. With zero thought put towards actual usability.
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Jun 3, 2021 20:44
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stevewm posted:I am convinced that UI designers will change things just to make it look different. With zero thought put towards actual usability. This is the unfortunate logical conclusion when you evaluate developer team performance by metrics like lines of code written, number of feature releases, etc.
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Jun 3, 2021 20:46
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So I scrolled a few pages back and didn't see this addressed. Apologies in advance if I missed something obvious. There's an outside chance that our house is going to be picketed by armed right wing whackos and my wife has tasked me with getting a camera system to keep an eye on the house/preserve evidence if poo poo gets weird. Can someone recommend a setup that will let us monitor two entrances and the side yard? I'd like to avoid monthly fees and we don't need active monitoring. Our house isn't automated at all and never will be because we both have jobs where we don't want (any more) random devices listening in, that said, we do have superfast internet and a beefy router setup.
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Jun 5, 2021 05:38
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Chef Boyardeez Nuts posted:So I scrolled a few pages back and didn't see this addressed. Apologies in advance if I missed something obvious. Good insurance and loving get out of there. Seriously....nothing else matters. This is crazy talk. What exactly do you think you will gain from recording any of it? If you have a good use case for that grab whatever cloud bullshit you can get right now and slap them wherever.
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Jun 5, 2021 05:49
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I guess a recording might make insurance claims easier, I dunno. At least give you peace of mind that it hasn't burned down yet.
taqueso fucked around with this message at 05:58 on Jun 5, 2021 |
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Jun 5, 2021 05:55
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Just grab a bunch of rings and pay $100 for a year and be done with it. If things could get weird, what’s $100?
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Jun 5, 2021 05:57
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