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We just moved into a new home, and the previous owners had some wireless doorbell. At the front door, they jammed all the wires back in the hole, and they drywalled over where the wires come through the wall inside the house. I think I know where it's at, but there's no way to verify the wires are there without sawing into the wall. I've got a Ring Pro that I brought from my previous house, but it requires the wiring on both ends. On the front door, I think it can just run on battery, but I don't want to dismount it to recharge it every week or whatever. I see they have solar panels for the regular Ring, but it doesn't seem that's the case for the Pro. So, my dilemma is, should I cut into my wall in attempt to find the wires inside, or do I say gently caress it and get a new doorbell that runs off a solar panel or some poo poo? Thermostat: I have 2 Nests from my old house, but my new house has a Carrier Infinity system. It's real good poo poo, but you can't replace the thermostat without losing a bunch of functionality. The one that's on there now is not a wifi model, and it looks like the only wifi thermostat they offer is $  , and the phone app looks like complete butt. Think I'm stuck on this one and have 2 Nests I can't use.Irrigation: Anyone use a Rachio 3? Reviews look good, but sounds like customer service is real poo poo if you need it. Seems like a super easy install, and my utility company offers a $150 rebate on it too. I'm in northern CA, so the weather-based schedules look real cool. Henrik Zetterberg fucked around with this message at 16:21 on May 28, 2020 |
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May 28, 2020 16:11
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For sure, I just really don’t want to re-texture and have to try to match the color.
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May 28, 2020 16:59
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Kalman posted:Tone and probe set? Seems like exactly what I need. Another $100 tool to buy! 
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May 28, 2020 21:01
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Just installed my Rachio 3 in like 7 minutes. Now someone tell me why in tarnation it wants to run my drip lines for 2h53m every single time? I figured the first watering with Daily Flex would soak it well, but every other scheduled watering is the same length. Will it get adjusted once the zone is “filled?”
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May 30, 2020 03:13
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Anyone use the Blink XT2 cameras? Looking for a couple to monitor my driveway and backyard. The reviews on Amazon aren’t stellar, but on paper they seem way better than buying a Ring camera and having a monthly fee to store videos in the cloud.
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Jun 19, 2020 00:24
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Man, the Blink app for the XT/XT2 cameras is so disappointing. There's like no granularity on getting motion notifications between cameras, or "systems" for that matter. Even if I have multiple sync modules ("systems"), it's either I get notifications for everything, or nothing. I have a camera over my driveway, where my wife parks her car, that I want all notifications for regardless of time of day. I have another camera over my pool, where I basically only want notifications overnight. Right now, whenever my kids are in the pool, it just records constantly and filled my storage up to 100% in like a day. So now I have to turn ALL motion notifications off (because it's a per-account setting, oddly enough). This is the only thing you can set a schedule to. I'm thinking about returning these cameras if there's a better solution. I have the Ring doorbell, which works great and has awesome scheduling / motion notification suppressing options. But the Ring Spotlight Cams A) are way more expensive, and B) come with a subscription model to store videos in the cloud. B is why I originally decided to go with the Blink cameras, but not having granularity to suppress motion notifications on them is super annoying. Any other alternatives I should be looking at?
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Jul 2, 2020 18:54
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Keystoned posted:Anyone have advice on hooking the myq app for garage doors into homekit? I had it working on the old app but they replaced it with a new one and now i cant get it setup again. The same thing just happened with my Rachio 3. One day I was able to tell siri to turn on a certain zone, and now it won't connect. I can't figure it out either, so I've just been using the app  Also, regarding myQ, did you replace your garage opener with a smart opener, or just using what looks to be a module to your existing opener? We just moved in and our opener is 20 years old and the remotes won't program into our car Homelink mirrors, which is super annoying. Debating just replacing the unit and am looking at the fancy wifi ones.
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Jul 6, 2020 19:17
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Henrik Zetterberg posted:Man, the Blink app for the XT/XT2 cameras is so disappointing. There's like no granularity on getting motion notifications between cameras, or "systems" for that matter. Even if I have multiple sync modules ("systems"), it's either I get notifications for everything, or nothing. Follow up: I just returned the Blink cameras today and ordered a couple of Ring Spotlight cams instead, despite the monthly fee. The Ring app is sort of a mess, but there's way more control over motion and notifications and I guess that's worth not having some weird account-wide notification blanket setting. I think the Rings were $40 off or something this weekend too, which made the higher price a bit easier to swallow. I'll probably grab a couple solar panels later if these work out.
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Jul 6, 2020 19:46
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Keystoned posted:I got a myq bridge that connects to my existing opener. Its myq compatible but doesnt have it built in. I've been looking at new openers since mine is old, more specifically the Chamberlain myQ openers. I see that even though you buy the myQ opener, you need to buy their myQ Home Bridge to enable HomeKit access, which is insanely stupid. You'd think the hardware would just be included in the opener itself. Also, I see that IFTTT access requires a subscription . It looks like they made it free after all the complaining, but it's listed as "free for a limited time" or something. Which I read as "yeah have it for free, but we're going to charge you for access again at some undetermined point in the future."
Henrik Zetterberg fucked around with this message at 23:43 on Jul 10, 2020 |
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Jul 10, 2020 23:40
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I know absolutely nothing about smart lights and poo poo. Now that we're settled in the new house, I'm trying to figure out what lights the kids always leave on, which is loving all of them. Is there a recommended smart light brand? Is it Phillips Hue? What about for the tube fluorescent bulbs? Would I have to put in a smart switch (if those exist)? I'd like it to turn the lights off at a certain time of night or something. Is that possible?
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Aug 24, 2020 17:29
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Thanks for all the light bulb replies! I'm actually shocked at how much the bulbs themselves cost, and we have a ton of bulbs in our house. Looks like it'll be way more economical to go with switches, which is totally cool. I'm tied to the Apple ecosystem, so I'll look for some that are HomeKit compatible.
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Aug 26, 2020 18:29
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Thought this was going to be a link to the bad with money thread because horses.
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Sep 4, 2020 22:27
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Oh
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Sep 4, 2020 23:14
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Can’t remember if I’ve asked in this thread yet, so here goes since BF deals are popping up now. I don’t really know much about all this home automation stuff, so pardon the ignorance. Just looking for some HomeKit-compatible light switches that I can have turn off at a certain time because kids. It seems that most need a hub instead of using wifi. That kinda sucks since I have a 3-pack of Eero Pros blanketing my house perfectly(3100 sq ft). I tried using the Blink cameras with one hub and it had absolutely terrible range and I had to send them back, for that and other reasons. Are there any good light switches that use wifi, or am I stuck using a hub? I’ve got Apple TV’s and a couple HomePod minis, so I think those are used for a HomeKit hub, correct? Anyway, I literally googled “beat HomeKit light switches” and was pointed to this: Lutron P-BDG-PKG1W Caseta Wireless Dimmer Kit with Smart Bridge, White https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00MXCRAX8 Are these switches really $75/pop? That seems wild.
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Nov 22, 2020 20:46
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wyoak posted:That item comes with the Hub and a remote as well as the switch, but the switches do run around $40-$50 each so they are expensive. They are good though, and they don't require a neutral wire which can be nice depending on your house. Ahh alright, thanks! On another note, is it possible to use the new HomeKit intercom feature on Sonos speakers? I've got them all throughout the house and would hate to buy a second speaker for a room that has nice speakers in it that are already in the Home app as a HomeKit-compatible accessory. I've googled around and it seems the answer is probably no, but wanted to check since I see a Raspberry Pi can be used to add Ring cameras to HomeKit automation.
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Nov 23, 2020 21:35
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wyoak posted:That item comes with the Hub and a remote as well as the switch, but the switches do run around $40-$50 each so they are expensive. They are good though, and they don't require a neutral wire which can be nice depending on your house. This is a dumb question, but do I need the hub if I have a HomePod or ATV 4K? Both can be used as HomeKit hubs I believe. Or does my HomeKit hub talk to the light switch hub?
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Nov 26, 2020 07:44
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Bioshuffle posted:I'm trying to install the Eufy wired doorbell. The instruction says to find the doorbell chime and run a jumper. However, I can't find a doorbell chime in my home. All I can find is a security system panel (Honeywell VISTA-15P Alarm Control Panel) in the garage, and a siren for said system. I do not have a working security system. This happened to my current home. Previous owners drywalled the chime leads into the wall, which is super annoying. I ran a probe & tone kit and found an obvious drywall cut along the path. Rather than re-cut the section out to install a physical chime, I said gently caress it and just bought a wifi Ring Chime. Works great, I just had to hook up the doorbell button wires to the transformer in the garage to get power to my button.
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Dec 2, 2020 00:50
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japtor posted:How many major players are even there outside of them? Apple is the obvious one, I think Samsung and LG have stuff too, but it seems like 90% of it is through Google/Amazon...or some hodgepodge of stuff I'd trust even less than them (and most of those work through Google/Amazon too). Hmm, from what I gather, I can run Homebridge on my PC, right? Or would it be better to just run a Raspberry Pi? I've never messed with the Pis at all before. e: Hmm, I have a NAS (unraid) that supports docker. I wonder if I could just install it there instead of my desktop PC, which has more downtime? e2: Ha, they have a specific unraid page: https://github.com/oznu/docker-homebridge/wiki/Homebridge-on-Unraid
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Dec 17, 2020 19:19
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Nitrousoxide posted:You can run it on a PC. Obviously it’ll only work as long as the PC is on so it may not be a terribly energy efficient way of running a home bridge. If you get a raspberry pi it will be a extremely low power way to maintain that bridge and it won’t break because the computer shut off due to Windows updates. Went with the unraid docker container and damnnnnnnnn this is slick. Seeing all my Ring cams (after installing the plugin) right in the Home app on my phone is pretty sweet.
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Dec 17, 2020 20:12
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Holy poo poo, there's a Homebridge plugin for my Pentair pool controls. I can now use Siri to mess with the pool pump, turn the spa on, change the temperature, change the color of the lights, turn on the cleaner. All instead of Pentair's app that they don't ever update. This rules. Thanks, dude who suggested Homebridge!
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Dec 17, 2020 23:42
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japtor posted:Yeah it owns, I set it up for HomeKit support my garage (myQ). It has official support through another piece of hardware but it doesn't seem all that great, almost went for that when I noticed there was a Homebridge docker package for my NAS too (Synology). Course myQ breaks the plugin semi regularly it seems but the dev is really active about updating at least. Yeah I’d like to do the myQ thing. I’ve seen the Chamberlain hub on sale left and right, but my opener is 20 years old and isn’t supported. Thought about just getting a new Chamberlain opener with native support but I can’t stand the whole IFTTT poo poo where they used to charge $1/month just to connect it to the app. I know now it’s free, but they also say they can revoke that anytime. Super scummy.
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Dec 19, 2020 16:56
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. So I used a dummy switch to open, only weirdness is I have to say to turn it "on" rather than "open" it.
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What ecosystem are you looking for? If you’re on iOS, use the homebridge software on your PC, a NAS, raspberry pi, etc. I found the magic that is homebridge last week and it’s incredible. e: I just set it up as a docker app on my NAS but just ordered a Pi 4 so I can have a dedicated device run it. Henrik Zetterberg fucked around with this message at 22:52 on Dec 20, 2020 |
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Dec 20, 2020 22:48
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Is there any way to organize my list of automations in the iOS Home app, or is it just seriously a massive list, sometimes without specifying devices?
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Dec 21, 2020 19:41
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Can you send in your army of strapped Roombas?
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Dec 22, 2020 16:22
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I want to start adding smart lighting to my home (into Homekit via Homebridge), namely outdoors and in my toddlers room, which are both on opposite sides of the house. It sounds like Hue is the most reliable and most fully-featured, and yet by far, the most expensive. Couple questions that a quick google didn't answer: - Does the Hue hub connect to my wifi for outside the home operation? Or does it connect directly to the phone app via Bluetooth or something? - If my two sets of lights are too far apart, will I have to run multiple Hue hubs? Do those talk to each other or anything? - Can multiple Hue hubs be linked to Homebridge without issue?
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Dec 22, 2020 18:33
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Rick posted:The hub needs an ethernet connection to function. Or rather, it needs ethernet for you to communicate with it (it will do all its various functions it can do without internet after you set it up even if your internet is down, but you can't communicate with it in anyway without internet [exception: zigbee-based switches don't need internet]) . Your commands to it are relayed to your hub over your network. Paying for hundreds of Hue lights seems batshit insane to me, holy cow. Thanks! Sounds like they will work for my house just fine, even if I need multiple hubs. I did see that each bulb might act as a repeater, so I could just have a couple lights between my 2 “rooms” to string the signal along. Is that true?
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Dec 25, 2020 06:11
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Anyone have a homebridge plugin for a roomba i8+? I installed homebridge-roomba2 since I saw someone on Reddit said it worked with their i3, but I can’t get the script working that grabs the roomba password.
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Dec 26, 2020 23:57
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Anyone have any opinions on Home Assistant vs Home Bridge? I'm currently using Home Bridge on my Pi4, and it's nice having all of my devices in the Apple Home app, but the list of automations is a bit messy, and it allows my kids to do dumb poo poo like mess with my pool equipment (like the heater that burns piles of money to heat). Does HA provide any user-level access controls? Is the iOS app fairly decent vs the Home app?
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Jan 4, 2021 19:24
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movax posted:I was catching up on posts in this thread and caught some of yours; I went full Lutron Caseta for smart-lighting and never bothered with Hue. Easily the most stable "smart home" product I have ever used, have never had a single issue. Thanks! I remember looking at a few of their smart switches, and I think switches would be better for my indoor lighting. No way my wife wants to control bulbs with her phone. Outside, I'm open to either really. It would be cool to have wacky colored lighting around the pool.
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Jan 7, 2021 00:58
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I have 2 ATVs and 4 Minis. It seems to randomly rotate which device is the hub. My daughters mini is the current hub and I never really notice when it moves around.
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Jan 8, 2021 16:51
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Definitely looking at starting to put Caseta switches throughout the house (thanks movax!). Do these things go on sale as often as Hue bulbs? Just curious on whether I should wait to get stuff on sale, or just start piece by piece? Also, can multiple Caseta hubs be used in a larger home? Will they talk to each other? I'm seeing some 2016 posts that said no they can't, but was curious if anything has changed since.
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Jan 12, 2021 18:55
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Three Olives posted:Are you looking at Caseta because of the brand or because of the two wire support? Honestly I haven't even pulled a switch off the wall yet, so I have no clue if I have a neutral. I'm guessing yes since the house was built in 99. I'm considering them because: - I'd rather have smart switches over buying a billion smart bulbs. I have a lot of fixtures that are multi-bulb. I also have ceiling fans in every room, which are all 3 odd-sized bulbs each. -- Like 3/4 of the bulbs in my house magically burned out within 3 months of moving in, so I already spent money on replacing them with LED bulbs - HomeKit compatibility - They use a bridge so I don't have a ton of extra wifi devices hammering my mesh network. - They aesthetically look pretty decent - The lamp dimmer can be used as an extender. Although in practice, I don't really have any lamps that I care about dimming. - Goon recommended. movax's experience seems to mirror my needs. Henrik Zetterberg fucked around with this message at 20:33 on Jan 15, 2021 |
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Jan 15, 2021 19:41
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Tangential to my smart switch endeavors, I’m looking for an indoor camera for my toddlers’ room as an alternative to a traditional baby monitor. Super annoyed always having our stupid monitor having a dead battery and also having to keep track of it instead of just pulling it up on our phones. I guess the one nice thing about a traditional monitor is being able to leave it on so we can hear them cry or whatever. We wouldn’t really have that with, say, a Ring cam. Don’t think a Stick Up or whatever can do sound notifications as opposed to motion. We do have a handful of Ring cameras so it would be free to add to our yearly subscription. Are there any indoor cameras that have sound notifications?
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Jan 16, 2021 04:08
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japtor posted:Eufy's have it too, although might be another one of those things disabled when HomeKit support is turned on if that matters. Eufy has a 2K indoor cam on sale for $40 right now: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0856W45VL Looks like it would meet all my requirements, but curiously enough, half the cool poo poo is disabled if you add it to HomeKit according to the reviews, plus the resolution is limited to 1080p.
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Jan 20, 2021 05:45
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I was thinking, do you lose those features if you view it via the Home app, or even if you just enable HomeKit? Like, I don't care about being limited to 1080p if I want to quickly check on my toddlers in Home, but having sound notifications come through via the app would be cool. But if they disable all that stuff, even in the app, just because you added it to HomeKit, that's kinda lame and I'd probably just stick with the Eufy app.
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Feb 4, 2021 21:46
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ScooterMcTiny posted:I have a Eufy2k that I use with HomeKit and that’s exactly how I do it. I can quickly check in via Home app, but the Eufy app will still push any movement or sound notifications. Awesome, thanks! Just ordered one.
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Feb 5, 2021 00:00
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Henrik Zetterberg posted:Awesome, thanks! Just ordered one. Goddammit. This is so stupid. e: Also, the camera following me while walking around the room is super creepy. 
Henrik Zetterberg fucked around with this message at 16:56 on Feb 6, 2021 |
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Feb 6, 2021 16:39
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Also with follow motion, it just stares at the ceiling fan the whole time, ha. Might have to turn that off.
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Feb 6, 2021 21:32
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2-pack of Eufy 2K indoor cams for $76: https://slickdeals.net/f/14851933-eufy-2k-indoor-cam-pan-tilt-2-cam-kit-76 I recently purchased one for my toddler's room and it's really nice. My only complaints are the features it disables (even in the Eufy app) if you have it added to HomeKit and the lack of more granular notification schedules. It's miles better than my actual baby monitor, minus the always-on screen remote, obviously.
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Feb 22, 2021 18:45
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Anyone use the Hue Lily XLs outside? I’ve got low-voltage lines running all through my yard from the previous owner. I was thinking of picking a couple up to light up the area around our pool. Just wondering if they’re bright enough but not too bright to puss off my neighbors at night. I’m having some landscaping done back there and the guy said he’d pull new wires and would install any lights I purchased prior.
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Mar 3, 2021 07:37
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