How I built a fully offline smart home, and why you should too
www.androidauthority.com
Tired of your smart home failing during internet outages? Me too, so I made the switch to an offline smart home. Here's how you can too.
  • bulwark@lemmy.worldEnglish
    51·
    10 months ago

    Completely agree with the off line sentiment. I remember about 5 years ago I got some cheap Chinese smart lights that needed me to create an account and give Tuya/Smart Life unrestricted access to my network. And the delay sucked turning the light on in app because the signal had to go to their main server and back.

    Anyways, I discovered HA and it’s been really fun messing with ESP32 and Zigbee devices. I even host my own security cameras with Frigate.

  • amorangi@lemmy.nzEnglish
    41·
    10 months ago

    Completely skipped the voice control which is the part I use the most.

    • cynar@lemmy.worldEnglish
      11·
      10 months ago

      Some of them are wonderful, once you get used to having them. I have (mostly) smart lights in my house. Half the time you wouldn’t know it however, since they work just like normal lights. However, you can also turn them on or off from your phone. Some also colour match to the outdoor light (helps with my daughter’s bedtime).

      The key is to make sure the “smart” bits are transparent to a normal user. They also need to fail to a dumb configuration, not a dead one.

      • deur@feddit.nlEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        It gets even better if you have them all automated. Every light in my house responds to room presence so I havent touched a digital or physical control in ages (except for recoloring :) )

        • cynar@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          10 months ago

          That’s definitely on my to-do list. I just need to work out the best combo of sensors and software. I won’t want the lights coming on all the time, with motion. I often work late, and so effectively half sneak through the house at night. Figuring out when I actually want light is a non-trivial problem.