I am NOT yet a Homey user
and had been hesitating for many weeks - about purchasing a - Homey Pro 2023.
CHECKING THE APP STORE - I had not made the decision to purchase - as I have been constantly checking the Homey Pro APP store - to see when my chosen “BRANDS” would be supported.
Hence my previous thread commenting that the search engine for the App Store
is sometimes not very forgiving - of any unprecise user search.
If you search APPS - “TP-LINK” - With a dash - does work OK.
If you search APPS - “TP LINK” - No dash - APP is NOT found.
I have for several weeks now, been searching for an APP for - EVE - LINKIND - ONVIS - TUO
all of these Brands do of course now offer - MATTER products.
I did NOT understand that HOMEY does NOT Require an APP for MATTER products to work.
Homey’s marketing site, does not make that very clear, on the APP search page.
The Community kindly corrected my misunderstanding - via the Homey forum.
Personally, I can now feel more re-assured and comfortable to proceed with purchasing a Homey Pro,
as I now understand APPS a bit better.
Most other potential new customers are UNLIKELY to search Community forums like I did.
My mate too, had searched for an “EVE APP” so he has not yet purchased his Homey Pro.
EVE products are generally - “Matter over Thread” so he would not need an APP either.
It is such a shame, that Athom’s marketing materials do NOT make this clear.
It is likely that Athom may have LOST several other potential NEW CUSTOMERS.
Maybe when the web site is updated - Athom could get some of the “You Tube”
“Home Automation” - INFLUENCERS - to do an UPDATED - and revised Homey Pro video
adding in comments about THREAD once the thread BETA has ended.
I personally watched many of the “You Tube” videos about HOMEY Pro - and still did NOT understand the point that - If it is a MATTER Device - It does NOT require an APP.
I supposed I just got obsessed about searching for the APPS that I thought I needed.
This impression was reinforced by several of the “You Tube” reviews commenting about missing Homey APPS and Non Compatibility on some LEGACY products.
.
You Tube gives the IMPRESSION that - Home Assistant can support EVERYTHING
And suggests that - Homey Pro 2023 - only offers PARTIAL support
So searching for an APP is a way for New Users to validate those You Tube comments.
I read several posts on the Homey Community and I did finally understand that
Matter Over THREAD" - did NOT need an APP.
But, I continued to think that - Matter over Wi-Fi - would still require an APP.
I still misunderstood even after reading the community articles on this forum.
The Main Homey Web site - Matter (BETA) - does in very small print - mention that
APPS are not needed for - Matter over Thread
But that Document - does NOT say “Matter over Zigbee” is impossible
I cleared up the ZIGBEE Issue - and then wondered if - Matter over WI-FI required an APP.
In the end - my Final Conclusion on Homey with MATTER
All - Matter products - Regardless of Radio - can work NATIVELY with Homey Pro.
That includes Matter over THREAD - and Matter over WI-FI
NOT - Matter over ZIGBEE - no such protocol exists
APP’s are NOT ESSENTIAL - for Matter to work with Homey Pro out of the box.
Maybe some APP’s can add ADDITIONAL functionality to a Matter device beyond its standard Matter feature set - to be confirmed by someone more knowledgeable than me?
If Homey Pro can support 100% of the Matter Eco System, without needing any APPS, that is an amazing accomplishment by the Homey Developers, to have been able to make that possible.
The next “You Tube Reviews” need to say - If users stick to Matter - then Homey is already compatible with 100% of the products in the Matter Eco System - which would be an amazing claim.
Athom - Minimise Misunderstandings over - Matter and APPs
SUGGESTION ONE
The current APP “Search Box” states - “Which App are you looking for”
Maybe create - 2 search boxes - Not ONE.
BOX 1 - For - MATTER - Products
BOX 2 - For - NON Matter - Products
If User searches for a Matter APP - Reply could be - APP Not Required
If a Matter APP adds ADDITIONAL Functionality - then the Reply could confirm this.
SUGGESTION TWO
Load each of the Brands “Product Codes” into the Database
This confirms that a specific product would work
Could be thousands of codes to load - so maybe too much work
Maybe the newer popular 2023 product codes could be loaded
I had searched for the - Aqara - FP2 - MM Wave Sensor - Launched March 2023
I found the AQARA App - But then - cannot find Aqara FP2 mentioned in that list.
I guess that the FP2 is not supported. A negative to me Purchasing HOMEY Pro.
A more Specific Search for just “FP2” - could have provided a reply like “Work in Progress”
Any weak communication - is potentially losing Athom - new customers.
My mate had already said to me said that he will probably stay with “Home Assistant”
as it did NOT look like Homey supported many of the newer MATTER products.
I realise that I may have gone overboard - with too many sentences to document this issue.
But I nearly decided NOT to purchase a Homey Pro, and even if I had waited patiently for a few months, which I had intended to do, the EVE App would have NEVER appeared,
as EVE are exclusively “Matter over Thread” - So NO app is of course needed
I do want Athom to succeed, be really profitable, and still be trading in 10 years time.
The more users we can get to use the platform - then the more likely it will be to succeed.
I agree with you… I seamlessly integrate Eve Home, Aqara, and EcoFlow Matter devices with my Homey Pro. However, the website lacks clarity on compatible devices, and the reliance on applications may diminish as Homey incorporates Thread and Matter. Regarding Aqara FP2, does it function optimally only with HomeKit?
Hi Henri - “Eve Aqua” is now on its THIRD generation - Apple Insider - 15-Aug-2022
I am not totally sure what the Implications are - if you have - Aqua Gen1 - or - Aqua Gen 2
1 - The Eve home page - DOES confirm - that Eve Aqua - supports THREAD.
2 - But Eve home page - does NOT confirm - if Eve AQUA now supports MATTER
I suspect MATTER for Eve Aqua is NOT yet ready, but that is only a guess.
If I am correct, that could mean that Homey is unable to properly support the Eve Aqua
until Eve get Matter added ??
HOMEY Pro - State that they will only support - MATTER over THREAD - NOT Thread on its own.
ATHOM - Please could that also - be another marketing message
which is CLEARLY displayed on the App Store - For when new customers do a search for an APP
Athom nor the Community are responsible for incorrect information in (Youtube) Reviews.
Please contact the Author of the Review/Youtube to correct what hou think is misinformation.
But Probably the Reviews where recorded before the official Release of Thread (As v10.3.0 is still in Experimental at this moment)
Hi Peter, thanks for your feedback. I am not yet allowed to directly communicate with Athom.
As I am not yet a Homey user. On the Link you sent me, all of the communication links
are GREYED out for my Account, except for the one allowing me to edit my user credentials.
For info - the greyed out links - say get help - they do not confirm that I can post on any Issues.
But I will try that option, once I become a user, thanks for pointing this out.
I had thought that maybe some users on the community forum, would NOT already be aware that
“Matter over THREAD” and “Matter over ZIGBEE” do not need an App. So they may want to enable Firmware 10.3 Beta to try it out. Hopefully my Rant has been helpful to some of them.
It is a bad habit, that I have got into - on my caps lock - you are correct. I have removed some of them from the original post, but it would take too long to get it perfect now.
@Tony_deane_uk, a bit of an advice from the perspective of the owner, please be aware many of the apps are written by the community, so no support is expected anyway. Just keep that in mind when searching for your devices
Some Apps – Indicate they are “OFFICIAL” – Can You Confirm - if Athom support These ?
The APPS Marked – “COMMUNITY” – I had assumed that I would NOT get any Support on these
I wanted to use “REOLINK” Security Cameras – With a Homey Pro 2023
But could not find a - Reolink APP - in the APP Store
So I assume that I will - NOT be able to use REOLINK until an APP gets Written.
It’s a shame as REOLINK - Have an Massive Range - and do not charge Annual Subscriptions
What would you like the APP to do?
The REOLINK I have are all camera’s and these are ONVIF compatible, while there is no Reolink App, the ONVIF app works fine…
Athom does not support #2 !
A brand/company does not support #1 !
Thy should never assume
Community = 3rd party developers, who build / have built app(s) in their spare hours, free of charge.
Many of these developers are highly skilled professional engineers.
They offer support, because for instance they like to help other Homey enthusiasts, or maybe like to improve / extend their app(s) You can find support links at their app store page(s); often there’s a special app topic at this forum.
On many occasions I’ve noticed those guys & girls respond way quicker with bug fixes and app updates (new devices for instance), than the so called official app builders.
But…
they owe nothing, to anyone, and cannot be held accountable for anything. They just share their app(s) with you!
We can NOT demand support, or get angry or complain about too little, or too slow response. It’s all volunteerly.
I fully understand some developers have abandoned their apps, while an increasing number of users are plain ill-mannered and out-of-touch, not to say just arrogant.
Some developers chose to not actively support their app(s).
This is clearly stated at the app store page(s).
But often users help eachother out here.
What can be improved here imho:
A status or message about the app being abandoned / no longer supported;
(And if it’s open for transfer (or not) to an other developer).
This is always unclear, and can only be concluded when the dev doesn’t respond to any message for x months.
@Peter_Kawa - Thanks for the clarification on the difference between:
OFFICIAL apps - and - COMMUNITY apps
Your explanation is very helpful - and does make it a lot clearer.
You make a good point - on the COMMUNITY apps
"They owe nothing, to anyone, and cannot be held accountable for anything.
They just share their app(s) with you !
Hopefully members on the Community
will be grateful for the time these Professionals FREELY contribute to help us all out.
As a “NEWBY” myself - I am so impressed with the Homey Community,
having now had a bit of time, to read through some of the recent posts.
I am surprised at the level of engagement and helpful response, which is so great to see.
I have some ideas on how I also - can give back - more to follow once I have thought it through . .
@Dijker earlier suggested the Homey Community should be patient and wait until
Thread - BETA v10.3.0-rc.7 - becomes a stable final release - which I think is wise advice.
Once that happens - I will be ordering my - Homey Pro 2023 - and getting started.
@Techinman - I have done a separate thread reply to your suggestion about using ONVIF for Reolink. This thread was getting a bit long - and it now has multiple subjects in it.
I have therefore started a SEPERATE thread - dedicated to REOLINK - See Link Below
(your Caps button seems to go on and off by itself)
