Hi there fellow Homey enthusiasts.
I bought the Homey based on the marketing material and the research I had done prior to my purchase.
On paper Homey looks like the perfect home-automation hub, with alle the capabilitites and supported devices.
I bought the Homey V2 thinking it would be better (since it’s newer), but alas I see they removed functionality instead of adding and improving functionality.
After 2 weeks with the Homey I must admit I am terribly disappointed, since most of the plugs and services don’t work.
Hardware that doesn’t work:
6* Sonoff Basic (apparently I need to flash other firmware in order to make that work. Not exactly the easiest thing for a non-programmer)
5 * Belkin Wemo swithces. Keeps getting error messages, so app must be restarted constantly, which defeats the purpose.
1 * Nanoleaf Canvas. Canvas isn’t supported, only Nanoleaf Aurora, so I can’t control those
4 * Chromecast. Keeps getting error messages
Google Home Mini. I cannot get GH to talk to Homey
Amazon Alexa . I cannot geth Alexa to talk to Homey
Hardware that works
Philips Hue
Hardware not tested yet
Harmony Hub
Am I unjust in feeling mislead or is there something that I have overseen, that can jusitfy the Homey as a better alternative to eg. Google home?
Well, i think the mobile app really is better then the previous was and i find making flows on it a lot easier than i expected. I do agree that somehow it’s never perfect. In example i had some test flows to make homey do something when i said “oke google, tell homey that i want to watch tv” but somehow now i have tot say “oke google, ask homey that i want to watch tv” or i’ll have to rewrite every flow. (This is a problem with google home dutch language and i think i would bever have to ask a “digital assistent” to do something. I tell “it” to do something)
I’m very happy with homey since it automated a lot of things at my house combining 433mhz, zigbee, wifi devices etc. But again, a lit of times when i want to extend my ideas (after some working tests) i find something is “broken”.
With the sonoff it’s explained in the app readme / webpage that it only supports tamoshi (or something, i don’t use it), Google chromecast works fine here (3x + Android tv) Google home connection worked 1st try (after i found the right instructions on the forum) and some apps that worked great do have bugs or plain simple will not get updated to work on 2.x firmware. and that sucks, 2.x has “just been released” and needs some bug fixing and will get better over time. i have not seen an alternative to homey that supports all the hardware as homey does.
Hi Michael, thank you for your feedback
I agree that Homey has a lot of potential, and it’s awesome that it supports so many hardware elements on paper. That’s why I bought it as well.
However I could easily live without 2 of the wireless protocols, if that made the other 4 work seamlessly, and all consistently.
It’s a very amputated feeling I have, when it only half way supports the things, they say it supports.
Right now I feel like I have the shell of a Ferrari but with the engine of a Kia Picanto.
That fact is just, that I don’t see things Homey can do, that my Google Home app cannot do.
Can you link the thread, that explains Google Home integration.
Xiaomi / Aqara Zigbee
KlikAanKlikUit (433mhz)
Philips Hue
Ikea Tradfri
Google Home speakers
Google Chromecast
Magic Home Wifi Led (Wifi RGBW Strips)
Somfy RTS (Sunscreens)
Sonos
Toon
All above work great.
Except for the Toon app: It is the only app i’m not satisfied with because i can only read my Heating settings but can’t edit them within Homey. (did work in the beginning and still waiting for Athom to fix it.)
Google Chromecast: in all honesty i just discovered i don’t really do anything with it…
Had some plans in combination with (the) Youtube (App) but never did.
Ik heb nog geen Homey maar wil even checken of het vlot werkt met de KLikAanKlikUit stekkers op 433mhz? Als ik enkele stekkers op zolder installeer en de Homey staat beneden, lukt dat dan? Ik heb ergens gelezen dat 433mhz het signaal niet versterkt maar ik vind nergens het bereik ervan.
Kan je trouwens een flow creeëren als volgt: indien een KlikAanKlikUit motion sensor activeert, moeten 3 tradfri lampen branden. ?
Every home is different so i can’t tell you how it will work at yours. I have Kaku switch my garden lightning and some switches through the house.
All controled by Homey and never fail. (Do make use of spreading the signals, so garden light 1 on, 5 seconds later light 2 etc.)
Since we must respond in English, i’ll do it like this. I think you’ll never get that working. 433mhz range is way too short too travel that far. If all devices are in the same room, you’ll have no problem. Once there is a floor or wall between them, it gets more difficult. I’ll estamate the real reach at about 10 meters in the open field.
I was a bit disappointed (or surprised?) with the 433mhz range of Homey to be honest. I’m migrating from Homewizard so I had a lot of Klikaanklikuit (KaKu) devices. Where the Homewizard had no problems with 2 devices in our hallway (which are just separated with a glass door and 1 wall) Homey was unable to use these devices. Although I am in the process of replacing the KaKu devices with Fibaro dimmers this was a bummer. Surprisingly the KaKu devices at the first floor are working fine. But just as @Marcotics says I don’t think you will get a good connection with 433mhz devices installed on your attic. I advice you to use Zigbee or Z-wave devices instead.
The Chinese manufacturer changed their firmware so it isn’t usable anymore with other software then their Chinese cloud. Sonoff closed it. (so that leaves you with Chinese firmware connecting to a Chinese cloud or flash it with Tasmota)
I managed to Flash tasmota on to 1 of my Sonoffs. I must have spent like 6 hours of research and trial and error. Once flashed I was stuck on, how to connect it to Homey via Mqtt, but managed to fix that as well.
So here’s a screenshot of my setup, and as you can see there are so many things not working, which is so disappointing.
I have no status on when Wemo will work again, and Chromecast keeps getting error messages and not being available. That’s just not what I thought I bought
I have no status on when Wemo will work again, and Chromecast keeps getting error messages and not being available. That’s just not what I thought I bought
Understandable and i probably would feel the same.
I hope somehow people here or Athom can help you because i don’t think you have the average experience with Homey.
Good luck.
You did? Congrats! 6 hours, man, you really put in the effort.
Did you set install MQTT Broker, MQTT Client and the Sonoff app in Homey in order to get it working?
(those apps above are all made by users just like you and me, Menno van Grinsven and Robert Klep, nice guys)
And most imported question: does the sonoff basic work in Homey?
@Blarp here’s how I flashed Tasmota onto the Sonoff and made it work:
Followed this tutorial --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDnNI5wkNNY
Basically it was actually really easy once I understood the process.
I could probably create a 2 min. tutorial on how to flash it because it’s that easy. No programming skills needed at all. Just an exe file you run once connected to the computer and voila.
I then set up Mqtt broker on Homey, as instructed. Added the flashed Sonoff, and it’'s been working ever since
I would have to agree.
Lots of potential, but a very immature product as it stands today.
Now, Z-wave, Zigbee and Ir to name a few of the protocols supported, sort of, is basically toys to begin with.
Without proper implementation and a better platform than Homey supplies as of now, it becomes rather un-useful compared to proper control systems and protocols.
Hopefully it will keep improving, but seeing the state of this forum and the communication that lacks out of the mothership, this will turn in to yet another tech-company going bust or getting swapped up by some of the larger players out there IMHO.
Half the posts on this board is gibberish to anyone not fluent in the dutch language, that doesn’t help either;)
Much of the added value as a one stop solution with its support of all the more or less valuable protocols and products out there is dependant on hobbyists developing from their dorms or whatever, with the quality, or lack thereof, showing all too well.
At the very least it didn’t set us back much, so it is easily forgotten…
My apologies if my somewhat harsh words here offends anyone.
Not my intention to hurt anyones feeling with this post.
But to me, this product is as dependable as Windows Vista and as useful as a Tamagotchi.
Basically because it is my honest opinion this far of the product, the environment surrounding it and how I see its adventure ending if they don’t up their game considerably.
If that opinion is not welcome here, by all means, have it removed.
From what I’ve read on this forum thus far, I’m not entirely alone in considering the product as one with some potential for some, but with a fair distance to go to fulfill that potential. And a mainstream product for your average Joe, or perhaps Rintje in this instance, it is not. Not even close. That is what it says on the tin, but no, not even close.
