[Updates] Ideas to improve the auto update functionality

Peter_Kawa
Thu, 25 Jan 2024 12:16:16 +0000
Ideas & Suggestions

Dear fellow Homeyans,
(and cc to Athom support)

Since I’m a happy owner of a Homey, I have an idea on how to improve the auto update functionality of both firmware and apps.

Current situation

Only just read the many topics about “After update Y, this and that does not work anymore”.
And this is about stable releases.
And yes, things tend to go wrong sometimes, while there’s no such thing as bugfree software.
(This is not meant as critisism at all, it’s just an improvement idea to not surprise the users with malfunctions caused by updates)

I turned both auto update functions off a.s.a.p., and I install any needed update myself,

1. but it’s turned on by default, but without notifications

2. because FW updates tend to get pushed around 3 at night here.
I don’t want unannounced changes, and Homey being restarted unattended, and not having time to solve possible issues on the spot

3. Stable apps with serious undiscovered bugs can be pushed, but there’s no easy undo as far as I know.

Pro 201x and cloud users can’t revert to the previous version → The cloud backup does not store your apps, only pointers to the apps in the app store.
A backup restore results in the installation of the current app versions from the app store, so cloud backup is 100% unusable in this scenario.

Pro 2023 has an improvement: local USB backups, which save, and also restore the complete system 1:1
But… which user has a daily routine, and discipline, to do the following manually:
a.- take Homey offline
b.- connect it to a PC,
c.- start Homey in backup mode
d.- create a backup
e.- restart Homey in normal mode.

Improvement idea

It’s similar to the MS Windows update functionality (sorry )

1. first, only announce new firmware / app updates

2. propose to pick a time and date for auto installation, within X days, and at that time and date, show a confirmation button (by push message?) to permit for the actual update to install.
Make clear when ignored / cancelled, point 3.) will be executed:

3. after X days, update will be installed unattended, regardless.

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