Not Orbit Related- HomeKit

[Partridge]

I just migrated my rather smallish Apple HomeKit setup to a new device (raspberry pi) and it has advanced leaps and bounds past where it was when I last set up a server.

Now there’s a web interface for setup, almost everything is automated, and….. there’s a VolvoCars plugin.

It takes the credentials from your login for the app and then gives you control over it in HomeKit.

So, for example, I can set an automation to make sure my car is locked at night.

But even better, instead of having to open the app and authenticate and navigate to the engine start page, or find the app on my watch and swipe to the remote start tile, I can just say:

“Hey Siri, start My Volvo”.

And it starts.






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[AllPurposeBen]

Very nice. I have much the same configured for my other cars in Home Assistant.

Worth mentioning, the above HomeBridge and Home Assistant integrations only work for Sensus cars, not for AAOS.

[BeachBoy]

I was about to ask if it works with home assistant, great to hear!!!

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[Power6]

What do I need to have this hehe (I have iPhone) is it a big investment in some Apple thinger or what...

[AllPurposeBen]

What do I need to have this hehe (I have iPhone) is it a big investment in some Apple thinger or what...

You need something that’s always on in your home network that can run a fairly small Docker container. Single board computers like the Raspberry Pi used to be perfect for this when they were cheap and plentiful but kind hard to find these days. No Apple specific hardware needed at all.

If you can find a relatively cheap pi3, that would work. Check YouTube for a bunch of guides. HomeBridge is easier and more simple than HomeAssistant for this but if you want to get into home automation beyond HomeKit…HA is the gold standard.

[Partridge]

What do I need to have this hehe (I have iPhone) is it a big investment in some Apple thinger or what...

You need something that’s always on in your home network that can run a fairly small Docker container. Single board computers like the Raspberry Pi used to be perfect for this when they were cheap and plentiful but kind hard to find these days. No Apple specific hardware needed at all.

If you can find a relatively cheap pi3, that would work. Check YouTube for a bunch of guides. HomeBridge is easier and more simple than HomeAssistant for this but if you want to get into home automation beyond HomeKit…HA is the gold standard.

I’m not sure the rPi will act as a hub though. Usually that would be something like an appleTV or something. The hub gives you connectivity when you’re not at home. The rPi acts as a bridge to non apple home devices.

T


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[AllPurposeBen]

What do I need to have this hehe (I have iPhone) is it a big investment in some Apple thinger or what...

You need something that’s always on in your home network that can run a fairly small Docker container. Single board computers like the Raspberry Pi used to be perfect for this when they were cheap and plentiful but kind hard to find these days. No Apple specific hardware needed at all.

If you can find a relatively cheap pi3, that would work. Check YouTube for a bunch of guides. HomeBridge is easier and more simple than HomeAssistant for this but if you want to get into home automation beyond HomeKit…HA is the gold standard.

I’m not sure the rPi will act as a hub though. Usually that would be something like an appleTV or something. The hub gives you connectivity when you’re not at home. The rPi acts as a bridge to non apple home devices.

T


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My assumption is if he’s using HomeKit anything, he already has a device serving as a hub but maybe I read into it too far. I know 0 people who use iPhones and don’t also have a device that can be a HomeKit hub.

In which came you’re also on the hook for a 99$ new HopePod Mini or a 20$ used one from Craigslist. Or an AppleTV if you don’t already have one.

[Partridge]

What do I need to have this hehe (I have iPhone) is it a big investment in some Apple thinger or what...

You need something that’s always on in your home network that can run a fairly small Docker container. Single board computers like the Raspberry Pi used to be perfect for this when they were cheap and plentiful but kind hard to find these days. No Apple specific hardware needed at all.

If you can find a relatively cheap pi3, that would work. Check YouTube for a bunch of guides. HomeBridge is easier and more simple than HomeAssistant for this but if you want to get into home automation beyond HomeKit…HA is the gold standard.

I’m not sure the rPi will act as a hub though. Usually that would be something like an appleTV or something. The hub gives you connectivity when you’re not at home. The rPi acts as a bridge to non apple home devices.

T


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My assumption is if he’s using HomeKit anything, he already has a device serving as a hub but maybe I read into it too far. I know 0 people who use iPhones and don’t also have a device that can be a HomeKit hub.

In which came you’re also on the hook for a 99$ new HopePod Mini or a 20$ used one from Craigslist. Or an AppleTV if you don’t already have one.

Yeah. The bar for entry is really low.

The fact that this now works the way I thought the Volvo app should work is icing on the cake. Left work today and just talked to my watch and asked my car to start.

They’ve made it super simple. There’s a raspberry pi image with Homebridge pre installed.

https://github.com/homebridge/homebridge...ng-Started

Once it’s up and running, scan the QR code with your phone to get it connected to HomeKit, then just search for the Volvo plugin and configure it. Done and dusted.


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[Power6]

Thanks guys...yeah I am that 0 Apple stuff guy haha, just an old iPhone X. Actually I do havethe Apple Watch as well, an old 3 I think, I bought when my Microsoft Band 2 died.  I'm kinda resistant to getting into ecosystems and such. We only have an Alexa in the house because my Dad thought it was so cool he bought one for us. Our TV is still run by a Media Center computer and I am dreading when that dies. If you're an old school geek like me...I still get all my TV shows from the Usenet ;-)

So I need to get a sort of hub, this HomePod? And then another thing to tie in 3rd party like a homebridge? I can look into it, Raspberry Pi is fine, though I am computer tech guy I have a Hyper-V server in the house, is there anything like this homebridge that will run in a virtual machine? Probably easy answers when I look into it, just being lazy and asking you guys!

I had been thinking about this though, since we recently got new garage doors and Liftmaster openers installed with the app and WiFi and such, and these appear to be able to work into some home automation as well.

Edit: this looks pretty cool, just starting to look at it I see I can tie in the Nest thermostat and the Ring camera I just bought. I think I def need to do this. No idea what it will do lol but it seems neat enough I need to do it!

Edit 2: OK, this looks good, I see there is a Hyper-V option for the Homebridge. I bought an Apple TV unit, seemed like the extra $50 over the Homepod Mini is well spent, since I am an IT guy, I like the ethernet connection over Wifi only, even though I have a mesh network covering the house and garage pretty well. Might as well get ready for the Media Center PC to die. Thanks gents for dragging me forward in my home tech ;-)