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Xiaomi Smart Home

beanian

Anyone on here have experience of the Xiaomi Smart Home stuff? It all runs on ZigBee and requires yet another hub but the pricing seems very attractive!
For example €6 for a Door/Windows sensor

€6 for a smart button

€40 for a dual paddle zigbee wall switch with local control

There is also a custom component to plug all this into Home Assistant (& SmartThings)

I'd like to hear if anyone has first hand experience with this stuff before I make the plunge.

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wexfordman2

tipperary wrote: »

From what I understand, the 'zero line' versions are a little cheaper but require a neutral, which most Irish houses won't have. The 'fire line' versions are live only, which suits Irish homes.

I seem tonrecall the non neutral are mostly dimmmers though, you can't get a on off one without needing a neutral ?

iba

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Hmnn, that doesn't work with Google Home does it? I'm thinking that's a no.

Sorry I dont know.

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Hmnn, that doesn't work with Google Home does it? I'm thinking that's a no.

No, not directly, doesn't work with Echo either. They are more of their own Chinese thing.

I think you could probably get it working indirectly using Home Assistant, but I haven't tried yet.

Kintarō Hattori

bk wrote: »

No, not directly, doesn't work with Echo either. They are more of their own Chinese thing.

I think you could probably get it working indirectly using Home Assistant, but I haven't tried yet.

That's a shame but I'm not totally surprised. Are you aware of any IP cameras that do integrate with Goggle Home?

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

That's a shame but I'm not totally surprised. Are you aware of any IP cameras that do integrate with Goggle Home?

Logitech Circle do, you can ask the Google Home to show you the cameras feed on your TV via chromecast:

http://support.logitech.com/en_us/article/How-do-I-control-my-Circle-Camera-with-Google-Assistant

This only launched two weeks ago and I suspect it is just the start, that it will eventually expand to more cameras, more commands and eventually Google will have an Echo Show competitor that you can output the video too as well.

It is early days in terms of IP camera voice control.

thebackbar

sorry folks being a bit lazy here

i haven't read all the thread, but which gateway should i buy ? There seems to be three versions ?

I have bought a number of these guys https://www.gearbest.com/access-control/pp_626702.html

I want to put them in the rooms of my house to monitor temperature and humidity.

Will I struggle with connecting the devices across multiple floors in our house ?

€60 * worth of Xiaomi Smart home gear arrived this morning via slow post from An Post, no customs

But no guarantees on that, I'll buy future gear in separate orders under €22 in future.

BTW Haven't set it up yet. But the sensors look amazingly small. I'm well impressed. If it all works well, I can easily imagine buying lots more of these sensors. They are so cheap and inconspicuous.

* BTW Thanks to Canary (via Amazon refund) for financing this

AstraMonti

Hi guys, apologies if I am on the wrong thread. I have already some Mi Lights, and I want to get some Yeelights as well. Is there a single app that I can use, or I have to use multiple? I have this controller.

Can I use another controller maybe to have them all together and possibly combine them with google home?

the heathen

AstraMonti wrote: »

Hi guys, apologies if I am on the wrong thread. I have already some Mi Lights, and I want to get some Yeelights as well. Is there a single app that I can use, or I have to use multiple? I have this controller.

Can I use another controller maybe to have them all together and possibly combine them with google home?

Pretty sure there isn't a single app.

MiLights don't support Google Home unfortunately. I've asked them about the possibility of integration and they say that it's unlikely but that there will be Alexa support.

The Yeelights can be controlled either by the Yeelight app or the MiHome* app

*no relation to MiLights!

AstraMonti

the heathen wrote: »

Pretty sure there isn't a single app.

MiLights don't support Google Home unfortunately. I've asked them about the possibility of integration and they say that it's unlikely but that there will be Alexa support.

The Yeelights can be controlled either by the Yeelight app or the MiHome* app

*no relation to MiLights!

Thank you! Xiaomi are driving me mad with all their different protocols. I think I am going with something else for the new stuff.

Can I ask, anyone set up Xiaomi as an alarm system?

What app did you use? Any guides for it?

MoodeRator

Hi, I am just waiting on delivery of my smart home, but want to add an IP camera. Has anyone used the dafang camera?

opus

AstraMonti wrote: »

Thank you! Xiaomi are driving me mad with all their different protocols. I think I am going with something else for the new stuff.

I picked up a single yeelight colour bulb in one of the sales a few months back, recently got it hooked into my google home so I can now say 'turn on the kitchen light to it'. Have a 2nd bulb on the way as it's very convenient & if I'm truthful very cool :cool:

Kintarō Hattori

MoodeRator wrote: »

Hi, I am just waiting on delivery of my smart home, but want to add an IP camera. Has anyone used the dafang camera?

It runs at 15 fps, I would have thought that was a little slow and potentially irritating?

opus wrote: »

I picked up a single yeelight colour bulb in one of the sales a few months back, recently got it hooked into my google home so I can now say 'turn on the kitchen light to it'. Have a 2nd bulb on the way as it's very convenient & if I'm truthful very cool :cool:

I installed mine last night. Functionally it's cool but the colours/hues seem a little off. I'll look for a cheap Philips Hue deal over the Black Friday period and see how they compare.

BoardAtWork

bk wrote: »

Can I ask, anyone set up Xiaomi as an alarm system?

What app did you use? Any guides for it?

Can you set up an alarm to ring on the gateway when the doorsensor is actiavted? I'm thinking about buying them so I can do something similar.

moonboy52

MoodeRator wrote: »

Has anyone used the dafang camera?

I got the daFang yesterday. (19e Delivered)

Works fine on the old 4.2.5 version of MiHome.

But fiddly to set up as the instructions are in Chinese:P.

Would not work over 4G at all and i was gutted but now it does

Decent image at 1080p but only 15FPS. Night Mode works well enough too.

Only thing is the servers are in China and have to use Login to the China version of MiHome.

My first camera, but for the money it will do to monitor my gaff when out of the house.

BoardAtWork wrote: »

Can you set up an alarm to ring on the gateway when the doorsensor is actiavted? I'm thinking about buying them so I can do something similar.

Yes, it looks like it can do that, but I haven't tried yet.

I need to play with it some more to figure out how to set it up properly as an alarm type system.

Stoner

Can't Smartthings pick these up.
And it has an alarm set style feature added recently, or am I wrong. I haven't plugged mine in in a month

Though I read it and it was a good idea

Either that or the wink

So I finally got a chance to properly play with and set this up.

First of all these sensors are amazingly small, I love how small they are. I'll post some pics later.

The MiHome app is only ok and getting it all set up is definitely a DIY job and patience is needed. This is not for someone who just wants it to work and isn't willing to spend a few hours playing around with it. Some of the app and notifications are in Chinese and while most is English, it doesn't always really make sense.

However I've got a decent setup now. I have the hub, switch, 2 x door/window sensors, 2 x motion sensors.

I've it working so one click of the switch, arms the alarm after a 30 second delay (configurable). When armed, if any of the sensors are triggered, then the alarm goes off and I get a notification. The one exception I've set up is the front door, which gives me a 30 second delay before triggering the alarm. I can then deactivate the alarm with a double tap of the switch before it goes off.

I've also got it setup so I get a notification if a window is left open when I arm the alarm.

A few things I've yet to figure out:

- I don't think it will send a notification if power/broadband is down.

- Will I get a notification if one of the sensors batteries is low.

- How to easily setup a home armed mode. As in only window/door sensors on, not the motion sensors.

I figure once I start setting up Home Assistant, I can probably sort this.

One thing I'd like to see them add, is a battery operated pin pad, with a LED panel, allowing you to arm/disarm it, etc. Oh and BTW the alarm really isn't very loud, I wouldn't expect it to be drawing your neighbours over, though it does have fun weird noises it can make, like the sound of battles, barking dogs, etc.

In summary, though, I'm very happy with it for how little it has cost. I already ordered two more window sensors and a motion sensor this evening and I'll likely order more once I get Home Assistant working (probably the wall switches and temp/humidity sensors).

I'm not saying that this will be my smart alarm system long term, but I think for the €100 or so I've spent on this, it will do as a nice cheap temporary option for a year or so until this market matures.

But again, not for the faint of heart.

THE ALM

Thanks for the feedback bk, been looking at these and probably get it ordered in the next day or two with a view to doing something similar to yourself. Could pick up one of the 5 in 1 sets and add to it.

Add in a few zigbee light switches and you you would be getting a lot for the money as you say. Home Assistant would be the way forward then and as the Xiaomi component is already there should be too much of a faff about with it.

I would imagine setting the motion and window sensors to knock on some lights at night etc. if activated would be a simple process to add as well.

THE ALM wrote: »

I would imagine setting the motion and window sensors to knock on some lights at night etc. if activated would be a simple process to add as well.

Yep, even with the Xiaomi MiHome app it looks easy to do this for other Xiaomi lights.

Stoner

Having used both xiaomi and Smartthings I found battery life to be an issue

The units are small, that's great but they are also far from robust and you'd have to have one set up for a while before making a decision to go ahead with them throughout

They work very well initially, however as you add more and more battery units the more maintenance you need.

Smartthings contact sensors offer temp too and require more from a battery.

A simple window contact is not enough for an intruder alarm IMO. Inertia contacts are important.

However if that's what you want fair enough but note that a wired window contact is about 2 euro and requires no power. It would then be connected to an intruder alarm that has a battery back up.
Many houses are prewired for an alarm

I understand the temptation to use and call these systems intruder alarms, however they are fiddley and missing huge parts of an intruder alarm system.

Panic alarms etc. Too many to go into here.

The integration to lights etc and heating etc is all well and good, however these systems do not imo achieve the dual function of intruder alarm and home AV.

I'd use them as I have for the av functions.
But if I wanted a cheap intruder alarm system, I'd buy a cheap alarm system. And then install some of these units in addition to it

Or else go the whole way and properly integrate an established intruder alarm system into an av system, not the other way around.

Absolutely Stoner, I'd be cautious in using this as my one and only alarm system.

I'm using it alongside my 10 year old HKC * wired, but not connected/monitored alarm system. What this gives me is a second alarm and monitoring/notification. My Logitech Circle then gives me a third layer of video/monitoring/notification. So I think it all ads up to a decent system for a reasonable cost.

* Sorry Stoner, yes I haven't been able to get the Siemens set up yet due to a mad year with the family, hoping to get it sorted in the new year.

I don't think I'd be comfortable with the Xiaomi on it's own.

Having said that, even a cheap proper alarm system is going to cost €500+, that can be a lot of money for a lot of people, so if it is a choice between a €100 xiaomi setup or nothing, then better then nothing IMO.

I'm pretty certain that eventually I'll upgrade to a proper full smart alarm system, but I think this market if very new and I want to see it mature for a year or two at least before spending hundreds on one. So Xiaomi/HKC/Circle is my temporary stop gap.

And even when I do upgrade, a lot of the Xiaomi gear will still be used. I'll be using the hub with the wired wall switches and I'll probably using the switches as door bells. Might even be able to use the motion and door sensors as cheap Hue sensors (via HA) or just fun automation experiments. So cheap not really a big deal.

But you are absolutely correct to warn people that this is cheap gear and very much no guarantees and use at your own risk, specially if using as an alarm system.

I should also stress, that this stuff is definitely more DIY and requires a couple of hours of config and messing around with. It isn't rocket science, but I'd consider this more along the lines of Raspberry Pi and tinkering.

Some of the other products I've recommended here, like GHome, Philips Hue, etc. are relatively easy to setup at least in their basic mode. After all their are consumer products.

But I don't want folks to think this Xiaomi gear is the same as those, it is more DIY/tinkering then that.

matrim

I plan on using this for internal doors and similar to bk as a "smart" sensor on top of my already dumb HKC wired system for my front / back door.

Are there any smart alarms that work with an existing wired system and allow you to easily monitor the status of each sensor?

the heathen

bk wrote: »

I should also stress, that this stuff is definitely more DIY and requires a couple of hours of config and messing around with. It isn't rocket science, but I'd consider this more along the lines of Raspberry Pi and tinkering.

Some of the other products I've recommended here, like GHome, Philips Hue, etc. are relatively easy to setup at least in their basic mode. After all their are consumer products.

But I don't want folks to think this Xiaomi gear is the same as those, it is more DIY/tinkering then that.

But someone wouldn't need to know code or anything?

matrim wrote: »

Are there any smart alarms that work with an existing wired system and allow you to easily monitor the status of each sensor?

The guys over on the security forum would know better then me. But I think systems like Siemens and GSD have an app that allow a certain level of monitoring via app/web.

the heathen wrote: »

But someone wouldn't need to know code or anything?

Not for the Xiaomi MiHome app, not sure yet for Home Assistant.

More of a case of having the patience to just mess around with different configuration options, try things out, see how it works, google for answers, etc.

the heathen

bk wrote: »

More of a case of having the patience to just mess around with different configuration options, try things out, see how it works, google for answers, etc.

Ha! You'll be getting the questions, not Google. :P

Realgonekid

bk wrote: »

The guys over on the security forum would know better then me. But I think systems like Siemens and GSD have an app that allow a certain level of monitoring via app/web.

Yes GSD has a system that can take over an existing wired alarm. The monitoring app is also free to download and in most cases has no monthly fee. http://globalsecurity.ie/alarm-owners/gsdi-10-70-hybrid-alarm/

Stoner

matrim wrote:

Are there any smart alarms that work with an existing wired system and allow you to easily monitor the status of each sensor?

The Siemens panel is good for this too.

It has a web server and you can link it up with an rpi as part of an over all system to carry out actions based on the state of the sensors, it can control X10

I'm not sure about GSD

The HKC allow you to look at each sensor from an app and turn them on or off, handy for keeping a house alarmed by turning off a dodgy sensor.

It won't integrate with anything though

There's stuff coming up on the cytech panel too z wave integration all very nice, has several interfaces and a good app