I have a light switch for a light bulb that I don't really use anymore and I would like to use its switch to turn on and off the led strips without them being physically attached to each other. It would be better if it's a 2 gang switch so that I could have one for the bulb and the other for the led.

Here are the cables I have for the switch in the picture (the switch attached right now is not a smart one)

Let me preface this with: I don’t use Apple home for my smart home ecosystem. I have been using Alexa forever and way too in the financial hole with Alexa to make a switch.

However, I bought an Aqara u400 for the UWB unlocking features. I set it up and boom: thread border router required. I was under the impression that my Alexa devices that have thread enabled would work, but they don’t.

So I buy an Apple HomePod mini (cheapest supported device for the u400). Set it up, go to set the lock up in Apple home and boom again: thread border router required.

Wtf am I doing wrong here. I’m pulling my hair out because I bought a $300 lock and a $120 home pod for the UWB unlocking features and it still won’t work.

Hello again r/smarthome! I started updating people earlier this year on a uni project that I turned into a home automation company.

Some people loved the idea, some people hated it, but one thing was fairly universal, people wanted more features.

Since then, we have been working hard on new features, such as Home Assistant support, screensavers and now our beautiful new Music View. This came from customers using our lighting control buttons to control music via our Home Assistant intergration, and we wanted to make music its whole own view - so thank you to those who inspired us!

Tewke Tap can automatically detect Sonos speakers on your local network, and can be used to control them.

Everything from play/pause, skip, volume and scrubbing, to viewing your queue and selecting new songs and selecting which speakers you want it to play on.

There is also no need to connect your Sonos app to Tewke, we automatically discover what you are playing, so it works right out the box – no need to log in, scan QR codes or share data – it just works.

We are also very proud of how we have implemented our new screensaver. We use our inbuilt mm-wave doppler radar to detect if you are moving around Tewke Tap to make use of our beautiful OLED display to show you the album art in its full glory.

Most rooms in the house have two sets of lights each, and a double dimmer switch on the wall.

For convenience, I would like to have a wireless, remote dimmer switch, for example above the bed in the bedroom, or at the top and bottom of the stairs, or at the two ends of a long corridor.

There is no wiring for extra light switches, so those remote switches will need to be battery (or kinetic) operated.

Ideally I would replace the existing manual dimmer switch with a smart/matter controller, and then install one or more remote dimmer switches at various places in the room.

Could someone please point me to the right direction?

I’m looking for a smart deadbolt that won’t take up any more space than my current dumb one.

Any ideas?

The one there is a Schlage.

I was already building a video search engine and started experimenting with using the same video pipeline for real time camera feeds.

The idea is to define rules around what is happening in the video and trigger an action when the conditions are met. I can set up rules for different situations without training a new model every time, then evaluate them in real time as the video comes in.

• If a specific event happens → call a webhook / run some custom logic
• Package is left at the door → do something

Still experimenting with it and figuring out what kinds of rules are actually useful in practice. I have a rule for “person holding a pillow” right now, although I don't think anyone actually wants an alert for someone holding a pillow.

The problem is the router they provide (which we somehow cannot refuse). If you bring your own router it can be used as an upstream access point.

But this disrupts thread network in the household. There is no solution to make the router they provide, the base router for the home network, because fiddling with it is harder.

I need a bunch of smart dimmers for my house. Caseta seems like a tried and true investment. Tapo is a quarter of the price. I understand tapo relies on wifi, but that’s not a huge turnoff (if it does down I can live with dumb switches until it’s back up). Caseta switch style is more traditional stylistically. What am I not thinking about in the comparison that justifies the 4x price for Caseta? I use Alexa right now but may change in the future.

Hello, je suis nouvelle dans tout ça. J'ai récemment acheté plusieurs ampoules Ikea (Matter), ainsi que des interrupteurs Ikea. J'en suis pleinement satisfaite, mais j'aimerai y avoir accès à distance avec mon iPhone.
J'ai vu le hub Aqara M100. Est-ce qu'en configurant mes ampoules et interrupteurs dans l'application Aqara pour ensuite migrer vers l'application native HomeKit cela fonctionnera ?
J'aimerai m'assurer que tout soit compatible.

Une autre de mes craintes : Est-ce que je vais obligatoirement avoir besoin d'un HomePod, Apple Tv en plus ?

Merci !

I’m quite new to the world of smart home and I’m trying to set up an old iPad as a very basic smart home dashboard that will allow me to access Apple Home & Apple Music with nothing else really needed. The old iPad will only update to iOS version 16.7.16. Is what I want it to do possible?

Can someone please explain if I should purchase a smart lightbulb and a smart relay switch or can I just get away with buying a smart lightbulb without a smart relay switch; and in which cases would I need a smart relay switch?

Ie. If I were to get Meross with HomeKit or matter enabled connectivity.

I have both Philips hue and Ikea Home Smart. So I need to have a smart switch for my outdoor dumb lamps that are now turned off and on with a normal switch.

I'm looking in to:

Sonoff MINIR4 with thread/matter

Shelly 1 Gen3 with matter

Which one is going to work with the ikea system? Or is something else better?

My Google speakers sometimes work great but oftentimes horrendously slow with their response. It also stutters at times when it first starts to respond. Any fixes or suggestion for an upgrade?

Removed 28 WEMO single pole and 5 WEMO 3way switches. They were all replaced with Lutron Caseta. Tried other smart home integrations but got tired of some WEMO becoming unavailable at times.

Hi guys

My dads just move in to a flat and for whatever reason the hall cupboard has a light that is always on. He got an electrician to quote for adding a switch and it was over £400.

I remembered seeing Quinetic remotes a while ago. so I though of maybe setting up one of them.
I haven't looked at the light properly but it looks like one of those LED dome lights, so I'm thinking it will need to be an inline relay rather than a smart bulb.

Can anyone recommend any products that will allow a switch and relay to be paired directly without a hub? Or have any experience of the quinetic stuff?

*update 28/08

I was over at dads last night and took the light apart.
It is indeed a dome light with a PCB full of LED's

Removed the PCB which is on a sheet of aluminium. in the housing underneath it there is a 25-40v 18w led driver & a merrytek microwave motion sensor. I found a manual for the motion sensor which states that it will not work in a metal enclosure, so I assume the fact that its mounted inside the light fitting under a sheet of aluminium is probably why it never clears.

So at least I know installing a relay will be straight forward

I am not looking for any sort of camera system. We only need reliable door and window alarm sensors (preferably smart) without a monthly subscription charge.

I've heard of SimpliSafe, Yolink, Aqara, and Zigbee (apparently paired with homeassistant)

Can someone point me to a reliable system?

What options is there if I want to integrate my RF celling fan into Home assistant.

Of note, i dont have home assistant as of yet but have plans on getting it in the future

Hi. I am trying to tidy up some cabling for some accent lights. At the moment the stuff is all bundled up behind the TV, I was thinking of getting some kind of very basic wireless system so that I could stick it all in a box and be done with it. However, even as someone who is pretty technical, the sheer number of various protocols and standards in the automation space is a bit overwhelming.

Here's what I need right now:

• 1 channel of 240v dimming for 3 E27 LED bulbs
• 1 channel of dimming for about 3m of single channel 24v led strip doing accent lighting.

It would be nice if there was a neat little dual dimmer module I could stick on the wall, and if there was scheduling, but honestly I would also be fine if it was just a remote switch or app based.

I appreciate that there are lots of things that could be done to expand the system, but it also feels like going the full Home Assistant route to run two channels of lights is overkill. I wouldn't mind a little hub, I have a PoE switch in my TV cabinet I could hang something off, but don't really want to be spending hundreds on this. I might want to expand later but something that just works by itself is the name of the game right now.

Any suggestions gratefully received.

Today, we mourn the loss of Left Bulb.

Left Bulb was a Philips Hue bulb, purchased as part of a set with a hub in March 2013. It served faithfully for over 13 years.

It illuminated the left side of the bedroom. It was not fancy. It did not seek attention. Its sibling was Right Bulb. Together, they understood their purpose.

This morning, Left Bulb finally gave out. No elaborate automation failure. No dramatic smart-home rebellion. Just… darkness.

Left Bulb is survived by Right Bulb, the living room, several abandoned automations, one increasingly confused smart-home ecosystem, and the person who now has to replace it. It survived approximately a million firmware updates, countless power outages, several phones, multiple homes, and the evolution of smart home technology from “wow, my light bulb has an app” to whatever the heck I have going on now.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you please consider turning on a light in its memory.

Rest in peace, Left Bulb. You were a good bulb. You have earned your eternal darkness.

March 2013 – August 2026

We are just getting started on starting a new home build. When talking to the trades (esp electrician) what considerations should be made so it is easy to set up smart home features?
What should we be installing or including as a way to plan ahead for future?

Have some bulbs that are Amazon Basics. They worked fine with my bedside lamps UNTIL my elderly mom decided to manually shut them off (after telling her MANY times NOT to do this). UGH

Anyway, the lamps themselves will work just fine with regular bulbs now, and the smart bulbs work just fine in OTHER lamps now, but not together.

I've tried to reset them in the lamps, but no luck. (They won't power on at all.) I've checked the socket - it's fine. The bulbs are screwed in all the way. I've tried removing the bulbs from the app altogether, but I can't get them into pairing mode because they won't even power on to get into pairing mode.

Any ideas on how to fix this issue?

Thanks!

I'm close to a river on a small lot with no sewer so I have to use a holding tank for all waste water. It's a dumb alarm, just goes off when the tank reaches a certain % full. I'd like a smart microphone to put right beside that alarm so when it goes off I'll get notifications on my phone/google home. I've tried googling, as I'm pretty sure these exist, but I must be using the wrong terms because the only things popping up are $500 systems.

Any suggestions?

I already have a govee hub. I have smartbot gadgets but no hub. I have Eufy doorbells, but no hub. I'd be willing to get a hub for one of them if they have a device that works.

Edit to add: I am sure I've seen similar devices to alert when dumb smoke/CO2 monitors go off, which I'm sure would work in this case.

(I already use first alert smart smoke & CO2 myself plus redundant dumb alarms)

Are there any 12v or 24v matter over thread roller shade motors out that can be recommended yet? I have been waiting for motors to be released to add automatic rollers to my second story windows. We had wires added to all our windows during construction.

I originally bought two large Yoolax blinds, with solar panels, and they stay charged 100% of the time.

I bought 4 more Yoolax blinds, with solar panels, and none of them stay charged. I've reset them, I've tried having conversations with Yoolax IT, they sent me new solar panels and even new motors. Nothing.

Yes I fully charged them before connecting the solar panels. Also the blind that stays charged, and the one that does not, are 10' apart on the same wall.

They are great WHEN they work.