Custom HomeKit Notifications are a GAME CHANGER!!

[@GaryHardyInc]

I was a s/w engineer for over 40 years. Assembly language(s) through most higher level languages. Wrote millions of lines of code. This little process was WAY more complicated than it should have been. Thanks for clarifying.

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks so much for the super Thanks! I'm glad the video was helpful. 😃

[@tetchuma]

I actually love Controller for HomeKit. During the winter blackouts here in Dallas in 2011, we kept having to reprogram our smart lights back into HomeKit for the next week or so, with varying degrees of success and failure. In 2022, I had bought Controller, and was able to restore the whole house with a couple of clicks. I would recommend this app to anyone!!!

[@no-budhee6657]

So annoying that 3rd party apps are required because a multi billion dollar conglomerate can’t put this basic functionality in the actual HomeKit app.

[@ShaneCreates]

@Scott Sneddon I don't think they would. Of course, anything is possible. But they have allowed this since the beginning of HomeKit and even things like Homebridge forever now. It seems to be a happy medium. Apple can keep their stuff super simple, clean, and easy and things like this can satisfy those looking for more advanced features.

[@ShaneCreates]

Yes I agree. But I can also see both sides of the coin. I'm sure Apple wants to keep the Home App super clean and easy to use so people can jump in without being intimidated. If you had everything that the Controller for HomeKit app offers to a complete newbie who just bought their first smart light bulb... I could see them quickly getting turned off by all the options and complexity. Not saying I completely agree with this strategy, but I can see why they keep the Home app limited.

[@Dr_Cole]

I think Apple views this type of stuff as a Catch 22. They hate making anything complex, requiring programming knowledge to use IF THAT IS NOT THE PRIMARY TASK (sorry for yelling - just meant for emphasis!). They want the Home app to be by many to control their SmartHome. They provide the ShortCut app as a way of getting advanced processes in the Home app and more while keeping the Home app free of such overly technical issues. For those of us wanting both SmartHome control AND programming, it feels like an extra burden. However, we are very much the minority and Apple doesn’t view us as their target audience when deciding on which features to include. I feel your frustration and am not condoning their approach. I just see it as consistent. PS Apple is a multi-trillion dollar company, currently valued at $2.35T

[@gregg5958]

@@ShaneCreates Yeah but they should at least pick up some basic data or basic tasks they are missing. In their quest to make things less complex they often make it more complex with extra steps, research on the internet, questions asked, and ultimately some 3rd party app just to do something simple like flash lights for instance which are also off putting to new users.

[@peguero171]

In the meantime Apple is making money with the 30% that the app developers pay apple to have their apps on the App Store, with features apple didn’t have to develop. Not that I agree with that, but if you think about it, It’s a win for Apple.

[@inelonwetrust9169]

Really enjoyed this video Shane. Just grabbed the lifetime app for 1/2 price thanks to their Black Friday sale. I’d love more videos of the use of the app outside of advanced automations.

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks for watching and for the feedback!

[@TheUnofficialMaker]

thanks for the tip. I got it too!

[@deralte680]

Thanks for that Shane. It´s nice, that finally such function exists almost natively. On the other site I think, how "much" effort it is to push just a notification compared to Home Assistant.

[@ashpole20]

Hi Shane, great video as always. Just a comment about your Shortcut logic for the door. The way you set it up leaves a slight risk of failure. The IF condition covers the Unlocked condition only, and your Otherwise covers Locked, Jammed and Unknown conditions. I would suggest you want to cancel the timed notification if the door is Locked, and Otherwise activate the notification. Therefore, your IF statement becomes IF door is Locked then cancel notification OTHERWISE activate the timed notification. Hope this makes sense! Mike

[@ShaneCreates]

Hey Mike, yea that makes sense. Good suggestion. Thanks.

[@MarsorryIckuatuna]

Interesting. So do I need to redo the notification or just swap around the 2 shortcut links? What’s the suggestion here?

[@left0verture]

Thanks for these hands on tutorials, Shane. I know I can do a lot more than I’m currently doing with Controller, Shortcuts and the like. I looked at Controller notifications several times and just walked away scratching my head. It takes somebody like you to translate it all into usable form for non engineer types like me 👍 That having been said, I followed your instructions step by step to setup a “hey, your lights are still on” notification. Must’ve missed something, because it pops up a notification whether the lights are left on or not… 😢

[@juliannojungle]

Hi @left0verture! Starting at 12:31, he alters the "triggering" action from "unlocked" (actually the "unsecured" is selected) to "each value change". You should probably skip this step, because this will make your notification to pop up every time something changes on your lights ("light went on" or "light went off" events).

[@left0verture]

@@juliannojunglethanks very much for the suggestion. I didn’t have the option to set the automation to “each value change” - I set it to (as near as I can tell) trigger when the light goes on, wait 30 minutes and - if the light is still on, send a notification then. Seems like that should be pretty straightforward. Unfortunately, I still get the notification regardless of the state of the light. 🤷‍♂️

[@MortyP]

Thanks, Shane!! Would love to see some more videos on the everyday uses and depth of this app. - endless potential here… Cheers

[@olivierWOD]

great video Shane, thx for alls videos,

[@cr0okedcr0w30]

Shane is always the best 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@jhk88rph]

Great video Shane! I took advantage of the Black Friday discount for Controller you mentioned and looking forward to creating notifications etc using this video as a guide. Thanks for your help!

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks Jim!

[@joselo1001]

I paid 34.99 on Black Friday for lifetime access ❤. It’s a great app.

[@RACAPE]

Now the price is 32.99

[@joselo1001]

@@Ilikeitwet if you think is expensive then means you don’t need it. If you don’t find value in it don’t buy it. I find it as a great value for my smart home circumstances.

[@Calumma13]

Great video as always. Also pleased you covered this new feature of the Controller app. I’ve tested it by creating a notification to alert me if the side gate is open when either of the back doors are opened. Important when letting the dog out.

[@ShaneCreates]

That's a great use case. I might have to steal that one. Thanks for watching!

[@GhaniaI]

Great video 🎉Shane!! Thank you

[@stephanmichaels6188]

Thx for the video. I used Black Friday to get live time license 😊

[@techieJS]

Thanks Shane, great video. Taking it one step further, what would the Automation need to look like if you wanted to check to see IF [(lock 1 = unlocked) OR (lock 2 = unlocked) OR (lock 3 = unlocked)] THEN send the notification [a door is unlocked....what do you want to do]? I recognize we can't nest OR statements in Apple Automations, so hoping you might be able to illustrate a best practice for doing something like this?

[@odc43054]

I love the Eve sensors and Aqua. Their switches and plug adapters could use a fine tune for the US market. I use Kasa mainly for switches and plugs.

[@DorenMichael]

Hi, great video! Question. Is it possible to also play a sound just before the notification is triggered by the motion sensor? Thanks!

[@lydiaw]

thank you fo sharing, great video!

[@Reihenmotor5]

Did you notice these break/disappear after upgrading to the new HomeKit architecture? I had to go back in and redo these.

[@felixschmickt]

Thanks for the video! You got a thumbs up without seeing it yet 😁

[@saxpablo]

Hi, i wonder if the app can send notifications to the Apple TV... that would be awesome

[@simonf9121]

Notifications on Controller was the key feature that led me to purchasing a lifetime license on Black Friday. Thanks for the great video.

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks for watching Simon!

[@tdrg_]

Hey Shane! You mentioned that Eve is privacy-focused. Do you know anything about Aqara’s privacy track record? Should I trust them?

[@ShaneCreates]

I like Aqara also. I don't know of any issues or times that they have been in the news for anything bad. Aqara does have features that require cloud communication and user login, but also has the option to avoid that and use in HomeKit-only mode if you wish.

Hey bud, thanks for the vid again. Is there any option to use custom sound for each and every notification via Controller? Like Pushcut does.

[@egshane]

notification server? does this device need to remain on?

[@satnambal8780]

Hi Shane I recently update my HomePods and it says the update support matter do you have any knowledge about that thanks

[@baronimj1]

I just got the new Aqara door and window sensor and I installed it on my mailbox and used the controller app to notify me when it’s open/closed and also if the mailbox was left open for more than 10 minutes.

[@ShaneCreates]

That's awesome!

[@kentswisher9470]

Like JohnCap, I am having many HK issues since iOS 16.0, 16.1 and Ventura. When creating ControllerForHomekit notification (8:55), I can only send to iPhone - It does not give option to send to my Mac (the device I am creating notification on) or iPad. Also, when creating the shortcut if() statement (10:07), when click input, I do not have the option to "Select Accessory" - it just shows "loading...." and never loads.

[@janandre8825]

Have you installed Controller on your Mac and went to Notifications? There is a "Devices & Secret" option to setup your device. ;)

[@chef_doug]

@@janandre8825 I don't get that when I'm trying on my Mac and on my iPhone. I can only enable my iPad, and I've been searching for a solution for an hour. Terrible support availability from the developer

[@ShaneCreates]

I noticed the same thing when creating a shortcut in the home app on the Mac. Just keeps loading. Assuming it’s an Apple bug. Just create it in your iPhone or iPad and there are no issues.

[@kuko61]

Notifications in Homekit are great, too bad they can't be set directly in the Home app. But I have the Controller, so I'll definitely try it. But what I'm still waiting for, and for me this would be the greatest thing in Homekit, is the scene trigger from Apple Watch - I need a trigger when Apple Watch detects the start of sleep (and also my wake-up). I know I may never get this feature, but this is the most anticipated one for me :)

[@ShaneCreates]

You can use focus modes as triggers for personal automations (in the shortcuts app). So you could trigger homekit scenes when your watch/phone goes into sleep mode, when alarms go off, etc. My "Good Morning" scene is triggered when I snooze my alarm every morning.

[@kuko61]

@@ShaneCreates Thanks for the reply. But I'm not sure how a focus mod as a trigger should work in my case. I need it to work automatically without a schedule. 80% of the nights I fall asleep while watching TV. It's always at a different time. I need all the lights in the house and all the electronics - TVbox, AV receiver, projector - to turn off when I fall asleep 🙂 In the past I had both an iPhone and an Apple Watch, but now I only have an iPad and a Homepod mini because of the automation, so I can't try it personally. I tried to find several times a guide to automatically start a scene when I fall asleep (without setting a schedule), but I didn't find anything that works the way I imagine :) 🙂 Or maybe I just didn't understand how the focus mod currently works on the Apple watch. Maybe it can start automatically when I fall asleep, but I've only read everywhere about the possibility of setting a schedule or turning it on manually. If it could start automatically when I fall asleep and could start a scene, I'll go buy a new Apple watch tomorrow 😀

[@trongtanle1271]

Hello sir. I'm wanting to make text to speech notifications with shortcuts, can play through homepod speakers or on iphone, ipad about all sensor and switch operations. do you have any way?

[@stuchristie]

Hi Shane. Very much enjoy your channel. Does this app let you get around the annoying Apple Home constraint where you MUST confirm an automation to run if you leave or return to your home location? It would be so good to be able to automatically open the vehicle gate as you approach your home. Having to confirm that you want to run that automation is so lame! Keep churning out excellent posts!

[@ShaneCreates]

Hi thanks Stu. So that requirement in the home app happens only when you are trying to automate "secure" accessories... such as a gate/garage, lock, security system, etc. The workaround is to use a dummy switch or smart plug. Here's what you would do: Automation 1: When I arrive home > turn ON smart plug or dummy switch (turn off after 1 minute) Automation 2: When smart plug or dummy switch turns on > open the vehicle gate This should work without requiring you to authenticate on your iPhone.

[@stuchristie]

Awesome Shane. You’re a MACHINE!

[@gilbreen]

Great video and explanations. Unfortunately I missed out on their 50% offer. Any idea if the developer will be offering a New Year's Special?

[@TheUnofficialMaker]

what is that ipad stand at 5:04?

[@ShaneCreates]

Link is in the video description.

[@josevictor96]

Perfect vídeo!!

[@joeyrosen55]

Hey Shane I saw on your app you had one for your eve weather station battery running low. I'm having an issue setting up that instant one for my battery accessories. What was the apple automation you used to signal when the battery is low?

[@ShaneCreates]

You would need to set that up first in the Controller app. Home app doesn't let you use battery state as a trigger, Controller does.

[@91326]

Hi Shane, does the base Home app on iPhone do notifications? Or are you required to use a 3rd party app like Controller?

[@ShaneCreates]

You can only get notification from the Home app for certain things (sensors, locks, cameras, etc). You can't do custom notifications.

[@91326]

@@ShaneCreates Thanks. Will Controller send notifications for when it turns on and off a smart plug? And do I use Controller instead of Home? I will set up everything using Controller instead of Home correct?

[@Reihenmotor5]

Any luck getting these to work with garage doors if left open? Wonder if myQ is the issue because the notification will report Open even when closed. Maybe I do need to switch out myQ HomeKit hub at some point.

[@eclapham5]

My only Controller notification is for my garage door. I switched to Meross from MyQ and reliability is much better.

[@MrB8boy]

Can this app do reoccurring tasks? Say I want to run a shortcut every hour between 9-5 M-F?

[@VitoAD]

Great video.

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks for watching!

[@VitoAD]

@@ShaneCreates going to try to setup notification for my freezer. A couple of weeks ago my freezer stop functioning. Lucky nothing serious. So I put an Aqura temp sensor in the freezer to monitor temp. But couldn’t figure how to send notification if temp rose above freezing. Should be able to now.

[@ShaneCreates]

@@VitoAD Yea that's a great use-case. The native home app only gives the ability to get notifications from secure accessories like locks, alarms, etc. The Controller app should be a good way to get notifications from any homekit devices.

[@VitoAD]

@@ShaneCreates thanks for the reply. I tried several different ways but the automation states there are no accessories selected for this automation. Thinking of using a Homebridge dummy switch.

[@juliannojungle]

From what I got, this "Controller for homekit" runs a server on the iPhone or iPad where it's installed (hence the urls), right? But Homekit's running on my AppleTV. If I shutdown my iPhone, the so called "complex automations" won't run, right? I think I'm missing something.

[@toetie2019]

Hey, quick question, is it possible to trigger a shortcut when an automation is happening in HomeKit? The option appears nowhere sadly

[@ShaneCreates]

Not a personal shortcut unfortunately.

[@TexasSizeTen4]

Hi, another great vid! I cannot open the controller app on my apple watch, freezes everytime. I've uninstalled/reinstalled, rebooted, nothing works.

[@Us_and_themm]

Hey Shane is it possible to trigger a shortcut with a smart switch on this app :)

[@ShaneCreates]

No, personal shortcuts cannot be triggered via homekit.

[@Us_and_themm]

@@ShaneCreates im suprised you haven’t figured out a way yet lol, i will keep everything crossed for it :)

[@chaskinsnc]

Does the HomeKit Controller take precedence over HomeKit automations?

[@ShaneCreates]

They are all homekit automations. Controller is simply accessing your Homekit data, so when you create an automation in Controller, you are creating a HomeKit automation.

[@joerg1003]

Great video thanks. It’s working for me. But how can I sent notifications to a family members device? I have controller installed on the family members device, notifications are enabled but I don’t see the device in my installation. Do I have to duplicate all notifications on the second device? Thanks.

[@GwilymJames]

For me and my wife, I had to duplicate all the notifications sadly. In the homekit shortcut automation, I added two ""Get Contents of URL" parameters and added both my one, and my wife's one to the same shortcut. So on the one hand, you don't need to build new automation shortcuts, but you do need to create new notifications for each user. The positive is that you can get creative with the other user's notification and personalize it for them!

[@usandthem4700]

Will my wife need to buy the app as well if we share the same home? :)

[@ShaneCreates]

The app supports family sharing so if you buy it once anyone family members can access it at no additional charge if you use family sharing.

[@JW-GFX]

Hi, I would like to implement the following. When no person is home anymore and the Eve Door And Window Sensor at the apartment door is open I would like to receive a notification. Can you give me some tips please?

[@ShaneCreates]

New automation: Trigger: When the last person leaves home Condition: IF the door sensor is open Conver to shortcut > send notification as shown in video. You will probably have to use a combination of the home app and the Controller for HomeKit app, similar to what I did in the video. You have to configure conditions in the Controller for HomeKit app.

[@JW-GFX]

@@ShaneCreates Thank you! I'll try it ... 🙂

[@bazcurtis178]

I am trying to make a simple notification when a plug is turned on. The Shortcut will send the notification when I test it, but when I turn on the plug nothing happens. What simple step could I have missed?

[@JohnCap523]

I’ve had many issues particularly with Meross devices since ios16. Meross support is useless so being on my own to resolve it I’ve discovered many people have been having similar issues. I ditched all of my in wall Meross devices in favor of expanding my Caseta fleet. The other day a Caseta fan controller went off line. Like the Meross devices, the Caseta fan controller still worked fine in the Lutron app, just not in HomeKit. So, i fired off a support email to Lutron. What i got back was a thinly veiled assertion that there’s connectivity issues in ios16, which, frankly, makes a lot of sense and can be an explanation for my, and many other’s, Meross issues. The Meross devices always showed as connected in the Meross app as well as both my UniFi and router device logs. The point of this post is, don’t necessarily point fingers at vendors until Apple gets their shit together with HomeKit. They seem to be very halfhearted in their commitment to the platform and my frustration with them is only growing. That said, the ugly kludge that is both Amazon’s and Google’s smart home platforms renders HomeKit as my only option.

[@MortyP]

So, Shane - big fan of your channel, energy, and vibe! Thank you! I downloaded the Controller app when I watched this video about a week ago, and the trial is almost expiring. I'm hesitant to invest in the subscription before I get this to work or understand the capacity. I'm tech/app savvy. I have my whole house rigged with numerous platform lights, cameras, switches, locks, sensors, and yada yada, so it kills me, and it's a little embarrassing to share that. I either need help understanding this app or help to get it to work. Let me explain a simple automation I have created that's just not working as I thought it should: It's an uncomplicated coffee maker ON notification to remember to turn it off: - is the whole purpose of this delayed "IF" "Schedule Notification" when it has been on for 30mindeal not that if something becomes "OTHERWISE" "Cancel Notification" between "within the delay," then it will cancel and the notification?! The way it acts currently is IF the coffee is ON, the countdown starts the 30min threshold. I often turn it OFF before the 30min elapses, but I STILL get the "The Coffee has been On for 30 minutes. - What would you like to do" controller notification @30min?! Is this not supposed to "cancel IF/WHEN the coffee maker turns OFF?? It looks like this: www.dropbox.com/s/yeegizb1fo80hpp/Controller%20Notification%20Snag.png?dl=0.

[@clementstevens]

I see you’re using garage door in this app. Which garage door monitor works best

[@ShaneCreates]

I'm using the Meross HomeKit Garage Door Opener.

[@timothyreed7709]

How does this compare to pushcut?

[@ShaneCreates]

Good question. Both apps are great for different things imo. The notification feature in both is pretty similar. I think the main difference is with Controller for HomeKit, you can delay notifications and configure the counter notifications, which I don't think is possible in Pushcut.

[@gregghayes6710]

Great video Shane. So glad I bought the lifetime version of Controller last year! Question: do you need to have Controller running on a device at all times acting as a server for these automations to work?

[@janandre8825]

No, they are run by HomeKit automation + shortcut running on your Home Hub. ;)

[@gregghayes6710]

@@janandre8825 Thanks Jan. Nice work on this app!

[@TimDeWaele]

Can you also make a notification if the tv in the living room is on for 1 hour without motion detected in the living room by Hue motion sensor, get a notification and the option to turn off tv?

[@janandre8825]

I think the best way to achieve this is to include the TV == ON state as a condition in your logic. IF Motion Detected == NO > Schedule delayed 1h notification. IF Motion Detected == YES > Cancel notification. You have to request the TV State inside the shortcut though because 3rd party apps are not allowed to show HomeKit TVs. Otherwise, you could have added it as Automation Condition itself. (Thanks Apple..)

[@nicolesylvain853]

Thanks for the examples👍🏻 I tried to make an automatic notification every day at 8 a.m. and then I deleted it. Unfortunately, I still get the notification... How to delete it ???? Unfortunately there is no support from the developer, that's the big negative point of this application.

[@djcalanco]

Just went on the apps sore and notice the app is 50% off for the lifetime license! Win!

[@BHEagle2024]

i just got a basic handle on shortcuts and automations lol and I need what this app offers but for me this just seems complicated.

[@BHEagle2024]

basically lost me at URLs.

[@jeffg360]

I so respect your continued enthusiasm and attempts to tame this creature but as someone with many of the devices you highlight, 75 lights, garage, door locks, cameras, alarm, plugs, thermostats, and the like. I have 7 large HomePods and 4 small. 5 Apple TV 4K’s, HomeKit and Siri (alone and together) frustrates me no end! I’ve given up on trying anything more. I love Apple but I really dislike HomeKit. Maybe Matter will be better but not counting on it in my lifetime.

[@walberg61]

hmm, tried notifications, i push notifications, then we need permissions. Open settings.... stays on open settings.

[@warmbowski]

Something that has been nagging at me is figuring out how to set notifications for sensors based on the state of another device. For example, can you set up a window sensor to only send open notifications when your Aqara hub Security system device is set to "Away or Night"? If it's set to "Home or Off" don't send open notifications.

[@markusgetto5092]

Yes, you can do that. In the Shortcut, you can read the value of your alarm system and then decide if you want to send the notification.

[@faengelm]

can these notifications be sent tot he watch?

[@markusgetto5092]

Yes, notifications sent to your iPhone will also appear on the watch.

[@ShaneCreates]

Yes, iPhone notifications will go to the watch also. You can see it in action at 3:33

[@moshegholian7345]

Has anyone had problems with scheduled automations executing with any consistency and iOS 16 and if so, have you found out this app corrects that issue when making scheduled automations in this one, as opposed to the native HomeKit app?

[@sulylunat]

It's a known issue and I don't thin this app will fix it as they are still HomeKit automations. The workaround is to restart your home hubs after making any changes for them to actually update.

[@TechHeadB]

Hell if only I could get my homekit to perform consistently

[@marktime61]

Its good although iOS Alerts are starting to run (interrupt driven) my life lol.. No time for anything else other than servicing interrupts lol... Perhaps I have become a microprocessor :-) (News, Yahoo Stocks, Email, SMS, WhatsApp, Aqara (your living room radiator temperature is too high!), now Homekit Controller App.. )

[@mecoreyg]

I’m going to need them to bring back the 50% off for lifetime. I missed it 😢

[@AaronOcampoZ]

Would be awesome a tutorial on how to turn off lights if there has been no movement in a room for certain amount of time

[@janandre8825]

It all works similarly. Use a delayed notification. Schedule it in your shortcut "IF motion detected == NO" (add a condition that the light is on to your HomeKit automation in Controller later) and cancel the notification if motion is detected.

[@b.peppercorn739]

Hue or Eve motion sensors have all this already without buying the controller app

[@AaronOcampoZ]

@@janandre8825 would it be possible to make it automatic instead of using a notification?

[@chaskinsnc]

HomeKit automations are still broken with 16. Very inconsistent and I am frustrated with Apples lack of follow up.

[@ShaneCreates]

16.2 is bringing a big update to Homekit's underlaying architecture. Hopefully that'll make things more stable for you.

[@chef_doug]

I can only enable my iPad, and I've been searching for a solution for an hour. Terrible support availability from the developer. I cannot get my secret and device for my iPhone and Mac

[@K0NVICTx]

I do find it weird that HomeKit doesn’t already have notifications built in. Seems really silly that we have to pay for this.

[@ShaneCreates]

There are notifications within homekit, but only for certain "secure" accessories like locks, security systems, cameras, etc. These are more advanced, custom notifications that give us more flexibility.

[@collagevids1]

Too bad and I didn’t see this video 4 days ago to get the 50% off lifetime license, anyways thank you for this video next time if there is a chance to get the discount I’ll take advantage

[@MarsorryIckuatuna]

This actually didn’t work for me. The notification kept showing even when I’d closed the Gate. I resolved it by separating the “IF” to 2 separate and simple automations instead. One triggered by when the gate was Opened (or any other state other than closed) and another automation to trigger when the gate was “Closed” and thereby triggering the cancellation URL (and no If Statements).

[@dannyfcabrera]

I clean the coffee pot after each use

[@FredSchmitthammer]

No android?

[@jameswestcott4191]

Pushover app has been doing notifications for some time and the service is more mature and cheaper than controller app. It’s better for keeping logs of things that happen. Controller is better to interact with scenes/workflows.

[@ShaneCreates]

Can you do delayed notifications or counter notifications in Pushover? And is there a way to trigger home accessories via the notifications like I did with the Lock notification?

[@jameswestcott4191]

@@ShaneCreates I believe you can do delays and counters tho not tried myself. You can attach URLs in the message to interact with HomeKit, but it starts to get complicated. Controller is better in that respect. I use a combo of the two apps depending on what I’m trying to achieve. It would be nice if controller added a log of the notifications.

[@janandre8825]

@@jameswestcott4191 please contact us (Controller) in our support channel. We would be interested in your idea. ;)

[@ShaneCreates]

@@jameswestcott4191 Submit that as a feature request to the developers. Being a new feature, I'm sure they are working on ways to improve and add-on to the notification feature. They already have a Logs section in the app for homekit activity. Maybe they can add a "notifications" filter.

[@zht9]

One thing got me confused is why this app does not read the data from Home app directly, so that there is no need to create shortcuts.

[@markusgetto5092]

3rd-party apps can't access HomeKit unless they are open. Notifications that only work when you are in the app are a bit useless. That's why we need automations that trigger shortcuts as a workaround.

[@zht9]

@@markusgetto5092 thanks for clarifying mate. That makes a lot more sense!

[@eraldway]

I have invested so much in homeKit and as of 16.1.1 Im ready to toss everything out. All my automations are broken. I tried deleting them all and remake them with no result. I just cant take it anymore.

[@blackcoalboy]

Sorry mate i thought this was a tutorial, your videos are normally easy to understand but I had never heard of this app but you proceeded to just start, I was completely lost.

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks for watching. This was not intended to be a tutorial for the entire Controller for HomeKit app, but instead a tutorial for the advanced notifications feature of that app.

[@blackcoalboy]

@@ShaneCreates Got you. Maybe if you get an opportunity to do a full tutorial I would very much like to take a look at it because the very little i seen a could understand I found very interesting, . Thanks Shane, just realised you have the same name as one of my favourite westerns.

[@richd.6867]

It’s absolutely ridiculous that we require 3rd party apps to get decent Homekit notifications. Privacy is one of the primary selling points for Homekit. That privacy is lost or reduced with every 3rd party app that you use as a way to get around Homekit limitations.

[@MortyP]

Good morning, I discovered this app yesterday and must say it’s pretty extra and well thought out. I mastered to work on my MacBook and my iPad but I haven’t tested through geo notifications yet because I usually don’t wear those with me when I leave the house. I downloaded the iPhone version too, but I having some major snags with it. Are there any known issues with this? I deleted and reinstalled the app on the iPhone three times and I get the same results every time. iPad is running 15.7 software. iPhone and MacBook Pro both running latest beta software. (you might respond now with the iPhone is running on beta software could be the reason, however, I’ve really good experience with these as they’re rather stable these days) Two right out of the gate: Not showing the registered name. When I create a notification, it goes through the process but does not list. I’ll keep it in the notifications for you, like on the other devices. It’s all empty. Further, it should show all the notifications created another devices here as well, correct? Thanks

[@ShaneCreates]

I’m not sure of any known issues. I would reach out to the developer for support.

[@MortyP]

Thanks - I did email this exact description, and magically it's all working now....

[@hessulipoika13]

Its big step to buy this app cause you never know if they just supporting it or apple blocks it

[@michaelchavez9094]

Why does Apple hate HomeKit so much? We shouldn't need 3rd party apps to use all the features that HomeKit is actually capable of. That being said, Controller for HomeKit is awesome.

[@ienthongminhcchome7867]

can you add vietnamese language to the video? i would love to watch your video on smart home topic but i don't understand what you say. :(((

[@ienthongminhcchome7867]

pls. :(

[@rghinftl]

This is simple home automation? Appears an IT degree is required for the programming required between the two apps 🤔

[@Atum_Ra]

It's $99.99 bucks now for the lifetime version! I was just about to purchase (but cry about) the $60 price tag, but @ $100 seriously fck them 😏

[@dannyvdmoo]

its crap with useless information...its tuya lifesmart info useless and very expensive 99euro lifetime ?!? only advantage is backup ..not even in dutch language

[@justsendit8506]

Seriously Apple… Notify me when the Home app is fixed. … Yup, it’s been broken ever since the most recent iOS, iPadOS, macOS updates. 🤦‍♂️

[@frankvet1]

Seriously apple…. you can’t figure out how to add notifications to homekit functionality? I have to pay $$$ just for a function that Apple should have sandboxed a long time ago! Sad.. BAD APPLE

[@swedendive]

SUPER EXPENSIVE APP!!!! WARNING!!!!

[@vforillo]

No, thanks, will wait until Apple officially rolls out Apple home and takes it out of the development phase, not paying $65 for something that I already have technically

[@Jaspermoises1835]

Hi Shane. Thanks for the video. Is there a significant difference between this and PushCuts? This seems really similar if not exactly the same. Since I’ve already purchased PushCuts I’m wondering if there’s any extra value here?

[@janandre8825]

Pushcut can only send "instant" notifications. It is better to connect different personal shortcuts together. You need an always-on and running device to use the "automation server" features. If you do, one benefit is that you can execute scenes "automatically", because the app is in foreground and can access HomeKit. Controller is a full-blown HomeKit App, you have more "action options" like "open a view in the app", "show my camera", "execute a workflow" and more. With the server keeping a state and the delay/count notifications which can be canceled/reset, you can design much more interesting use-cases. So it depends on your use whether you use one of them or need both. ;-) Jan Developer of Controller for HomeKit

[@Jaspermoises1835]

Jan thanks so much. Super helpful. And I meant no offense comparing to PushCuts. I’m still a novice at advanced automations, notifications and shortcuts so just wanted to make sure there was additional value here before I spend more money (which I’m happy to do for great products 👍!!). I don’t suppose you offer in-depth tutorials for your app do you?(happy to pay for them). Thanks again.