Unifi Protect - How to EASILY Integrate with Apple HomeKit

Thanks to this Homebridge Unifi Protect Plugin. Together with the Unifi protect setup you can now integrate the entire system into Apple HomeKit, Add Custom Messages to the Door Bell 🔔 and the Icing on the cake 🎂 is that Entire camera system also supports HomeKit Secure Video.
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️:
================
00:00 - Intro
00:30 - Opening
01:54 - What You’ll Need
03:00 - Best Practices
04:49 - Plugin Overview & Configuration - github.com/hjdhjd/homebridge-...
10:41 - Doorbell Configuration
11:47 - Unifi Protect Homekit Demo
17:32 - Closing
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[@ecu8r]

Absolutely awesome, I followed your steps and worked perfectly. I had been looking for a way to integrate my Ubiquiti cameras into my home app for a while. Thank you again for the video, very well explained.

[@eddiedsuza]

Your welcome and cheers.

[@realgrapedrop]

Great video, you make things very clear and I love how you walk through information upfront to understand basics. You are awesome!

[@eddiedsuza]

I appreciate that! And am glad it was helpful. Cheers

[@KarlMeyer]

This video made it stupid easy for me to set up my cameras in HomeKit. I can't thank you enough for taking the time to make this video. Thanks!

[@eddiedsuza]

You're very welcome! Cheers

[@ruffi0freakshow]

subbed. my new home will be done soon and Im slowly gathering all the devices needed. this is perfect and what Im looking for!

[@eddiedsuza]

Thanks for the sub! And all the best to the New Home Build .... Cheers

[@laurenceminuto8769]

Duuude! You solved that status light issue I had. It never occurred to me to look in the settings for each camera IN HomeKit! DOH! Thanks for the videos! Love them!

[@eddiedsuza]

Glad I could help! Cheers

[@mitchel7161]

Nice video! Greetings from Netherlands! Keep it up. Loving your videos!

[@eddiedsuza]

Thank you very much! Cheers

[@BBond88]

Great channel brother. TY for your style, its perfect

[@eddiedsuza]

I appreciate that! Cheers

[@maxw1061]

Saved me so much time. I was having a hard time to figure out why I couldn't see the video stream on the home app. Turns out my local user did lack the admin for protect. thanks!

[@eddiedsuza]

Glad it helped ! Cheers 🍻

[@Jason-qe8nk]

I just had this exact same problem. I was trouble shooting on my own for several hours until I came across this video which lead me to give Unifi Protect administrator access instead of view only

[@xboltkill]

Thanks dude really appreciated

[@eddiedsuza]

No problem 👍 Cheers

[@youknowjuno145541]

Great explanation

[@eddiedsuza]

Glad it was helpful! Cheers

[@JD-lx3zq]

Excellent video

[@eddiedsuza]

Thank you. I have an updated video coming out this weekend.

[@DanielMagalski]

Dziękujemy.

[@eddiedsuza]

Thank you and cheers

[@SanDiegosHetch]

@eddie dsuza I used to use this plugin and for ages. I moved to Scrypted as it not only integrates the protect ecosystem to HomeKit as one by one stand alone accessory but also supports EA products like the Unifi door lock and chime. It also integrate the protect items with Alexa and Google home. Pls try it out . Keep up the amazing work you are doing

[@eddiedsuza]

Thanks Hisham and will take a look at Scrypted. Cheers

[@marielekirchberger7659]

Hi Eddie, great job! Thanks for sharing your knowledge in your videos. I made it to follow your steps to set up Homebridge. Now, I wonder if it´s possible to apply a different ring tone to my mobile with a longer duration via HomeKit instead the standard „Ding Dong“ from the Protect App. What do you think, pls share your thoughts. Thanks!

[@eddiedsuza]

Oh Boy ... Your right on that default ring tone ... I will need to check if it can be changed 😅

[@indycarbruce]

Eddie, your videos are great! Thank you. I have a question about monthly costs. I plan to install Homebridge on a Raspberry Pi and use it with Unifi Protect or Scripted. (I've seen your video about installing Homebridge & Scripted on one machine.) If I use either of these Homebridge plugins, do I have to subscribe to iCloud+ to use the Homekit Secure Video features on my iPhone when I'm away from home? Currently, I only have the free 5GB of iCloud storage. (Note, I hope to record locally on a hard drive.)

[@eddiedsuza]

You will need to move to a paid plan to add RTSP cameras. See here for more info support.apple.com/en-us/HT201238

[@habz83]

Hi Eddie, thanks for the great video it really helped. However I am facing an issue and was hoping you could help. The cameras populate in the Home app, but once I click on a camera to expand the view, it says accessory not responding. I've restarted the homebridge multiple times, and I have checked and rechecked all the settings. Similar to a viewer below, I could only run the user in Admin mode, I am running a UDM Pro however, but I do not have a limited admin option

[@eddiedsuza]

Hey Mounir ... When i created a user account within the UDM Pro - i gave that user admin previlidges which i used in the plugin configuration. And it worked. Please delete and create a new user account

[@chrisbrewer3886]

Thanks brother. Good content! Can this be silenced during certain times of the day (like a Do Not Disturb)?

[@eddiedsuza]

Chris .. I just got the bell installed for my new home ... I think under notifications (within home settings) it can be silenced.

[@scotaye]

awesome video! I heard you can get face detection as well with this setup. Is it possible to get person or vehicle detections on your G3 Flex via homekit?

[@eddiedsuza]

You can do that under the cameras settings in Apple Home App which is under recording options > More options.

[@sagarvadaliahacks]

@Eddie dSuza thanks for your lovely work really apricate the work you do for everyone. i would like to request you to make latest video on Samsung Tizen OS Home bridge ver. 5.2.3. I know in past you have already made video regarding same but i would love if you to make new video with latest version of tizen OS , with in depth config tutorial. Thanks in advance and keep rocking.

[@eddiedsuza]

Hey Sagar ! Thanks for the compliment. Its been a while I haven't seen an update on my TV since I purchased it in 2018 .... I have a plan to purchase the NEO 8K for my new home and also plan to release an updated Samsung TV plugin video ..... Cheers

[@sagarvadaliahacks]

@@eddiedsuza Thanks a lot for your reply , if you could guide us in or old tv with new version of Tizen that you be really grateful , I hope that's okay with you. i had try to installed new Tizen os but somehow i am new to this hombridge thing so plz plz if you could help me by making new video for same thanks :)

[@michaelthompson657]

I’d love it if you could go more in depth, so talk about what equation you need etc and every single step for setting everything up 👍🏻

[@eddiedsuza]

Thanks for the tip and will do another one with an depth config tutorial

[@michaelthompson657]

@@eddiedsuza cool sounds great thanks! Also the unifi equipment too and whether you need an NVR or use HKSV

[@thair]

Nice vid ! But I thought you’re with the HOOBS team ! Didn’t hear you mention them ? What happened 🤔 anyhow .. very informative video indeed .. I’m holding my order until the G4 flex is released ! Hopefully soon

[@eddiedsuza]

Hey Thair ... Thanks for the compliment. Well I left the HOOBS team since Dec'21.... well had to return to work 100%.... It was just a temporary thing and am back to Homebridge from where the channel had started 😃. Am glad the video is helpful. and enjoy all the goodies with the Unifi System.

[@paulpaws]

Thanks for this video, very helpful. was just wonder at 7:06 in your video, what is the front end of the interface will all the shortcuts to server / services? Thanks

[@eddiedsuza]

Your welcome. The front end for application shortcuts is called Heimdall. This video talks about o how to install it kzbin.info/www/bejne/oarOp3ZomKyfhLM

[@paulpaws]

Thank you sir’ will give it a go.

[@aklem001]

Great video. “Best practices” is a great format

[@eddiedsuza]

It sure is! Cheers

[@mitchel7161]

I was wondering if you have any experience creating a led light stairway. I’m trying to figure out how I can add led strips to each step and when a person starts walking upstairs turn each step on one by one. Same for going downstairs. I would like to use Philips hue leds so that I can also set them to a dynamic scene and turn them on and off in HomeKit

[@eddiedsuza]

Hey Mitchel - this is the only solution i found but works as stand alone - pt.aliexpress.com/item/1005001651202221.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.71af4789FF22zT&algo_pvid=6ea2a7c6-7f94-4bfc-9368-04d1f195d7f8&algo_exp_id=6ea2a7c6-7f94-4bfc-9368-04d1f195d7f8-10&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2212000026268183526%22%7D&pdp_npi=2%40dis%21BRL%21%21385.93%21%21%21%21%21%40210318cf16566131417175173ef3ff%2112000026268183526%21sea

[@illyrian8873]

Nice Video! Whats the reaction time for the doorbell generally?

[@eddiedsuza]

Your welcome ! Depends actually as its hard to calculate in seconds - i'd say between 1 or 2 blinks of an eye :P

[@illyrian8873]

@@eddiedsuza i meant from pressing the doorbell to notification on Apple TV/iPhone to showing the live feed from the doorbell. Thanks

[@fcarroll12345]

Amazingly helpful tutorial - only thing I couldn’t do was set up the chime as the option wasn’t there when going through the setup?

[@eddiedsuza]

Hey Fergus ... thanks for the compliment ... the chime notifications are setup within the Apple home app under notifications. cheers

[@fcarroll12345]

@@eddiedsuza when I go to notifications there is nothing about a chime. Maybe I need a HomePod mini? Using an AppleTV as my hub now

[@eddiedsuza]

@@fcarroll12345 Oh you definitely need a HomePod mini 😎

[@GeorgeEKennedyJr]

@Eddie, I installed another camera after installing the plugin. Is there a way to sync to update homebridge?

[@eddiedsuza]

You can restart the bridge service and it will pick up the new cameras

[@user-dg3nq9vh8y]

Does this homebridge connection support the new model: Unifi Pro PoE doorbell??

[@eddiedsuza]

Yes it does .... The plugin pulls all the cameras on the network and adds it to Apple Home

[@vowdark6474]

Hello! Would this setup work with the Brilliant Smart Home Control (which has Homekit capability) for the cameras? Thank you!

[@eddiedsuza]

Brilliant works with these brands www.brilliant.tech/pages/works-with?filter=doorbells-and-cameras and Unifi does not integrate with any Smart Home Ecosystems ... Thats why these work around is needed 😇

[@alighifari139]

Great video, did you use Doorbell power supply to power up the G4 or do you connect the G4 through your existing chime?

[@eddiedsuza]

Hello Ali. I did not get their chime (not available in Brazil) and will be using specific Homepod Mini's to enable the chime feature. Cheers

[@alighifari139]

@@eddiedsuza so, how do you powered it? Did you use the included transformer? Or use a power supply?

[@eddiedsuza]

@@alighifari139 I did purchase a transformer from my local marketplace - produto.mercadolivre.com.br/MLB-1979605283-auto-transformador-trafo-127220v-para-24-vac-_JM#backend=item_decorator&backend_type=function&client=bookmarks-polycard and it worked. However another hack is using your existing PoE Switch to power the device. The transformer needs to be 12V

[@celts88-78]

@@eddiedsuza Here in Aus it needs to be 16V to run ours

[@georgifram]

Does the package camera on the g4 doorbell pro appear as a separate feed in HomeKit? Is there any way to view the package camera in HomeKit at all? Thank you!

[@eddiedsuza]

It should appear automatically. If not, within the Home App - click on the + sign > Add accessories > More Options = You may see the camera to be added.

[@Petegoldenbar]

Excellent video but I have some questions. In order to use homebidge with the Unifì cameras, is it possible to have the Unifi controller on my server or do I have to use a cloud key? For the recording of the videos on Homekit secure video do I need a Unifi NVR device such as cloud key? Thank you in advance :)

[@eddiedsuza]

To use Unifi cameras - you will need one of their hardware - UDM< cloud key or NVR to connect and use the camera.

[@Petegoldenbar]

@@eddiedsuza Thank you for the reply. I went with a Reolink camera that works really good with the ONVIF protocol. Excellent video by the way :)

[@eddiedsuza]

@@Petegoldenbar Your welcome cheers

[@Spookylandnl]

nice video. In order to record to icloud, do I need a homebridge, like an apple tv 4k or homepod?

[@eddiedsuza]

You will need Homebridge to expose the cameras to HomeKit. To record to icloud - you will need a 50GB - 1 cam / 200GB - 4 cams / 2TB - Unlimited. So please check which icloud storage you are on as well. for doorbell notifications / chimes / automation - you will need a ATV & HomePod

[@Spookylandnl]

@@eddiedsuza thanks, but still not clear on the Recording. I have the right icloud+ account. I can see my cams in home using homebridge. However i cannot change in home the cameras to stream&recording. It keeps saying i need a homekit hub when trying to change it to recording too. I was hoping using homebridge that was not needed.

[@eddiedsuza]

@@Spookylandnl Aha ... you'll need a HomePod Mini or a Apple TV to enable the stream and record.

[@labalo5]

I set up my UniFi cameras with home kit and homebridge but not in this way. Does this allow the cameras to be viewed with live footage outside of the network? Let’s say I’m out at the park and trying to view cameras through HomeKit….?This is the problem I have now and All the research I’ve done so far recommends I make the network less secure.

[@eddiedsuza]

Yes you can view it externally which is securely thru the Apple Home App. This is possible due to the local account that was created thru the Unifi Interface.

[@mikewinkelmann8116]

It seems the current version will not allow me to create a local user. Does anyone have a way to do this OS 3.2.12

[@eddiedsuza]

You can add a local user. Under role - select custom

[@bash6519]

is there a way to access the cameras recorded timeline from homekit?

[@eddiedsuza]

Yes thru Scrypted .... which enables HSKV for these cams and have a done a video on it.

[@rocket7241]

question. the doorbell shows up as a camera but not as a doorbell. Is that a configuration I need to do in unified or homekit

[@eddiedsuza]

It should be detected automatically as a doorbell

[@MJDigitalAT]

Can I open the Door from HomeKit ? ☺️ Thanks for the great video

[@eddiedsuza]

You can do it if you have a smart door lock and thru an automation you can open the door

[@MJDigitalAT]

Ok thanks- I’m thinking about to buy a access hub to open the door.

[@eddiedsuza]

@@MJDigitalAT Let me know on the outcome. cheers

[@thomatkinson8328]

Will this work with a cloud key gen 2 plus?

[@eddiedsuza]

It should .....

[@liaommx]

nice video, i can do it correctly at only 1 UDM-Pro. (With Protect) but after i bought UNVR (2nd protect) and migrate all protect to UNVR, (shutdown UDM-Pro protect ) i can't login with local user seems like only accept local user can be add to Homebridge.

[@eddiedsuza]

you can create another user with the UNVR and try again. It should work.

[@liaommx]

@@eddiedsuza yes, i did it, but not work, i will try to create another "email" user instead "local user"

[@liaommx]

@@eddiedsuza i just add user with Unifi portal, instead of add user at UNVR locally, after i edit username and password, it can login correctly, but i have no idea if portal cloud issue or must add local user with portal. but i can see UNVR video at Homebirdge correctly right now, just let you know, thank you so much.

[@eddiedsuza]

@@liaommx it must be local user. My tip here is use the UNVR IP address to login and create the local user. This is the best way aside from the cloud user account. Cheers

[@pbear06]

I feel like there is a 10 good seconds between the moment you press the doorbell button and the time you get the stream, right ? Isn't it a problem ? I feels like it's an eternity in case someone like a delivery guy is waiting.

[@eddiedsuza]

There are 2 reasons to that - 1. The moment the bell is pressed - it connects via Ring servers and alerts you 2. Local Area Network - Ensure all connected devices have a strong wifi connectivity

[@davidwright6105]

I have this set up exactly as you directed and it works except for one thing. The cameras will not stream video. I get a view of what the camera is seeing but no streaming video.

[@eddiedsuza]

Please check the cameras and your phone are on the same network - could be they are not !

[@davidwright6105]

@@eddiedsuza Homebridge is running on an M1 Mac using vlan 10. The cameras are on vlan 30. Devices on vlan 10 have access to all other vlans.

[@davidwright6105]

I turned off the wifi on my iphone and used cellular data and the stream works. WTH

[@eddiedsuza]

@@davidwright6105 WTH 😅Have you any VLANS / Rules running running on your network ? Please check

[@eddiedsuza]

@@davidwright6105 I currently dont have any VLANS setup for the protect system since its part of Unifi's OS

[@allenmenard]

When setting up it didn't show the option to configure as "Child bridge", is that normal or is the plugin changed now so you don't have to do that?

[@eddiedsuza]

Hello Allen - there is an option to enable the child bridge option - it doesnt happen automatically. Go to plugins > click on the gear icon to enable child bridges

[@allenmenard]

@@eddiedsuza thanks Eddie, appreciated and have everything working with 15 cameras on a UNVR as of last night

[@greysenpaige]

Hopefully you can help me. I got all the way to the end and the home app sees the camera, but it won’t pull up a snapshot or the stream. It seems maybe it’s an issue with ffmpeg missing from the Synology NAS I have Homebridge installed on. Any tips?

[@eddiedsuza]

Please check out this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5qYYp-OiZetf6M to enable ffmpeg & git

[@greysenpaige]

@@eddiedsuza hey there, I did that but the Unifi protect video doesn’t work and error logs show it being an ffmpeg issue. 😕

[@Matt4jackson]

How do i get and install a homebridge?

[@eddiedsuza]

Check out this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpCcZXyLfcSBaJI

[@mukundace]

Please do a video on how to add xiaomi 360 security camera via homebridge to home app, this model is quite popular in india

[@eddiedsuza]

Can you attach the product link here

[@mukundace]

Hello, thanks for taking out your precious time to revert to my message, below is the required information, would be glad if you can come up with a way to add this camera to homekit. Thanking you in advance Product Name: Mi Home Security Camera 360° 1080p Product Model : MJSXJ005CM

[@mukundace]

I tried attaching the url for product several time but it gets automatically deleted by youtube somehow

[@robinbabu3361]

what about alexa intergration?

[@eddiedsuza]

Hey Robin .... I did do a video xposing homebridge devices to Amazon Alexa - kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJzIe4J6iMqHatk

[@menopayne]

..."Pretty Please... Subscribe".... uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... ok

[@eddiedsuza]

@@menopayne thank you 🙏

[@mikescofield7699]

Hey. Thanks for that Video. It worked fine for me when I fill in my owner admin account. When Iam trying to create a local user with limited admin role it doesnt work because limited admin is not in my role list to choose from. I have only admin and viewer there. When I create a role manually it doesnt work. I tried for hours now. Why is my Role-list so different from yours. Iam using the Dream Router and not the dream machine pro. Are there differences between the rightmanagement between router and pro?

[@eddiedsuza]

Hey Mike - Yes there is a right management difference between the two. To enable those roles - you will need a cloud key gen 2 or their NVR . Cheers

[@mikescofield7699]

Thanks. Now I have a reason to switch to the UDM Pro :-)

[@eddiedsuza]

@@mikescofield7699 There you go and all the best with the upgrade 😇

[@thomatkinson8328]

"Unable to find 'ffmpeg' in path: '/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin'." Any hints for resolving?

[@eddiedsuza]

Try this solution here - stackoverflow.com/questions/13243759/sh-usr-bin-ffmpeg-not-found

[@user-dg3nq9vh8y]

Does this homebridge connection support the new model: Unifi Pro PoE doorbell??

[@eddiedsuza]

Yes it does. The plugin pulls all the cameras on the network and adds it to Apple Home