INSANE Automation Ideas that may take it too far 😬

[@SmartHomeSolver]

All right, let’s hear YOUR opinion… does my home automation go overboard? Is that even possible?! 🙃 How I set up the automations: smarthomesolver.com/reviews/insane-automations/

[@Punky260]

Never thought about the possibility to just hit/slap something to start an automation. This opens a new world for me :D

[@adarlington]

Great video! For my robot vacuums, I have an automation set up such that in any room/hallway, you can double click the primary light switch (flashed with ESPHome), and the vacuum will come clean that room. I also have smart switches near trash cans on both of my floors, and when you double click either of those switches, the vacuum will head over to the trash can to be emptied. (One day I'll get vacuums that empty themselves!)

[@DIYtechie]

@@adarlington I actually have the same, only with separate light switches/buttons for these functions.

[@DIYtechie]

I use SmartThings multi purpose sensors (incl. vibrations) on all windows and doors. On the doors it will ring my doorbell and activate doorbell features if people simply knock on the door. Intuitive and practical.

[@sandeept_soul]

I guess it is never overboard 😄 Is it possible to create a trigger from the distance remaining between me and my home ? say my map is on and I am 'x' kilometres away from home and it triggers an automation at my home . Sorry lf it sounds stupid 😬

[@JevVan]

Reed I'm really enjoying this series where you show different home automation examples. I don't care how crazy they seem keep it up because all of them are great for getting my creative juices flowing!

[@SmartHomeSolver]

Glad to hear! Thanks!

[@florianhennig4778]

The NFC stuff would be great if it was possible to scan them without having to unlock the phone first. That is the only thing that prevents me from using more NFC tags for my automations. Because if I have to unlock the phone anyway I can open the device controls shortcut and select the stuff I want in there.

[@Happyfortunestudio]

I’m so grateful I found your channel 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

[@speedracer9132]

I’m seeking the ultimate theater automation but have no clue how to trigger: I want the lights to do when turning the tv on but completely go out when starting a show/movie, then come back up to dim when the credits roll

[@TheDarker00]

Love the vitamins idea. My wife often forgets if she drank a pill that she needs to drink twice a day. I think I will copy that one. Thanks for the idea!!! Quick question. Is the automation in Home Assitant or is it directly in the Echo? I don’t have hime assitant yet since I am starting to put my home smart.

[@SmartHomeSolver]

Glad to hear you like it! The automation is in Home Assistant but it just makes the Echo speak. What you could do if you wanted a simple way to do it would be to turn on a smart light bulb when it’s time to take the pill. Then the button turns it off when taking the pill. You could just set up a routine in Alexa or where ever to turn on that light twice a day and you would know if the pill hadn’t been taken if the light is still on.

[@relikvija]

Keep em coming sir

[@tarun-khandelwal]

PLEASE HELP/ADVICE. I am staying on rent and keep changing houses. So, the ISP (Internet provider and the router) keeps changing. Even if i keep same username and password for new connection my smart devices don't connect. I have to reset all smart lights and sensors (WHICH IS A PAIN)... Is there any way around it? Please note my routers usually change because they are provided by the ISP..

[@geetmadan1991]

i have a similar automation to turn on the lights when someone knocks at the door. it is better than motion sensor as it doesn't get triggered by everyone.

[@SmartHomeSolver]

That’s a good idea!

[@PeteDabbs]

I've got the same. Vibration sensor on the back of the door.

[@morells09]

And opening and closing the door doesn’t set it off?

[@TheUnofficialMaker]

Guess you don't have a video door bell! lol

[@geetmadan1991]

@@morells09 it does but I want that. Like when I open the door lights turn on and then when I lock the door manually the lights turn off.

[@renewalendy8854]

We're using NFC tags behind switches as well, but it's designed to bring up the documentation for that switch, so at a glance you can see: - a reminder of what that switch controls - under what circumstances the switch fails ("unavailable if ZigBee repeater on 1st floor is down", etc.) - how to get the desired action done if the switch does fail ("alternatively, press and hold XY switch") Approval Factor is pretty good!

[@pnwadventures2955]

This is better than most companies run their networks

[@SmartHomeSolver]

Wow that’s extremely useful! I could improve my documentation and that could be a fun way to do it!

[@coryhyatt2035]

Amazing!

[@AgentOrange96]

I have a label on all my wall plates (they're two part, so it's hidden) with a breaker number on them. This makes it easy to determine which breaker I need to turn off to work on a given light switch. (When I do my outlets, I will do the same.) Something like this might be another good bit of information to store in your documentation!

[@BostYT]

That's actually really cool, we should definitely use those!

[@myHomeKithome]

LOVE The robot vacuum specific room cleaning button idea! It’s so incredibly practical!

[@AtomicDaw]

You should do a day in the life showing all you automations that you use

[@SmartHomeSolver]

That would be a fun video! Thanks for the suggestion!

[@SumanDebnathProfessional]

​@@SmartHomeSolver did you do it?

[@radkomuda]

My best vacuum hack is making an area called "movie night" which covers under and front of the sofa so when we take kids to sleep, Roomba takes care of the popcorn bits AND this made me think of programming Roomba not only for areas but also - scenarios. Makes perfect sense for us.

[@SmartHomeSolver]

I like it!

[@DanSpengeman]

I have a routine similar to your "Kids Out Of Bed" one but when their room doors open any time after their normal bed time, it turns on our lights under our bed to gently get our attention in case we need to help. If you're in a deep sleep, you can maybe miss it but being the light sleeper I am, I rarely don't react and it's been incredibly convenient.

[@devonwilliams2423]

I have mine google a list of excuses why mommys naked so im always prepared for when the children come our way!

[@EpicBenjo]

Imagine banging a random part of a table and a gun shelf opens up

[@VPSmartTech]

😀

[@timothyreed7709]

For the vitamins, would a force sensing resistor pad work for detecting when you pick up the vitamins? I think it would cool to detect when vitamins are taken without any user input. Could pair the sensor with a Fibaro Implant if one doesn't already exist

[@SmartHomeSolver]

That would be pretty sweet. I need to look into those more.

[@nightsky549]

That would be awesome!

[@VPSmartTech]

or a contact sensor mounted to the lid of the vitamins box, so every time you remove the lid, it will be noticed by your smart home 🙂

[@areks4397]

These are the kind of things that sound great in theory but fail spectacularly in practice. Just think the amount of times you move stuff in your cabinets while just trying to get something from them. Too error prone. Also, what happens when you finish a bottle and get a new one? Now you need a way to distinguish if you grabbed those by accident, for replacement or to give it to your kids. Sure, you can then use a scale instead of a FSR to figure out weight differences, but how far down the line are you willing to go? Sometimes simple is best.

[@VPSmartTech]

@@areks4397 moving stuff in your cabinet will not affect it in any way 🤷 You just place the original pill dose inside something that has the contact sensor attached to it's lid. You can buy a new pill dose and replace the old one, without changing anything on your setup. When you do the replacement you already gave your kids their vitamins, so no problem here at all.

[@samboden6352]

Reed, I'm impressed with all the possibilities you're showing here! It's so much more than the standard light bulb and scenes stuff. I'm still pretty new to this stuff, so excuse my possibly silly question... But can a ConBee 2 handle all these extra buttons and sensors? Since I wouldn't need a gateway for every brand it would seem like a good solution, wouldn't it? Thank you!

[@chriscooper1686]

Great Video…. Never thought about putting nfc tags under light plates. Going to start doing that. :)

[@SmartHomeSolver]

Glad to hear you like the idea!

[@Arabeon]

Love your automaton ideas bro, sometimes you inspire me and give me ideas, so thank you

[@VPSmartTech]

yes, automations are the best thing in a smart home and sharing automation ideas on the internet is amazing 😊👍

[@ruckus1713]

Vacuum was awesome, but, for me, the fun factor biased the practicality score for the the nfc tags and vibration sensors. Both seem to be more involved than my current automations.

[@raymondbailey2142]

I absolutely love this channel. I have gotten a lot of issues solved by watching it. I do wonder if there's an automation that'll keep the wife from complaining about the automations. 🤣 Also not one automation in this video has gone to far, they're perfect.

[@randygreen007]

I have to agree with the Roomba button because by the time I’ve said “Alexa, ask Roomba to vacuum the bathroom” I could have just swept it myself. These long drawn out conversations with smart devices is getting old. It’s the with my weather station. By the time I’m finished asking if it’s going to rain at my location it’s already raining. I also like the idea of the vibration sensors because they could possibly alert me when the washing machine is finished or starting a different cycle so I don’t need to stand over it waiting.

[@VPSmartTech]

but you have to buy buttons for each room and you have to physically go into the room to start the cleaning. With a voice assistant you save money and don't have to get up 😂

[@aw1lt]

@@VPSmartTech buttons are cheaper.

[@thenamen935]

@@VPSmartTech where are you when you see dirt in the bathroom? Already in the bathroom. Also the entire concept of Smart Homes is generally not to save money because Smart homes literally are: You pay more money to live a more comfortable life.

[@VPSmartTech]

@@thenamen935 I am in the bathroom room and that's why I tell my Smart Speaker in the bathroom to clean it 😀

[@TheSuitedEngineer]

The first automation is genius! I'm going to set this up right away! Edit: The watch list reminder automation.

[@TheUnofficialMaker]

is there a way to randomize a timer in HA to turn some lights on at various times outside at night, but not always at like 3am?

[@tobid9288]

Spotify on Amazon Alexa is so frustrating. Thought, it would be a good idea to buy both kids an Echo Dot. Since then it starts to get so annoying. You can’t play music on multiple devices at the same time. You can connect only one Spotify account. You can’t control the playlist from your phone when you use a separate account. It’s all but not smart 😤

[@YODAddyLIVE]

With the price of switches being an issue why waste one just to vacuum a room? I see you have an Echo device there so a simple verbal "Vacuum bathroom #" would suffice. NFC tags are great but once again a bit too much when a simple voice command would work and there is no need to take your phone out. I use them for owner's manual and for sharing guest wi-fi. As for grocery assist it can be a bit tricky as you need to know if the spouse is coming home from grocery or just coming home. In our case we always say if we will be doing grocery so when arriving home, it's a known issue so notification that garage door opens is enough to know. I like what you did with the timing thing but would switch to using a camera in the garage along with a whole house notification "Come help with the groceries". What if its only one bag or the person doesn't need any assistance? How about using a button? Find a good placement and it will be up to the shopper to press the button that announces, "I need help in the garage"?

[@williamj.dovejr.8613]

I would have a reminder to drink water first thing in the morning, take my vitamins, have my coffee start automatically and a reminder to eat my overnight oats...oh, morning music.

[@FonixVR_]

I think it'd be cool to be able to just like walk into the room and knock on the door frame to turn on all the lights and then to knock twice if I want to put my living room into Media mode. Would be a cooler alternative for motion sensors. Are you able to set the motion sensors to detect whether or not they've been knocked twice or three times?

[@jamesbizs]

Lol. Kinda like the clapper?

[@FonixVR_]

@@jamesbizs yeah

[@SmartHomeSolver]

Normally the vibration sensors just detect vibration and not a number of knocks. There could be one out there that does it but I think it takes the sensor a few seconds to reset to no vibration again so it might be kind of difficult to detect multiple knocks. You could do that with buttons though using multiple types of presses.

[@zsoltpeterdaniel8413]

@@SmartHomeSolver maybe a sound sensor?(cheap mic)

[@kota2223]

@@zsoltpeterdaniel8413 yeah agreed. A contact microphone seems like a reasonable choice.

[@redstoneablecz5742]

The vitamins should be placed on some king of a button, so the vitramins action activates when you pick it up :D

[@tonytango6676]

Give your wife a button that she can press on the dashboard when she pulls into the garage to summon you to help with the groceries.

[@VPSmartTech]

or maybe put that button inside the trunk, so it won't look to ugly on the dashboard. Everytime your wife opens the trunk and needs help, she can press that button.

[@dandsarahyrudder8650]

the point is to help the spouse not add the burden of beckoning the husband.

[@shaggyfilms]

That vacuum button is insane. I really hope i remember to implement this when i get my HA lol

[@VPSmartTech]

it's easier to connect your vacuum to your voice assistant and just say "Hey Google, clean the bathroom". Assuming you have a voice assistant. This is more practical because you don't need buttons in every room and you can even start cleaning a room no matter where you are. So you don't have to walk to the kitchen to start cleaning the kitchen 😎

[@JuanAmeijeiras]

For the vitamin reminder/counter button, maybe better application will be with an NFC tag below the container?

[@Hoops-Senior]

'Spouse' approval went down on the NFC idea as it meant having her phone to hand. He said that in the video.

[@zajlord2930]

just wait for the day they hit that mega expensive projector few times (few times because it wont turn it on)

[@Dennis-Earl-Smiley]

To get up, i have a cat, smart bulbs mimicking natural sunrise, and alarms.

[@neekster28]

I've done the wall switch NFC tag idea. I did it by cutting up a oversize NFC tag and using masking tape, but it works. I'll have to consider adding some more for guest mode and that kind of thing.

[@neekster28]

It' almos lik i yo coul actuall spel an punctuat properl thi scam migh b believabl..

[@GilesWells]

I have a simple shortcut called "Hodor" that locks the front door. Also when going to bed my wife likes the fan on and thunderstorm noises and would always tell me to "do the thing." Well now the bedroom Google *cough* Nest Mini listens for "Hey Google, do the thing." Many of my automation triggers are based around how to get that wonderful first time eye roll from the wife. "Hodor" was one of the best eye rolls yet.

[@MikeHarris1984]

I'd have the hallway speak let out screetching screams and scary monster sounds... i'd damaging my kids big time... mwahahahaha.

[@VPSmartTech]

🤣

[@DannyDM00]

Definitely taking it too far. But it's entertaining content so who cares :D

[@VPSmartTech]

exactly! Why not taking the fun too far 🤷

[@xmacleodx]

I put my kids bed side lamps on Meros smart plug that provides watt usage, if the lamp power draw goes above 4w (small LED lights) it sends a notifcation to my Wife and I via the HA app, and the Google speaker in our office annouces which kid is up. Lets us know who is up and who we have to put back to bed haha.

[@SmartHomeSolver]

I love it!

[@AdelAlberk]

i never knew there is a pressure sensitive device you can put under the mattress, thanks

[@chocomilkfps1264]

It's got some pretty great sleep tracking capabilities too, I watched a video of a guy who really knew his stuff testing it, and it had seriously impressive accuracy. If you're on a budget, I regularly see them in used/like new condition available for about $50 online

[@ethanashby4305]

Wow, this is my favorite automation video yet. I need to get some of these setup, awesome!

[@SmartHomeSolver]

Thanks Ethan! Yes set some of these up and I’m always down to help!

[@rohittkrr]

You should have an automation where if you hit your media cabinet, it yells ‘ stop hitting me’

[@VPSmartTech]

😀

[@dsv591]

Any recommendations to organize the automations and devices? Name patterns for instance, a video on how to keep everything under control would be great.

[@darinsmith9468]

Well, now you need a jukebox so you can be The Fonz and hit it to make it play.

[@VPSmartTech]

😃👍

[@vasudharwar]

Funny how Spouse Approval and Fun scores are always inversely proportional 🙃

[@VPSmartTech]

Yeah and I thought girls just wanna have fun...

[@suzithewitch]

Not too far! I have an automation that when I "knock on wood" (the table next to my chair), some fairy lights twinkle in response. It's fun when someone who's never seen it before comes over :)

[@SmartHomeSolver]

Awesome! Those fun automations can be the best!

[@ElCidPhysics90]

The scare the kids back to bed was amazing

[@emmgeevideo]

Does using CAPS in KZbin titles increase views? My experience is that when a title says the video is INSANE (or NEXT LEVEL, or AMAZING) it usually isn't insane, next level, or amazing. Kind of like this one.

[@VPSmartTech]

🤣

[@SmartHomeSolver]

You go find me a more insane video of home automation. These automations might not sound crazy but go read the article’s first automation and see how long it is. These are not simple little things.

[@emmgeevideo]

@@SmartHomeSolver My point is from the subscriber's point of view. All KZbinrs want views. One way to get views is present interesting topics. Another way is clickbait. Some KZbinrs inexplicably have thumbnails with photos of themselves superimposed over a photo representing the content with their mouths wide open like "I'm so amazed!". Words in all caps (which traditionally is to be interpreted as shouting) are often used in titles. These words, as I mentioned, seem to be the same across KZbin channels. SHOCKED is a favorite. It just seems silly to me. No, your automations aren't "insane", never mind "INSANE".

[@FelanLP]

Home automation: yes please. Connecting that automation to the internet: absolute no go. Need another version that doesn't rely on the usual smart home systems nor a wifi that is connected to the Internet.

[@abc321meins]

Check out: Home assistant, node red, fhem, open hab. Have fun exploring the rabbit hole :)

[@FelanLP]

@@abc321meins oh, um, hm. I have to say that those are some smart looking combination of letters right there.

[@Praecantetia]

Why take vitamins? We got fruits!

[@drstefankrank]

We have presence detectors under all of our beds. You can activate a special mode that gives some attention in the bedroom when the detector in the kid room triggers. It's for the special moments the parents may have during the night. From triggering to entering the bedroom is enough time to get everything child friendly. :)

[@Jod4light]

It's very interesting but how much it costs having all these sensors h24 connected and up and running? I would be interested also to the energy side, how much energy they use/or battery. The cost of each sensor and so on.

[@tthai6965]

Where can I find echo plex to scare my kids!?!?!

[@tthai6965]

You replied to my comment but I didn’t understand

[@SamButlerUK]

The Flex whispering at the kids had me 😂

[@ymymym111]

I think the NFC tag idea is genius!

[@andrewcbartlett]

Great video. Backfire proof automations are tricky!! I miss Luna!

[@jmr]

I have a wake alarm going based on when I went to bed. Been using that well over a year. Maybe even a couple years. Currently it looks to see if my phone is in the bedroom and charging. Pressure sensor does not work because my wife will roll to my side of the bed sometimes. The alarm turns off if my phone leaves the bedroom to another place for more then 10 minutes. I also have a (preemptive?) "snooze" alarm button I can hit to extend the sleep time when I can't get to sleep.

[@AlexRochette]

What Leatherman multitool is this? Do you recommend it? Another multitool you’d recommend over it?

[@SmartHomeSolver]

It’s the Leatherman Wave Plus. amzn.to/3bjVD1y it’s been one of my favorite tools for around the house. I bought it when we were about to move into our current house a year and a half ago. I’ve used it almost everyday since I got it and it’s one of my favorite things ever. I’ve always used cheap multitools before this and the quality of the Leatherman is very noticeable compared to the others. I highly recommend it.

[@whennn]

Would love to see a weekly or monthly video edition of crazy automations that you and your subscribers from around the world do. Unique things that we can all use if we need to.

[@brentkleinman6926]

Easter egg hunt with NFC tags next year? :)

[@VPSmartTech]

😂👍

[@gabemcguire2463]

I like the NFC tags for Spotify on the Echos. I've been considering doing something similar. Spotify connect can be iffy on whether or not it wants to let me connect to an Echo group, but asking Alexa to start playing on that group always works. I've got an automation in Shortcuts now where I can just tap it and it automatically asks Alexa to start playing music on the appropriate group for where I am. By using NFC stickers to trigger it, I hope to mimic the AirPlay handoff from HomePods

[@cdarrigo]

"Alexa, Clean (or vacuum) the bathroom" problem solved. It's consistent with how we control the smart vac for the rest of the house.

[@TristynRusselo]

Trigger: 730 &745 everyday, Conditions: google cal says "WORK" today, weather temp below 10c, Action: Start FordPass Vehicle Starter Trigger: front door opens, Conditions: Fordpass Location is HOME, Remote Starter is Running or has not been off for over 10 minutes, Trigger: Unlock Fordpass Doors

[@breedlovejason]

I love the new spouse approval rating system

[@VPSmartTech]

yes, this is very important!

[@_TheRightAngle_]

I enjoy your videos very much, but could you please stop using the word "Echo" to stand in for "Alexa"? Plenty of folks use "Echo" or even "Ziggy" as their trigger word. Perhaps you could use something like "Amazon Thingy" or "Bezos Box". Thanks.

[@battyjoe]

I have a 4 section sliding mirrored doors built in wardrobe. The middle two sections slide open and I have a TV inside for viewing from bed at night. I use Alexa for the rest of my home automations. What would you suggest that I could use to attach to the mirrored doors to automate them when I command from bed. Great Channel thank you :)

[@bat3332]

apart from guiding the kid back to bed everything else is great automation and not taking too farrrrrr. I love the way you have shown the spouse approval rating which is the most important bit in any automation

[@leopold7562]

As much as I love the idea of whacking the TV stand to start the media stuff, it’d never work in my house. Given said unit is also used for putting post down, or as a coffee table or an impromptu “just dump it here” surface, it’d probably trigger every few minutes!

[@Gk2003m]

4:35: “Alexa, kids have gotten morning vitamins”. Then put a contact sensor on the cabinet with the vitamins. When it opens, Alexa announces “the kids have gotten their morning vitamins”. Reducing device usage as much as possible, to reduce error as much as possible.

[@PhilLesh69]

I've always wanted to design a floor cleaning system for a new build home that uses a central vacuum style system where each room has a special floorboard adaptor where a simplified floor sweeper could push dust and debris into to be sucked into the central vacuum canister in the basement. But then instead of a canister that needs to be manually emptied from time to time it would be even better if it was able to macerate and liquify everything and flush it down the main plumbing drain line. Now that's taking it way too far.

[@420TheStonedRanger]

The Echo Flex whispering the monsters are awake, made me literally laugh out loud 😂

[@VPSmartTech]

Are the kids the monsters who are awake? 🤔

[@420TheStonedRanger]

@@VPSmartTech now I'm not sure anymore 😂. At first I just thought it was something to scare his daughter back to her room. Maybe even both

[@SmartHomeSolver]

It’s just to scare them, no double meaning. Maybe more like angry parent getting woken up in the middle of the night could be a monster.

[@hangin6602]

Reed, thanks for another great video. I love all those ideas, particularly using vibration sensors - you don’t need to have your phone on hand to read an NFC tag, and it’s an easy action to remember. But maybe I’d use the term “knock” as in knock on the cabinet, instead of “hit”. 😏

[@SmartHomeSolver]

Knocking works too but it’s fun to hit things. It’s more of a node to all the times it’s used in movies/tv shows kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5_Wfmqlir6Bhac

[@tburda823]

ARGGHH!! The spotify thing JUST happened to me! I was driving using spotify when suddenly my music stopped. I restarted it, happened again and I realized it was changing to a different song. I looked at what device was playing and saw it was my echo at home!

[@prismindraijin1354]

How does the sleep timer work if you end up getting up to use the bathroom early in the night? If you go to sleep earlier, get up and come back, doesn't it see it as a late sleep night and wake you up later

[@SmartHomeSolver]

Check out the article for more details but if I’m in bed for 20 minutes then it “activates” the wake up early mode. So once it’s activated if I get up to go to the bathroom later it doesn’t reset it.

[@HDCamcord]

Meh. All of them sound barely useful. I mean you could just press a button in the app for the Roomba to clean the bathroom. Nothing really DIY. Boring...

[@arj4unow]

We can have all the automations but it takes a human to put them to good use. Loved it , Pushing things too far is how innovation takes place.

[@PGHlife]

perfect, noe of thise was to far just very handy

[@PatrickBulteel]

I'd like to see what the community has done that's overboard. So far, these weren't (in my opinion) - I'm thinking something like "Ok, google. Start the romance" - and the lights dim, it starts playing some Berry White, the bed starts vibrating, 10 minutes later the shower comes on and the oven turns on to heat the post love making cookies ... C'mon internet! Impress me.

[@RhinoNigel]

I do this for my kitchen cabinet with the pots and pans to turn the lights on. If you’re getting a pot out, your obviously cooking and needs lights.

[@VPSmartTech]

sounds great, but how exactly do you know if you taking out a pan for cooking or putting it back in the drawer after cleaning? Both times you have to open the drawer which will then trigger the lights

[@RhinoNigel]

@@VPSmartTech it’s def not perfect. Unfortunately the lights will turn on still. But either way, you’re in the kitchen so you’ll need lights. You can just turn em off with a button press on your way out

[@VPSmartTech]

@@RhinoNigel if you always need lights in the kitchen, why not using a motion sensor to turn them on and off automatically?

[@RhinoNigel]

@@VPSmartTech because there are different lights for different tasks. I don’t want the lights I use for cooking to turn on whenever I walk into the room.

[@VPSmartTech]

@@RhinoNigel ok, makes sense 👌

[@steveshr3805]

Reed you spoil us, ANOTHER reference for the Ferris nerds, glorious. When Cameron was in Egypt's land... let my Cameron go!

[@EsotericArctos]

I ended up getting rid of all the remotes with the CEC via HDMI that turns everything on from one remote control. I know some brands have issues with CEC, but I am lucky that all of my stuff is from the same brand so it works well. But the old hit the TV to make it work better - I can see the fun value in that.

[@kibishop8525]

I am looking for the smart tracker. I have checked quite a few of your videos, your Amazon store, and I can't seem to locate it. I found the Ikea ones, and the Aqara ones but I was wondering what brand/model is the vitamin tracker in the video?

[@vaderaguk]

I find vibration sensors challenging. Inevitably things get hit by other things - your kids at the end is a great example, but our cats, our robot vacuum, even us accidentally when manually vacuuming. Asking for trouble!

[@VPSmartTech]

yes, I also think a button is more practical without that much of false positives.

[@leodiazgranados]

Hey Reed, have you thought how far have you gone with your channel? Here you have a loyal follower from Colombia. I learnt about Smartthings thanks to you and I have learnt to hate Smartthings, also because of you. 😅

[@04williamsl]

The vitamins example would also be good for pets to not over feed them or for those caring for others who have to take tablets. It can be easy to forget if they've taken them, or if there's multiple people caring for them, making sure each other knows what they've done... this could definitely help that process.

[@MikeBzd]

I like the Fonzi style media center activation feature. Something I should add to my setup.

[@fantasymonsters]

How did you get Withings to connect with, stay connected with, and have the sensor recognized by Home Assistant. I’ve had a pad for nearly 6 months and have yet to be able to actually make it work in HA. It’s kinda driving me batty because there are so many automations I want to do with it. Did you have any issues with making it work?

[@LetsPlay4Free]

The spotify on alexa can be solved by saying: "Alexa, connect Spotify". After that it will show up in your connected speakers even if it is not your account that is linked with alexa.

[@HalfAssHomestead]

I don't have an automated robot to clean my home, but I love the entertainment system option. Can you automate my girlfriend so when I tap her, she knows where to go clean up after herself?....lol

[@jester4761]

Not really an automation, but I have two cameras in a room that I want to make sure I know when they are active. So I have a plasma globe turned on when the cameras are on, and turned off when the cameras are off. It's a great way to see if I'm recording at a glance. Since that room is public, and the cameras are hidden, its pretty convenient.

[@VPSmartTech]

cool 👏

[@fragil7251]

Lol you will end up in the dog’s house one day But this video is a thumb up. This Alexa feature can be use for my 300yrd long ass driveway a must have for Halloween.

[@schoonerthedog]

If Spotify allowed easy music session joining you could program the NFC to make your account join the Echo's session. One day I guess

[@snesgenesis]

These automations are fun, but not particularly practical. The idea of home automation is to trigger events without having to consciously adjust your behavior. You can do a lot of these using state variables that eliminate false positives and not have to physically pickup the smart phone. I wouldn’t say most of the automations go overboard, they are clever an fun, but I feel if you have to remember to set your own conditions it defeats the purpose.

[@Kasperbjerby]

Does Alexa really not have voice detection? Like Google? We can just ask Google to play something and it will use our own connected Spotify account depending on who asked for it

[@rhueoflandorin]

most of these were pretty clever. the two that got me laughing the most were the two that involved the kids: "go to bed, the monsters are awake" and "i need help....go jump on daddy." LOL.

[@niklaskras5498]

The sleep thing should be easier with just a little programm on your phone. Could be something like "have not touched your phone for 6h between 22:00 and 06:00 he is sleeping" Set the alarm to the appropriate time" or something like that But the sensor is awesome for the get out of bed motivation with kids :D

[@JESTDIE_]

1.5 Times speed fixes the weird audio slow down that is happening. No... but for real 1.5 speed makes him speak at normal human tempo.

[@ipodtouchhack1]

What exactly did you do to get the vacuum to go into vacuum only mode when triggered? No matter what I do, it defaults to vacuum and mop mode when I trigger it via the home assistant app

[@Marsk1tty]

I'm really not a fan of smarthome stuff, or putting batteries in more places than necessary. Still, the video was enjoyable even though I'd never use anything that was shown

[@danielbass09]

For the music issue Apple Music works on your HomePod from any account. Even friends accounts. Weird that an echo has this issue…