The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Homey Pro!

[@StageManagerKieran]

I've had my eye on this hub for a couple months now but never had the guts to pull the trigger, not knowing all the little nuances of it beyond everyone's ten minute reviews on KZbin. This in depth look at the system is exactly what I needed to make a decision. Thank you for the great video!

[@AutomateYourLife]

Enjoy, no matter what you do! I'm glad this is helping so much!

[@Meglegroups]

We got two officials in this one comment

[@Richardkowalski60]

Great video - I’ve been using Homey Pro from about a month and am amazed at how reliable it is. Automations (Flows)are easy and powerful. I had home assistant for over three years (yellow the last year) and I would always be fixing something that broke with all the updates. Home Pro - Rock Solid Home Assistant - Jack of all trades, Master of none.

[@AutomateYourLife]

Thanks for sharing! I'm excited to really dive into this system and then get a good comparison done with some of the other smart home systems. Like you said with Home Assistant...it is labor intensive and this hasn't been at all.

[@LifeInGot]

This is one of the best beginner videos for Homey I have across. I do own a Homey pro and I knew everything shared in this video. I still did watch completely and wished if this was there when I began with Homey. Very good content and presentation. Keep it up 👍🏼

[@AutomateYourLife]

Thanks so much!

[@notcoolzeuss]

It amazing how much of my journey has followed yours. I started to move away from SmartThings right when you did but I made the move to Home Assistant. It was a lot of work and I learned a lot in the last 8 months. I’ve been hearing you hint about Homey, but I’m already so invested in Home Assistant, I didn’t think I’d make the move. Although I built my own Home Assistant on a Rasberry Pi4, I converted from an SD card to an SSD. Well it didn’t matter. Just as your Hone Assistant Blue bricked on you, my Pi4 died 3 days ago. I’m gutted. So much time and effort down the drain. Well I guess I’m jumping on the Homey train with you Brian!! I just made the purchase. I’m just hoping most if not all of my devices that I had connected to Home Assistant transfer over. I will miss ESPHome, but I’m looking forward to a less labor intensive Smart Home environment now.

[@AutomateYourLife]

Oh man! We'll learn together! I'm excited to go on this journey. So far, so great!

[@jasonedwards6562]

I finally picked up one last week and so far I absolutely love it. Still have a lot to learn about the automation abilities but so far it seems to be a very capable device especially if you add in apps such as Party Lights which I use to flash my lights for notifications. Brilliant device.

[@AutomateYourLife]

Yeah! I want to find the better apps and start to use those. Can't wait

[@MichaelToub]

I have been waiting for this to drop. Beginning watching it right this very second, very excited. Thanks!

[@AutomateYourLife]

Enjoy! Thanks Michael! Curious to hear your thoughts. 😃

[@DRacer90]

Same, been looking for videos like these since it's release, Wannna learn more first about it before jumping in as the product itself is not cheap.

[@AutomateYourLife]

Definitely, this stuff needs some research before going for the big buy

[@kevinjackson9202]

Brian, first off, I want to thank you for the work your doing. Awesome job and keep it up! I think we are just scratching the surface with Homey Pro and with some time it will surpass HA in the world of home automation. Yes I would definitely like to see more of what you can do with its automation engine. If you get the time check out the Circadian Lighting and Color Tools apps in Homey. I'd love to see you put together a video integrating those two apps with each other in advanced flows. Thanks again Brian!

[@AutomateYourLife]

Thanks Kevin! Those are great insights and I'll check out those apps as I move forward on making some more advanced-level content for this system. I agree, we're barely scratching the surface with this one. It could get wild!

[@karasummers7286]

Thank you for the great information. It is videos like this that help novices like me to make the decision to purchase or not. If I can move into a more advanced automations without having to learn script or patch devices together, I am good.

[@AutomateYourLife]

Let's hope more platforms pick up on this! Thanks so much Kara!

[@HughD]

Whew!!! That was a long one, but another good one, Brian. I wasn't going to watch because I have no interest in spending $500 for another "hub" along the lines of Hubitat, Home Assistant, Hoobs, Homebridge, etc. You did a nice job explaining what it is and I like its visual programming...I've seen that used elsewhere. I thought you were quite objective and informative. Thanks for what you do and for all the effort you put into doing videos like this, that nobody, I'm subscribed to is doing. In fact the longest review I saw was about 21 minutes. Thanks again, Brian.

[@AutomateYourLife]

Thanks so much Hugh! I want to focus on being helpful more this year and this is one of those videos that aims to do that. Thanks for watching even when you have no intention of using the system!

[@xamucas]

Once again amazing video! I really like the points that you mention! It would be very nice if we can see the differences between the Homey Pro and the Hubitat Model C-8 Pro. I think besides the king of the HA these two are the best two options for "medium/advanced" users. Thanks!

[@AutomateYourLife]

We're building to some comparisons! I just always like to get things right ;)

[@ruostee]

In Finland Homey Pro is over 300€ more expensive than aoetec v3 hub. And I really can`t see the benefit for switching system. Smartthings has been really reliable, couple of hiccups over 4 years, but nothing serious. And what comes to the flows... Smartthings is so easy to extend with node-red and even though you will need raspberry pi (or Rock Pi which I have) with it, you will still save over 200€. It seems cool hub and system, but it really needs to be the first hub someone buys or it suits for someone who has no technical knowledge but wants to do more than basic automations. Another great video, Thank you Brian! Keep these coming!

[@AutomateYourLife]

As long as you are happy, I'm happy! Enjoy!

[@supeng63]

Thank you so much for making this video!! I've been looking at this hub for a while. I just read that LG Electronics bought an 80% stake in Athom. That should garner more interest in device manufacturers jumping on board!

[@AutomateYourLife]

They sure did buy it. Should be a wild ride now!

[@TallTinyHouse]

Great detailed video. I'd be keen to see a similar one about Hubitat.

[@AutomateYourLife]

Noted!

[@ideiromanevem]

You, Sir, are a legend! Thank you.

[@AutomateYourLife]

I'd bow if I could! Thanks!

[@MichaelToub]

You convinced me to buy the Homey Pro and I'll most certainly use your link. Thanks for introducing me to it and for doing this tutorial. This fully addresses my automation needs!

[@AutomateYourLife]

Good luck Michael! I hope your experience is amazing!😃😃. And I'll work to help of course

[@a.h.d.h.2803]

Educational and entertaining video Brian! Well done! I've got the Homey Pro Early 2023 a few months now. I entered the 'Homey world' by purchasing and using the Homey Bridge first and since I liked it, I purchased the Homey Pro Early 2023 a two months later and set the Homey Pro network up but now the Homey Bridge integrated as a node in the Homey Pro system. I have Gledopto RGB spots and strips and Innr smart power adapters running under control of a Hue hub, some Aqara devices and Fibaro Multi sensors running and controlled by the Homey Pro system. Also Amazon Alexa is used to voice-control the devices. Maybe for the die-hard smarthome fanboys, I find, as a beginner, the use and significance of a 'virtual' device in a smarthome system hard to understand. Although Atom has done a exellent job with the "Flows" the semantics of it I still find hard to get my head around and hinders me in creating clever and meaningful automations. So yeah I'm certainly very curious about your next video's explaning the use of the Homey system.

[@AutomateYourLife]

I really have to think through how we are going to showcase the next level. It's a tough thing to teach cause like you said, it can all be difficult to wrap our heads around! Anyways, I'll try my best!

[@joewaidl1776]

Awesome video Brian! I have been looking forward to this video ever since you said you were switching to this hub. I have been debating on switching myself, seems like a great platform. I look forward to seeing your advance automation videos!

[@AutomateYourLife]

Great to hear! Thanks Joe!

[@joewaidl1776]

Hi Brian, have you had any luck with the FP2 sensor in Homey?

[@c849243]

Such a lot of work. Thank you, Brian!

[@AutomateYourLife]

My pleasure!

[@TheRettvest123]

Hi, and thanks again for another nice video. I have used Homey for about 3 years now. I now have a new Homey pro 23. Just a little tip, for presence I use the app Smart Presence, with a static ip on ours mobiles of course, it probably registers presence better than Homey does

[@AutomateYourLife]

What a great tip! Thank you!

[@KnightcastThePit]

Great video. I've been using my Homey Pro since November and am really impressed with the advance flow feature. I would love to see some more in depth videos covering this feature and some ideas for powerful automations. Diving into some of the Homey apps as well as using the variable feature as an example.

[@AutomateYourLife]

Thanks so much! And deal!

[@MrNaguah]

Thanks, this was exactly the kind of detailed review I was looking for. It answered all of my questions, and I just ordered a Homey Pro. You also have a new subscriber :-)

[@AutomateYourLife]

😃😃

[@obijuan-]

Bottomline. I want to move to a Home Automation hub source. But Home Assistant is too complex for me. So keep looking at Homey Pro. It doesn't support enough Sonoff device, so I was listening to your comment about interfacing to Alexa. The key for me, is I could use Homey Pro to run Alexa routines. Because HA is too much for me, I use nearly 200 routines, to do what I want done. But what's the point, unless I can gain some control features stronger than Alexa. What are some of the controls or ways I can start or stop an Alexa routine with Homey Pro. For instance: (Trying to save you a long explanation. These are mostly yes or no questions.) 1) Can I use Homey Pro, based on Homey Pro supported motion sensor to ask me a questions with answer Yes or No, to run an Alexa routine. I.e. Motion sensor informs Homey Pro when I enter home, Homey Pro presents me a questions for yes or no answer, to run Alexa Routine A or Routine B? 2) Can a clock based Homey Pro flow ask me a question and wait/accept the answer to trigger an Alexa routine? 3) What are a couple of things I can use to trigger an existing Alexa routine? (Trying to keep it simple to answer for you.)

[@Zaratras00]

Just started with the homey PRO. watched you video and this helped me a lot understanding what Homey can do. When is you book ready?

[@AutomateYourLife]

So glad it helped! The ebook is going to take a while now. Life got in the way and I have some big things changing!

[@Zaratras00]

@@AutomateYourLife live is never in the way. Priority first! We will see when it's done. Looking forward to your next video! 😁

[@JoshsSmartHome]

Great video! I'm sure you are going to help lots of people with this one based on your level of depth!

[@AutomateYourLife]

Thanks Josh!

[@Helstintejag]

Did get my IKEA Dirigera up and running in Matter Bridge mode yesterday! (Homey Pro)

[@AutomateYourLife]

Really...something for me to try!

[@russebbing]

Awsome! Definitely a video I’ll reference more than once.

[@AutomateYourLife]

Awesome! See you soon then!

[@Viprotech]

Hi Bryan, I like your video a lot - any idea when you are releasing the '100 Home Automation Ideas' e-book? Looking forward to it!

[@AutomateYourLife]

Hey sorry! Life got in the way. Little delay yet. :)

[@rogeroshea3490]

Hi Brian great video as always I purchased a Homey pro a few months ago and wanted to control a lot of Aqara and Meross products but actually found their support terrible or non existent so I returned it. Having watched your brilliant tutorial I would be temped again but have a question. To add Aqara products do I dispense with M2 Aqara hubs are not . Keep up the great work

[@AutomateYourLife]

Hey Roger, yeah...the support system needs some support with these guys. I think they need to work a bit on the "premier" experience overall. Anyways, Meross products I wouldn't try much. It's a community based integration and it's also cloud based. For Aqara, it's direct Zigbee connection happening. So yeah, you don't need the Aqara M2 hubs when you have Homey. Watch the Pairing section of today's video and you'll see how I connected the P1. :) Mostly do stuff with direct connection with Homey, that's my advice so far!

[@davidchin2381]

Great intro video. Hesitant to jump in yet. This device seems to work with the HomeKit devices that I already have in my home like LIFX, Nanoleaf, Phillips Hue and Aqara … but can’t find any mention of Eve (which I have a few). I thought I saw in the video you plugging in a smart plug into an Eve power board. What’s your experience connecting Homey to Eve products. I have not seen any videos that talks about Homey and Eve working together. Look forward to your response.

[@AutomateYourLife]

Yeah I didn't see any Eve integrations at all. Tried to find them too. As Eve pushes into Matter over Thread more and more, there won't be a problem. But that has been one thing at a time and slowly. So nothing real today

[@davidchin2381]

@@AutomateYourLife Strange ... given how Eve is one of the 'big' HomeKit brands and they both come from Europe. Hmm what's going on here???

[@AutomateYourLife]

@davidchin2381 there's been no thread till a month ago, so I think that summarizes it. Also Eve has always gone direct into Homekit. Sooooo kinda blame Eve on this one. Now that they're going Matter Over Thread, things will get better quickly

[@nickguy5922]

Great video, been interested in this for ages for use in UK. Never been many English language community Homey videos to date , so your walkthrough was great. I have concerns over the use of silicon labs chipset for Zigbee and Thread on Homey, personally updates on Home Assistant using Sky connect (also using silicon labs ) currently have caused much instability recently , so much so I’ve disabled Thread in Home Assistant . The wife approval factor goes to zero when updates kills lights etc. I’ve noticed in Homey forum’s last update has had some Zigbee issues once thread enabled so please update us on any issues you have. Secondly on homey forums over last year some users have had issues with the Hue integration needing regular restarts, so also keen to hear on how you get on. Thanks again

[@AutomateYourLife]

Thanks Nickguy! I'll watch for those things, but personally...Zigbee's been very good so far and so has Hue. I'll watch carefully though, as this is an extended evaluation I'm doing :)

[@billfulmer1585]

Any up date on the E-Book. I am looking forward to this, it looks like exactly what I need.

[@AutomateYourLife]

Sorry! Life's got in the way and I'm having trouble getting it out. Will update as soon as I can Bill.

[@tikass9901]

this very deep guide for beginner, No one made this kind of guide for homey pro and i’ve been waiting for this kind of guide. Thank you for that!! It’s very details guide. And i’m thinking to buy this hub but could you made videos for homekit ? I really like the advance flow. we can make automation very details. But when you said about the sensor still weak with homey pro, is this worth it to buy since most accessories we have in the house is sensor. or maybe i missed understood. Could you explain about this?

[@AutomateYourLife]

Hey thanks! I don't make a lot of Homekit videos so...don't expect a bunch there. Sorry! The weakness in Homey is when you send the sensor to Homekit (homey -> Homekit). It just doesn't let Homekit use them well.

[@tikass9901]

oh thank you

[@tikass9901]

not a problem. i’ll be waiting another homey pro video for advanced

[@davidrutz6124]

Looking forward to some more videos for homey pro!!!!

[@AutomateYourLife]

More to come!

[@russebbing]

Thank you! (From SE Michigan, US)

[@AutomateYourLife]

You are so welcome! (From Canada)

[@albertbodden]

I may be jumping the gun but will you be posting a review video? I'm curious to see what your move from ST has been like. I think a lot of us are on the precipice of making the jump along with you.

[@AutomateYourLife]

I'm going to post a comparison 😃

[@AndreaSid90]

how do I add all my homekit devices to homey?

[@maxicantero4825]

Hi, I really liked your video, congratulations. One question, can flows be activated from Alexa?

[@AutomateYourLife]

Here! You can see how you can integrate with Alexa when using Moods. You'll see the whole flow/Alexa routine options in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mWjNhX2id716idE

[@HarryInia]

Excellent Video. Bought the Homey pro a month ago and what a capabilities. Your video summarizes the basic again and triggered some I overlooked. I have a couple of devices that can be read/controlled via MQTT. I'm struggling with the basics and different Apps (Broker, Clients, etc). Are you going to cover MQTT in the near future?

[@AutomateYourLife]

I hadn't planned to. I can see if this is a big ask within the Homey community though. I hadn't seen that ask yet!

[@russebbing]

I’m pretty much set on buying the Homey Pro as my own birthday present in May. I already have an active SmartTings v1 hub. I originally bought ST connect water sensors to an automatic water valve shutoff after my sister had suffered a major winter pipe break that costed her thousands. I have about 20 devices although about a month ago I discovered all my water sensors had gone off line but ST still shows these as active and good. A little digging and I found out the ST stopped supporting these water sensors as they were to old. Ok, I get that, they are old but no app notification? Ok so it’s tome to upgrade my smart home and plan greatly expand with Homey Pro. Most of my devices are Z wave + which seems will still work. If not I’m fine with tossing the old. So my question is how do I toss the old ST v1 and move up to Homey Pro? How do I disconnect from ST? Just yank the power on ST hub and power up with Homey Pro then reconnect? Or should I be more genial and disconnect each device first. Should I track down the device information and hopefully find drivers. I’m aware some of these divides will not move to Homey Pro, I’m fine with that. But what’s my best path?

[@AutomateYourLife]

Z-wave does make things a pain to switch. You need to remove each one from ST to make it easy to pair with Homey. Zigbee is a little easier, factory reset and go!

[@Christian-hd9mn]

Very interesting video. is it possible to define the radius of the home, e.g. to extend the radius to 500 meters after entering the address. the aim is to start an automation when I or a guest stored in the home enters or leaves the radius

[@AutomateYourLife]

I haven't seen an exact radius, and to be honest I've been using a WiFi based Presence Sensor that seems MUCH better than any GPS tool I've used.

[@CurtisFach]

Awesome video. Odds of doing a video like this on hubitat c8?

[@AutomateYourLife]

Odds...it'll depend how interested you folks are 😃

[@CurtisFach]

@@AutomateYourLife On a scale from 1-100 my personal interest is 100². Your video on homekit & hubitat was quite helpful to me. I just got my first habitat last week. I am using mostly google home and some Alexa. The Virtual switches work great with Google's script editor, but not so much with Alexa routines. Unfortunately I chose wifi light switches in my house long before I knew how any of this works. So until there is a meross/hubitat integration, I'm stuck making, and assigning value to virtual switches to control my house. But it's still a huge improvement over just using Google home & Alexa. The possibilities are endless with hubitat.

[@ypark2877]

Yes to the hubitat c8 pro video

[@ChrisMattixcmx]

I am currently using a raspberry pi with scrypted and use ring floodlight cameras, and stick cameras. They used to work fine but now the battery powered stick cameras are not working with Apple HomeKit and I don’t have a live feed and they don’t record . The process of setting the system up was a nightmare so I decided that I want to go with Homey Pro. My question is it looks like I can’t use ring cameras with this hub. What is your best recommendation for security cameras to work with this hub? I’ve read that Eufy camera work. I could really use the help with this decision.

[@forumvej16]

Hello i hve seen your video. Full guide Homey pro. A fantastic video by the way. You mentioned something about a ebook you are selling. But i cant find the link. Claus Jacobsen

[@AutomateYourLife]

Yes sorry! I was not able to get that out yet. We had to move and our life got turned upside down a bit. Working on getting that back out again :)

[@29goshawk]

Great video OMG finally a complete comprehensive video on homey. Did you setup you homey pro on a 2.4 or 5g wifi network? Reason I am asking because if I want to add say Linkind Matter over wifi bulbs, they would require a 2.4g wifi if I was to set them up natively within the AiDot app. But if I was going to just add directly to homey pro, how would that affect installation?

[@AutomateYourLife]

Good news! It doesn't matter how you setup your Linkind bulbs. Your network can go through the different parts of your network to find your new bulbs. :) Setup your hub how you want it and your network will handle the rest. However, my recommendation is always to use ethernet :)

[@29goshawk]

@@AutomateYourLifeThanks. I was not able to add them to Homey via matter. Only through homekit. Fustrating.

[@AutomateYourLife]

@29goshawk sometimes it just takes a few tries. Even if you did try, maybe add them by using the homekit share feature

[@29goshawk]

​@@AutomateYourLife I have been trying all day LOL. Goes through the process....searching, connecting bluetooth, then wifi, then adding to homey and fails/unable to connect. I'm thinking because these are the Linkind matter 2.4g wifi bulbs and homey pro is setup on my 5g wifi channel that's why they won't pair. Probably end up returning them, but really like these especially with have power loss recovery feature.

[@AutomateYourLife]

@29goshawk yeahhhh some Matter doesn't go well

[@ionescumihai3099]

Like many other smart hubs, it offers many functionalities at the beginning, you like it, you are satisfied -- after a while, it either abandons its development, or it will ask for a subscription. I'm tired of throwing money away -- either the software changes, or the protocols change. We'll see what happens with this product in about two years.

[@AutomateYourLife]

That's a daaaaaaark view

[@obijuan-]

When putting an Zigbee device into pairing mode to connect to Homey Pro, don't we risk removing it from the devices native/parent app that it was already joined to our network? And in effect its also removing it from what could be the Zigbee bridge that it originally was connected to your home network. As you know Sonoff's ZB Bridge-P is a hybrid. And many of the Sonoff ZB devices won't connect to other ZB hubs or bridges because of its uniqueness. For instance, The Sonoff SNZB-01P wireless switch won't connect to Alexa Echo 4th gen or Smartthings Hub v3 AND give you the functionality in an Alexa routine that you would get by using the SNZB Bridge-P to connect it to your network. So, back to my question. When we pair a ZB device to get it to join Homey Pro, isn't it going to appear offline in the devices original app? In your video, you talked about adding Switchbot devices directly to Homey Pro. And you said, we lose functionality in Homey Pro that we would get if connecting to Switchbot app. So, does that mean, the device does not show up in Switchbot? Not only do we lose functionality in Homey Pro, but we also can't use the Switchbot device for Switchbot scenes or Alexa routines, as it is not present there? Does Homey Pro also remove Echo devices that were already in the Alexa app, from the Alexa app or show them offline?

[@AutomateYourLife]

Hey Obi Juan (Got your note by the way, thank you so much!) With any Zigbee, Z-Wave, or Bluetooth device (at least the ones sold today) you can only pair them with a single hub. So yes, you do have to pick how you're bringing devices into Homey and which ones you want to.

[@latin105fm]

Brian. Amazing! I’ve been thinking about buying one but put off because of the general basic support. This video was mega helpful. Is this something you might support for members? Ive subscribed for a while now but would consider becoming a member if it meant some support with questions on the Homey Pro 👍🏼

[@AutomateYourLife]

Hey! So I do have a tier where questions are answered by email. It's a little pricier than the basic one, but it gives you access to me from an email standpoint. I always do my best to answer questions here though! So feel free to just ask on our videos and I'll give you what I know :)

[@JamesDLegan]

Great and informative video. I am going to be transitioning from Smartthings to Homey Pro. My thinking is I will have to remove each device one by one from ST and then put them into Homey and then automate unless you know of an easier way?

[@AutomateYourLife]

Sadly, that's the path. I was hoping for an easier move across, but unlike Home Assistant, there's no way to use the ST hub as your radio. So yeah, one room or process at a time!

[@philipperostin]

Hey Brian. What is your take on LG buying Homey ?

[@AutomateYourLife]

That's a long story! I think it'll be good in some ways, and will have drawbacks in others. It's clear LG wants to be in the smart home game in a big way though.

[@29goshawk]

have you seen issues with homey pro homekit experiment and devices showing up as "no response" in homekit?

[@AutomateYourLife]

I don't use HomeKit a lot, so I haven't paid a lot of attention to it. Sorry

[@shrupy]

This is THE video I’ve been waiting for. Thank you! I’m curious after all your experience with it now, would you go with this or HOOBS? I have a mix of devices at this point including eufy cameras, aqara locks, ring alarm, matter blinds, and a signed blind for my sliding door. My wife definitely won’t accept me spending the money on one and the realizing I should’ve bought the other so I gotta make the right first choice. Thoughts?

[@AutomateYourLife]

Personally, I find HOOBS confusing. Believe it or not, I've quit twice when trying to use it to tie things together. I'm also more confident in success with Homey over the long run. Nothing's perfect, but as long as you buy right with Homey I feel like things will be really good :)

[@shrupy]

Thanks for the advice! You’ve definitely helped make my decision.

[@paulmason4997]

Great video. I've had my eye on this bad boy for a while. I have a question though. Does this replace, say the Phillips Hue hub (or hubs, if you have more than one)? I don't have a sync box so don't need that functionality.

[@AutomateYourLife]

I think it depends on what you're looking for exactly. Hue offers some special effects on their bulbs. I haven't tried to connect Hue stuff directly to the hub, but for me I just want color, temperature, and brightness control of my bulbs/lights. So I am getting lots of ZigBee color bulbs for cheap and connecting them directly to the hub.

[@momojojo85]

When will the e-book be available?

[@AutomateYourLife]

Soon! Sorry, got derailed by some issues in my life :)

[@captainniceguy6962]

If you have smart switches, do you need to have smart bulbs or the switches will work without any problems 🤔

[@AutomateYourLife]

No you don't. And in fact, most of the time combining the two doesn't work well together.

[@dnoland77]

Thanks Brian but I think I'll hold off for awhile till I see more brands supported. I'm still shocked moving from amazon to Smarttings that Govee is not supported?! While I have a list of gripes a mile long with amazon, their brand support is 2nd to none.

[@AutomateYourLife]

Yeah...Govee's just not working on getting out to more brands. I think most companies are hoping Matter solves a lot.

[@erichill5679]

Great video Brian. I'm still not clear on going from Google Home, Nest hub 2nd gen, to Homey. I want the added functionality of Homey but still want voice control of devices and routines. When I get the Homey hub do I delete all the routines and devices from the Nest hub and then add them to Homey or will the two hubs work together. I got a couple of Third Reality night lights to use the motion sensors but found that although my pixel phone would show a change of state, when I tried to create a routine I got an error message telling me motion sensors aren't supported. Your video indicated that when linked to Google Home - Homey may still not work with some devices. Does that mean that only the devices supported by the nest hub will work with voice commands? Can I start flows on homey with a voice command from the many nest speakers I have? Thanks.

[@AutomateYourLife]

I get that it can be confusing :) The way it works is you put 99% of your devices into Homey. You use Homey to run most of your Flows/Automations. It's going to be more effective and it's going to give you better reliability. If you need Google Home routines still, then you can try to integrate Homey into Google Home. However, like you pointed out, some Homey devices won't show up in Google Home's app, and they won't likely work to start your routines. What you'll likely need to do (I haven't tested it fully) is get an app from Homey that allows you to create a number of virtual devices. Those could be turned on in a Homey Flow and then used to start a routine in Google. Again, haven't tested it but that's how we do it with other systems.

[@erichill5679]

@@AutomateYourLife Thanks Brian. Once I got the homey Pro it became clearer. I thought that when you setup the Homey the Nest hub would stop working. Because both work it made a lot more since and due to the fact that a lot of my Nanoleaf WIFI bulbs and some of my TP-Link plugs would not work with homey that was a good thing as you can sync devices. I have since replaced the Nanoleaf WIFI bulbs with their new Matter/Thread ones which do work with Homey to simplify things even more. I'll do the same switching the TP-link plugs to Matter/Thread plugs eventually as having every thing on Thread just strengthens the Thread mesh network. When I replaced my garage lights with the matter lights I have no problem with the Aqara P2 contact sensor inside my metal mailbox down the driveway and across the road triggering my indoor lights to come on green and to send a notification to my phone to let me know "You've got Mail". So if one is just starting out maybe it would make since to just get matter devices and you won't need a hub with different protocols.

[@sunilhareendran3039]

Did Homey solve KNX IP interface issues?. KNX Integration for Existing Systems discussed in the community show un resolved Queries.

[@AutomateYourLife]

🤷

[@brucegallen6387]

Hi Brian, I am a Smarththings user of 3 yrs with >40 devices on 2 locations. I am planning the path to Homey Pro. I was looking at buying Tuya light switches and see that Tuya has 3 community apps and no official app. I emailed them and they went on about cloud stuff, home assistant and homebridge. I am concerned for future compatibility. Can you please clarify my understanding of how Matter will fit in. If Tuya products get Matter certified , does that mean they will not need an app to add a device to Homey Pro? I'm wondering how all the flow Cards get generated?- Will an App be needed for that functionality?

[@AutomateYourLife]

Correct. Matter doesn't need a whole other app. There's a Matter add function in Homey. I used it yesterday to add a Matter Bridge from Ikea :) But Matter development is slow, so not all Tuya devices will come in. Case in point, my motion sensors from Ikea didn't come in with that Matter integration. SO I think with Tuya having big plans for themselves, watch out. Don't be too reliant on that being your path through. I'm going to detail some more makers I've had good success with, with Homey. It'll take me a bit to do it...but there's a number of good ones. :)

[@tonyharion9816]

Great gideo once again, mate. Sounds like a pretty cool device, but a bit much for my pocket... How well dos it work with tuya devices??

[@AutomateYourLife]

Hey Tony, yeah...it's not cheap! As for the Tuya products...Tuya WiFi/Cloud won't work well at all. In fact, I gave up on the integration. That's despite having the developer account needed for it. It's just using outdated instructions, and it's a community based integration...so no timeline. The Zigbee devices seem just fine to me. Similar to Aqara, the list is limited...so check it out. Otherwise, they seem to work well. Tuya's switching to Matter anyways, and so I think you'll see going forward that compatibility is really good. Just not all the old stuff.

[@SolarizeYourLife]

What about govee and smartlife support??!

[@AutomateYourLife]

Those brands don't typically work with smart hubs. There are some community apps that work with both of those, but the support is limited

[@courtenaybournon4167]

Can't wait to see that.

[@virutalnewscenter]

Thanks for the deep dive video. Excellent. You answered many of the questions! I am not seeing WYZE products supported though I did see you had WYZE products in your Google home set up. My WYZE items are just motion and contact sensors. Is there a way to make WYZE sensors work in Homey? I also have older z-wave products. While it looks like you can bring in just about any Zigbee item, can you do that with old, generic or as my system calls them, "un-secure" z-wave ?

[@AutomateYourLife]

Hey Joel, sadly I think Wyze is kind of putting themselves on an island (generally). I don't think you're going to be able to do anything with Wyze with this system (except potentially through Alexa -> Homey Pro). That I didn't test, so...future discussion. As for the older Z-Wave gear, it'll work much like Zigbee. I did add a "generic Z-Wave" to my hub but didn't show it. In general, you want to make sure that your item will work with the hub as it might not work right with that generic add method. Bulbs, switches, plugs should be fine, but other stuff might be tough to use.

[@virutalnewscenter]

@@AutomateYourLife Thanks for the reply and all the great y/t videos. I always learn something. I watched with great interest your review of the HomeyPro2023. My Homeseer device died recently, so I am in the market. I wanted to get your unvarnished opinion after you had a chance to spend some time with Homey for the last couple of months. Do you find it reliable and worth it for the price? I know there is the zigbee issues, but I don't have zigbee devices. Thanks in advance for the reply

[@ShayFarrelly]

Great video and would encourage me to buy. Only one question can you use voice commands as triggers. For me this would hugely increase its worth. I expect you would need to use Alexa, Siri, Sonos or Google to get a voice trigger into the system. How would this be done. Without this I cant see it worth the price to me.

[@AutomateYourLife]

There's no voice control without a voice service! So you'd need to connect to google, Amazon, or Apple Siri

[@ShayFarrelly]

@AutomateYourLife is this something you would cover?

[@AutomateYourLife]

@ShayFarrelly it's in the video! Watch the parts about Amazon google and apple. Check the time codes to see where that is 😃

[@pyromike25]

Can you use a flow (advance or standard) to raise a dimmer over a period of time? (i.e. mimic sunrise) I'm considering switching to this, but hesitant to pull the trigger on such an expensive hub. One of the main automations I currently have going right now with my Hubitat is to raise my master bedroom lights over a 20 minute time frame from 0 - 30% brightness beginning at 7am. Want to make sure I can replicate this before spending $430 on it.

[@AutomateYourLife]

You can, but it's not necessarily pretty. Trigger -> Then -> Wait -> Then Dim + 1 -> Wait etc.

[@michaelmaliga815]

I wonder if buying an automation hub with built-in radios is really a good strategy right now? There is a lot of rapid evolution happening in the protocol space and I would hate to find I have to replace my entire automation system just to upgrade a single radio interface to the latest and greatest technology. Or worse, need to downgrade something like Z-Wave 800 series to a 500 series interface because it is better at handling high traffic Z-Wave networks. I think there is a good argument for keeping the "brains" and the interfaces separate so they can each be upgraded at their own pace.

[@AutomateYourLife]

That's a really great perspective. This is definitely a locked in hub.

[@johnnyreeves1990]

Great video! I am doing a complete remodel and will be installing a lot of Smart devices. I recently bought the Homey Pro and I have been experimenting with some devices and automations. I plan to use Lutron switches throughout the home. I currently have a FP2 connected it to Homey via the Home Assistant app. I want to do away with Home Assistant (too complicated). Have you connected any FP2s to Homey without using Home Assistant or Smartthings?

[@AutomateYourLife]

Not FP2s (I'm going to talk to Aqara about that) but EP1s from Everything Smart Home. :) Enjoy the transition! You're gonna love it.

[@joewaidl1776]

@@AutomateYourLife I am also curious about the FP2 sensor and Homey. Does the FP2 sensor work with Homey? @johnyreeves1990 You mentioned getting the FP2 sensor in smartthings, how did you accomplish this?

[@AutomateYourLife]

The FP2 doesn't work with Homey Joe

[@johnnyreeves1990]

I have an installation of Home Assistant that I have my FP2 working with. I use the Homey Pro app for Home Assistant to run my FP2 in Homey Pro. It works great. I was hoping someone had the FP2 working in Homey Pro through a cleaner method. I prefer not having to maintain the instance of Home Assistant. I prefer to do my automations through Homey.

[@c849243]

Thanks!

[@AutomateYourLife]

Oh thank you!

[@MichaelToub]

Any clever way to detect which household member arrives at the door and greet them by name? In smart things, I set a virtual switch when person 1 left. Then, when the door contact opened, it tested for door open and virtual switch was set to away to conclude arrival. What's the best way to do it in Homey Pro?

[@AutomateYourLife]

That is very simple with the advanced flow. When Michael arrives have Alexa say "welcome Michael" on one of those speakers. Then just make additional flows within the same advanced flow for other people. Easy!

[@AutomateYourLife]

Oh with the extra condition...yeah maybe do a basic flow that sets a variable. Homey has variables

[@gnilredoe2792]

thanks a lot...

[@AutomateYourLife]

Thank you!

[@csevgut]

Hello Brian…I made the transition from SmartThings to Hubitat…but Hubitat requires more learning curve and it looks like less intuitive than homey…I have a question for you…homey supports EZVIZ cameras? And it supports zemismarts zigbee wall switches? Thanks in advance

[@AutomateYourLife]

I think the wall switches would be fine with Tuya ZigBee, but don't have any to test. As for ezviz, I saw nothing but it's an easy check on the site!

[@csevgut]

@@AutomateYourLife thanks!!!

[@NeededDust]

Thank you so much for your very insightful video. I have been using HomeyPro for about 6 months and I find it to be a really great product....If I can ask you a question: how did you connect the Govee AI Sync box to HomeyPro? I couldn't do it, the device doesn't support an API connection. Thanks again!

[@AutomateYourLife]

Oh I did that through the Amazon Alexa integration! It's not perfect because it's a cloud connection. :)

[@NeededDust]

@@AutomateYourLife That's right! 🔝 Ok I created 2 routines on Alexa that turn on and off the sync box and I inserted two tabs in an advanced flow that start the routines from Homey. It's not the best but it seems to work. Thanks again for everything!

[@AutomateYourLife]

I just found another way. Not sure if it's better yet, but I'm using a Homebridge. Seems a LITTLE better.

[@NeededDust]

@@AutomateYourLife Would you recommend me to try too? I've been thinking about adding a homebridge or home assistant to my configuration, mostly to have greater integration between Alexa, HomeKit and HomeyPro.

[@AutomateYourLife]

@NeededDust I don't love the homebridge so far. Unreliable, so I've got some work to do yet before I recommend it to folks

[@AdamHazon]

How can I program my own app to support unsupported devices like the Aqara Cube T1 Pro?

[@AutomateYourLife]

You're beyond my effort level Adam! However, Homey has a forum where you can learn the basics to get started :)

[@AdamHazon]

Yes, I'm already on it ;) I just tried, maybe you know something and can save me some time :D Thanks for the reply anyway :)

[@ingejones8240]

Thanks

[@AutomateYourLife]

Too kind Inge! Thank youuuuu!

[@alondinbar6193]

So if i connect roborock or sensibo to homey, i dont need amymore there apps? I can use localy from homey?

[@AutomateYourLife]

Those companies don't really allow that kind of thing. When Matter starts coming to those types of devices, you'll have a local network connection. So look for that. Until then...apps.

[@dukeone1738]

Couldn't pair USA WeMo or Meross devices

[@AutomateYourLife]

Wemo no, Meross had a community integration but I didn't like it either

[@Probie1Kenobie]

Tried adding smartthings, what a total PITA! Hue and switchbot was easy as was ecobee. Smartthings uggg. cant wait to kick that hub to the curb.

[@AutomateYourLife]

Soooo...you'll be picking up a second ST hub then? ;)

[@Probie1Kenobie]

@@AutomateYourLife I dont understand, why would I need a second one?

[@AutomateYourLife]

I was kidding! Woops

[@Staqon]

I have homey pro 2023 how do I set a flow up starting every other Tuesday ?

[@AutomateYourLife]

Depends what you want to do exactly, but there's two options. WHEN (Date and Time) Every 14 Days. Then use conditions. When (X Time) AND Week Number is Odd (or invert for Even) AND Today is a Tuesday

[@Staqon]

Thank you 🙂@@AutomateYourLife

[@marn200]

I just bought this, set it up and got an offline notification. Tried different WiFi networks, there no Ethernet option in the setup with adapter, tried a soft and hard reset. Still offline. Tried logging out and in again. Went through the setup multiple times. I now have a 400 dollar paperweight

[@AutomateYourLife]

That offline notification is a firmware update going through. You gotta leave it. Try a factory reset, come back in 10-15 minutes. :)

[@AutomateYourLife]

Well, it's likely a firmware update. Could be hardware issue...and then talk to them and get a new one.

[@gnilredoe2792]

YES please... Want 100 Home Automation Ideas? Here's our e-book: (COMING SOON)

[@AutomateYourLife]

Getting there!

[@cheapdutch4175]

You forgot to mention that the app does not work without internet. You wont be able to control the Homey without internet. Only your existing flows will work.

[@AutomateYourLife]

True. Thanks for letting us all know

[@dukeone1738]

Apps on Homey show only EU devices

[@SimonMee]

Don't make my mistake and buy the Homey Bridge as a cheaper cost item but with subscription needed. I does not support WiFI based devices. So I cannot control any of my Amazon devices such as Echo, Echo Show and plugs. It also only supports the Ring Doorbell and not the base unit, door sensors or motion sensors. The sales blurb gave the impression Alexa was supported, but it only brings in Scenes created by Flows, but if most of your devices can't be seen in Homey Bridge it is pretty pointless. I ended up returning it to Amazon. I can't justify £400 to control the number of devices I have at the moment.

[@AutomateYourLife]

I wouldn't be buying Homey Bridge either. :)

[@courtenaybournon4167]

If it takes over an hour to describe how this hub works that makes it a niche product with little chance of marketing success. Then there is the price! No wonder Alexa is dominating the smart home market.

[@AutomateYourLife]

I'm currently doing something similar for an Alexa product. It could be double the length.

[@AutomateYourLife]

Triple the length. Maybe more.

[@gnilredoe2792]

Here's our e-book: (COMING SOON). ???

[@AutomateYourLife]

Life happens!

[@SolarizeYourLife]

So why no Ethernet connection??? 👎 And why the hell didn't they all already include the adapter with the damn $400 hub???? This is the second hub they made.... No Excuses for laziness... 👎

[@AutomateYourLife]

It's likely related to purchasing a specific board with the connections and space for all the radios. Design also comes into play. So the adapter isn't a perfect solve, but really...in the grand scheme of things it's OK.

[@LebDusty]

600$ ca too expensive for me hahahha

[@AutomateYourLife]

Yeah and that's fair for sure. This is not a cheap one

[@obijuan-]

Maybe you could contact Homey and tell them, this? As you know, Homey offers a limited app version for free to test. But offering a free test is some what useless. Try and add an Alexa device. Not. Must use Homey Pro. Try to add a Zigbee device Not, Must have the Bridge. What's the point of being able to add a Flow if you can't add a device to control? Its limited to 5 device, that we can't add anyway. Okay, so a Zigbee requires the hardware, but would an Alexa? Maybe not, so why not allow Alexa devices? Now, after the whine, if they wanted to put a time limit as well as leave the device limit, maybe we could test the app to see if its useful. Otherwise, $400 to buy hardware to see if its useful, well again, Not. Thanks.

[@AutomateYourLife]

It's a tough one to give you much access to. I think the only thing they could do is let you put in some of those cloud integrations, cause you don't have a Zigbee radio, etc. to connect to!

[@dukeone1738]

I want apps for USA products not EU

[@AutomateYourLife]

I'm in Canada. Everything I show works in North America

[@andystewart9405]

Sorry its a garbage product and way overpriced! Sold it on after 1 month

[@HasimFN]

Sound like a money problem to me

[@andystewart9405]

@@HasimFN what do you mean?

[@andystewart9405]

@@HasimFN if you mean i have a money problem you are having a laugh 🤣

[@HasimFN]

@@andystewart9405 it looks like it. You said its garbage but the only thing u pointed out was the price.

[@AutomateYourLife]

It is overpriced for the physical components (for sure a Pi 4 and the radios are not worth this), but as a total package/offering...I'm not sure yet. I have a lot of hubs in my home and this is capable of a lot more than most. I'm curious why you say it's garbage? I'm still learning of course, so that's why I ask!

[@Bigglare]

whoah! $399 And you are not calling them out for their obscene price? Talk about bad actors in the "industry." Until Thread Group forces Thread credential sharing and Thread hubs can interact and consolidate into single fabrics, having a thread radio in a hub is redundant, unless someone spent all their money on homey and couldnt afford an Echo4th, homepod mini, google nest home hub. Gotta give this a Thumbs down for Content.

[@AutomateYourLife]

Hey Lawrence, this is a guide. Not a review

[@Rivodus]

Homey or Home assistant?

[@AutomateYourLife]

Not ready to pick yet