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Chamberlain blocks smart garage door opener from working with smart homes

473 points by vintagedave 3y ago

bell-cot 3y ago
> ... Do not buy products or services from companies that treat their customers this way. ... True. But when you have good-enough alternatives, simply do not buy any "smart home", IoT, or connected devices at all. Unless [complex open-source conditions here], buying from NiceCorp does nothing to stop them from being taken over by NastyCorp, with the obvious malicious intent.
- Someone1234 3y ago
  This is a strange point to make. - People complaining that their IoT device doesn't integrate with Home Assistant anymore... - Solution (?): Stop buying IoT devices so that nothing integrates with Home Assistant. That's kind of the exact opposite of people's goals in this situation.
  - bell-cot 3y ago
    IIR - the article describes Chamberlain's goal as "force all users to scroll past a bunch of ads in our Garage Door Opener app, in order to get to the OPEN/CLOSE button". To me, that sounds like a worse case than "Just use a dedicated 1990's-tech garage door opener, that I keep in my car". If Chamberlain's cloudy infrastructure was off-line (internet outage, went bankrupt, or the just lost interest), would there be any way to remotely open the garage door?
    - psunavy03 3y ago
      The MyQ garage doors have both an app and a regular opener.
  - sgu999 3y ago
    > That's kind of the exact opposite of people's goals in this situation. It depends on whether their goal is averaged convenience in the long term. In my opinion, having to deal with this crap always ends up offsetting not having to manually hit a switch.
    - internet101010 3y ago
      The goal for people using HomeKit is complete control over all things in their house (cameras, lights, locks, etc.). So yeah, they took something that worked fine and intentionally broke it.
- semiquaver 3y ago
  Smart home / IoT does not necessarily imply “requires cloud service to run”. Most people impacted by this were running HomeAssistant which necessarily means they have a self-managed home server to control their devices. The migration path for affected users is to double down on the local control route. If you are trying to say “do not buy smarthome products which depend on a cloud connection” then that’s a position I agree with strongly.
wil421 3y ago
The Ars comments recommend Ratgo and Messo. Ratgo for a WiFi board that connects directly to the garage doors electrical and Messo is another cheap HomeKit option from Amazon. https://paulwieland.github.io/ratgdo/ https://paulwieland.github.io/ratgdo/
- drapermache 3y ago
  Have those comments talked about their compatibility with home assistant? I'm done with Chamberlin and their dumb app. I want a one-stop app to control all of my IoT devices, and I don't want it locked into an ecosystem.
  - e28eta 3y ago
    I see ratgdo mentioned a lot in home-assistant-related places. I’m not sure about the other. I don’t have mqtt setup on my home assistant (yet?), which the primary ratgdo firmware relies on, but there’s also an esphome-based firmware that should work for me. edit: one of those mentions is https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2023/11/06/removal-of-myq-integration/ https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2023/11/06/removal-of-myq...
  - darknavi 3y ago
    Ratgo supports ESPHome so it supports Home Assistant!
  - wil421 3y ago
    Not sure. I’m about done with Apple Home and once I have a free weekend I’ll convert everything to Home Assistant. Tired of Apple Home automation misses with no logs. My wife’s phone won’t connect to our Home and the only solution is to rebuild your Apple Home from scratch.
    - anonomousename 3y ago
      If you make the switch to home assistant, you can mirror devices you want to control frequently with the HomeKit integration. It’ll be like nothing changed, expect for increased stability and interoperability. You can also add Google Home and Alexa afaik
fidotron 3y ago
The brazenness of Chamberlain here is incredible given how problematic a garage door that opens by itself could prove to be, and they could have chosen to go on about that, but instead they just go for the full crazy angle. Ultimately this whole using-a-product-means-using-the-user-experience-dictated-by-the-product-seller, be it SaaS, mobile app or hardware is a total dead end. The part Richard Stallman missed when arguing with his printer was you have to allow honest people to make money working in such an ecosystem, or you end up with no UX at all.
- jstanley 3y ago
  I don't think Richard Stallman missed that point at all.
  - Joker_vD 3y ago
    The dude started the whole FSF movement because he wanted better printer drivers. As you may notice, forty years have passed and the printer drivers are still shitty, and still proprietary. So while his opinions about the goals may be interesting, his opinions on the means can be safely disregarded IMO.
    - yjftsjthsd-h 3y ago
      Printer drivers or firmware? Because the drivers are generally whatever CUPS works with, and are perfectly fine.
- brightball 3y ago
  I wish this door opener from Ryobi had caught on. Thought it was a great idea. https://www.homeconstructionimprovement.com/ryobi-launches-line-garage-door-openers-accessories/ https://www.homeconstructionimprovement.com/ryobi-launches-l...
  - Tyr42 3y ago
    That is pretty cool. I would buy the ceiling cord and maybe the speaker. No more tripping hazards.
jve 3y ago
> Ah, now it makes sense. Your garage door opener app isn't here only to open your garage door; it's here to display ads and upsell you on services. > "I clicked door open/close event and it popped up the video storage subscription dialog to ask me to subscribe," I mean... who, while waiting to get into or out of garage, sitting in the car or soon to be sitting in the car clicks on ads to buy something? Wouldn't conversion rates be ridiculous? Not that everything else is wrong there with current approaches to IoT: Blocking 3rd party apps, needing 3rd party cloud server somewhere to open garage door, putting ads on top of actual button, needing special app to operate, be dependent on internet. Cannot comment on security for this particular product, but that is a topic on its own.
- gpderetta 3y ago
  The add-free version will be soon be available for 9.99€ per Month.
  - rft 3y ago
    In a year you need to subscribe to the 14.99€/month tier to remove all ads, the 9.99€ tier will show you "a low number of highly relevant ads to provide you with information on how to more optimally use our^Wyour device and support our continued development of these industry leading services". On a less snarky note, I hate how this has become so common that for some reason this is not "sue the company into non-existence" behavior, but we just sigh and either add the company to our shit list or pay the price because we are now locked in.
    - scioto 3y ago
      More like in a year you'll need to subscribe to the 14.99€/month tier to get it to work at all.
- dwighttk 3y ago
  Slightly less irritating than garage door, but: I’ve been going to my baseball team’s website recently to buy stuff because they won, and a 5 second video ad pops up every time you go… I’m here, I want to spend money, and you want to show me ads?
djhworld 3y ago
The home assistant blog post goes into this issue as well https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2023/11/06/removal-of-myq-integration/ https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2023/11/06/removal-of-myq... If anything it highlights the point that having a cloud service to handle your smart home device is a recipe for shenanigans like this. Stick with ZigBee/Matter devices, and if the device is WiFi try and at least make sure it works over the local network.
- iSnow 3y ago
  Buying smart home devices with cloud integration also just means that at some point, the manufacturer will declare it obsolete and will rip out support to force you to re-buy every 5-7y.
  - plussed_reader 3y ago
    Or shorter intervals if you're Sonos.
  - twisteriffic 3y ago
    Or delete your entire smarthome config during "routine database maintenance" and provide you no recourse other than to wait 6 months for their overwhelmed support to grant you the access key to set your system back up from scratch. Also known as a typical Thursday for Samsung.
  - devmor 3y ago
    Or force you to make an account and opt-in to their metrics instead of using your devices locally-only after years. Looking at you, Phillips Hue.
    - dylan604 3y ago
      Luckily, I just have to live with the nagging box about creating an account, but it continues to work without doing so. I just lose that screen real estate.
fest 3y ago
I use a very crude DIY setup for garage doors and yard gate: bought a spare keyfob on aliexpress, took it apart and connected it to wall power supply and ESP relay board running esphome. Works great and will work as long as my garage door and yard gate openers work. The only drawback is that it's less secure, as it uses RF but I can't be bothered to dig a new cable to gate motor through already paved driveway.
- Someone1234 3y ago
  That solution has multiple drawbacks, not least of all you lose access to the sensors (motion, door open/closed state, etc) but also it is difficult to install.
  - fest 3y ago
    It would, if I had them in the first place (most of the systems I've seen locally don't- it's typically just a motor and keyfob here).
ale42 3y ago
Dupe (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38184000 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38184000)
emmet 3y ago
Haven't fully wrapped my head around Matter yet, but does that standard solve the problem? It's my understanding that there's no need for specific apps when anything can connect to a Matter device. Or can manufacturers still pull a fast one like this and kill Matter compatibility with an OTA firmware update? Not sure why they'd want to, but I wouldn't put it past them.
- SargeDebian 3y ago
  If you intentionally remove functionality, why would any functionality be safe from that?
  - emmet 3y ago
    Sorry, my question is if Matter is baked in or can be stripped. Not sure if they can remotely kill the Thread radio or not.
    - thedougd 3y ago
      Yes they could push a firmware update and do whatever they want. Matter is also available over WiFi. Leviton is pushing new firmware to enable Matter on existing devices. Of course, a power user could block their Matter network from accessing the Internet or update server.
- hnbad 3y ago
  It depends. If it's using Matter-over-WiFi, yes, a firmware could change that. If it's using Matter-over-Thread (or ZigBee) it's still tied to that frequency so there's no point in changing or dropping support for the protocol except to intentionally brick the device (assuming it doesn't support another type of communication but for cost reasons most devices only support one comms frequency and that's hardwired). Note that dropping Matter if the device has WiFi still means it needs to have some pre-existing redundancy or at least add something else instead. This also likely breaks integrations with any voice assistant in a way that would at the very least require reconfiguration, I think. It's certainly a lot less sneaky and a lot more self-destructive than just turning off a proprietary API.
mavamaarten 3y ago
"unauthorized users". They are authorized if they are trying to control their own garage door. The company I work for has a policy where we don't block third party clients, as long as they use a uniquely identifiable user agent and API key that we provide to them. That way we can easily monitor if they're calling endpoints excessively and make sure that our alarms don't go off when they did something wrong, but still offer power users flexibility. Power users are the users you can get good feedback from, and they spread the word more than a regular user would. If keeping them happy doesn't require active effort, it would be silly to start a cat-and-mouse game just to keep them busy and angry with you.
- WarOnPrivacy 3y ago
  > The company I work for has a policy.. [lists some sound policies] Just a blind guess but is your company free of control by shareholders, venture capitalists and private equity?
  - nordsieck 3y ago
    > is your company free of control by shareholders A company is by definition controlled by its shareholders.
    - WarOnPrivacy 3y ago
      > A company is by definition... company: noun kʌm.pə.ni an organization that sells goods or services in order to make money: - OED
      - nordsieck 3y ago
        The definition that matters is not the OED, but the laws that govern companies.
        vineyardmike 3y ago
        There’s no real law to maximize profits. Just greed and a court precedent, which has way more nuance than people realize. No body of legislation ever said that companies needed to maximize profits.
ss64 3y ago
I just know the real reason for this will be some undisclosed security bug.
- Someone1234 3y ago
  Since Chamberlain admits it is about money (i.e. their authorized 3rd party integrations pay them, and Home Assistant does not) do we really need to look further? Plus the official app is full of ads.
thedougd 3y ago
Their integration with Google was terrible and last I used it only worked with Assistant and not Home. They’re dropping HomeKit and Google Assistant support now as well. So most customers won’t get what they want and will look elsewhere.
robbywashere_ 3y ago
An esp32, a mqtt node and iftt hooked up to google/Siri goes a long way
- londons_explore 3y ago
  Unfortunately, mqtt autodiscovery seems fraught with bugs... I just want some way for devices to publish/report their model numbers and what features they offer/support so everything can auto-configure itself rather than requiring me to manually set MQTT paths/filters/parsers for every device I get.
  - londons_explore 3y ago
    Specifically... The mqtt server should advertise itself on the local network via mdns. The devices should auto-discover the server. Therefore, no config required of the device beyond wifi username/password. Then dashboards/controllers (who should also auto discover the server via the same method) should be able to send some message to some well-known topic on the server to find all connected devices.
random3 3y ago
Surprising how, today, some companies believe integration with your own product is a business model or even a lever
arbuge 3y ago
> Chamberlain Group recently made the decision to prevent unauthorized usage of our myQ ecosystem through third-party apps. This decision was made so that we can continue to provide the best possible experience for our 10 million+ users, as well as our authorized partners who put their trust in us. We understand that this impacts a small percentage of users, but ultimately this will improve the performance and reliability of myQ, benefiting all of our users. This is corporate doublespeak at its worst. If you switch every sentence there to the exact opposite of what he said, you'll get a far more accurate version of reality.
infecto 3y ago
I don't know the industry well but I always wondered why it was not ripe for a solid entrant to come in and easily scoop up at least some of the market. I think there is only 2 companies now that control most of the American market. Chamberlain and Overhead Door Company (owned by a Japanese door company). I think I have mostly had Chamberlain brands and of course the door itself always works but the tech behind is has been lacking. I suspect ODC is similar. Lots of gimmicky systems like adding video cameras to the opener which requires yet another subscription along with controlling the door through the web along with a similar subscription. Last I looked the fee was something like $45/year which felt steep, would be happy to pay but the price felt out of line with what it does. Along with poor tech decision I always felt that the product itself was not very interesting or innovative. Shoot, look what Ryobi did with the now discontinued opener, it had a battery backup, excellent lighting, extension cord, plugs. I don't remember the story on why it was discontinued but I believe it had something to do with supply chain and covid....I might be misremembering. So yes, I am always a little stumped why someone does not jump in and just make a solid unit. Give me a non-buggy interface, let me pay for a reasonable subscription so I can maybe connect to my apple ecosystem. I never see any clones from China in America, they surely must exist but I never see them.
- TacticalCoder 3y ago
  > Chamberlain and Overhead Door Company (owned by a Japanese door company). Sidenote but in Europe many architects pick Hörmann: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B6rmann https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B6rmann I've got this both here (apartment in a building) and in another country at my vacation house. I've even got the same remote control in both (EU) countries. They've got their own home automation system too but I'm not using it. I know there are people just opening the box containing the motor and screwing (no need to solder AIUI) some open home-automation thinggamagic into them. They're compatible with cars having "homelink" too (buttons in your car which you can configure to act as this or that remote control). > it had a battery backup Oh that is sweet for... I remember the "fun" of having electricity down (black out in the entire rural area) and needing to hurry up to go pick my kid at school... I wasn't familiar with garage doors openers and black out meant no WiFi and no 4G (black out was obviously affecting 4G too: don't know why but everytime we had that black out, we'd have no 4G either). Anyway I ended up removing a safety wire on the garage door, to then remove a bolt, then used a rope and a pulley of sort to create leverage to be able to lift up the wide sectional door. There probably was a simple way but I was in a hurry. Fixing the mess was fun too: it involved watching YouTube vids and talking with my brother on the phone (he's familiar with these) to understand how to "clip" the motor again on the belt (or whatever that is called) and how to have the door close at the correct spot (at first there was a big gap!).
bastard_op 3y ago
This is the unfortunate future of all "smart" devices, but this is still truly a scumbag move on their part, particularly since they're only doing the pump and dump on Android phones. It's like selling crack in poor neighborhoods. Now I know never to buy Chamberlain products in my home, and recommend anyone I know doesn't either.
- infecto 3y ago
  Thats the problem. There are really only two garage door companies in America and they are both terrible from a tech perspective.
  - thfuran 3y ago
    Surely there must be a reasonable solution in the commercial space without the absolute shit that gets foisted on iot consumer gear.
  - maxwell 3y ago
    That seems to be the problem across most industries in the U.S. Seems expected after the courts stopped enforcing the Sherman Antitrust Act and started allowing vertical restraints.
  - izzydata 3y ago
    It sounds like a prime industry for disruption. Anyone want to start a garage door company?
    - infecto 3y ago
      If I had the capital I would explore it. At least for targeting the replacement market...not sure if you could convince homebuilders to use your product, but maybe it would be not impossible. I know there are a lot more steps to it but my mind was telling me that the motor mechanism is a solved problem. Could perhaps even buy the barebones parts to assemble locally. The magic or at least what is the most interesting for me is providing the integration module that allows it to 1) connect to the internet or 2) connect to other local devices that can control it. Would possibly require a subscription from the internet route but not even close to the silly $45 a year Chamberlain charges.
alexives 3y ago
It seems like Chamberlain has been playing this "Cat and Mouse" with us garage door owners for years. The home assistant integration has been spotty for ages. Chamberlain will add some new measure to block it, and the integration folks update the library to work around it. Personally, I moved to an ESPHome based controller and deleted their app years ago. That said... I'm definitely ordering a ratgdo, that seems like a way better option than what I've got now!
beart 3y ago
These decisions don't only sour me on Chamberlain, or smart garage door openers. They make me want to avoid home automation entirely. Yes I understand the open protocol options that are out there. Are there industry groups representing home automation solutions that push back on these decisions? But I suppose a company that controls 70% of the market is uninterested in what anyone thinks, including their own customers.
- lightbritefight 3y ago
  Use products on open protocols. Zigbee is the current standard. Anyhting using a zigbee radio, and to a lesser extent another protocol called zwave, can talk to any hub with a compatible radio. They are local, dedicated radio networks that do not have to talk to anyone else's servers. There is a newer protocol called "matter" that a lot of big names have gotten behind. These devices are slowly rolling out, but id check for matter compatibility with any hub at this point. As for the hubs, use open source that are not cloud based. The largest and most active project is called Home assistant. Its robust, has good options to build it yourself or buy devices, and it's dedicated to being forever FOSS. Another hub in the same "local, FOSS" ethos is called Hubitat. Their UI/hardware was easier than home assitant for a long time, but not really anymore. I still consider them more "turnkey" but both systems work great and support literally thousands of devices.
nunez 3y ago
They never technically allowed it in the first place. Homebridge and Home Assistant used a popular Python library that reverse-engineered the MyQ API from the Android app. Many companies couldn't care less until abuse ramps up, but given that Chamberlain (Blackstone-owned) has gone into rent-seeking mode all of a sudden, they decided to turn the Cloudflare Super Bot Fight stuff way the hell up on their OIDC token exchange endpoint (you can still request auth codes). I decided to abandon trying to get MyQ to work with Home Assistant (it would have required hours of trying to figure out what combination of headers would have passed the CF checkpoint) and ended up getting a Meross Smart Opener. It was shockingly easy to install (plug the relay device into the same pinouts that your wall door opener uses) and works even better than MyQ (in that you won't get a weird "close error" that prevents you from operating your door that not even MyQ customer service will clear)
- zikduruqe 3y ago
  Yep, I kicked MyQ out of the house for Meross. Added benefit, is that Meross opener is just a dry on switch. It doesn't have to be for a garage door, but for any momentary push button.
- delfinom 3y ago
  >They never technically allowed it in the first place. You own the device, they can fuck off with "allowed".
  - Semaphor 3y ago
    The way I understand it, is you (for some inexplicable reason, probably being overwhelmed by marketing lies) bought a device that doesn’t do much, but that the company gives you an option to use sometimes in some way, maybe.
  - eddieroger 3y ago
    You don't own their API, and it is not required for the device to operate. Just because we pay cable operators (or streaming services) doesn't mean we have rights to all the channels. The system isn't in our favor.
iAMkenough 3y ago
Being subjected to banner ads in the app you're forced to use to interact with your garage door is only a few steps away from "watch this 30 second video before we open your door, or subscribe to MyQ+ for $49/yr for an ad-free experience!"
- pandaman 3y ago
  I am not sure anyone is being forced to use an app, I imagine the door opens just fine with a clicker and with the button in the car. The problem is with the integration with other "smart" systems, I imagine.
- LorenPechtel 3y ago
  Just looked at mine (I rarely use the app), it's now got an ad on top but the screen is otherwise as before. No need to scroll.
tehwebguy 3y ago
If you just got locked out consider adding a button pusher (I have one, it’s fine but would probably prefer a more open one) or a ratgdo (have not used) https://paulwieland.github.io/ratgdo/ https://paulwieland.github.io/ratgdo/
WarOnPrivacy 3y ago
One of my clients is a large reseller of a different Chamberlain product. I don't normally work with the product lines. However, I might need to insert myself and see if it needs defending from manufacturer sabotage.
anon5066294 3y ago
Used to work for the IoT platform that powered Chamberlain devices. Name was Arrayent. Exit seemed unsuccessful: sold to a competitor. Wouldn't be surprised if the Arrayent stack still powering Chamberlain IoT stuff. We actually respected Chamberlain a fair bit: wrote the check that started our biz and had a technically capable engineering team. They def do have a monopoly on the garage door market: maybe this a good differentiator for an upstart HW startup competitor? P.S. the phrase "the S in IoT stands for security" was def true in our case https://web.archive.org/web/20150205230218/http://arrayent.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20150205230218/http://arrayent.c...
- jmbwell 3y ago
  This scenario has been the case for more than one brand. A brand doesn't necessarily have cloud/IoT expertise, so they partner with someone else. Time passes, business crap happens, the partnership fails, and the brand itself is out in the cold along with its customers, not necessarily by any fault of its own. And now we have the likes of Tuya quietly providing turn-key white-labeled IoT services to a vast ocean of gold rush products flooding Amazon. Why the dependency on the cloud and the lack of support for HomeKit or Matter in these devices ... I can only speculate.
nobleach 3y ago
When your business model starts as advertisement, you may be okay. When it devolves to advertisement, you're on life support. When it devolves to forcing a funnel by breaking existing functionality, you're dead.
oh_sigh 3y ago
I have their myQ smart garage system, and they wanted something like $600 for a "lifetime subscription" to be able to open my garage door from my tesla. What a joke.
- benmanns 3y ago
  Oh that's too harsh. Don't forget, you could subscribe to this valuable and expensive to run HTTP handler for an ongoing $45/year.
beretguy 3y ago
For anyone who’s stuck having to use ad riddled app: use DNS based ad blocker on your smart<device>. It blocks ads in apps.
linsomniac 3y ago
Chamberlain has always rubbed me the wrong way... A friend of mine has a relation (uncle?) that was part of the litigation team that spent startling amounts of time trying to block third party accessories from being able to interoperate with Chamberlain openers, because of their proprietary "encryption" routine. But their encryption was startlingly simple, IIRC something like basically being one of 3 effective codes. If you're going to do security, don't half ass it, and don't use shitty security to litigate.
zaphod12 3y ago
bought a MyQ - tossed it in the trash after 2 months. Even 2 years ago it was clearly designed as a tie in for Amazon Key, which i do not want. Bought a Tailwind - it's glorious. No batteries, tons of integrations, the bluetooth+android to open/close automatically is crazy solid (doesn't work with ios sadly, but you can buy a fob).
- noer 3y ago
  Not only did Amazon ask for the integration, Amazon paid a bounty for the number of myq/key connected users.
isoprophlex 3y ago
Are we approaching the Internet of Shit event horizon? Interest going up, the end of free money; all those MBAs are squeezing harder and harder on that sweet monetization orange. Soon, nothing but a fist full of dripping, sticky pulp will remain. The Shit Squeeze.
ChrisArchitect 3y ago
[dupe] Earlier discussions: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38186303 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38186303
post_break 3y ago
The meross garage door opener works perfectly, I highly recommend it. I have both the homekit and google version. I knew myq would pull this so I avoided those door openers.
johann8384 3y ago
I agree that MyQ shouldn't have e to support an API with a bunch of ad-hoc users if they don't want to. I just don't understand why everything has to be an internet connected API for a cess. I wish companies would provide local access and the option to disable the connected functionality.
kjs3 3y ago
One less company I need to consider for the new house we're building.
perryizgr8 3y ago
Why does one company have so much market share in garage doors anyway? This should be a commodity. Just a bunch of motors attached to a door attached to a rpi.
tcbawo 3y ago
Knowing someone involved with the Chamberlain technology stack, it sounds like certain users had reverse engineered the API and suddenly caused a DDOS on the Chamberlain cloud with their requests. This is a cloud service with real costs. Chamberlain has a responsibility to maintain access for its users. I can’t speak for Chamberlain, but this reaction seems reasonable.
- pokoleo 3y ago
  The usual answer to a DDoS from some users is to add rate limiting, not “remove the service”
- bobbyrullo 3y ago
  Sure, it's reasonable to stop unauthorized apps from DDOSing your service. But is it reasonable to need to make a request to their cloud service to open a door right in front of you?
- darknavi 3y ago
  Another reasonable response would be rate limiting user requests per token or user to stop individuals from spamming.
- TeMPOraL 3y ago
  I know this isn't a correct answer to the overall problem, but holy shit, just how much cloud resources could you possibly need to support a garage door opener? This feels like a "top end of the free tier of some PaaS" kind of usage. 0.2% of their userbase doing a cloud poll every 30 seconds or so is not a DDoS, it's a small caching issue.
  - tcbawo 3y ago
    I guess when you’re probably talking about millions of customers, it depends on what services they offer. Although when the API is exposed to unfiltered external requests, I think the answer is no amount of cloud services is enough.
- Zelizz 3y ago
tru3_power 3y ago
How do they block access? I always wondered how these types of things get implemented.
- ianlevesque 3y ago
  They used CloudFlare's anti-bot features.
scurvy 3y ago
Anyone know of something like the ratgdo, but for motorized swing gates (like DoorKing)? I'd love to check the status as well as actuate open/close, but some of the "upgrade" quotes I've seen are $5k USD. It seems like I should be able to get this thing integrated with either WiFi or Z-wave...
Animats 3y ago
Short version: the garage door opener company put ads in their phone app and doesn't want them bypassed.
qrohlf 3y ago
You want "Unauthorized Bread" [1]? Because this is how you get "Unauthorized Bread". [1] https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/unauthorized-bread-a-near-future-tale-of-refugees-and-sinister-iot-appliances/ https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/unauthorized-bread-a-...
elzbardico 3y ago
Well, it looks like the MBAs e Marketing Folks are at it again.
olliej 3y ago
As I understand, this is _after_ they explicitly removed support for homekit/android's equivalent? I just don't get this behaviour
toss1 3y ago
I'm planning to upgrade my old garage door openers in teh upcoming months, and this very nicely just pruned my decision tree — all the Chamberlain Group garage door opener options are off the list. HN just made my life a bit easier and better — Thanks!
garfieldnate 3y ago
Honest question, is this not something that people can bring a class action lawsuit for? It's malicious and wanton property damage for the purpose of profit. I don't think they have a legal right to do that just because they have the commit keys to the app.

473 points by vintagedave 3y ago

> ... Do not buy products or services from companies that treat their customers this way. ... True. But when you have good-enough alternatives, simply do not buy any "smart home", IoT, or connected devices at all. Unless [complex open-source conditions here], buying from NiceCorp does nothing to stop them from being taken over by NastyCorp, with the obvious malicious intent.

Someone1234 3y ago
This is a strange point to make. - People complaining that their IoT device doesn't integrate with Home Assistant anymore... - Solution (?): Stop buying IoT devices so that nothing integrates with Home Assistant. That's kind of the exact opposite of people's goals in this situation.
- bell-cot 3y ago
  IIR - the article describes Chamberlain's goal as "force all users to scroll past a bunch of ads in our Garage Door Opener app, in order to get to the OPEN/CLOSE button". To me, that sounds like a worse case than "Just use a dedicated 1990's-tech garage door opener, that I keep in my car". If Chamberlain's cloudy infrastructure was off-line (internet outage, went bankrupt, or the just lost interest), would there be any way to remotely open the garage door?
  - psunavy03 3y ago
    The MyQ garage doors have both an app and a regular opener.
- sgu999 3y ago
  > That's kind of the exact opposite of people's goals in this situation. It depends on whether their goal is averaged convenience in the long term. In my opinion, having to deal with this crap always ends up offsetting not having to manually hit a switch.
  - internet101010 3y ago
    The goal for people using HomeKit is complete control over all things in their house (cameras, lights, locks, etc.). So yeah, they took something that worked fine and intentionally broke it.
semiquaver 3y ago
Smart home / IoT does not necessarily imply “requires cloud service to run”. Most people impacted by this were running HomeAssistant which necessarily means they have a self-managed home server to control their devices. The migration path for affected users is to double down on the local control route. If you are trying to say “do not buy smarthome products which depend on a cloud connection” then that’s a position I agree with strongly.

wil421 3y ago

The Ars comments recommend Ratgo and Messo. Ratgo for a WiFi board that connects directly to the garage doors electrical and Messo is another cheap HomeKit option from Amazon. https://paulwieland.github.io/ratgdo/ https://paulwieland.github.io/ratgdo/

drapermache 3y ago
Have those comments talked about their compatibility with home assistant? I'm done with Chamberlin and their dumb app. I want a one-stop app to control all of my IoT devices, and I don't want it locked into an ecosystem.
- e28eta 3y ago
  I see ratgdo mentioned a lot in home-assistant-related places. I’m not sure about the other. I don’t have mqtt setup on my home assistant (yet?), which the primary ratgdo firmware relies on, but there’s also an esphome-based firmware that should work for me. edit: one of those mentions is https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2023/11/06/removal-of-myq-integration/ https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2023/11/06/removal-of-myq...
- darknavi 3y ago
  Ratgo supports ESPHome so it supports Home Assistant!
- wil421 3y ago
  Not sure. I’m about done with Apple Home and once I have a free weekend I’ll convert everything to Home Assistant. Tired of Apple Home automation misses with no logs. My wife’s phone won’t connect to our Home and the only solution is to rebuild your Apple Home from scratch.
  - anonomousename 3y ago
    If you make the switch to home assistant, you can mirror devices you want to control frequently with the HomeKit integration. It’ll be like nothing changed, expect for increased stability and interoperability. You can also add Google Home and Alexa afaik

fidotron 3y ago

The brazenness of Chamberlain here is incredible given how problematic a garage door that opens by itself could prove to be, and they could have chosen to go on about that, but instead they just go for the full crazy angle. Ultimately this whole using-a-product-means-using-the-user-experience-dictated-by-the-product-seller, be it SaaS, mobile app or hardware is a total dead end. The part Richard Stallman missed when arguing with his printer was you have to allow honest people to make money working in such an ecosystem, or you end up with no UX at all.

jstanley 3y ago
I don't think Richard Stallman missed that point at all.
- Joker_vD 3y ago
  The dude started the whole FSF movement because he wanted better printer drivers. As you may notice, forty years have passed and the printer drivers are still shitty, and still proprietary. So while his opinions about the goals may be interesting, his opinions on the means can be safely disregarded IMO.
  - yjftsjthsd-h 3y ago
    Printer drivers or firmware? Because the drivers are generally whatever CUPS works with, and are perfectly fine.
brightball 3y ago
I wish this door opener from Ryobi had caught on. Thought it was a great idea. https://www.homeconstructionimprovement.com/ryobi-launches-line-garage-door-openers-accessories/ https://www.homeconstructionimprovement.com/ryobi-launches-l...
- Tyr42 3y ago
  That is pretty cool. I would buy the ceiling cord and maybe the speaker. No more tripping hazards.

jve 3y ago

> Ah, now it makes sense. Your garage door opener app isn't here only to open your garage door; it's here to display ads and upsell you on services. > "I clicked door open/close event and it popped up the video storage subscription dialog to ask me to subscribe," I mean... who, while waiting to get into or out of garage, sitting in the car or soon to be sitting in the car clicks on ads to buy something? Wouldn't conversion rates be ridiculous? Not that everything else is wrong there with current approaches to IoT: Blocking 3rd party apps, needing 3rd party cloud server somewhere to open garage door, putting ads on top of actual button, needing special app to operate, be dependent on internet. Cannot comment on security for this particular product, but that is a topic on its own.

gpderetta 3y ago
The add-free version will be soon be available for 9.99€ per Month.
- rft 3y ago
  In a year you need to subscribe to the 14.99€/month tier to remove all ads, the 9.99€ tier will show you "a low number of highly relevant ads to provide you with information on how to more optimally use our^Wyour device and support our continued development of these industry leading services". On a less snarky note, I hate how this has become so common that for some reason this is not "sue the company into non-existence" behavior, but we just sigh and either add the company to our shit list or pay the price because we are now locked in.
  - scioto 3y ago
    More like in a year you'll need to subscribe to the 14.99€/month tier to get it to work at all.
dwighttk 3y ago
Slightly less irritating than garage door, but: I’ve been going to my baseball team’s website recently to buy stuff because they won, and a 5 second video ad pops up every time you go… I’m here, I want to spend money, and you want to show me ads?

djhworld 3y ago

The home assistant blog post goes into this issue as well https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2023/11/06/removal-of-myq-integration/ https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2023/11/06/removal-of-myq... If anything it highlights the point that having a cloud service to handle your smart home device is a recipe for shenanigans like this. Stick with ZigBee/Matter devices, and if the device is WiFi try and at least make sure it works over the local network.

iSnow 3y ago
Buying smart home devices with cloud integration also just means that at some point, the manufacturer will declare it obsolete and will rip out support to force you to re-buy every 5-7y.
- plussed_reader 3y ago
  Or shorter intervals if you're Sonos.
- twisteriffic 3y ago
  Or delete your entire smarthome config during "routine database maintenance" and provide you no recourse other than to wait 6 months for their overwhelmed support to grant you the access key to set your system back up from scratch. Also known as a typical Thursday for Samsung.
- devmor 3y ago
  Or force you to make an account and opt-in to their metrics instead of using your devices locally-only after years. Looking at you, Phillips Hue.
  - dylan604 3y ago
    Luckily, I just have to live with the nagging box about creating an account, but it continues to work without doing so. I just lose that screen real estate.

fest 3y ago

I use a very crude DIY setup for garage doors and yard gate: bought a spare keyfob on aliexpress, took it apart and connected it to wall power supply and ESP relay board running esphome. Works great and will work as long as my garage door and yard gate openers work. The only drawback is that it's less secure, as it uses RF but I can't be bothered to dig a new cable to gate motor through already paved driveway.

Someone1234 3y ago
That solution has multiple drawbacks, not least of all you lose access to the sensors (motion, door open/closed state, etc) but also it is difficult to install.
- fest 3y ago
  It would, if I had them in the first place (most of the systems I've seen locally don't- it's typically just a motor and keyfob here).

ale42 3y ago

Dupe (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38184000 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38184000)

emmet 3y ago

Haven't fully wrapped my head around Matter yet, but does that standard solve the problem? It's my understanding that there's no need for specific apps when anything can connect to a Matter device. Or can manufacturers still pull a fast one like this and kill Matter compatibility with an OTA firmware update? Not sure why they'd want to, but I wouldn't put it past them.

SargeDebian 3y ago
If you intentionally remove functionality, why would any functionality be safe from that?
- emmet 3y ago
  Sorry, my question is if Matter is baked in or can be stripped. Not sure if they can remotely kill the Thread radio or not.
  - thedougd 3y ago
    Yes they could push a firmware update and do whatever they want. Matter is also available over WiFi. Leviton is pushing new firmware to enable Matter on existing devices. Of course, a power user could block their Matter network from accessing the Internet or update server.
hnbad 3y ago
It depends. If it's using Matter-over-WiFi, yes, a firmware could change that. If it's using Matter-over-Thread (or ZigBee) it's still tied to that frequency so there's no point in changing or dropping support for the protocol except to intentionally brick the device (assuming it doesn't support another type of communication but for cost reasons most devices only support one comms frequency and that's hardwired). Note that dropping Matter if the device has WiFi still means it needs to have some pre-existing redundancy or at least add something else instead. This also likely breaks integrations with any voice assistant in a way that would at the very least require reconfiguration, I think. It's certainly a lot less sneaky and a lot more self-destructive than just turning off a proprietary API.

mavamaarten 3y ago

"unauthorized users". They are authorized if they are trying to control their own garage door. The company I work for has a policy where we don't block third party clients, as long as they use a uniquely identifiable user agent and API key that we provide to them. That way we can easily monitor if they're calling endpoints excessively and make sure that our alarms don't go off when they did something wrong, but still offer power users flexibility. Power users are the users you can get good feedback from, and they spread the word more than a regular user would. If keeping them happy doesn't require active effort, it would be silly to start a cat-and-mouse game just to keep them busy and angry with you.

WarOnPrivacy 3y ago
> The company I work for has a policy.. [lists some sound policies] Just a blind guess but is your company free of control by shareholders, venture capitalists and private equity?
- nordsieck 3y ago
  > is your company free of control by shareholders A company is by definition controlled by its shareholders.
  - WarOnPrivacy 3y ago
    > A company is by definition... company: noun kʌm.pə.ni an organization that sells goods or services in order to make money: - OED
    - nordsieck 3y ago
      The definition that matters is not the OED, but the laws that govern companies.
      - vineyardmike 3y ago
        There’s no real law to maximize profits. Just greed and a court precedent, which has way more nuance than people realize. No body of legislation ever said that companies needed to maximize profits.

ss64 3y ago

I just know the real reason for this will be some undisclosed security bug.

Someone1234 3y ago
Since Chamberlain admits it is about money (i.e. their authorized 3rd party integrations pay them, and Home Assistant does not) do we really need to look further? Plus the official app is full of ads.

thedougd 3y ago

Their integration with Google was terrible and last I used it only worked with Assistant and not Home. They’re dropping HomeKit and Google Assistant support now as well. So most customers won’t get what they want and will look elsewhere.

robbywashere_ 3y ago

An esp32, a mqtt node and iftt hooked up to google/Siri goes a long way

londons_explore 3y ago
Unfortunately, mqtt autodiscovery seems fraught with bugs... I just want some way for devices to publish/report their model numbers and what features they offer/support so everything can auto-configure itself rather than requiring me to manually set MQTT paths/filters/parsers for every device I get.
- londons_explore 3y ago
  Specifically... The mqtt server should advertise itself on the local network via mdns. The devices should auto-discover the server. Therefore, no config required of the device beyond wifi username/password. Then dashboards/controllers (who should also auto discover the server via the same method) should be able to send some message to some well-known topic on the server to find all connected devices.

random3 3y ago

Surprising how, today, some companies believe integration with your own product is a business model or even a lever

arbuge 3y ago

> Chamberlain Group recently made the decision to prevent unauthorized usage of our myQ ecosystem through third-party apps. This decision was made so that we can continue to provide the best possible experience for our 10 million+ users, as well as our authorized partners who put their trust in us. We understand that this impacts a small percentage of users, but ultimately this will improve the performance and reliability of myQ, benefiting all of our users. This is corporate doublespeak at its worst. If you switch every sentence there to the exact opposite of what he said, you'll get a far more accurate version of reality.

infecto 3y ago

I don't know the industry well but I always wondered why it was not ripe for a solid entrant to come in and easily scoop up at least some of the market. I think there is only 2 companies now that control most of the American market. Chamberlain and Overhead Door Company (owned by a Japanese door company). I think I have mostly had Chamberlain brands and of course the door itself always works but the tech behind is has been lacking. I suspect ODC is similar. Lots of gimmicky systems like adding video cameras to the opener which requires yet another subscription along with controlling the door through the web along with a similar subscription. Last I looked the fee was something like $45/year which felt steep, would be happy to pay but the price felt out of line with what it does. Along with poor tech decision I always felt that the product itself was not very interesting or innovative. Shoot, look what Ryobi did with the now discontinued opener, it had a battery backup, excellent lighting, extension cord, plugs. I don't remember the story on why it was discontinued but I believe it had something to do with supply chain and covid....I might be misremembering. So yes, I am always a little stumped why someone does not jump in and just make a solid unit. Give me a non-buggy interface, let me pay for a reasonable subscription so I can maybe connect to my apple ecosystem. I never see any clones from China in America, they surely must exist but I never see them.

TacticalCoder 3y ago
> Chamberlain and Overhead Door Company (owned by a Japanese door company). Sidenote but in Europe many architects pick Hörmann: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B6rmann https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B6rmann I've got this both here (apartment in a building) and in another country at my vacation house. I've even got the same remote control in both (EU) countries. They've got their own home automation system too but I'm not using it. I know there are people just opening the box containing the motor and screwing (no need to solder AIUI) some open home-automation thinggamagic into them. They're compatible with cars having "homelink" too (buttons in your car which you can configure to act as this or that remote control). > it had a battery backup Oh that is sweet for... I remember the "fun" of having electricity down (black out in the entire rural area) and needing to hurry up to go pick my kid at school... I wasn't familiar with garage doors openers and black out meant no WiFi and no 4G (black out was obviously affecting 4G too: don't know why but everytime we had that black out, we'd have no 4G either). Anyway I ended up removing a safety wire on the garage door, to then remove a bolt, then used a rope and a pulley of sort to create leverage to be able to lift up the wide sectional door. There probably was a simple way but I was in a hurry. Fixing the mess was fun too: it involved watching YouTube vids and talking with my brother on the phone (he's familiar with these) to understand how to "clip" the motor again on the belt (or whatever that is called) and how to have the door close at the correct spot (at first there was a big gap!).

bastard_op 3y ago

This is the unfortunate future of all "smart" devices, but this is still truly a scumbag move on their part, particularly since they're only doing the pump and dump on Android phones. It's like selling crack in poor neighborhoods. Now I know never to buy Chamberlain products in my home, and recommend anyone I know doesn't either.

infecto 3y ago
Thats the problem. There are really only two garage door companies in America and they are both terrible from a tech perspective.
- thfuran 3y ago
  Surely there must be a reasonable solution in the commercial space without the absolute shit that gets foisted on iot consumer gear.
- maxwell 3y ago
  That seems to be the problem across most industries in the U.S. Seems expected after the courts stopped enforcing the Sherman Antitrust Act and started allowing vertical restraints.
- izzydata 3y ago
  It sounds like a prime industry for disruption. Anyone want to start a garage door company?
  - infecto 3y ago
    If I had the capital I would explore it. At least for targeting the replacement market...not sure if you could convince homebuilders to use your product, but maybe it would be not impossible. I know there are a lot more steps to it but my mind was telling me that the motor mechanism is a solved problem. Could perhaps even buy the barebones parts to assemble locally. The magic or at least what is the most interesting for me is providing the integration module that allows it to 1) connect to the internet or 2) connect to other local devices that can control it. Would possibly require a subscription from the internet route but not even close to the silly $45 a year Chamberlain charges.

alexives 3y ago

It seems like Chamberlain has been playing this "Cat and Mouse" with us garage door owners for years. The home assistant integration has been spotty for ages. Chamberlain will add some new measure to block it, and the integration folks update the library to work around it. Personally, I moved to an ESPHome based controller and deleted their app years ago. That said... I'm definitely ordering a ratgdo, that seems like a way better option than what I've got now!

beart 3y ago

These decisions don't only sour me on Chamberlain, or smart garage door openers. They make me want to avoid home automation entirely. Yes I understand the open protocol options that are out there. Are there industry groups representing home automation solutions that push back on these decisions? But I suppose a company that controls 70% of the market is uninterested in what anyone thinks, including their own customers.

lightbritefight 3y ago
Use products on open protocols. Zigbee is the current standard. Anyhting using a zigbee radio, and to a lesser extent another protocol called zwave, can talk to any hub with a compatible radio. They are local, dedicated radio networks that do not have to talk to anyone else's servers. There is a newer protocol called "matter" that a lot of big names have gotten behind. These devices are slowly rolling out, but id check for matter compatibility with any hub at this point. As for the hubs, use open source that are not cloud based. The largest and most active project is called Home assistant. Its robust, has good options to build it yourself or buy devices, and it's dedicated to being forever FOSS. Another hub in the same "local, FOSS" ethos is called Hubitat. Their UI/hardware was easier than home assitant for a long time, but not really anymore. I still consider them more "turnkey" but both systems work great and support literally thousands of devices.

nunez 3y ago

They never technically allowed it in the first place. Homebridge and Home Assistant used a popular Python library that reverse-engineered the MyQ API from the Android app. Many companies couldn't care less until abuse ramps up, but given that Chamberlain (Blackstone-owned) has gone into rent-seeking mode all of a sudden, they decided to turn the Cloudflare Super Bot Fight stuff way the hell up on their OIDC token exchange endpoint (you can still request auth codes). I decided to abandon trying to get MyQ to work with Home Assistant (it would have required hours of trying to figure out what combination of headers would have passed the CF checkpoint) and ended up getting a Meross Smart Opener. It was shockingly easy to install (plug the relay device into the same pinouts that your wall door opener uses) and works even better than MyQ (in that you won't get a weird "close error" that prevents you from operating your door that not even MyQ customer service will clear)

zikduruqe 3y ago
Yep, I kicked MyQ out of the house for Meross. Added benefit, is that Meross opener is just a dry on switch. It doesn't have to be for a garage door, but for any momentary push button.
delfinom 3y ago
>They never technically allowed it in the first place. You own the device, they can fuck off with "allowed".
- Semaphor 3y ago
  The way I understand it, is you (for some inexplicable reason, probably being overwhelmed by marketing lies) bought a device that doesn’t do much, but that the company gives you an option to use sometimes in some way, maybe.
- eddieroger 3y ago
  You don't own their API, and it is not required for the device to operate. Just because we pay cable operators (or streaming services) doesn't mean we have rights to all the channels. The system isn't in our favor.

iAMkenough 3y ago

Being subjected to banner ads in the app you're forced to use to interact with your garage door is only a few steps away from "watch this 30 second video before we open your door, or subscribe to MyQ+ for $49/yr for an ad-free experience!"

pandaman 3y ago
I am not sure anyone is being forced to use an app, I imagine the door opens just fine with a clicker and with the button in the car. The problem is with the integration with other "smart" systems, I imagine.
LorenPechtel 3y ago
Just looked at mine (I rarely use the app), it's now got an ad on top but the screen is otherwise as before. No need to scroll.

tehwebguy 3y ago

If you just got locked out consider adding a button pusher (I have one, it’s fine but would probably prefer a more open one) or a ratgdo (have not used) https://paulwieland.github.io/ratgdo/ https://paulwieland.github.io/ratgdo/

WarOnPrivacy 3y ago

One of my clients is a large reseller of a different Chamberlain product. I don't normally work with the product lines. However, I might need to insert myself and see if it needs defending from manufacturer sabotage.

anon5066294 3y ago

Used to work for the IoT platform that powered Chamberlain devices. Name was Arrayent. Exit seemed unsuccessful: sold to a competitor. Wouldn't be surprised if the Arrayent stack still powering Chamberlain IoT stuff. We actually respected Chamberlain a fair bit: wrote the check that started our biz and had a technically capable engineering team. They def do have a monopoly on the garage door market: maybe this a good differentiator for an upstart HW startup competitor? P.S. the phrase "the S in IoT stands for security" was def true in our case https://web.archive.org/web/20150205230218/http://arrayent.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20150205230218/http://arrayent.c...

jmbwell 3y ago
This scenario has been the case for more than one brand. A brand doesn't necessarily have cloud/IoT expertise, so they partner with someone else. Time passes, business crap happens, the partnership fails, and the brand itself is out in the cold along with its customers, not necessarily by any fault of its own. And now we have the likes of Tuya quietly providing turn-key white-labeled IoT services to a vast ocean of gold rush products flooding Amazon. Why the dependency on the cloud and the lack of support for HomeKit or Matter in these devices ... I can only speculate.

nobleach 3y ago

When your business model starts as advertisement, you may be okay. When it devolves to advertisement, you're on life support. When it devolves to forcing a funnel by breaking existing functionality, you're dead.

oh_sigh 3y ago

I have their myQ smart garage system, and they wanted something like $600 for a "lifetime subscription" to be able to open my garage door from my tesla. What a joke.

benmanns 3y ago
Oh that's too harsh. Don't forget, you could subscribe to this valuable and expensive to run HTTP handler for an ongoing $45/year.

beretguy 3y ago

For anyone who’s stuck having to use ad riddled app: use DNS based ad blocker on your smart<device>. It blocks ads in apps.

linsomniac 3y ago

Chamberlain has always rubbed me the wrong way... A friend of mine has a relation (uncle?) that was part of the litigation team that spent startling amounts of time trying to block third party accessories from being able to interoperate with Chamberlain openers, because of their proprietary "encryption" routine. But their encryption was startlingly simple, IIRC something like basically being one of 3 effective codes. If you're going to do security, don't half ass it, and don't use shitty security to litigate.

zaphod12 3y ago

bought a MyQ - tossed it in the trash after 2 months. Even 2 years ago it was clearly designed as a tie in for Amazon Key, which i do not want. Bought a Tailwind - it's glorious. No batteries, tons of integrations, the bluetooth+android to open/close automatically is crazy solid (doesn't work with ios sadly, but you can buy a fob).

noer 3y ago
Not only did Amazon ask for the integration, Amazon paid a bounty for the number of myq/key connected users.

isoprophlex 3y ago

Are we approaching the Internet of Shit event horizon? Interest going up, the end of free money; all those MBAs are squeezing harder and harder on that sweet monetization orange. Soon, nothing but a fist full of dripping, sticky pulp will remain. The Shit Squeeze.

ChrisArchitect 3y ago

[dupe] Earlier discussions: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38186303 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38186303

post_break 3y ago

The meross garage door opener works perfectly, I highly recommend it. I have both the homekit and google version. I knew myq would pull this so I avoided those door openers.

johann8384 3y ago

I agree that MyQ shouldn't have e to support an API with a bunch of ad-hoc users if they don't want to. I just don't understand why everything has to be an internet connected API for a cess. I wish companies would provide local access and the option to disable the connected functionality.

kjs3 3y ago

One less company I need to consider for the new house we're building.

perryizgr8 3y ago

Why does one company have so much market share in garage doors anyway? This should be a commodity. Just a bunch of motors attached to a door attached to a rpi.

tcbawo 3y ago

Knowing someone involved with the Chamberlain technology stack, it sounds like certain users had reverse engineered the API and suddenly caused a DDOS on the Chamberlain cloud with their requests. This is a cloud service with real costs. Chamberlain has a responsibility to maintain access for its users. I can’t speak for Chamberlain, but this reaction seems reasonable.

pokoleo 3y ago
The usual answer to a DDoS from some users is to add rate limiting, not “remove the service”
bobbyrullo 3y ago
Sure, it's reasonable to stop unauthorized apps from DDOSing your service. But is it reasonable to need to make a request to their cloud service to open a door right in front of you?
darknavi 3y ago
Another reasonable response would be rate limiting user requests per token or user to stop individuals from spamming.
TeMPOraL 3y ago
I know this isn't a correct answer to the overall problem, but holy shit, just how much cloud resources could you possibly need to support a garage door opener? This feels like a "top end of the free tier of some PaaS" kind of usage. 0.2% of their userbase doing a cloud poll every 30 seconds or so is not a DDoS, it's a small caching issue.
- tcbawo 3y ago
  I guess when you’re probably talking about millions of customers, it depends on what services they offer. Although when the API is exposed to unfiltered external requests, I think the answer is no amount of cloud services is enough.
Zelizz 3y ago

tru3_power 3y ago

How do they block access? I always wondered how these types of things get implemented.

ianlevesque 3y ago
They used CloudFlare's anti-bot features.

scurvy 3y ago

Anyone know of something like the ratgdo, but for motorized swing gates (like DoorKing)? I'd love to check the status as well as actuate open/close, but some of the "upgrade" quotes I've seen are $5k USD. It seems like I should be able to get this thing integrated with either WiFi or Z-wave...

Animats 3y ago

Short version: the garage door opener company put ads in their phone app and doesn't want them bypassed.

qrohlf 3y ago

You want "Unauthorized Bread" [1]? Because this is how you get "Unauthorized Bread". [1] https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/unauthorized-bread-a-near-future-tale-of-refugees-and-sinister-iot-appliances/ https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/unauthorized-bread-a-...

elzbardico 3y ago

Well, it looks like the MBAs e Marketing Folks are at it again.

olliej 3y ago

As I understand, this is _after_ they explicitly removed support for homekit/android's equivalent? I just don't get this behaviour

toss1 3y ago

I'm planning to upgrade my old garage door openers in teh upcoming months, and this very nicely just pruned my decision tree — all the Chamberlain Group garage door opener options are off the list. HN just made my life a bit easier and better — Thanks!

garfieldnate 3y ago

Honest question, is this not something that people can bring a class action lawsuit for? It's malicious and wanton property damage for the purpose of profit. I don't think they have a legal right to do that just because they have the commit keys to the app.