4 ms·

> - Home Assistant users are power users, thus more likely to actually use the devices in question; >50% traffic from 0.2% of the users is far too big of a dis

> - Home Assistant users are power users, thus more likely to actually use the devices in question; >50% traffic from 0.2% of the users is far too big of a discrepancy to just explain it away with powerusers. Customers too have to follow a fair level of usage. > designed to discourage effective use (while maximizing data collection). What valuable data can they collect, if nobody is using it?

malermeister 3y ago
This thing probably phones home every time you open or close your door, no matter if you do it via their smart portal or manually.
- neodymiumphish 3y ago
  As a former MyQ user, I can say definitively that this is accurate. There's a magnetic sensor that you put on the door for it to track the state of the door, so the app is always correct on whether it's open or closed.
- PurpleRamen 3y ago
  Yes, but according to their statement, the official client seems to behave better than the HA-implementation. Maybe HA is brute forcing something, like pulling state every 10 seconds or so. And this is a legit complaint from their side if this is the case.
  - bonzini 3y ago
    If pulling the state goes through the cloud app it is their (self-inflicted) problem.
    - PurpleRamen 3y ago
      Sure, and because it was their problem, they made it the problem of those who gave them this problem, and pulled the plug. But let's get real, 0.2 of customers are probably also matching around 0.2% of their income with those products. So it's probably not really a problem, short term. Long term, they probably have damaged their brand hard, and missed out on some revenue from grassroot marketing. But that's a problem of future chamberlain. Today, the one responsible for this has solved their problems, calls it done and gets their paycheck. And who knows, maybe next year they switch to Matter, get some good marketing from it, raise the sales and the victims from today are forgotten. That's business..
    - Eduard 3y ago
      any home IoT solution without a cloud inbetween and which shall also be able to communicate with you while on the go requires a lot of technical expertise (and perpetual maintenance...). It is therefore not viable for the mass market.
  - gog 3y ago
    Probably because the official client only checks the state if you open the app, while HA probably does it every so often. Legit solution would be for the company to allow local access to the garage door to check the state without needing to go through their servers.
bitshiftfaced 3y ago
I think they want you to install their app so that you have to open the app everytime you press the button. From there, you see ads to other products.
- ttcbj 3y ago
  I use the myq app to open my garage door open regularly. The app is slow to open and generally annoying. For example, the whole interface is initially blocked, so you tap to open and it doesn't register the tap, still doesn't register the tap, then finally it does. I was not aware of there being ads in it, but I just looked, and you are absolutely right, there is an ad at the top. It looks like its for their home security camera. Based on my experience with the company, I would not purchase additional products from them. Not based on my desire to use home automation or homekit, just on the fact that the app is poor. The garage door openers themselves, however, which have battery backup and which open quietly and with a gradual slowing near the finish, are pretty decent. Mainly I wish they had a better, faster app, as the garage door is the smart home thing I used most (followed by maybe Rachio).
  - fullstop 3y ago
    > I use the myq app to open my garage door open regularly. It used to ask me to provide a rating every time I opened the app. I eventually added a negative rating because it kept asking even after I had answered "Do not ask me".
  - pjsg 3y ago
    Yeah -- it is certainly quicker to use the keypad that I have outside the garage door than try and use their app. In particular, it keeps asking me for a username and password (which I can't remember because who remembers 16 character strings??). I just want to get local access to my openers.
HankB99 3y ago
> What valuable data can they collect, if nobody is using it? What permissions does the app have? If it has location data so it can open/close the garage door based on proximity, it can probably collect your location whenever the phone is on and that can be sold to data brokers. That's just an example. There is potentially a trove of information the app could collect and sell and not just when the user has the app open. Of course if the app is never installed it collects nothing. I wonder if the vendor requires the app to be installed for initial configuration. And IAC, it would be preferable (to me) to have a device that works entirely locally.
- cyberax 3y ago
  > What permissions does the app have? "Location" (while using App) and "Notifications". So it can locate you when you trigger it, but it can't track you all the time.
_ea1k 3y ago
They do not support opening your own garage door via IFTT, Alexa, or Google Assistant. They do support allowing their paid partners (eg, Amazon) to open your garage door for deliveries. I think this last part is where they get "value".
PaulHoule 3y ago
“Valuable Data” doesn’t have to be valuable but can be valuable anyway if investors and other partners believe it is.
egberts1 3y ago
Valuable data is in the eye of the beholder: such as burglars, home invaders, stalkers, panty-sniffers, voyeurs, blackmailers, robbers, kidnappers, spies, squatters, vagrants, wild teenagers and dumb adults that are scouting for their next juicy target.

malermeister 3y ago

This thing probably phones home every time you open or close your door, no matter if you do it via their smart portal or manually.

neodymiumphish 3y ago
As a former MyQ user, I can say definitively that this is accurate. There's a magnetic sensor that you put on the door for it to track the state of the door, so the app is always correct on whether it's open or closed.
PurpleRamen 3y ago
Yes, but according to their statement, the official client seems to behave better than the HA-implementation. Maybe HA is brute forcing something, like pulling state every 10 seconds or so. And this is a legit complaint from their side if this is the case.
- bonzini 3y ago
  If pulling the state goes through the cloud app it is their (self-inflicted) problem.
  - PurpleRamen 3y ago
    Sure, and because it was their problem, they made it the problem of those who gave them this problem, and pulled the plug. But let's get real, 0.2 of customers are probably also matching around 0.2% of their income with those products. So it's probably not really a problem, short term. Long term, they probably have damaged their brand hard, and missed out on some revenue from grassroot marketing. But that's a problem of future chamberlain. Today, the one responsible for this has solved their problems, calls it done and gets their paycheck. And who knows, maybe next year they switch to Matter, get some good marketing from it, raise the sales and the victims from today are forgotten. That's business..
  - Eduard 3y ago
    any home IoT solution without a cloud inbetween and which shall also be able to communicate with you while on the go requires a lot of technical expertise (and perpetual maintenance...). It is therefore not viable for the mass market.
- gog 3y ago
  Probably because the official client only checks the state if you open the app, while HA probably does it every so often. Legit solution would be for the company to allow local access to the garage door to check the state without needing to go through their servers.

bitshiftfaced 3y ago

I think they want you to install their app so that you have to open the app everytime you press the button. From there, you see ads to other products.

ttcbj 3y ago
I use the myq app to open my garage door open regularly. The app is slow to open and generally annoying. For example, the whole interface is initially blocked, so you tap to open and it doesn't register the tap, still doesn't register the tap, then finally it does. I was not aware of there being ads in it, but I just looked, and you are absolutely right, there is an ad at the top. It looks like its for their home security camera. Based on my experience with the company, I would not purchase additional products from them. Not based on my desire to use home automation or homekit, just on the fact that the app is poor. The garage door openers themselves, however, which have battery backup and which open quietly and with a gradual slowing near the finish, are pretty decent. Mainly I wish they had a better, faster app, as the garage door is the smart home thing I used most (followed by maybe Rachio).
- fullstop 3y ago
  > I use the myq app to open my garage door open regularly. It used to ask me to provide a rating every time I opened the app. I eventually added a negative rating because it kept asking even after I had answered "Do not ask me".
- pjsg 3y ago
  Yeah -- it is certainly quicker to use the keypad that I have outside the garage door than try and use their app. In particular, it keeps asking me for a username and password (which I can't remember because who remembers 16 character strings??). I just want to get local access to my openers.

HankB99 3y ago

> What valuable data can they collect, if nobody is using it? What permissions does the app have? If it has location data so it can open/close the garage door based on proximity, it can probably collect your location whenever the phone is on and that can be sold to data brokers. That's just an example. There is potentially a trove of information the app could collect and sell and not just when the user has the app open. Of course if the app is never installed it collects nothing. I wonder if the vendor requires the app to be installed for initial configuration. And IAC, it would be preferable (to me) to have a device that works entirely locally.

cyberax 3y ago
> What permissions does the app have? "Location" (while using App) and "Notifications". So it can locate you when you trigger it, but it can't track you all the time.

_ea1k 3y ago

They do not support opening your own garage door via IFTT, Alexa, or Google Assistant. They do support allowing their paid partners (eg, Amazon) to open your garage door for deliveries. I think this last part is where they get "value".

PaulHoule 3y ago

“Valuable Data” doesn’t have to be valuable but can be valuable anyway if investors and other partners believe it is.

egberts1 3y ago

Valuable data is in the eye of the beholder: such as burglars, home invaders, stalkers, panty-sniffers, voyeurs, blackmailers, robbers, kidnappers, spies, squatters, vagrants, wild teenagers and dumb adults that are scouting for their next juicy target.