4 ms·
Scratch off everything that requires internet access (in this case the Home Assistant integration talked to the vendor's API servers). See also previous discus
by mook 3y ago
Scratch off everything that requires internet access (in this case the Home Assistant integration talked to the vendor's API servers).
See also previous discussion on https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39044932 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39044932
- DyslexicAtheist 3y agocurious, is there a vendor that isn't "cloud-first" today? I've never seen an appliance that doesn't call home
- smeej 3y agoThe one that frustrates me the most is Home Depot's HubSpace. You do not have to link the devices to the router. They can be operated by Bluetooth. However, the app to control them cannot work without a connection to the server. It has no local device functions at all. It won't even launch if their servers are offline. That's just next-level stupid to me. Why build in a useless option? If Bluetooth won't work without a server connection anyway, what's the point?
- yborg 3y agoThe "feature" is end user tracking and isn't for you, it's for the vendor. So if the servers are down they don't care about the rest of it.
- beeboobaa 3y agoAt some point a team of developers fought for local control. They lost but it's too expensive to rip out again. So management chooses to sweep it under the rug and pretend it doesn't exist. Stalking your users is so much more profitable.
- malermeister 3y agoThe trick is to get a ZigBee device instead of a WiFi one. It's an inherently local-only protocol and you can make your computer a Hub with a $30 stick.
- nicholasjarnold 3y agoZWave is another option here too. I wouldn't recommend devices that don't have at least a "500 series"[0] chipset, but pretty much any device you'd buy today or moving forward will contain this or a newer chipset. [0] https://www.silabs.com/wireless/z-wave/500-series-modules https://www.silabs.com/wireless/z-wave/500-series-modules
- malermeister 3y agoYes, ZWave is good too, though I haven't seen many devices in the wild myself - this might depend on your local market.
- meepmorp 3y agoZ-Wave is also nice because it's in the 860/900 MHz band. Better propagation through walls and so much less contention than 2.4 GHz.
- nicholasjarnold 3y agoShelly devices are great. They have a "cloud" that you can optionally use, but the settings (at least on the switchable plug and the in-wall energy-monitoring switches that I have) default to that cloud connectivity being OFF. They seem to be aligned with those of us who prefer local data, interoperability and despise vendor lock-in and surveillance capitalism.
- throwup238 3y agoPretty much any vendor selling commercial appliances. SpeedQueen even gives you the choice of the old school mechanical controls. I don't know if they even have any smart consumer devices. They can be a bit more expensive but rarely break from household use. For smaller non-appliance stuff there's CloudFree [1] which sells products from other vendors that can be reflashed with ESPHome (no affiliation, just a happy customer). [1] https://cloudfree.shop/ https://cloudfree.shop/
- ajolly 3y agoI've bought from cloud Free before, worked great.
- e44858 3y agoEsphome supports several AC units using a simple dongle: https://static.xtremeownage.com/blog/2023/pioneer-mini-split-esphome/ https://static.xtremeownage.com/blog/2023/pioneer-mini-split...
- yencabulator 3y agoMy Venstar T7900 thermostat has a local HTTP API. It has some cloud stuff too, but I've never created an account or let it talk to the Internet.