Has it ever worked for you in remote mode? Mios’ servers seem to have been spotty lately… do you know if that’s the cause?
[quote=“tedp, post:100, topic:170787”]Hey Rakstar,
The latest beta works great in local mode, but cannot seem to connect in remote mode. When in remote mode, the circled arrow just spins indefinitely, and the application locks up. When I set up, I entered the user name and password, and it found my Vera just fine. I’ve specified the Vera IP address in the setup to ID it for local mode, but left the SSIDs blank so I could access locally from either of the 2 APs I have in my house (with different SSIDs).
Any idea as to what might be up? Also, would it be possible to run the old version and beta concurrently? It’d be nice to revert to the released version when something goes awry with the beta.
Thx
-Ted[/quote]
With regards to the remote mode issue, do you have issues using Mios’ UI remotely as well? Also, please try the following URLs to check:
https://fwd1.mios.com////data_request?output_format=json&id=user_data
https://fwd2.mios.com////data_request?output_format=json&id=user_data
Regarding the 2 APs for local, that’s an interesting use case… do both APs have the same IP (not sure if this is even possible)? If I made SSID accept a comma delimited list, will that work for you?
[quote=“rakstar, post:102, topic:170787”]With regards to the remote mode issue, do you have issues using Mios’ UI remotely as well? Also, please try the following URLs to check:
https://fwd1.mios.com////data_request?output_format=json&id=user_data
https://fwd2.mios.com////data_request?output_format=json&id=user_data
Regarding the 2 APs for local, that’s an interesting use case… do both APs have the same IP (not sure if this is even possible)? If I made SSID accept a comma delimited list, will that work for you?[/quote]
Hi Rakstar: thanks for the reply.
I’ve now confirmed that if I remove the IP address from the setup area, the remote access works just fine. However, I won’t be able to get local access in my house this way.
As to the multiple AP issue, I was hoping that specifying the local IP of the Vera would obviate the need to specify anything about the AP. The AP’s are technically layer2 devices, so their IP address should be irrelevant (they are not routers: the AP IP address is used just for management). So, whichever AP I am on, I get the same IP address assigned to my Android device. If I read your flowchart correctly, if no SSID is specified, but the Vera IP is specified, then you try the Vera IP for a local access, if that fails, you try remote.
It seems that the two issues are somehow intertwined in that if I specify the local vera IP address but do not specify any AP, it works in local mode when I’m home, but not in remote mode when I am away.
Hope my explanation makes sense.
Cheers
-Ted
Can I suggest that auto local/Remote be something that can be toggled auto vs manual (plus a manual toggle when in manual for local and remote mode) ? Re multiple access point with a different SSID, comma delimited sounds like a good idea, however if you have different SSID, it sounds like you don’t have an optimal configuration and I’d recommend making them the same. I’ve done lots of testing with this and multi-AP, same SSID works flawlessly.
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2
[quote=“jjwatmyself, post:104, topic:170787”]Can I suggest that auto local/Remote be something that can be toggled auto vs manual (plus a manual toggle when in manual for local and remote mode) ? Re multiple access point with a different SSID, comma delimited sounds like a good idea, however if you have different SSID, it sounds like you don’t have an optimal configuration and I’d recommend making them the same. I’ve done lots of testing with this and multi-AP, same SSID works flawlessly.
2[/quote]
I might try what you suggest. Originally, I read that one should NOT have the same SSIDs over multiple APs. Of course, you then have to manually log onto the stronger of the APs as I’m doing now. After more research, it seems that using the same SSID is OK as long as nearby APs are on different channels.
http://www.velocityreviews.com/forums/t3972-ssid-for-multiple-access-points.html
It is actually recommended that you have all AP on the same ssid and each one being on different channels when being on the same network.
- Garrett
Off topic: I have thoroughly tested multi AP with the same SSID. Choose from the three non over lapping channels (1, 6, 11). If there is a thread you’d like to discuss in more detail, I’d be happy to do so.
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2
[quote=“jjwatmyself, post:107, topic:170787”]Off topic: I have thoroughly tested multi AP with the same SSID. Choose from the three non over lapping channels (1, 6, 11). If there is a thread you’d like to discuss in more detail, I’d be happy to do so.
2[/quote]
Thanks for the inputs. I implemented the same SSID with different channel setup and it seems to work just fine now. Also Homebuddy seems to be happy working in remote as well as local mode now that I have an SSID entered in the setup.
Rakstar: do you consider it a viable use case to have a blank SSID and a local IP address? If so, there’s a potential bug (if you can replicate what I saw).
[quote=“tedp, post:108, topic:170787”][quote=“jjwatmyself, post:107, topic:170787”]Off topic: I have thoroughly tested multi AP with the same SSID. Choose from the three non over lapping channels (1, 6, 11). If there is a thread you’d like to discuss in more detail, I’d be happy to do so.
2[/quote]
Thanks for the inputs. I implemented the same SSID with different channel setup and it seems to work just fine now. Also Homebuddy seems to be happy working in remote as well as local mode now that I have an SSID entered in the setup.
Rakstar: do you consider it a viable use case to have a blank SSID and a local IP address? If so, there’s a potential bug (if you can replicate what I saw).[/quote]
Hmm, I can’t seem to replicate what you saw, has anybody else had this problem?
As for it being a viable use case, though it is highly recommended to fill it in for efficiency, I feel like it shouldn’t be a requirement, so I left it for the user to decide. Of course that’s just my opinion, anyone feel otherwise?
New build is out… here’s what’s new:
- Elk Alarm Panel Support
- Changed Thermostat Fan Commands to a spinner to support “Cycle” option
- Removed fade in/out effects as they didn’t play nice with the Expandable list
I just installed the last version. I used an old beta version until now. My feeling is that the temperatures are now more readable. 8)
What did you change ? Make the value in bold font ? Make the icon more transparent ? Change the color (room names are now in white while they were in green before but I already don’t remember what was the color of values at left…)
[quote=“lolodomo, post:111, topic:170787”]I just installed the last version. I used an old beta version until now. My feeling is that the temperatures are now more readable. 8)
What did you change ? Make the value in bold font ? Make the icon more transparent ? Change the color (room names are now in white while they were in green before but I already don’t remember what was the color of values at left…)[/quote]
I fixed this in the April 6 build (see the first post for full changelogs). Basically I dimmed the icon, made the text white (it used to be gray) and slightly bigger.
[quote=“rakstar, post:112, topic:170787”][quote=“lolodomo, post:111, topic:170787”]I just installed the last version. I used an old beta version until now. My feeling is that the temperatures are now more readable. 8)
What did you change ? Make the value in bold font ? Make the icon more transparent ? Change the color (room names are now in white while they were in green before but I already don’t remember what was the color of values at left…)[/quote]
I fixed this in the April 6 build (see the first post for full changelogs). Basically I dimmed the icon, made the text white (it used to be gray) and slightly bigger.[/quote]
That’s perfect.
I have an Everspring ST814 that is a temperature and humidity sensor. Is it normal to have Off, On, Bypass and Arm buttons for this device (the master device) ?
[quote=“lolodomo, post:113, topic:170787”][quote=“rakstar, post:112, topic:170787”][quote=“lolodomo, post:111, topic:170787”]I just installed the last version. I used an old beta version until now. My feeling is that the temperatures are now more readable. 8)
What did you change ? Make the value in bold font ? Make the icon more transparent ? Change the color (room names are now in white while they were in green before but I already don’t remember what was the color of values at left…)[/quote]
I fixed this in the April 6 build (see the first post for full changelogs). Basically I dimmed the icon, made the text white (it used to be gray) and slightly bigger.[/quote]
That’s perfect.
I have an Everspring ST814 that is a temperature and humidity sensor. Is it normal to have Off, On, Bypass and Arm buttons for this device (the master device) ?[/quote]
What does Mios’ UI show for the device? I base what I show on whatever Vera sends me… can you send me your user data and a screenshot of Mios’ UI?
Awesome app rakstar…been using this since the early days.
Here is some feedback…
The local mode seems to work very well although the remote mode is mostly a hit or a miss. It does connect after a few tries but sometimes gives me funny messages like “successfully failed over to fwd1.mios.com”. Not sure if this is vera related.
Anyways, here are a couple of suggestions for the GUI -
- would help if the current state of the devices was more pronounced. The current state of the devices is very subtle i.e it is kind of hard to distinguish whether say a lamp is OFF or ON since the current button is shaded white and the inactive button is a slight shade of grey which almost seems white. Wouldn’t hurt to use some bold colors on this screen - OFF button could be shaded white or gray and the active button could be shaded green or blue. I think that would be a better contrast between the 2 buttons.
- currently if I have everything collapsed, it takes at least 3 key presses in order to activate a device. This could be streamlined a bit if possible.
- could use a more icon-centric approach to the home screen; kind of like the attachment of the fibaro interface. Currently there are 2 tabs - Devices and Scenes both of which are grouped by room. There could be a third tab (or rather a 1st tab) which could be the default home screen with icons representing Lights, Climate, Scenes, Locks etc. Click on a particular icon say a light, and all the lights in all the rooms show up. Polished & colorful icons go a long way in the “perception” of a product. You know what they say…a picture is worth…
- don’t know about the others, but I hardly ever use the speaker icon next to the refresh circle on top. I more frequently use the favorites; if others do the same then it would make more sense to replace the speaker icon with the “filter favorites” icon and the speaker could be an option. This would save a couple of presses to get to the favorites.
Again, all of the above suggestion are GUI related and should not affect the functionality of the product which works great as long as I am local and not remote. Great product and great dedicated support. Couldn’t ask for more in a free product (kind of feel embarrassed posting these suggestions ;D ;D)
hi akashk, thanks for the feedback. glad you like the app!
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the “successfully failed over to fwd1.mios.com” message is a feature. When connecting remotely, Home Buddy first tries to connect to the primary remote server that Mios assigned to you. If that fails for whatever reason (typically because their server is down), Home Buddy will automatically attempt to fail over to a secondary server – that’s when you get that message. Mios’ servers seem to have been up and down lately so I won’t be surprised if you’ve been seeing it more frequently.
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I’ll try to make the state more prominent. Right now I have the button brighten up a little bit and bold/italicize the text on the active button. I’ll look into how else I could make this stand out more.
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Home Buddy saves all expand/collapse states, so if you access a device frequently, I suggest you keep it expanded to save you the clicks.
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I do have the icon-centric 3rd tab on my list… that will probably go in after I take this release out of beta.
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Do you mean the “microphone” icon? That’s actually just temporary. I put that in there as a proof of concept for my “Speak-a-Scene” feature. I was hoping to get feedback on how well/bad voice recognition worked on scenes. That icon will be gone in the release but I have other plans for how to trigger the feature.
All excellent points… please don’t feel embarrassed as this is exactly the kind of feedback I’ve been hoping to get back. Thanks!
Voice recognition works flawlessly for me when I use it.
Voice recognition works flawlessly for me when I use it.[/quote]
Good to hear, thanks for the feedback!
I find that it works best when your scenes are named with common phrases like “Turn the heat up” or even “Open Sesame” while uncommon phrases like “Heat Save” or “Lights Low” don’t work as well. Unfortunately, there’s not much I can do about this as Google provides the API/functionality and all I do is make the calls. It would be nice if they allowed devs to provide “hints” to narrow down the results, but that seems to not available at this point.
It might be helpful to note that I also filter out non-alphabetic characters before matching voice recognition results. For example, I have a scene named “Lock Down” which starts with an asterisk to make it always appear on top. This should trigger with the phrase “Lock Down” and not “Asterisk Lock Down Asterisk”.
[quote=“rakstar, post:118, topic:170787”]Good to hear, thanks for the feedback!
I find that it works best when your scenes are named with common phrases like “Turn the heat up” or even “Open Sesame” while uncommon phrases like “Heat Save” or “Lights Low” don’t work as well. Unfortunately, there’s not much I can do about this as Google provides the API/functionality and all I do is make the calls. It would be nice if they allowed devs to provide “hints” to narrow down the results, but that seems to not available at this point.
It might be helpful to note that I also filter out non-alphabetic characters before matching voice recognition results. For example, I have a scene named “Lock Down” which starts with an asterisk to make it always appear on top. This should trigger with the phrase “Lock Down” and not “Asterisk Lock Down Asterisk”.[/quote]
One option might be for you to add optional shortcuts for scenes. So if there was some weirdly worded scene in Vera, there could be an option for a more speech recognition friendly override in Home Buddy. I renamed a couple of my scenes in Vera to make them more speech recognition friendly, and so far, HomeBuddy always got it right. The feature would be greatly augmented if there was a direct shortcut to it, or it could somehow be integrated in with Google Voice search.
The device type is urn:schemas-micasaverde-com:device:ComboDevice:1. There is no action on this device displayed by Micasaverde WEB application…