Forgive the translation, English is not my mother tongue.
I have Vera Plus with remote control to activate timer to enter alarm or disarm, thermostat control, ipcam, sensors and a door opener.
Initially I had configured everything with the My Modes system and HouseModes Plugin but I do not understand the utility of this feature, I find it a waste of time meaningless; I need crude scenes to turn on a Plugin to switch My Modes system and the other way around. ???
This complicates a simple thing!
It seems that My Modes creates a lot of confusion in Vera, would not it be easier to decide on the Mother Scenes to put in Dashboard?
I ask for a simple answer … thank you
I use the Modes all of the time. When we both leave the house, Vera knows (via iPhone Locator) and sets the mode to Away. This triggers my cameras, door sensors, and a motion sensor to arm, and tweak the thermostat setting. When either one of is home, Vera sets itself to Home Mode.
At 9:30 pm (11 pm on Saturday), Vera sets the mode to Night. This also arms cameras and door sensors, but sets the thermostat to cooler setting for sleeping. At 5:30 am (7 am on the weekend), it sets the mode to Home.
Most of this automation is done with scenes and PLEG.
Manually, I set mode to Vacation, which then ignores the Night mode schedule until I manually set mode to Night, Home, or Away.
#Eco
you are right, “My Modes” is a meaningless and invasive function, it is in no way customizable, as if the average life was remote control with 4 functions … (then I would like to know who uses Vacation) ???
In my opinion, the intention was good, but they wanted to please someone who does not understand us … and now they fall into the mistake instead of focusing on development.
Vera app does not offer any useful, interface has a huge face and shield and no set mother scene. Try using Imperihome app, it’s definitely more complete and customizable 
#Don Phillips
Hi, I have more or less your own functions, 8)
- Protection (when my family is at home, armed external sensors)
- Night (lowers temperature and, arming cameras)
- Arm
- Disarm
- Open Doors (Prepare “day or night” protection and open doors)
but thanks to the fact that I abandoned My Modes, I could better articulate a lot of automatisms.
As for the “Locator” function is a simple association, it would be enough to apply it to a “Favorite” scene
True, the Vera Mobile app does not make any sense ;D… a Dashboard useless and toooo slow. :-X
Of Imperihome I use the free version, should I pass to Pro?
I use it 
I have remote house and in such case it is quite useful. For example I have set of scenes working only in “Vacation” mode keeping specific rooms heated to 5 degrees C to keep sensitive stuff protected. It also takes care that the water is shut off, keeps an eye on lights and other things like that.
“Away” mode is similar but with some tweaks - i.e. room temperature is increased to around 19 degrees, allows the water to be in the installation (and heats it), etc.
Use of “Home” and “Night” modes is probably obvious for everyone.
Of course you can do it without Modes (i.e. relating scenes with certain states of virtual switch), but it is much easier to do with modes.
I would like to have modes more elastic, i.e. I would like to be able put different names or add additional modes for handling cases where I have guests at home (need to turn on additional set of scenes) or better management of cases when I’m away (some times it makes a difference for the system setup if you leave house for one hour or a whole day).
[quote=“Eco, post:4, topic:197716”]True, the Vera Mobile app does not make any sense ;D… a Dashboard useless and toooo slow. :-X
Of Imperihome I use the free version, should I pass to Pro?[/quote]Imperihome Pro enables some more dashboards, and as usual, renaming and changing animated icons.
#kwieto
You are right, as #Eco says, it would be enough to be able to use Mother Scenes on the Dashboard.
Try installing ImperiHome app will open a world and you’ll see when it’s useless to have enabled My Modes
Oltre ai telefoni, ho un Tablet in casa che 2 pagine a scorrere per le mie funzioni primarie…
I don’t think Imperihome is a solution for me.
The main problem is that I mainly use Widows mobile device and there is no native Imperihome app from that platform. OK, I’ll probably be forced to change platform sooner or later (taking rumorus that Microsoft will not develop this platform anymore, it probably be sooner than later).
But then there is another reason: seeing screenshots from the Imperihome app it seems that it is just more sophisticated version of Vera app. And this is not what I need as I don’t want an application which allow me to better steer my house manually.
I want a solution which will decrease manual steering to the necessary minimum (like: changing mode). At my home i.e. every heater is steered by dedicated temperature sensor. Even a water boiler has its own temperature (and flow) sensor which are steering when it should be turned on or off. I really don’t need to manage it manually or check status of specific devices (if they won’t work, I’ll get proper notification anyway). Frankly speaking, I don’t remember when I it was last time I switched heater or boiler manually. If I need to switch something manually, it is something like light, but for this case I still prefer physical switch.
As a result, my main tool for working with Vera is a PC/Mac where I can design scenes more easily than on any mobile solution.
For those rare cases when I need to turn something on/off I can use default app (by the way, Windows version is quite convenient, especially if you did your homework on properly designing rooms and favorites), or use Grasshopper which allows to pin specific scenes/devices directly to the main screen of your mobile.
I don’t know, maybe Imperihome can do the same as scenes do, but in this case the question is if it is wise to replace Vera supported automatic setup with third party automatic setup, as it may generate conflict or restrict using multiple platform for managing the unit?
Hello kwieto, Imperihome can be simplified to basic functions, just like Modes/Scene/Ipcam/Devices control.
My situation is a Tablet on the wall that controls the Thermostat, informs me of the Weather, I visualize the Video Intercom and opens the doors, shakes the current consumption … and warns me with the voice also giving me the good morning or good return with the home situation 8) (thanks to VeraAlerts); This does not compromise the Vera system, because it only reads or launches the Controller’s activities.
We’ve found that “My Modes” not only limit many automatics but also hinder the growth of the good Vera system
Forgive my English (I live in Italy) 
But then what is the advantage, except different (more nice?) user interface?
Seems that you use the system totally different way than I use. For example I have a bunch of temperature sensors (about 12) around the house, but frankly speaking I don’t care what are the readings coming from any of them until they do the job (which is i.e. turning on/off heating or allowing/preventing some other scenes to be run).
My daily contact with Vera interface is very limited and mostly because of maintenance or adding new features.
In your case you use the interface probably many times during a day, so it is important to make it useful.
Why?
If you don’t need it, you just not using it, why you consider it as some kind of obstacle?
English is not mine pirmary language either
Used correctly the modes is a brilliant function.
It’s about how you use it.
We combine the modes with pleg logic.
We use home as our default obviously.
Lights, windows etc all automated.
In night mode certain lights turn off, the widow and door sensors arm, motorised windows stay shut, TV in living room turns off add bathroom light only comes on dim with motion.
Away all sensors arm, all tv’s off, lights go into a simulation mode and central heating turns down.
Vacation is the same except the water supply turns off and using a maker/ifttt interface we send sms alerts of alarms to my parents.
I agree …, I also do not understand, rather than going ahead to improve the various automations and I realize that Modes with HouseModes Plug-in is bothersome.
Perhaps it was “rightly” created for those who are limited to rules of elementary automation …
I do not use House Modes … it was really meant as there entrance into Security … they are the modes of a security system.
The biggest problem is that it assumes Modes are orthogonal.
But my house can be HOME + NIGHT at the same time.
Which would be different for AWAY + NIGHT and VACATION + NIGHT
I use MultiSwitch to set my various Modes.
So I have the following independent modes:
Home
Night
Vacation
Freeze
And use PLEG for my automation.
My automaton controls my DSC alarm system.
[quote=“Eco, post:11, topic:197716”]I agree …, I also do not understand, rather than going ahead to improve the various automations and I realize that Modes with HouseModes Plug-in is bothersome.
Perhaps it was “rightly” created for those who are limited to rules of elementary automation …[/quote]
I still don’t get it how modes are “limiting” anything?
You don’t like or need them, you don’t use them, what is “limiting” part about?
House Modes Plugin is another story, it can be useful sometimes, but it is not integrated part of the Modes and has nothing to do with idea itself.
You mean, independent from each other?
I understand “Night” mode exactly like that: I’m home and there is a night.
But I get the idea and face similar issue. For me it doesn’t matter if it is night or day when I’m on Vacation, but for example it makes a difference if I have guests at home or not
Multiswitch is doing more or less the same job as Modes do, just allows you more flexibility (more “modes”) but at the expense of more coding needed. So untill you have more demands from that functionality, Modes are more user friendly. And they allow geofencing, including running the scenes according to various location (i.e. run a scene when I’m leaving work), which is also manageable without it, but needs more effort.
Anyway, I would like ability to add additional Modes to the 4 defaults, at least in one of my locations. At second one, I don’t use Modes at all.
I came from the VeraLite UI5 system, allowed to put the Devices and the Favorite Scenes on the Dashboard, so doing each one was free to simply or curl up the mother functions.
UI7 allows you to put only 4 Methods with the name and intentions required and this “personally” I find it limiting because I started with the configuration suggested by the 4 methods but the variants needed for me have repented me as I went on with the automatisms , making me impatient with “House Modes Plugin” to remedy.
It would be like buying a phone with only 4 numeric keys, after a while I insert the contacts I found it best to use another keyboard! …
But I repeat this is just my case and the question is whether it makes sense “My modes” and not mother Scenes on custom Dashboard!
My ideal configuration is:
ARM: (starts a 2 minute timer and then all armed sensors, 5-degree lower thermostat, instant alarm response time, lights and power-offs)
PROTECTION: (divided into 2 NIGHT and DAY scenes based on time and presence in the home, controls thermostat and arm only external sensors)
OPEN DOOR: (disarm and open the Electronic Door, starts the PROTECTION scene automatically when we enter the house)
SITUATION: (a Voice (with VeraAlert plugin) tells me Weather, calendar appointments (with Gcal3 plugin) if there are devices with poor battery etc …)
As you can see, this is just my case… and the question is whether it makes sense to put the My Modes limit on 4 keys or multiple Mothers scenes! … in my case this forces you to use Dashboard of shorter parts
… is my opinion only?
I’m not sure if I understand correctly what you are writing, but I think you don’t understand what Modes really are for.
Seems that you basically mixing scenes with modes, for example “Open Door” or “Situation” for me is definitely a job for a scene, not mode. If you try to set up modes to work as a scenes, then I can imagine that you’re frustrated, but it is not because of the Modes concept, but because you’re simply trying to use it wrong.
So let’s start from the basics. In general, Mode have two main functions:
- Allows you to define how should behave certain sensors or switches if you set specific mode (i.e. arm/disarm, on/off, etc.). This way you can manage a bunch of devices by one click (i.e. arm all outside sensors during a night and disarm during a day, shut off water valves if you are away and turn them on when you’re home, etc.)
- Act as additional condition for the scenes. This way you can design a scene to be run only in certain mode/s, for example "turn the light on if sensor detects a motion, but only if the house is in mode “home” or “night”. For example I have a scene which turns on the fan if humidity in a room reaches certain level, but I don’t want it to run when I’m not at home, so I’ve restricted it to the Home and Night modes. Or I have electrical heater which keeps certain room above freezing temperature, but I don’t want it to interfere with heating settings used when I’m at home or left it for a short period of time, so I’ve restricted this scene to be run only in “Vacation” mode. And so on.
Modes are not scenes but rather a conditions which can be used within scenes. so trying to use Modes as a Scenes (which you’re trying to do, according to your “modes” description) will not get you anywhere except total mess.
From what you describe, “ARM” mode can be defined under “Away” or “Vacation”, while “Protection” can be served by “Home” and “Night” modes.
For “Open Door” I would use a scene which disarms/opens lock and turn house into Home mode. Or use geofencing, then you can define a circle around the house entering which switches the Mode to “Home” automatically.
“Situation” should be created as a scene based on any trigger you like. It can be restricted to certain modes, but doesn’t have to. It is definitely not a job for Modes.
I know what the Conditions are, I find it frustrating to use them with My Modes. Personally I started to use them, but with the growth of automation, it’s just a waste of time.
By creating personal scenes, I found the easiest way, in the same way with My Modes requires multiple steps!
As far as I’m concerned, it could be a third-party plugin to use or not, but definitely illogical to be put in the foreground!
I think it’s stupid that My Modes should be on a Dashbord, I have 4 Primary scenes and I would like those for my condition! maybe even show my ipcam … it does not seem tough!
[quote=“Eco, post:17, topic:197716”]I know what the Conditions are, I find it frustrating to use them with My Modes. Personally I started to use them, but with the growth of automation, it’s just a waste of time.
By creating personal scenes, I found the easiest way, in the same way with My Modes requires multiple steps!
As far as I’m concerned, it could be a third-party plugin to use or not, but definitely illogical to be put in the foreground!
I think it’s stupid that My Modes should be on a Dashbord, I have 4 Primary scenes and I would like those for my condition! maybe even show my ipcam … it does not seem tough![/quote]
let this lose, turn it off, and just stop using MyModes, in the end it’s just a waste of time to create the individual conditions … Using the ImperiHome interface that is much faster and more useful.
The idea of suggesting MyModes as a plugin rather than an interface is good. ;D
@Eco,
In my opinion, you still don’t get the idea of Modes and the purpose they are intended for. For example:
You don’t use conditions with modes. It is more or less other way around, Modes acts as conditions, mostly for Scenes (and don’t confuse conditions with triggers here).
OK, you can use some conditions as a triggers for changing one mode to another, but in this case a condition is used to trigger a Scene, which switches Mode as a result.
If you used them as I suppose you were using them, then I can understand your opinion. But this is not because of how Modes are designed, but because you used them wrong.
Modes and Scenes are two different tools and they are not interchangeable by any means.
Modes is a tool to tell you system what is the (static) “state” of your house (i.e. if you are inside or away), and build certain actions (Scenes) depending on that state, while Scenes is a tool to perform certain actions based on defined triggers.
So, basically, you can’t “do the same” with Scenes as with Modes, as they do totally different job. You can replace Modes with a Multiswitch (as for example @RichardTSchaefer does), but I don’t see possibility to replace Modes with Scenes.
If you are really desperate, you can try to use Modes as a Scenes (and this is what I think you were trying to do, using “My Modes Dashboard” section as a set of shortcuts to start those “Scenes”).
This way you use Modes configuration panel to define which devices should be turned on or off when specific Mode is set and switch Specific modes ON/OFF manually or by a scene.
But as I said, you have to be really desperate to use Modes like that and this is not what they are designed for.
Let me explain on the example:
I have country house with electric heaters working more or less as simple on/off devices. I also have temperature sensors in each room.
I build a set of Scenes which work mainly in following way:
“Set A” - turn heating ON if temperature drops below 3 degrees and turn it OFF if it increases above that level (used when I’m not at home for a long time)
“Set B” - turn heating ON if temperature drops below 18 degrees and turn it OFF if it increase above that level (used when I left home for short period of time, i.e. half of a day)
“Set C” - turn heating ON if temperature drops below 21 degrees and turn it OFF if it increase above that level (used when I’m home)
“Set D” - turn heating ON if temperature drops below 19 degrees and turn it OFF if it increase above that level (used when I’m home, during a night).
If I will leave all above sets of Scenes turned ON at the same time, they will conflict with each other - for example scenes from Set D will try to turn ON heating when temperature drops below 19 degrees, while Scenes from set A and B will try to disable heating at the same time (“below 19” is still “above 3” and “above 18”).
Of course I can manage these scenes manually enabling/disabling them, but this will cost me a lot of effort as i have couple of scenes under each set.
Much easier way is restrict scenes from specific sets to certain modes, in a way like that:
Scenes from Set A run only if the current mode is “Vacation”
Scenes from Set B run only if the current mode is “Away”
Scenes from set C run only if the current mode is “Home”
Scenes from set D run only if the current mode is “Night”.
This way I can avoid conflicts and “tell” my house to behave different way on the same triggers depending on the Mode which is currently set.
This is very usefull especially if you have really automatic setup (most of your Scenes run on triggers coming from sensors and/or on schedule).
For example you can make the same sensor turn light on if it detects motion while mode “Home” is set, turn the light dimmed if operating mode is “Night” and fire alarm and notify you if the mode is “Away” and fire alarm and notify your Aunt (or other person who watches your house during your absence) if the mode is set to “Vacation”
Remember - all these actions are handled by Scenes while Modes are just defining which scenes will run or not on a specific trigger. But Modes themselves are neither triggers nor actions.
If you trigger your scenes manually (as I understand you do), or have relatively simple setup, you probably won’t need to use Modes and I can understand that you find annoying their persistence on the Dashboard.
But still, I wouldn’t say Modes are “limiting” in such case - you don’t need them, you simply don’t use them.
For example at my primary location I don’t use modes, as I have rather simple setup there - no sensors (except Netatmo station), just two or three switches, radiator heads which keep desired temperature without need for using Scenes to switch them on or of). I just ignore “My Modes” section for this setup.
On the setup which I have at my country house I would like to have even more Modes, as sometimes I need to heat additional rooms and sometimes not. Not speaking of arming/disarming security sensors in specific areas.
I agree with you, but perhaps what #Eco says (and it is right) is that MyModes should be a Plugin with the ability to add or remove the modalities they need, and put only what you use in the Dashboard … like 2 modes and 2 scenes, or how it would serve me 5 modes and 1 scene.
My Modes requires 4 methods that are not for everyone and is not functional on the front page so it causes confusion, which makes us look for more effective interfaces (such as Imperihome) that resolve the prolema.