UI4: creating users without a myMIOS account

Community Playground General Discussions
#1

I’m not comfortable keeping configuration information on, or allowing remote access to my Vera box from, a third-party site, but I’d still like to create local users and send notifications.

Before I bought my Vera last week, I was led to believe, both by the MiCasaVerde homepage and by the wiki, that using the MiCasaVerde/MiOS online service was optional; and that in fact all of the device’s features, including remote access and notifications, could be enabled with one’s own infrastructure, if you were capable of punching holes through firewalls, configuring an SMTP gateway, etc. Based on this information, I assumed I’d be able to use my colo’ed GNU/Linux server to remotely access and send email notifications from my Vera box at home.

When I received my Vera, it was running UI2 or 3. I configured a couple of users and set up notifications, but then realized that I should probably be running UI4, like most other people, so I flashed the new firmware and started over with the configuration. However, as several other people on the forums have also discovered, there appears to be no way to create local users without first setting up a myMIOS account online. I also don’t see any options in UI4 to configure remote access.

Like I said above, I’m not comfortable using a third-party service to control a device hooked into my home automation system, so I’d like a way to create purely local accounts, just like I could do previously with older UI versions. I’d also like to be able to send notifications through my own SMTP server. Configuring remote access without myMIOS is a nice-to-have, but not as big a deal as sending notifications.

Is there a way to do this in UI4? I’m happy to ssh into the Vera box and do some command-line hacking and conf file editing, if that’s what it takes. If it’s not possible in UI4, can we please have that functionality restored? I feel I was misled by the product information that’s currently available, as one of the key reasons I chose the Vera over, say, Homeseer, is that all of the product’s features were available without requring an online account.

thanks!

#2

Unfortunatley notifications and multiple users only works in U-2 without the third party. Neither works for notifications unless you can get a simple email client loaded into vera. You might be able to develope a LUA code to do this.

#3

Thanks for the reply!

Seems like overkill to write some Lua code just to send email, but I’m comfortable installing a mail transfer agent on the Vera. Is there somewhere that the notification process is documented? I assume that once the MTA is installed, I need to tell the MiOS software where to send the notifications, and which events should trigger a notification.

#4

These boxes are buit on a open Linix OS called OPENWRT. Vera 2 frimware will allow easy treak if you know what you are doing. THere is a sendmail client that can be added. I never played with it too much though.
Firmware UI4 does not allow easy access into the OS. You need to know what you are doing there. You can log into either OS through SSH. You are on your own though. when you make a change. The good thing is there is a recovery tool if you crash it.

#5

ALL of the versions of Vera, including UI2/UI3 and UI4, go through a centralized service to send any notifications (Email or SMS). These have never been freestanding, although they might have seemed that way from the outside, due to “where” the configuration was kept, and the changes that UI4 brought for User registration.

Even UI2 used to call the notification script on Vera, to call out to MCV’s servers to perform the actual notification component (SMS or Email)

I’ve filed the following Mantis against MiOS to see if they’ll add it. Seems like it’s not just for end-users, but for OEM’s as well:

 http://bugs.micasaverde.com/view.php?id=1257
#6

Thanks for the clarification. I had the impression from the product information and wiki that the SMTP and SMS gateways were configurable.

And thanks for filing the feature request! I like your idea of making notifications scriptable (e.g., sending them to Twitter).

#7

There are some folks here that have done the work to manually push stuff through Twitter (Etc) but it’s not “wired” into the standard notification mechanism, so you need to remember to add it to Scenes for each usage.

Making this Plugable would mean those existing efforts could be wired in “once” and then re-used across the board.

#8

Ahh, I see, so I could just add, say, a custom email Luup script to each scene to handle email notification until MCV makes the built-in notifications configurable. Got it.

I guess that’s what zmistro recommended, too, which I dismissed as being overkill, but that was before I understood that the built-in notification currently relies on the MCV servers.

Thanks for everyone’s help and info.

#9

What was the answer to the original question, I don’t want to use myMIOS especially with its poor password requirement i.e. no special characters permitted.

I don’t get a user tab in the toolbox as shown in the documentation link http://docs2.mios.com/images/Image/ui4/dashboard_overview.png

The only way I can enable local web authentication and multiple uses is to setup an account on myMIOS locally and assign the device.

Someone help !!!

#10

Still no response? What a product…

This is a minimum requirement in my opinion. Great start of post by the way! Very clear!!!

#11

[quote=“dragonlorduk, post:9, topic:166534”]What was the answer to the original question, I don’t want to use myMIOS especially with its poor password requirement i.e. no special characters permitted.

I don’t get a user tab in the toolbox as shown in the documentation link http://docs2.mios.com/images/Image/ui4/dashboard_overview.png

The only way I can enable local web authentication and multiple uses is to setup an account on myMIOS locally and assign the device.

Someone help !!![/quote]

@dragonlorduk
Please check the MyMios icon for users. You are righ the doc page isnt correct. The energy icon and user icon are not available in the actual UI4

As for adding local users, there isnt a documenten/working solution to that. But maybe someone will add to this thread where that discusion is going on…
http://forum.mios.com/index.php?topic=6716.0

@mcvflorin, is it possible to update the referenced documentation page with an up to date picture of a UI4 dashboard? Or are the quick start, users icon and energy icon intended for a soon te be release update?

#12

Id also like an answer to the original concern; can central management be disabled in UI4? i also think it is a huge concern, i dont see how other users aren’t up in arms. Maybe they decided to use a different product? If someone decides this venture isnt profitable and the service and product goes belly up, everyones’ boxes are paperweights. WHAT?

This really is ridiculous, no straight answer to this post and its been more than 6 months.

MiCasaVerde, why wont you allow us use of the device in UI4 WITHOUT a connection and account to findvera.com?

#13

While it’s not an all inclusive solution, check out this thread re: a beta UI that Timalls has written. It actually works really well and it’s local control only. He’s done a great job with it and, as time permits, is looking at adding a lot more function. Other than scene creation, I use it almost exclusively to control my nodes and see what they are doing via reports.

It’s a very nice piece of software that has some great potential.

#14

[quote=“ballroller, post:13, topic:166534”]While it’s not an all inclusive solution, check out this thread re: a beta UI that Timalls has written. It actually works really well and it’s local control only. He’s done a great job with it and, as time permits, is looking at adding a lot more function. Other than scene creation, I use it almost exclusively to control my nodes and see what they are doing via reports.

It’s a very nice piece of software that has some great potential.[/quote]

youve mentioned ‘this thread’ in two different responses but havent linked anything. where am i to find this magical thread?

#15

Oops, sorry. Rough night…

Here’s the link: http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php?topic=6515.0

#16

The other option to allow remote access and not through vera is to enable https through the mios service (yes I know not a great place to have the optoin) and enable port forwarding to your vera unit via https in your router/firewall. This issue has been brought up many times and hopefully MCV can take this into consideration.

  • Garrett