The outside keypad for my Chamberlain/Craftsman opener is failing, replacement is $40, but as we know this is ancient technology, albeit one that is reliable.

So the quest for connectivity has moved forward started with the potential addition of a My Q to operate the main door for $75, not much extra to move into the next century of technology.

MY Q allows you to open and close the door and monitor it with the MyQ app, however that is another app to master, no "Hey Siri" thus the need to step into the Home Automation maze.

It seems you can order for a cool double of the price of the MyQ a MyQ HomeBridge adapter to enable connectivity to apples HomeKit for the deluxe privilege being able to say "Hey Siri, close the effing garage door mate" vs opening an app.

Homekit does open up the potential to connect other smart things in your home, provided you buy an Apple approved HomeKit device. Naturally my Nest Thermostat isn't a member, or Alexa, or anything possibly android affiliated to continue in Apples quest to eliminate open source 3rd party connectivity and claim dominance in the home automation networking arena.

The bug with MyQ is that Google connectivity and/ or IFTTT support you have to pay a buck a month to them (MyQ) to connect to your own network so you can tell Alexa to shut the flipping door... Supposedly others offer Alexa connectivity and IFTTT support without a fee.

So now that all that's been said, I know I can run the My Q without all this connectivity, however there is the thought that moving to a smarter home technology, ID turn on Air, turn on lights, close door, flush toilet, make me a sammich options for the future are interesting

If you've started down the home automation highway, what path did you take, HomeKit, or some other option.

Looking to see what pitfalls may be out there before buying another automation piece that will end up not being compatible with a network such as having a Nest, but no connection to HomeKit, and a MyQ that will only connect to HomeKit...

I have not embraced the home automation concept. Yes, it has a certain "wow" factor to it, but comes at a very high cost. A standard light switch connected to copper wire costs about a buck and lasts for decades. The same cannot be said for high tech models.

Same for door openers. If it lifts the door when I am 20 feet away, I'm happy.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:

The outside keypad for my Chamberlain/Craftsman opener is failing

I thought that my keypad was failing. Turns out that there was nothing wrong with it, the component that was failing was the receiver in the control box for the door opener.

Local member bigdeal turned me on to an independent garage door service guy who has turned out to be a great resource. He has diagnosed and repaired a couple of problems at very reasonable cost.

Email me if you want Service Guy's contact information.

Appreciate it however all other openers are working fine, just this one device, plus I'd like to move to an automated system using the phone as a control point via home automation.

Basically it's my excuse for stepping into that area

I recently bought an Apple Homepod and when I get a new opener I'll be able to tell Siri to open the garage door with the bluetooth headset in my motorcycle helmet.

Open the pod bay doors, Hal.

I have looked into it but I am not ready to head down that path yet.

When I was looking into myQ i read some reviews where the grage doors operated by themselves (I am guessing probably due to stray electrical interference). While it did not seem common it kept me from getting one.

I'm not going to go into the privacy and security aspects of any devices that require a 3rd party server to function.

I'm not into a whole home automation system, but I do have as separate devices:

My Q
Nest 2 thermostat
Ring 2 doorbell

I love all 3, and just control all 3 from their individual apps.

My Q has worked well for the 6 months I've had it (with the exception of a few weeks when the app kept crashing.) I have not paid anything other than the $80 I paid for the unit. Since Chamberlin updated the app, it's worked great.

quote:

Originally posted by SpinZone:
I have looked into it but I am not ready to head down that path yet.

When I was looking into myQ i read some reviews where the grage doors operated by themselves (I am guessing probably due to stray electrical interference). While it did not seem common it kept me from getting one.

I'm not going to go into the privacy and security aspects of any devices that require a 3rd party server to function.

Going on 4 years with MyQ never once has it operated on it’s own.
Actually MyQ is so far the only WiFi device that has not failed at some point or another when I needed it.
It is a nice little feature. As for the home automation part that is well above my knowledge.

Like remsig, I too have a MyQ opener. It has been flawless for 2 years now.
I also just use its app, and use other apps to perform other home functions.
Hoping for ideas to tie it all together one day, as this thread develops.

I have a MyQ internet gateway I’ll send you if you want it. It came with the door openers I got a couple of years ago and I refuse to put any appliance in the house on the internet.

Just shoot me an email with where you want it sent.

quote:

Originally posted by MNSIG:
I have not embraced the home automation concept. Yes, it has a certain "wow" factor to it, but comes at a very high cost. A standard light switch connected to copper wire costs about a buck and lasts for decades. The same cannot be said for high tech models.

Same for door openers. If it lifts the door when I am 20 feet away, I'm happy.

^^^This, plus what OldChimney said.

I'm a master electrician and I own zero smart home/home automation crap. Closest thing to any of that I have is a ceiling fan with a remote. It failed during a wind storm and cost me $80 for a new remote.

Good luck

I have had very good luck with the MyQ app. It is very simple to use - probably about as easy as trying got talk to siri or Alexa or someone else. Had for a year with no problems opening unexpectedly. Wifi range with MyQ is excellent. My garage is quite a ways from my Wi-Fi and I have never had an issue with a poor connection. I have had trouble with a Samsung Wi-Fi camera in the garage and it was always dropping the connection.

My whole house is automated. I use Echo/Alexa for everything from my lights to my gas fire place.

My setup goes like this:

Ring Security system w/ doorbell cam and flood light cam with integrated door locks

3 sets of Phillips Hue WiFi outdoor flood lights

Interior cameras are Amazon cloud cams (5 of them)

Nest Thermostat x 2

Interior lights Phillips Hue WiFi bulbs

2 ECOVACS Robot vaccuums (upstairs and downstairs)

B-Hyve WiFi irrigation system

Genie garage door opener with Gogogate2 WiFi bridge linked to IFTTT for Alexa integration. This allows for app control, voice control, and geofencing.

Amazon echo in every room and garage, music streaming in groups and in Stereo in certain rooms ala Sonos. I have a music room with two Amazon Echo pluses and their sub for deep rich sound. I even have a turntable connected to them. I have the ability to play music throughout every room or in groups.

Fire TV’s on 4 TV’s with Alexa integration

My movie theater has WiFi Alexa controled hidden LED strip lighting that is configurable by voice as in I can change the colors and mood in the room with my voice to match the movie theme

WiFi switches throughout house including gas fireplace

Geofencing setup to control temp, lighting, even open my garage when I get home. Currently I can arm and disarm my alarm with my voice but no geofencing option for automatic arm disarm when I get home

Everything is voice controlled and integrated with Alexa. I haven’t had any issues so far. If WiFi goes out everything can be operated manually and most have battery backups in case power is out including garage, alarm system (cellular back up as well), door locks, and some cameras.

quote:

Originally posted by Dusty78:
My whole house is automated. I use Echo/Alexa for everything from my lights to my gas fire place.

My setup goes like this:

That is fascinating, and full of ideas. Thank you for sharing the details.

At the risk of seeming like too much of a propeller head, if you go down the “smart home” path, be sure to segment your home network first. Generally speaking, security in most home automation products is not where it needs to be. Given this, I recommend that you create a dedicated virtual network (VLAN) in your router for all non-computer devices that is separate from the one that you use for online banking, bill paying, and anything else that requires a higher security level. I have my network set up as follows:

VLAN 1 - my Mac and personal lab. No social media or gaming. Anything that requires secure connectivity is done here. When I work from home, I use this VLAN only.

VLAN 2 - my wife’s devices and my gaming system. We also use this for visitors.

VLAN 3 - home automation. Alarm, garage door, TVs, cameras, gun safes, etc.

I secure all three VLANs, but until the security on smart devices catches up, I sleep better at night keeping them separate.

I have read about bugs with the WiFi enabled garage doors so I have avoided them. I don't have any smart devices that would enable access to my house (like door locks). And I don't have any of the listening devices like Alexa.


I do have several of these WiFi switches and they are very useful since they can be used for so many different things. They frequently go on sale for ~$20.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have avoided smart devices that require their own hub since that's just more devices to manage. Since I already have a robust WiFi network I've picked things that connect directly to WiFi like these switches.

When we are going out for an evening, or if we are away from home later than expected, I hit the "Night out" pre-programmed scene in the app and the associated inside lights turn on.

When going out of town for a trip I turn on the schedule feature and the lights cycle on/off per my pre-set program to make it look like the house is occupied.

I have one on my outside spotlights so I can easily turn them on from my phone if I'm outside working and not near the switch. Or if I'm away from home and I see something on one of my security camera notifications I can switch them on anywhere that I have cell service.

I have another on my Christmas tree lights. It's on a timer that turns itself off so I never forget and leave the tree lights on after bedtime or when I go to work. Another is on my bedroom ceiling fan with a sleep timer.

I have several Arlo Q interior cameras to bolster my alarm system and exterior cameras. One time my alarm went off when I wasn't home (it was just the cat), and the alarm company called and asked if everything was ok. I checked my outside live camera feed and all looked well. But I realized I had no idea of somebody was inside my house or not. So the Arlo Q's cover that and give me notification of activity when I'm away from home.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


I have 2 of the Ecobee thermostats and I like them very much as well. They don't have as much self learning as the Nest, but offer more direct control with scheduled programming and temp range limits for activation which is what I wanted. I like that I can easily change things and check the Hvac status from my phone. I can easily schedule a vacation program from the app if I forgot to do it before I left. I also get useful data on run time and energy use.

The extra sensors work great to keep average temps reasonable across multiple rooms. They have been working perfectly for over 3 years and I would not go back to a standard thermostat.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...ilpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

quote:

Originally posted by 95flhr:
I have a MyQ internet gateway I’ll send you if you want it. It came with the door openers I got a couple of years ago and I refuse to put any appliance in the house on the internet.

Just shoot me an email with where you want it sent.

Thanks for the offer, I'm interested in your generous karma for it to work with my opener which is not MyQ ready it has to have the Door Sensor that comes with the aftermarket version, if not it won't operate my nonQ opener.

Does it come with the door sensor?
Otherwise I'd have to buy one and they cost about as much as a whole new unit

There are some interesting ideas, one point that seems to be overlooked, with any new tech is downstream compatibility right now if you have a Nest Thermostat it's not going to work with Apples HomeKit automation system.

Many have purchased some form of automation such as a Learning Thermostat or wifi external security cameras, what I'm finding is that you need to check to see what home automation systems they are compatible with or you may end up complicating future automation should you decide to make that leap finding out that you can't hook up your Nest Doorbell and Thermostat to your Apple HomeKit or Google system where you've invested funds in control systems for other things in the house.

Food for thought since as is normal with companies that make things, they don't make systems that interconnect ie IOS and Android

A perfect example is that if you want to use HomeKit to control all your home automation you have to buy the HomeBridge from MyQ at $75. Now it's not super expensive, but consider the whole MyQ is now $75 online, it doubles the cost just to add a control feature to Apple, and you have another box to manage, stupid, the base MyQ unit should do this without having to buy another hub. (as previously mentioned)

Yes you can run the MyQ, Nest, ArloPro, etc with the app they come with, HomeKit just lets you control them from within one app, do it right and you make things easy, do it wrong and you're replacing devices or buying hubs/bridges

quote:

Originally posted by 95flhr:
I have a MyQ internet gateway I’ll send you if you want it. It came with the door openers I got a couple of years ago and I refuse to put any appliance in the house on the internet.

Just shoot me an email with where you want it sent.

If HRK doesn't want it and you're looking to get rid of it, I'd be happy to take it off your hands.

I've been toying with the idea of trying one of those out. Got one on my Amazon wish list. But I just haven't been sure enough to actually spend money on it.

I understand being reluctant to put stuff on the 'net. I'm an ex-IT professional, and I'm a bit antsy about it all. But I'm also a gear head/gadget freak. So I'm pushing my "security comfort zone" limit a bit.

I think soon I'll be following SecurityGeek's example, and segmenting my flat LAN into VLANs.

Through my alarm monitoring platform I use the Alarm.Com automation interface. Lighting control, thermostat, garage doors and cameras. Very seamless and really integrated.