IFTTT Free Plan Will Only Allows 3 Applets Starting 10/7 - Who Is Going To Subscribe?

[chrisfraser05]

I cancelled my account. The service is never reliable enough to use for anything more than fun.

[WhitW]

I'm a bit late responding, but I actually signed up for the minimum amount ($1.99) a couple of days ago. I figure for that small amount, I can test it out to see if performance improves under the "Pro" plan, and if not, I can always drop it...

[mulu]

Chakara What are you using it for? In my case I wanted to use it for a door chime with my Skybell. But it took anywhere from a few minutes to an hour or even nothing at all so it was completely useless. I guess there might be some applications where one doesn't care about such delays.

[Chakara]

I'll continue to use and pay for IFTTT. Agree - it is not fast or always reliable, but nearly free @ $24/year forever. IE: it brings me much more value in time/effort than that.

no need for anything except HomeSeer to connect with the Google Home app and Google based speakers and displays. Including Android devices. Others are using the new node red integration with HomeSeer to better connect with Alexa. I have no experience with the Amazon units, though.

I am not a user of Google, only Amazon (Alexa). You can directly control HS devices from Alexa also, but to lock the front door, for example, you have to say something like "Alexa, ask Homeseer to turn off front door". Which is why there is a desire to use Alexa routines, which can have a customized triggering phrase ("Alexa Raise Shields"). Unfortunately HS does not work directly with Alexa routines, which is why alternate methods are sought.

(Which is not to say the Alexa routines are perfect. It seems that when Alexa misunderstands me, it thinks I want to listen to rap music.)

[ksum]

no need for anything except HomeSeer to connect with the Google Home app and Google based speakers and displays. Including Android devices. Others are using the new node red integration with HomeSeer to better connect with Alexa. I have no experience with the Amazon units, though.

I have had good success interfacing Alexa with Homeseer by using Tasker on one of my HS Touch Android tablets, using the Autovoice Tasker plug in. The plugin also works with Google, I believe. Not necessarily superior to some of the other methods discussed, but it is an alternative, especially if you have Android tablets available, and have any familiarity at all with Tasker.

[simonmason]

Two things on this topic.

First, I mostly use the IFTTT webhooks functionality with Homeseer instead of the direct Homeseer integration. I found the direct integration with Homeseer to be, as others reported, completely unreliable. Webhooks works everytime.

Second, if you create a second IFTTT account you of course double the number of applets. I only needed 4 for my application so it was an easy solution to my problem.

I will, however, be looking into Node Red as a longer-term solution.

[Wade]

Hi cc4005, can you help me learn more about this method? I was not aware that we could customize and interact with Google Assistant directly. Any guidance would be very much appreciated! Thanks!

This is based on the Android app....

Open the Google Home app
Select Routines then Manage Routines
Click Add a Routine
Click Add Commands and enter a phrase (don't enter the "Hey Google" part) and click OK
Click on Assistant Will > +Add Action
Select Browse popular actions
Under Home Control select the device or scene (event) you want to control and click OK
Add more actions if you'd like then click Add at upper right of the screen
Click Save
Issue the voice command phrase to a google device

If you're not on Android hopefully this is close enough to get you going.

[jryan15]

Hi cc4005, can you help me learn more about this method? I was not aware that we could customize and interact with Google Assistant directly. Any guidance would be very much appreciated! Thanks!

I was able to find a little google help on getting started. I'll start a separate thread in the Assistant forum about how to link a google routine to a homeseer system event. Thansk!

FWIW - I really enjoyed the simplicity of IFTTT to link all kinds of devices like my particle photon, hook smarthome, LED light controller, etc and easily link them to Homeseer events. If IFTTT would have just introduced a PRO plan that added abilities like multi-conditioned events or allowing recovery/backup services of applets, I would have likely become a pro member. However, I hate that they chose to strong arm people by turning off features they'd become reliant upon. Because of their approach, I will likely never use their service again. Disappointing.

[jryan15]

An alternative would be to use google routines and you can set whatever phrase you wish (with some limitations) to trigger an event or control a device in HS. The downside is you need to set up a separate routine for each trigger.

edit: A separate google routine for each trigger may be no worse than what you have to do with IFTTT.

Hi cc4005, can you help me learn more about this method? I was not aware that we could customize and interact with Google Assistant directly. Any guidance would be very much appreciated! Thanks!

[ksum]

I signed up for the $1.99 plan. My problem is HS voice control with all the Google Home speakers I have around the house. IFTTT has been very good at me saying "Hey Google. Set Guest Mode to On" or something like that and I can then run a HS event. The WAF has been high. The built-in HS was requiring me to do the "Hey Google. Tell Homeseer to run the event...". Getting the family to do it was a real pain. Has that changed?

"Hey Google, run (event voice command)"

Set the Voice Command option in the event's Edit Event dialog. This was implemented long ago. Google has changed where you might find the HS Events and the last time I looked I could not find them. But that is a Google side thing, not HomeSeer.

[Wade]

I signed up for the $1.99 plan. My problem is HS voice control with all the Google Home speakers I have around the house. IFTTT has been very good at me saying "Hey Google. Set Guest Mode to On" or something like that and I can then run a HS event. The WAF has been high. The built-in HS was requiring me to do the "Hey Google. Tell Homeseer to run the event...". Getting the family to do it was a real pain. Has that changed?

An alternative would be to use google routines and you can set whatever phrase you wish (with some limitations) to trigger an event or control a device in HS. The downside is you need to set up a separate routine for each trigger.

edit: A separate google routine for each trigger may be no worse than what you have to do with IFTTT.

[Wazoo]

I signed up for the $1.99 plan. My problem is HS voice control with all the Google Home speakers I have around the house. IFTTT has been very good at me saying "Hey Google. Set Guest Mode to On" or something like that and I can then run a HS event. The WAF has been high. The built-in HS was requiring me to do the "Hey Google. Tell Homeseer to run the event...". Getting the family to do it was a real pain. Has that changed?

[mulu]

At least they are not going away completely as stringify did.

I would change "are not going away" to "have not gone away YET"...