What is HomeSeer and what can I do

[FleurDeLis]

Hi, My husband used these forums a lot and was an avid smart home/home automation user. Unfortunately he suddenly died unexpectedly almost two weeks ago and there was a problem with the electrics that took out the router. When it was back working again some of the automated things don't work and i am also worried that in the future more things wlll fail over time too.

For the last 10 days for example i have had to try to sleep with multicoloured christmas lights on, kitchen lights stuck on (some i could unscrew bulbs but not in LED strips), garden lights stuck on and other things i couldnt work (some cameras do not show the feed though the motion sensors follow still). I am worried my nest smoke alarms will start going off and i don't know what to do. This is all making it a lot worse right now when I have so many things on my mind. I always gave him free reign with all this smart home stuff because he enjoyed it so much, also we spent all our time together so when I couldn't work something he was never far away and could help but right now my own house feels like it is against me and i have no idea what to do.

We also paid some money to Homeseer in recent weeks when i checked our shared account but i am not sure what that is for or if more will keep coming out.

I just want to be able to turn my lights on and off, work my TV, set my heating and not feel scared weird stuff is going to happen as a baseline. Then maybe in the future I can learn how to use some of it but right now I am just so overwhelmed and just want to do normal things in my house. I know there is wiring in the loft and all through the walls. Can I just unplug everything I can find once I have the energy (i did some of that already, for example i found the christmas lights went into the boiier cupboard so i could unplug them finally just now, however now my microwave doesnt work and when i plug that plug in it still doesnt...). it's a living nightmare, can anyone offer advice?

[chrisfraser05]

I've sent you a private message to see what i can do to help you.

[Krumpy]

First - let me express my condolences. I may even go as bold and say that everyone in this community will forward their condolences whether it is directly written or not. It is a small community across the globe. We have our squabbles, but in this context I am confident that many will want to help where they can.

We have had a few cases like this and there have been a few message threads on how the automation system could be subjectively designed such that it may continue after one's passing. But nothing is ever unfortunately perfect.

Where to start? Hmm.

There are quite a few talented folks from your side of the world which I am sure will chime in and help. They are probably better than I as I am state side and while I have a European background, I have not lived in England. So, I get the power differences and such, but may not be able to help with specifics like Internet connection and such. With my European experiences I may even have a clue to what a "boiier cupboard" is, but as a true American not so much....If you get what I mean.

Question #1 - Let's not start with the techie bits and I ask that you think about what you want to keep running, and what you don't care so much in terms of future operations. The reason I start here is because it is helpful for us to have a background whether you want to continue automating your home or whether you want us to help you remove certain items. For example, in one example we had a dear plugin author which passed as part of an auto accident and his wife didn't want to continue with any of the automation. It is what it is.

Question #2 - You may want to create a priority list of things you want us to help you with. What is the most important and immediate thing you need help with.


Question #3 - Do you have any idea of what hardware and software your HomeSeer system is using and connected with? If you can't provide specifics, can you provide pictures of the pieces? We can then have more insights.


Question #4 - What area of England do you live in? Perhaps, someone here is more local than I from across the pond and may want to assist.


Question #5 - Pending on how technical you are, do you feel comfortable sending out your HomeSeer Data file? This is the database of all HomeSeer devices and events which give us more information to how everything is "plumbed" together per se. I am a big privacy person and off the top of my head I can't think of a reason of why you couldn't safely send this file out. It just contains the devices and events. It doesn't contain the license data nor does it contain your Internet address, or user password data. It does provide us with helpful information like which plugins (software modules) you have which also provides us with information to what hardware you use. This sort of information is not sensitive. The file usually reside in the HomeSeer directory (c:\program files (x86)\HomeSeer HS3\data) or something similar if you're using a Windows machine. The file name is HomeSeerData.hsd ...



Take care.

[dem5867]

Sorry to hear about your husband.. You have come to the right place.. I started a long time ago,, yet one thing I always tried to do is make it so if the automation failed(s) for the most part the this house works as a normal house, walk in a room and the switch closest to you controls the center room light.. Some things should just work the thermostat for you, the heat most likely has a manual or override mode, bestway to find out is to see if the heat thermostat has a name on it ,, if you find it google is your freind. Chris is going to be able to most likely help you get into the automation system... I picked the heat because somethings need to work even if the automation is down ,, your nest smoke detectors should still work as normal..

The question is not what ? It's why ?? One most times uses a program like Homeseer to control (Talk) items that don't know how to talk to each other,, think of it as two people speaking different languages most likely there going to need a translator to talk to each other. That translator is Homeseer.. the next thing Homeseer does is add much better automation than most apps. Most apps let one use a timer or maybe a motion detector to control an item lets say a room light. Simple automation could be one pushes the light switch the light comes on and sets a timer after sometime the light goes out (Any app should do that..). Homeseer , dusk/dawn sensor {Light} knows how much light in the room,, with a little programing Homeseer now knows based off the light in the room if it's daytime, nighttime, sunny or overcast, now you can have the light come on if it's overcast to lets say 50% and when it turns dark in the room the light now turns up to 75%, 8:00pm done with the dishes the light dims to 45% , 9:00pm time for bed lights out.. Notice you didn't need to touch the switch, now add motions sensors , now on can have that timed light only turn on if somebody enters the room and stay on until 5 minutes after they leave.... That's why one uses Homeseer !!

Chris should be able to help you figure out how many different protocols (Languages) was used, this is important.. Hopefully groups of devices of the same protocol was used, if so most of today's items can be link together IE Switch linked to Light ,, if that can be done that's most likely the easiest and quickest way to get basic control of your house back.. I'm sure chris will agree we hope with time you get the bug..

Lasty WHAT is really in this case WHATNOT ????

It still maybe on this forum, if not , here's small for it ,, I believe it was an Englishman,, the story was with Homeseer he automated things like the trash bucket, {You're going to love this !!} the toilet seat ,, Why something about his sons getting up late it the morning and leaving the seat up, he was sick of this wife complaining about it,, I don't think he ever said how it notified his son's !! If I remember correctly he stated it had extremely high WAF {Wife Acceptance Factor} !!! On that note one gets used to the automation , this house is tiny yet starting mid morning when Homeseer is in control of the house the house becomes "alive" , keeping it short the front door light starts with a color for the month at dusk the entryway and driveway lights come on to a set dim brighten with a car pulls in or walks out the door and the motion sensors in the house go into "Night mode" and one can go from room to room without touching a light switch, early in the morning the outside lights dim, that just one thing does at this house.. Believe me after years of having automation I hear it when it's down.

Sorry for the log one..
Hope it helps...

[jmaddox]

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. I had a health issue for most of the year that might have taken my life so I had a heads up to get my affairs in order. Part of that was ensuring I had written documentation on how our automation was set up and instructions on how to remove automation entirely if needed.

If you can think of anypart of the automation your husband had set up that you enjoyed and want to continue then it may be worth resurrecting your system. If you're worried about maintaining the system or you see no benefit in it then we can try to help you remove it. Just let us know how we can help.

[Krumpy]

I just want to be able to turn my lights on and off, work my TV, set my heating and not feel scared weird stuff is going to happen as a baseline. Then maybe in the future I can learn how to use some of it but right now I am just so overwhelmed and just want to do normal things in my house. I know there is wiring in the loft and all through the walls. Can I just unplug everything I can find once I have the energy (i did some of that already, for example i found the christmas lights went into the boiier cupboard so i could unplug them finally just now, however now my microwave doesnt work and when i plug that plug in it still doesnt...). it's a living nightmare, can anyone offer advice?

i guess that this answers one of my questions. Yes, you can unplug, or remove, the respective power outlet and then just plug your device back into the outlet if you want to eliminate the automation.

HomeSeer uses a scheduler and events as part of the automation engine. This is not too difficult to learn, or usually events are easier to read than to create new.

Can you get to the HomeSeer web page?

[Tillsy]

Can you get to the HomeSeer web page?

I think you'll find that, at least based on her post, she is like my wife and the answer will be yes - she is here on the HomeSeer web page... however does she know the IP address/web interface of the HomeSeer server in her home, the answer would be "what did you just say "

I reckon we'll need a member in England to help her suss out her setup - honestly don't think this is something we'll be able to step her through

[jmaddox]

I think you'll find that, at least based on her post, she is like my wife and the answer will be yes - she is here on the HomeSeer web page... however does she know the IP address/web interface of the HomeSeer server in her home, the answer would be "what did you just say "

I reckon we'll need a member in England to help her suss out her setup - honestly don't think this is something we'll be able to step her through

if she wanted it up and running, which I lean towards not, I think we could walk her through it. https://find.homeseer.com/findhomeseer/ will give her local server address, assuming it's running. I think ultimately you're right. A housecall would be the quickest support option since it's hard to speculate on what may or may not be installed. I wonder about the wiring through the loft and walls; this implies he added wiring... could be cat5, low voltage, new circuits... I've personally rewired half my house with all 3 of those possibilities; granted I'm also remodeling it. When I add circuits/wiring I do so in a way that anyone coming after me can replace any HA switch with a dumb version and the circuit will still work as expected.

[Pete]

Condolences on your loss FleurDeLis.

What is your husbands user name on the Homeseer forum?

Here my wife has stated that if I should pass then she would disconnect / shut off all automation.

A few years ago a Homeseer user / forum user and neighbor suddenly passed.

His name was Jim Doolittle and he was an active Homeseer forum / plugin writer.

Initially Mary, his wife, wanted the automation to continue. I would visit and call her for a bit of time and keep Homeseer running.

Over a period of time she asked me to remove / shutdown the Homeseer server which I did.

I am just so overwhelmed and just want to do normal things in my house. I know there is wiring in the loft and all through the walls. Can I just unplug everything I can find once I have the energy (i did some of that already, for example i found the christmas lights went into the boiier cupboard so i could unplug them finally just now, however now my microwave doesnt work and when i plug that plug in it still doesnt...). it's a living nightmare, can anyone offer advice?

Most or much of the automation is related to automation modules in place for lighting and other electrical devices. Easy as shutting down Homeseer and removing the modules in place. Many automation modules have manual on and off switches.

I am sure there is a local Homeseer user nearby that will help you.

[Krumpy]

Pete, makes sense. But I think that the U.K. Is not like we are in terms of electrical wiring. I think that they required a licensed electrician. Not sure. But thought that was the case. I am sure that some folks from the other side of the pond will chime in. So, there could be some snags. Hence why I suggested that she send us the HomeSeer data file so that we can have a look to see how extensive the overall project is.

[Bernold]

My condolences on the passing of your husband.

I think the first thing to determine is whether or not Homeseer is really the platform that was implemented by him. Although I'm sure this community will try its best to help you, but if Homeseer was not implemented maybe referring you to another forum could help you faster. Here are some questions which may help figure that out:

1a. Could you share what amount was paid to Homeseer Technologies? It may help figure out what product was bought. If it's an upgrade from HS3 to HS4, or a plugin, it's likely that it was already implemented. If it's HS4 or specific hardware he could be planning to move the system from a certain platform to Homeseer.
1b. Do you have access to his email account? Search for Homeseer and check if you see any mention of any specific product. Don't share license info here.
1c. Did he give you any app like HSMobile or HSTouch to control devices from your phone or tablet? Or did he give you any url to control devices? Do you have access to his smartphone to check?

Secondly, I think it's worth trying to get the system back up and running by checking a few simple things. This could give you some peace of mind and then you can consider unplugging or removing automation later. To figure this out:

2a. Is there a pc or pc-like device that would always be on prior to the problem with the electrics? In the loft, perhaps? Or a pc that only he used and was turned off? If so, turn it back on and see what happens.

I can think of much more to try later, but first things first. I'm sure you have much more on your mind right now.

[FleurDeLis]

Thanks a lot, I am a bit nervous about giving too much info but I do appreciate the offers of help and I am reading through the information when time allows between all the funeral arrangements and panicking about life in general and if anything is even worth bothering about without him... For now I am just trying to survive day by day rather than get the home automation back working again.

Today I found a monitor showing Homeseer on my husband's computer desk. I had thought it was just a second monitor for when he was gaming or something as it was turned off but something made me turn it on and then I found it was on a screen showing Homeseer with some error message boxes over the top, so far I couldn't find something like a keyboard or mouse for it (there is a kb and mouse but they work another PC) but I will try to look when less tired as I guess I can try to follow wires from it to maybe find some way of controlling that monitor.

I also managed to get on HS app on his phone last week or so and turned off and on one set of lights on the path outside (not others though, I don't know why it worked only on this one set of lights, I tried them all but had to take bulbs out of the IKEA tradfri lights to stop them). I use a torch to go to bed as none of my bedroom lights work anymore.

Maybe it is about a week since I logged on his phone and it timed out or something but when I tried today it now says "no systems were found for the given credentials" and doesn't let me any further so that seems to be the end of that.

[jmaddox]

Ahh, progress. I would look for what's called a Keyboard, Video, Monitor switch. It may have buttons, or a dial and will usually have labels for A and B, or PC1 and PC2. Look to see what his keyboard and mouse are plugged into. If you find a box like the one below it may switch to the homeseer computer and allow you to use his keyboard and mouse to control that computer.

https://www.amazon.com/GREATHTEK-Att...NsaWNrPXRydWU=

[FleurDeLis]

Thank you so much, I looked but so far did not find something. There are a lot of very tightly bunched wires all there though that I am afraid to pull around too much in case I disconnect more stuff.

My husband's brother is hoping to fly over for the funeral next week and may try to help me (it's hard due to covid lock down rules though we are only really allowed to be together at the funeral and not afterwards since England is in lock down) so I will tell him about your advice thank you.

[Gadgetman!]

You have error messages?

It might help us to know what those are.

What you really need, though, is to locate the HS server.
It can be any size, from about a 20pack of cigarettes to a full desktop PC size.
The best way is probably to follow the video cable from the monitor.

If it's a small one it's usually a Raspberry Pi 'single board computer'

It's usually in a plastic case, though.
(and there's a few variations of it. This is one of the latest)

If you find one of these, try plugging in an USB mouse in one of the USB ports at the end. But don't unplug anything that's already there.