HomeSeer Mobile Beta 3.9 (Android)

[JLDubz]

HomeSeer Mobile Beta 3.9 is ready for testing. You can install from the Google Play store.

This version includes the following fixes:

• Fixed a bug that was causing controls to not show up on device widgets
• Fixed a bug that caused some users to get an error 505 when trying to update or install the app

Please post your feedback and any issues you find.


Features:
Customizable dashboard. Add any device, resize, control items to show. Multiple dashboards are supported
Device list. Shows all devices, supports sorting and controlling any device and adding devices to the dashboard.
Event list. Show all events, run an event, add to the dashboard.
Camera list. Shows the latest snapshot from all cameras. Click on a camera to display larger real-time view and pan/tilt controls. The camera list is auto-updated every 10 seconds.
Supports log in from MyHS and local IP.

Note that Landscape is not yet supported (will be added in a future release).


Getting Started:
To get started, you must have HS3 version 3.0.0.470 or later. You can grab that from here: https://forums.homeseer.com/showthread.php?t=181241

You will need to install from the Google Play store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...mobile.android
Android Lollipop (v5.0 API 21) is the minimum supported OS version. For the best experience, we recommend Android Marshmallow (v6.0 API 23) or newer.

We have a knowledge base with some documentation here: https://helpdesk.homeseer.com/catego...omeseer-mobile
You can also get to this knowledge base from the help menu in the app.

Reporting Bugs / Issues:
If you run into any crashes, you will be prompted with a dialog to submit crash info, please submit this! It will contain valuable information.

If you find a non-crash bug or there is an enhancement you would like to request, from within HomeSeer Mobile select the menu icon (upper left corner) then the "Send Feedback" item. This will start an email. Fill it in and submit. You can include screenshots as attachments. This will create a ticket in our bug tracking system. You can also post any issue to this forum so others can review, but an issue will not get addressed unless it is in our bug tracker.

[Mr_Resistor]

the 0.3.9 update fixed the issue I experienced in 0.3.8 where the devices were essentially blank with no controls. Looking good here.

[Fellhahn]

OK, great, starting to see some usable troubleshooting clues for an authentication error I've been encountering ever since connect via hostname was made available.

Situation:

HomeSeer interface is published to the public internet via a HAProxy reverse proxy running on PFSense.
The SSL offloading is performed by HAProxy.
The certificate presented by HAProxy is publicly trusted, signed by the Let's Encrypt CA project.
The certificate contains multiple Subject Alternative Names that correspond with a variety of other platforms I publish out of my home server (Plex, Blue Iris etc).
The hostname of my HomeSeer setup is resolvable by CNAME record, that points to a DDNS record. All of the Subject Alternative Names resolve by CNAME to the same DDNS record.

The pictures below have been redacted for personal information, but hopefully they still convey the error.

Here is the connection screen:




Here is the resulting error:





And just as proof that the certificate is valid, here is a screenshot of it being accessed via a web browser. No custom CAs have been imported here, the cert is trusted with the all important lock icon:





I think the error occurring here is definitely a certificate trust problem.

Some possible causes, thinking out loud:

A) In the error screenshot, the app is stating hostname [IP address] not verified. It's got the resolved IP there, not the hostname. Is it possible it's trying to match the IP address to certificate subject name, rather than the hostname?

B) The app is not interpreting subject alternative names on the presented certificate, and instead only expects the hostname to be present as the CN.

C) The app does not trust the CA, possibly because it uses it's own CA store rather than respecting the device's (Android handset) CA certificate store.

D) The app expects a certain, particular certificate only. This would explain why HS3 .460 and .470 both seemed to overwrite the server.pfx file in the homeseer directory during upgrade.

If the answer turns out to be A, there's a second problem there. HAProxy relies on the host header to direct traffic to the correct backend. HS Mobile definitely needs to be making connection requests by hostname if it's going to work in setups like this.


I realize this might seem niche, but I know for a fact I'm not the only user running homeseer behind HAProxy. Given the nature of the error, I would expect this to impact other reverse proxy setups as well, not just HAProxy.


Still a good step forward, previously the only error response I got was a generic "An error occurred while sending the request".

Edit: Further redactions.

[B1Trash]

I just sent this off to homeseerbugs@gmail.com. Reposting here as well...


How can we improve the application?

Hi-

I have a few odd problems.

First, I have multiple devices with single parent - child relationships. It seems that more often than not, I have to go in and reset the primary device to "none" to show the parent device. I'm not sure of the pattern of when devices need to be reset, but it has happened on more than one occasion.

Second, I have a pair of virtual device families that I use to condense my Ecobee Thermostats. The parent device holds temperature information, the child device holds equipment status information. In HS3, they look like this:



On HSMobile they look like this:



Why are the upstairs and downstairs devices displayed differently? I used the same script to set up both devices, so they should be configured the same. Here is the JSON status request for each:
{"Name":"HomeSeer Devices","Version":"1.0","Devices":[{"ref":166,"name":"Ecobee Downstairs","location":"Virtual Device 1st Floor","location2":"Thermostat","value":75,"status":"Home71. 2/75.2","device_type_string":"","last_change":"\/Date(numbersnumbers)\/","relationship":2,"hide_from_view":false,"associated_device s":[167],"device_type":{"Device_API":0,"Device_API_Description":" No API","Device_Type":0,"Device_Type_Description":"Type 0","Device_SubType":0,"Device_SubType_Description":""},"devi ce_image":"","UserNote":"","UserAccess":"Any","status_image" :"/images/HomeSeer/status/temp 75.png","voice_command":"","misc":4880,"interface_name":""}]}
{"Name":"HomeSeer Devices","Version":"1.0","Devices":[{"ref":168,"name":"Ecobee Upstairs","location":"Virtual Device 2nd Floor","location2":"Thermostat","value":75,"status":"Sleep67/75","device_type_string":"","last_change":"\/Date(numbersnumbers)\/","relationship":2,"hide_from_view":false,"associated_device s":[169],"device_type":{"Device_API":0,"Device_API_Description":" No API","Device_Type":0,"Device_Type_Description":"Type 0","Device_SubType":0,"Device_SubType_Description":""},"devi ce_image":"","UserNote":"","UserAccess":"Any","status_image" :"/images/HomeSeer/status/temp 75.png","voice_command":"","misc":4880,"interface_name":""}]}
Third, most everything runs lightning fast, but I have a lot of virtual devices that run via script that don't always update until I hit refresh. For instance, I have each room of lights set up in a group. If I toggle the group on, I have a script turn the lights on to match the group level. However, the individual virtual dimmers don't respond. The lights are indeed on in my kitchen.



I let it sit for a few minutes and nothing updated on its own. However after a manual refresh everything is as expected:



Finally, as a feature request I would LOVE the ability to clone a config to another device. This stuff takes a lot of setup and I wish to be able to either sync up with my wife's device or copy and paste to her device.

All in all, this is a pretty slick app and I applaud your efforts. If you want me to resend this in different emails for tracking purposes, please let me know. Also, I sent you a config file a few weeks ago that while not completely current still contains all of the core programming that I think is driving these issues. Please let me know if you need that too.

Thanks!

[JLDubz]

Fellhahn Thanks for the detailed information. I'll take a look at this as soon as I have some time to dig back into some of the core/networking code. Although you are typing control.X.X into the hostname field, that is being translated to 58.X.X before a connection attempt is made which is not a valid hostname for the cert because your cert is expecting a DNS name, not an IP address. Do you mind if I reach out to you when I start working on this if I have any further questions about your setup?

B1Trash

Why are the upstairs and downstairs devices displayed differently?

It might benefit you, and others, to be given an explanation of how the primary device association works. In an effort to make devices more intuitive to use we established a few rules based on the most common device configurations. These are as follows:

1. If the device is associated with other devices and is marked as a Root/Parent device then it will, in essence, act as a container for its children.
2. If the Root/Parent device has only one associated device then if the associated device has controls or has a valid status image, mark that child as the Primary Device.
3. If the Root/Parent device has only one associated device that has controls, mark that child as the Primary Device.
4. If the Root/Parent device has only one associated device that has a status, mark that child as the Primary Device.

I hope this helps clear up this functionality for you.

Third, most everything runs lightning fast, but I have a lot of virtual devices that run via script that don't always update until I hit refresh. For instance, I have each room of lights set up in a group. If I toggle the group on, I have a script turn the lights on to match the group level. However, the individual virtual dimmers don't respond. The lights are indeed on in my kitchen.

I'll do some investigation on this; I have a sneaking suspicion I know what is going on.

[rjh]

In regards to devices not updating, how are you turning the device on and off? Which API are using?

I just sent this off to homeseerbugs@gmail.com. Reposting here as well...


How can we improve the application?

Hi-

I have a few odd problems.

First, I have multiple devices with single parent - child relationships. It seems that more often than not, I have to go in and reset the primary device to "none" to show the parent device. I'm not sure of the pattern of when devices need to be reset, but it has happened on more than one occasion.

Second, I have a pair of virtual device families that I use to condense my Ecobee Thermostats. The parent device holds temperature information, the child device holds equipment status information. In HS3, they look like this:



On HSMobile they look like this:



Why are the upstairs and downstairs devices displayed differently? I used the same script to set up both devices, so they should be configured the same. Here is the JSON status request for each:
{"Name":"HomeSeer Devices","Version":"1.0","Devices":[{"ref":166,"name":"Ecobee Downstairs","location":"Virtual Device 1st Floor","location2":"Thermostat","value":75,"status":"Home71. 2/75.2","device_type_string":"","last_change":"\/Date(numbersnumbers)\/","relationship":2,"hide_from_view":false,"associated_device s":[167],"device_type":{"Device_API":0,"Device_API_Description":" No API","Device_Type":0,"Device_Type_Description":"Type 0","Device_SubType":0,"Device_SubType_Description":""},"devi ce_image":"","UserNote":"","UserAccess":"Any","status_image" :"/images/HomeSeer/status/temp 75.png","voice_command":"","misc":4880,"interface_name":""}]}
{"Name":"HomeSeer Devices","Version":"1.0","Devices":[{"ref":168,"name":"Ecobee Upstairs","location":"Virtual Device 2nd Floor","location2":"Thermostat","value":75,"status":"Sleep67/75","device_type_string":"","last_change":"\/Date(numbersnumbers)\/","relationship":2,"hide_from_view":false,"associated_device s":[169],"device_type":{"Device_API":0,"Device_API_Description":" No API","Device_Type":0,"Device_Type_Description":"Type 0","Device_SubType":0,"Device_SubType_Description":""},"devi ce_image":"","UserNote":"","UserAccess":"Any","status_image" :"/images/HomeSeer/status/temp 75.png","voice_command":"","misc":4880,"interface_name":""}]}
Third, most everything runs lightning fast, but I have a lot of virtual devices that run via script that don't always update until I hit refresh. For instance, I have each room of lights set up in a group. If I toggle the group on, I have a script turn the lights on to match the group level. However, the individual virtual dimmers don't respond. The lights are indeed on in my kitchen.



I let it sit for a few minutes and nothing updated on its own. However after a manual refresh everything is as expected:



Finally, as a feature request I would LOVE the ability to clone a config to another device. This stuff takes a lot of setup and I wish to be able to either sync up with my wife's device or copy and paste to her device.

All in all, this is a pretty slick app and I applaud your efforts. If you want me to resend this in different emails for tracking purposes, please let me know. Also, I sent you a config file a few weeks ago that while not completely current still contains all of the core programming that I think is driving these issues. Please let me know if you need that too.

Thanks!

[B1Trash]

In regards to devices not updating, how are you turning the device on and off? Which API are using?

Rich,

I use both CAPI and hs.SetDeviceValueByRef.

Each switch in my house has a corresponding virtual device that I interact with. When I bang on a physical switch, an event runs a sub that catches the taps from the central scene and sets my corresponding virtual device(s) to the appropriate level using hs.SetDeviceValueByRef. Whenever a virtual device is changed or set, another event runs that controls the wall switch using CAPI control. I hope that answers your question. I can send you my script files if that helps.

-Jon

[B1Trash]

B1Trash



It might benefit you, and others, to be given an explanation of how the primary device association works. In an effort to make devices more intuitive to use we established a few rules based on the most common device configurations. These are as follows:

1. If the device is associated with other devices and is marked as a Root/Parent device then it will, in essence, act as a container for its children.
2. If the Root/Parent device has only one associated device then if the associated device has controls or has a valid status image, mark that child as the Primary Device.
3. If the Root/Parent device has only one associated device that has controls, mark that child as the Primary Device.
4. If the Root/Parent device has only one associated device that has a status, mark that child as the Primary Device.

I hope this helps clear up this functionality for you.

JLDubz-

Thanks for posting the logic. That makes a lot of sense. I've been paying more attention and here's what I'm seeing. If I go in and change the primary device to "No Device" then all is well, but only after I do a manual refresh. If I close out of the app and re-open it then my selection is forgotten and I have to go in and reset the primary device to "No Device" again. This behavior only seems to happen on single parent-child devices.

Thanks to all of y'all for your hard work on Homeseer & the apps.

[Fellhahn]

JLDubz Happy to help with whatever you need.

Not exactly related, but does the mobile app rely on websockets at all in order to push device status changes from server to app? This isn't connected to the certificate issue I posted about, but I've been troubleshooting another product lately that uses websockets and I know they don't currently proxy correctly through my setup. So if we get past the cert issue, and if they're used, then I will have to fix that next.

[Rotech]

Bare with me, Iam trying to understand the logic. But when I select a device and look under primary device ,,it says to select a primary device, what does this mean? Doesn't it select it by default?

[Moskus]

In HS3, they look like this:



On HSMobile they look like this:

Off topic, but that design looks good. Is it yours and do you share?

[mmn]

Why are these two widgets different (placement of dimmer control)? And is it possible to edit? Like the one on the left better - easier to control the dimmer.

[fuzzysb]

I have just installed v3.0.0.478 and used the new v3.9 mobile beta.

I have a couple of issues. firstly i have approx 20 rooms and all of them are selectable except one called Hallway, when i select this it shows the contents of all rooms. all the other rooms when selected filter to just that room.

Additionally i have a Zigbee contact sensor in that room which is provided by the JowieHue plugin with DeConz. now the issue i am experiencing is that the contact sensor is not visible. only the battery device. I also have the same Zigbee contact sensor models in two other rooms and they are visible and selectable.

additionally i also just had a crash reported after selecting my system whilst parsing the devices. it however did not exit the app, but then took me to the login screen, and after logging in and selecting my system (i have 2) it gave me a xamarin forms error stating i must invoke Init(), i had to exit the app completely before i could log on, nothing major, but could do with catching the error. i sent the feedback of the initial crash via the play store, but im sure its because i tried clicking the triple dot menu in the top right whilst it was parsing the devices.

[JLDubz]

Why are these two widgets different (placement of dimmer control)? And is it possible to edit? Like the one on the left better - easier to control the dimmer.

Inconsistent control layouts are typically due to 0s being used in their grid configuration in the "Status Graphics" page for that device. (HS3) When there is a 0 for row, column, or column span, we cannot guarantee that the controls will be laid out exactly the same way every time.

[mmn]

Inconsistent control layouts are typically due to 0s being used in their grid configuration in the "Status Graphics" page for that device. (HS3) When there is a 0 for row, column, or column span, we cannot guarantee that the controls will be laid out exactly the same way every time.

Not sure what that means. Is it a bug or is there something I can do?

Regards
Michael