can homeseer be made wife proof? "adding widgets to android homescreens"

[dannieboiz]

Coming from Vera, I use Autohomation and Imperihome every single day.

For the wife's android phone, I use Authomation widgets to commonly used tasks, Gate and Garage Opener, Unlock/Lock doors etc...

I'm not seeing any ability to add widgets with HomeSeer... is something out of the picture? This would be a deal killer for me since it adds a convenience without logging onto a separate interface and jump through a bunch of screens while driving to open our gate.

[rmasonjr]

You need the hstouch designer to do this. I have wife proof screens as well

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[Uncle Michael]

You need the hstouch designer to do this. I have wife proof screens as well

I haven't found anything that is wife proof! How do you do that? I'm just fortunate that my wife is patient and willing to avoid all but a few designated controls.

[S-F]

Coming from Vera, I use Autohomation and Imperihome every single day.

For the wife's android phone, I use Authomation widgets to commonly used tasks, Gate and Garage Opener, Unlock/Lock doors etc...

I'm not seeing any ability to add widgets with HomeSeer... is something out of the picture? This would be a deal killer for me since it adds a convenience without logging onto a separate interface and jump through a bunch of screens while driving to open our gate.

Since you use Android you can accomplish this with the Tasker plugin. Just create widgets (or whatever they're called in Tasker) to control your whatever.

[waynehead99]

My wife proof is just not give her access at all. If it can't be automated or manually controlled, she wants nothing to do with it.

[RJS]

My wife proof is to bury screens. Everything she needs to access is on the home screen. Anything she doesn't need to access or will confuse her is on other screens.

- Robert

[TomTom]

While not answer to widget question, I try to have it where she doesn't have to really interact with HS at all. Such as IFTTT location to open gates, if location and gate open are both true then open garage. There are times IFTTT can act up, seldom, and for those she just uses the regular remote for gate. She prefers the remote as a backup to using any of the touch screen stuff .


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[lj502]

Another option with IFTTT is their button app which gives you one click access to your IFTTT recipes.
John

[dannieboiz]

never heard of IFTTT before. Gonna do some digging into it. But as of now, HomeSeer is not looking very good for me. I know with more money to get HSTouch will get me some of the things I want but openly available 3rd party apps are very slim.

[waynehead99]

can homeseer be made wife proof? "adding widgets to android homescreens"

I tried ifttt and hate it. During the day it is quick. In the evening, it can take at least 1 minute for things to happen and you rely on the cloud.

Personally I have screens to control things around the house, but mainly for music. The lights don't need control manual or screen because they are automated, but the switches are there as a backup. My wife does complain that she has no idea what switch does what (I think the builder went switch happy), but I take this as a compliment because the automation is working enough that she doesn't need switches.

My personal feeling if you are having to pull out your phone to do something, you aren't automated, you are fancy controlling the manual switch. This thought goes thru my head every time I end up having to touch something and what can I do to truly automate it.

[dannieboiz]

I tried ifttt and hate it. During the day it is quick. In the evening, it can take at least 1 minute for things to happen and you rely on the cloud.

Personally I have screens to control things around the house, but mainly for music. The lights don't need control manual or screen because they are automated, but the switches are there as a backup. My wife does complain that she has no idea what switch does what (I think the builder went switch happy), but I take this as a compliment because the automation is working enough that she doesn't need switches.

My personal feeling if you are having to pull out your phone to do something, you aren't automated, you are fancy controlling the manual switch. This thought goes thru my head every time I end up having to touch something and what can I do to truly automate it.

For a few things, I can automate, IE, motion lights etc.. but places like family room and kitchen, I need to be able to manually control when I'm in there and when I leave. I had our family room lights on motion control but it gets annoying when we're watching a movie and the lights would come on and off.

Bigger issues is I can't have my gate and garage automated. I never know when my kids are playing outside. If I get to comfortable with Geofencing for my gate I may forget one afternoon while my kids are playing outside and have the gate open on them.

Our schedules are random so we can't automate everything.

[waynehead99]

can homeseer be made wife proof? "adding widgets to android homescreens"

Yea that makes sense. Personally I never leave the house really since I work from home and I have the lights in a few areas automated by motion, but mainly by time and with a button we press up the stairs to shut the house down. That's still automated too because we can press the button and nothing will shut down until there is no motion in the house. For the rooms like the family the lights just come on based off either time or weather (bad weather equals dark so turn on lights). I want to automate them based off us being home or not but she won't let me. We don't have kids but do have dogs and to keep her happy they need light, even if motion triggers it. The things we do for marriage .

[RJS]

I hear you. It has taken a few years but she has finally stopped saying "I hate Homeseer" and has started to accept it. She especially likes the sleep button I put on the home screen. It sets the alarm in Stay mode, shuts off all the downstairs/outdoor lights, turns on the appropriate security cameras and turns on the LED strip lights on the staircase for 2 minutes.

There are a few other things she likes about it as well but it has been a long row to hoe. I am at the point that I can purchase z-wave equipment without a budget meeting, as long as I get them on sale.

- Robert