Facing an avalanche of "end of support"

[James Sentman]

> On Dec 30, 2022, at 7:34 AM, Jeffrey Lomicka <JeffreyLomicka at comcast.net> wrote:
> 
> Oh, James, thank you for the long and detailed answer.
> 
:)
> I do use the cloud interface to the Thermostats.  The iPhone app is the primary way we set up and control them. I monitor them from Xtension, but don't control them there. I realize the xTension code will work for years after the cloud is gone, but I'd need to set up a web page that was as simple as the RadioThermostat one.
> 

I have controlled mine forever through XTension and the mobile web remote plugin. Probably not quite as fast as their app and their cloud, but does not require it either. I have mine setup with a DynDNS account and a router passthrough so I can get to it from anywhere, but now there is a simpler way to do that. Have a look at the ngrok setup under the Windows menu. This is a separate company and not directly affiliated with XTension in any way other than that I’ve built support for their service into the app. They provide a secure tunnel to whatever web interfaces you have setup with the 2 existing XTension plugins or the new ones which are coming in the future. 

The ngrok instructions are on the wiki here: http://www.machomeautomation.com/doku.php/xtension_manual/ngrok

I was about to post a link to the mobile web remote instructions but it doesn’t look like there are any… I’m not sure at this point if I should spend the time writing the documentation or working on it’s replacement ;) So for the moment setup an instance of the plugin, give it a port and start it up. If you’re going to use the ngrok stuff then no need to mess with a self signed security certificate as their connection to you is already secured by their own. Then hit that port on the machine with a desktop browser as it’s just easier to do the setup there than on the phone though it is possible to do it on the phone. Click the “Edit” button in the upper right hand of the empty interface and select “add items” select which kind of thermostat interface you want to add and click to add it and go to it’s setup page. For a thermostat you will then be presented with a screen when you select the unit in XTension that corresponds to all the different thermostat variables. Or if you have created a pseudo thermostat in XTension where you already did that you can just select the one item, but since you’re not using this already I assume you have not already done that and don’t wish to complicate the process :)

Once you’ve done that save it and repeat for the rest of the thermostats. And while you’re add it add some unit lists and maybe some video streams and any other stuff you wish :) 

When you’ve got it setup as you like and have the ngrok stuff working you can hit the ngrok site on your phone, sign in and it will pass through from anywhere to the interface locally. Where you will also have to do the pin thing if you set that up. If you’re using an iPhone then use it’s safari menu thing to add to home screen or whatever they call it now. That will create an icon on the home screen that will load the interface full screen and will just always be available as if it was an app.

Get back in touch if any of that seems more complicated or confusing than I”m presenting it ;) I wrote the thing and have been using it forever and so probably don’t even remember that i”m doing something in a strange way to make it work, I just do it that way. 

> You talk about Hubitat in a way that makes it sound like a general replacement for the Vera.  Is that true? You also talk about the pi integration like it's a bit of a kluge, and until I hear about it being pulled, the Vera/Alexa integration I'm using now might just as well be left alone.  It is quite reliable. Most of the HA in the house is now ZWave through Vera. There is still a little X10, and I accidentally got a Zigbee temperature sensor, but it works through the Vera too and seems fine. I'm growing more into Kasa WiFi devices now too.

The hubitat is indeed the currently blessed replacement for the veritable vera. If you’ve already got a Vera and are happy with how it’s handling the devices then just keep using that! There is no need to switch unless it is not supporting the devices you want to add. The Vera does support thermostats if you want to add some ZWave ones to the equation. But it does not do so quite as reliably as the Hubitat does. I have to regularly poll one of mine to have it report any changes at all while the other one works fine, no idea why ;)  It’s just end of lifed, though I think the company did just do a last firmware update for it to fix a few thigns I have not experimented with that so wouldn’t recommend messing with it unless you need something that it adds. In XTension it doesn’t matter if the thermostat comes from a hubitat, a Vera or the wifi thermostat plugin, they are all treated the same once they get in there and can be shared the same on the web interrfaces. The only weird thing with the Hubitat is that the thermostat modes are out of order somehow. And the unit setting to 0 or off does not turn the mode to off. This isn’t a problem in the interface really as they all use popups and off is just not at the top like everywhere else. It’s somewhere mixed in the middle. In the regular Unit lists and such it’s a little confusing initially as the furnace can be colored as off even while it’s set to heat, and will be colored as on even when it’s actually off… So don’t worry about that if you do go to get a hubitat and add some thermostats to it.

I keep a handful of devices and one thermostat on my Vera here just so that I can actually test anything that anybody wants to do with it and make sure it keeps working with OS versions and such but 95% of my ZWave and all my ZigBee devices are now on the Hubitat. I also still have a smattering of X10 out there still, lots of the wireless devices and all the other stuff too :)

> 
> My washer is the GE Profile 705, with a real agitator, and the matching 70E dryer, and both are a nice step up from their Fisher Paykel predecessors.  No complaints so far, it's been about three weeks. OOTB they send alerts to your phone 5 minutes before the end, at the end, and every 30 minutes until you open the lid.
> 


OH thats excellent :) Just what I need to make myself actually remember to move the clothes to the dryer before I have to run them AGAIN in the washing machine because they have gone… sour? Ugh… I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done that ;)

Thanks,
 James


James Sentman                       http://www.PlanetaryGear.org		http://MacHomeAutomation.com




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