Securifi Community Forum

Securifi Products => Almond+ => Topic started by: jnowland on September 17, 2015, 10:28:00 am

Title: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: jnowland on September 17, 2015, 10:28:00 am
I have had enough with the lack of support and answers to my questions/concerns.  The changes and updates recently made and the focus more on Nest and/or garage door opening compatibility instead of Amazon Echo and Linear devices has gotten me all wound up.  I have several Wink Bulbs on a Wink hub just so I can use my Echo to control them.  I use two apps now to operate my devices, with 2 (Linear FS20z-1 & WD500Z-1) not working properly.  I have to continually remove and re-add these two switches, only to be frustrated when I cannot connect again.  These 2 particular devices are located in my garage, which does require my A+ to communicate through 2 walls and across a small patch of my back yard.  However, my A+ has no problem at all communicating with my Aeon plug located in my shed even further away.  I have addressecd this issue many many times to no avail.  I understand Securifi has stated they are doing their best, but addressing things that the average user does not care about has convinced me to spend yet more money and buy a Smart Things Hub.  It is compatible with my Echo and supports all of my devices.  I now have an over-priced, over-hyped WiFi router in my home.
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: xtbs26 on September 17, 2015, 12:49:05 pm
Not a ringing endorsement from a beta tester. I will most likely be following suit. I was waiting for the upcoming release, but it looks like we may have flying cars before we have a release of firmware.
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: lgkahn on September 17, 2015, 03:04:05 pm
I have an  FS20z-1 and have no issues but I am not on beta (haven't heard back since I sent in my request) what are your issues.
I use it to open a garage door. and all I had to do was add a rule to turn it off 2 secs after it is on so that it acts as a toggle switch.. Is it a range issue you are having..
I have found after adding new switches such as wall switchs or even the  FS20z-1 I needed to reboot the router to get devices working again, presumeably because they are now going through the wired devices as repeaters?
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: rldreams on September 17, 2015, 03:08:07 pm
I jumped ship this past weekend when my ST V2 arrived.  While the ST UI is non-existent and I have to find the code to do what I want it to do. At least it is open and I can actually get it to do what I want.
 In 2 days I had it all set up with my dusk-dawn outside lights. Hallway lights on/off with door unlocking, locking. Added my Harmony Home , TCP connect hub, Echo, Honeywell thermostats ,and Wemo switches all without a hitch. After adding a few custom codes I now have full voice control over 90% of my house and the wife is happy because I was able to add most of it to Harmony so she also has a physical "clicker" ( if she remembers which button controls  which light, and she doesn't end up dimming a light when she wanted to turn up the heat/AC LOL )

Now I just need to decide what I want for a reliable and stable router. A+ can join its almond predecessor as a secondary AP . I had not realized how BAD the range had gotten on A+ WiFI until I was outside yesterday ( attempting to ) streaming music to my phone less than 30' from A+ and it kept buffering. When I first got my A+ I could stream video from 2 houses away without buffering. Now I can listen to music in the hottub downstairs.
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: rldreams on September 17, 2015, 03:27:42 pm
Not a ringing endorsement from a beta tester. I will most likely be following suit. I was waiting for the upcoming release, but it looks like we may have flying cars before we have a release of firmware.

ST V2 has 30 day return policy so IF ( BIG IF) this update we have been promised for 3 months actually is anything at all. I should be within that 30 day window. However based on past FW failures I am really not holding out much hope for Securifi and their attempt to enter HA market.  Hardware that was ahead of it's time 2 years ago is now obsolete before they can actually get the firmware to make it work.  Simple things a $20 router can do like have network printer driver is beyond the reach of Almond+ . Why do we have all those pretty 2 USB ports if they are non functional waiting for FW updates ? 
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: Richel on September 17, 2015, 04:10:59 pm
What is "ST V2?"
Thanks.
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: obmd1 on September 17, 2015, 04:23:00 pm
Smart Things V2. Why don't you like the UI there? Itching to do HA for real, and securifi clearly isn't up to the task.
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: rldreams on September 17, 2015, 05:12:05 pm
Smart Things V2. Why don't you like the UI there? Itching to do HA for real, and securifi clearly isn't up to the task.

Once you figure it out, the UI is fine. It is just a steep learning curve when you need to start finding and plugging in custom apps into the api. If you enjoy coding and know Groovy it is fine. The forum reminds me of how helpful and full of information this forum used to be.
On functionality it is light years ahead of A+. They just need to actually organize the wealth of information .  As I said over their earlier today " I'm a guy, I don't want to have to publicly ask how to do something that I know I should know how to do " It took me 2 days after I got the hub to figure out how to get into the API and build my custom device drivers and apps. LOL.
 Documentation that came with it was 1 install app on phone. 2 Hook up hub 3 add things 4 enjoy.  If only everything in life could be so simple
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: obmd1 on September 17, 2015, 06:10:25 pm
Thanks... I'm not a coding guy. Thanks for your food for thought. Sounds less than plug-and-play, though maybe you're doing higher order stuff?
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: rldreams on September 17, 2015, 06:15:30 pm
There are a few basic , lighting, automation, security apps built in to the main app. The "custom" code is all available through their API and Github. It is just a matter of actually finding what you want  then copy/paste.  With the G5 Z-wave chipset you can just scan and all ALL your devices at once. That was too much for me, so I kept stopping after it found 5 or so, so I could remember what they were and label/name them appropriately .
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: jnowland on September 18, 2015, 12:56:51 pm
lgkahn,
I have been having issues with my FS20z from the beginning, even before upgrading the firmware.  I am assuming it is due to the fact that it is located in my garage, which as I satted is seperated from my A+ by a small patch of my backyard.  I say this because the Linear WD500z light switch installed in the same garage has connection issue too.  My other Linear switches located in my home do not have issues.  The ones locate din my home are actually further away from my A+ then the ones in my garage.  So, what is it about the outdoors that would prevent my A+ from communicating with the switches?  I ask this because the Aeon outlet I am using in my shed, which is even further away connects just fine.  How do you have your FS20z set up, as a binary switch or....?
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: tdogz on September 19, 2015, 12:43:31 pm
[...] So, what is it about the outdoors that would prevent my A+ from communicating with the switches?  I ask this because the Aeon outlet I am using in my shed, which is even further away connects just fine.

Your outdoor problems probably come from one of two common factors...

1) the materials that make up your exterior walls most likely block a lot more of the zwave signal than your interior walls. They are thicker, contain more insulation and often use things like aluminum.

But in your case, the most likely answer is....

2) each device has its own antenna built-in. It is possible that the antenna in the Aeon device functions better than the Linear antennas.
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: rldreams on September 20, 2015, 08:45:22 am
If it is just the devices in the garage with the issues, I will also chime in that it is probably the construction of the garage interfering with the radio waves. You can try putting a repeater ( be it a standalone repeater or any hardwired device that acts as a repeater) on the wall of the house closest to the garage and wall of garage closest to the house. See if that helps with the loss. If the Aeon outlets are working in the shed, I would start with one of them in the garage .
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: d.kiran on September 20, 2015, 09:09:50 am
I remembered something that went wrong during install. I have the FS20Z as a garage door opener. One of the wires on that relay (white I believe) is the antenna. It paired well but it did not communicate when I attached it to the garage door. I re positioned that antenna wire so that it was not touching anything and was clear of obstruction. From then I have had no issues. Maybe worth a try ?
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: rpr69 on September 21, 2015, 01:28:38 pm
If it is just the devices in the garage with the issues, I will also chime in that it is probably the construction of the garage interfering with the radio waves. You can try putting a repeater ( be it a standalone repeater or any hardwired device that acts as a repeater) on the wall of the house closest to the garage and wall of garage closest to the house. See if that helps with the loss. If the Aeon outlets are working in the shed, I would start with one of them in the garage .

I tried that, and it doesn't work. I have a hardwired Z-Wave relay switch plugged in in my garage, and a wireless garage door sensor (both from Monoprice). Apparently there is no way to setup the hardwired switch as a repeater with the Almond+, so it's useless. The switch itself pairs fine, the garage door sensor usually works, but it's flaky, if it were going through the repeater I believe it would work perfectly, but alas, at this time there is no way to do that via the Almond+.
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: d.kiran on September 21, 2015, 04:25:56 pm
There's no setup required on the Almond+ for a repeater. That should be automatic.

This part, I am slightly fuzzy about, so I could be wrong. It looks like the mesh network automatically setsup routs between devices. Let us say your switch already has a route to Almond, then even if the repeater is right next to it, it will not route through that until the device actually fails. Now once the device fails, it will refresh the routing table and then route through the repeater.

Here's what I would suggest with absolutely no guarantees that it will work. Make sure that the repeater and the FS20z are paired (they already should be). Turn off the almond+ for 15 minutes. While the Almond+ is turned off, turn on and off the repeater and the FS20z a few times. This will make sure that both the routes fail and they will have to create routes again. Turn the almond+ on, wait for 3-5 mins and hopefully it should work.

Ideally you don't have turn off the Almond+, just the radio. However, since there is no option for that, turning off the device is the best option. I don't know what to do if this doesn't work.

What firmware version are you on?
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: rldreams on September 21, 2015, 04:59:50 pm
 No setup in the A+, but he would need to rebuild/repair the ZW network if he put in the switch after the FS20Z . As you said, FS20Z  already connected directly to the A+ ( even if a lousy one) and will not look for a new route until connection completely falls. If power cycling doesn't work, I would remove the FS20Z from A+ and then try repairing it with the switch in place. If the switch has a stable connection to A+. I don't think A+ has anyway to force a rebuilding of ZW mesh.
Some day somebody will come up with a ZW mapping system so we can actually see what route the signals are taking. Just for circumstances like this .
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: xtbs26 on September 21, 2015, 05:26:04 pm
For those that have switched to a ST hub... What is involved in removing sensors from the Almond+ and adding them to the ST? I have Wink bulbs, a peanut plug, a Kwikset Lock, a CT100 thermostat, a motion sensor, and a wall switch (Linear).
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: rldreams on September 21, 2015, 06:20:34 pm
Removing from A+ is the harder part. You need to go through one at a time and hit add sensor and then select remove on LCD ( remove , NOT delete ) and then put each device in exclusion mode. To remove them from A+
 Once that is done Open ST app click add new devices and it will add them all at once ( it may take a while if you have a lot of devices ) . I did it one room at a time ( removing from A+ adding to ST)  so I could keep track and name them all easier, since ST is set up with rooms to organize your devices. I would not want to go back through all 50+ of my devices and try and group/name them all after.
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: xtbs26 on September 21, 2015, 07:44:18 pm
Thank you, ridreams!
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: d.kiran on September 21, 2015, 11:36:31 pm
Once that is done Open ST app click add new devices and it will add them all at once ( it may take a while if you have a lot of devices )

Wait.. So SmartThings automatically discovers and pairs devices without having to go through the process of putting each device in include mode? If yes, then that's brilliant !
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: Fire69 on September 22, 2015, 02:32:16 am
I highly doubt that, otherwise your neighbour could just add your devices to his ST hub  :P
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: obmd1 on September 22, 2015, 09:06:31 am
Removing from A+ is the harder part. You need to go through one at a time and hit add sensor and then select remove on LCD ( remove , NOT delete ) and then put each device in exclusion mode. To remove them from A+
 Once that is done Open ST app click add new devices and it will add them all at once ( it may take a while if you have a lot of devices ) . I did it one room at a time ( removing from A+ adding to ST)  so I could keep track and name them all easier, since ST is set up with rooms to organize your devices. I would not want to go back through all 50+ of my devices and try and group/name them all after.

That DOES sound like a pain in the bunny, but it's more motivation to move on from this dead product rather than add more sensors I have to un-add. The "exclusion mode" part is gonna be a bigger headache. Who remembers? Crap.
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: rldreams on September 22, 2015, 10:41:11 am
Wait.. So SmartThings automatically discovers and pairs devices without having to go through the process of putting each device in include mode? If yes, then that's brilliant !

No, ,but if you read I said you put each device into pair/unpair mode to remove them from the A+. The device will then still be in pair/unpair mode when you look for them with the ST.
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: kbtn on September 23, 2015, 03:10:32 pm
The Almond+ is officially dead.  This whole new Beta thing is nothing but a ploy to keep customers from completely bailing before they can sell it off to Samsung, Google, or anyone who will take it.

This product was never ready to be released, and is still about a year out from a stable and usable product.  Everyone who bought this is a Beta tester.
Title: Re: 9 months is enough, I'm out.....
Post by: jnowland on October 01, 2015, 09:09:10 am
Well, I finally have an update for y'all regarding my move to the STH v2.  The migration of switches/devices was at first a pain due mainly to me using the "remove all" option.  I almost lost my mind when my z wave devices would not connect to my STH.  Come to find out, as mentioned above each device has to be removed individually, one at a time.  After that, each device flawlessly connected to my STH.  All devices expect for my Peanut Plug and my Securifi door sensor :-P  There are some distinct advantages to the STH over the Almond+, which is what frustrated me about the Almond+ developers.  Why did they put their focus on the router issues more than the Home Automation?  The Home Auto is why I got the thing in the first place!  Securifi, learn from this...... pay attention the the public in large, not the specialized few who are worrying about tech geeky things.  Not that there is anything wrong with that!  But, the larger public wants Home Auto!!  The fact that a secondary remote can not be used on the A+ was first.  I added the GE remote to my STH and wham, I now have an actual physical remote with 18 buttons to set my devices to, enabling me to turn lights off in an instant.  Now, where to I stash the remote??  lol

All of my devices can be activated by voice commands via my Amazon Echo.  LOVE IT!!!

The only things the A+ has over the STH are the ability to create groups.  The STH does not, but because it is connected to my Echo, I can create a group on it.  For example, I have a multi-bulb lamp using GE Wink bulbs.  On my A+ I created a group to turn all three bulbs on at once.  With the STH, a specialized "Smartapp" has to be created.  However, I simply created a group on my echo where I use voice command and all three bulbs turn on at the same time.

Another thing the A+ has over the STH are rules.  I have to give props to the A+ team for creating/modifying a pretty good "rules" option.  The STH does not really have this.  There is a more entailed, less user friendly was to have your lights turn on at a specific time, yadda yadda.....

The last thing the A+ has over the STH is a small, but useful thing.  The ability to quickly set "away/home".  You can do this in the STH, but I am constantly trying to remember where, in it's very convoluted app to do it.

So, I love supporting the "little guy".  I will move my devices back to the A+ once they get Echo integration and allow for secondary remotes.  Thanks for your time y'all and have a blessed day.