5 ms·

The main reason why HA accounted for so many requests is probably because it was a polling integration, requesting data every 30 seconds from the server, while

The main reason why HA accounted for so many requests is probably because it was a polling integration, requesting data every 30 seconds from the server, while the official app either had push events when something changes, or it updated state when the app gets opened.

ryukoposting 3y ago
Isn't the high road solution here to open your API to enable users to make a less shitty HA integration? Either way, they'll almost certainly pull the plug on this service sometime before the end of the decade.
- lhamil64 3y ago
  Or open up a local API so Home Assistant users don't even need to hit their servers in the first place, which is preferable anyway...
  - epiecs 3y ago
    I was just going to comment this. The device is network connected anyhow. So just open up the local api.
    - cameldrv 3y ago
      Haha this is the company that has an undocumented encrypted wire protocol between the wired button and the opener so you have to use their button instead of a normal doorbell switch.
  - thecapybara 3y ago
    If I recall correctly, Chamberlin had an optional accessory that added HomeKit support to garage door openers, and that was discontinued last year. Home Assistant is capable of acting as a HomeKit hub, allowing it to control HomeKit compatible devices locally that otherwise would've required a cloud connection.
    - ziml77 3y ago
      I'm so glad HomeKit exists because without it I'm positive the vast majority of "smart" home devices wouldn't support any kind of local connectivity.
      - kortilla 3y ago
        It sucks how many iot devices skip home kit integration for this very reason. :(
- giancarlostoro 3y ago
  I would argue that letting HA define a callback URL or some way to receive those events instead of relying on polling would do it. But also, are they caching the responses? I have a weird feeling that the vendor is not caching enough, especially for data that changes insanely infrequently.
- criddell 3y ago
  That’s definitely the high road solution. The low road solution would have been to start suing HA users under the CFAA. So I guess they took the middle road.
Angostura 3y ago
Possible answers would be for the company to create an official integration, using a change state trigger rather than a polling trigger - or possibly to throttle requests from a particular IP to a certain number per day to incentivise parsimonious usage
- xur17 3y ago
  Absolutely. It would also be possible for them to create a local API that home assistant can call over the local network. The real problem is that the company just doesn't care.
- greggsy 3y ago
  HA even claim that it’s used as a test bed for many iot products, so it can often have integrations before any other platform. Kind of makes sense, give many cross platform integrations there are in it.
lvh 3y ago
A third-party hub would have a similar problem, though, right?
- mikeryan 3y ago
  MyQ has built in integrations for Apple Smart Home and Alexa. I’m assuming in those situations the MyQ app passes state to those services so they don’t have to poll.
  - achandlerwhite 3y ago
    Not for HoneKit unfortunately. They did sell a separate -$100 box that would bridge it officially but have discontinued it.
giancarlostoro 3y ago
Why not... just allow HA receive callback events at that point when things change? I feel like this has an easy resolve that doesn't piss off your power user customers, and makes them encourage others to invest in your products, IE power users, and they'll come back because despite being a little extra engineering effort, they were glad you thought of them.
- twicetwice 3y ago
  Good suggestion, but where and how does HA receive callbacks? I would guess that almost all HA instances are behind residential LANs and most aren't accessible on the public internet. You could use dynamic DNS and forward ports, but that's flaky, you might run into CGNAT, etc. And anyway, it's best if your HA instance isn't publicly addressable; mine is only accessible over my personal WireGuard VPN and I intend to keep it that way. I'm sure this is a solvable and solved problem, but I do believe it is non-trivial, and potentially a major headache for a company to implement just to support a tiny niche of users. I'd be delighted to find out I'm wrong though! And, unfortunately, the business case isn't there, since this weakens lock-in effects. I don't endorse this reason—that's why I run my own HA instance and don't buy or use any products that require the cloud or otherwise can't be operated entirely locally (including flashing Valetudo to my robot vacuum!).
  - tuckerman 3y ago
    If you pay for the home assistant cloud subscription (built into HA, ~5 USD/mo) they can provision custom callback URLs for you so you don’t have to expose your HA instance. I have this setup for certain integrations such as Samsung Smart Things. It’s not a perfect solution since it costs money but it’s a nice alternative to exposing your HA instance or some other front end proxy to the internet.
    - andrewaylett 3y ago
      Unfortunately it's not actually that different in effect -- Nabu Casa proxy the encrypted TCP connection, rather than terminating TLS and proxying HTTP, which is great for privacy but not so much for providing an extra layer of security on top of HA itself. It is also much easier for those without easy access to extra static IP addresses. Given the target audience I think it's probably the right approach.

ryukoposting 3y ago

Isn't the high road solution here to open your API to enable users to make a less shitty HA integration? Either way, they'll almost certainly pull the plug on this service sometime before the end of the decade.

lhamil64 3y ago
Or open up a local API so Home Assistant users don't even need to hit their servers in the first place, which is preferable anyway...
- epiecs 3y ago
  I was just going to comment this. The device is network connected anyhow. So just open up the local api.
  - cameldrv 3y ago
    Haha this is the company that has an undocumented encrypted wire protocol between the wired button and the opener so you have to use their button instead of a normal doorbell switch.
- thecapybara 3y ago
  If I recall correctly, Chamberlin had an optional accessory that added HomeKit support to garage door openers, and that was discontinued last year. Home Assistant is capable of acting as a HomeKit hub, allowing it to control HomeKit compatible devices locally that otherwise would've required a cloud connection.
  - ziml77 3y ago
    I'm so glad HomeKit exists because without it I'm positive the vast majority of "smart" home devices wouldn't support any kind of local connectivity.
    - kortilla 3y ago
      It sucks how many iot devices skip home kit integration for this very reason. :(
giancarlostoro 3y ago
I would argue that letting HA define a callback URL or some way to receive those events instead of relying on polling would do it. But also, are they caching the responses? I have a weird feeling that the vendor is not caching enough, especially for data that changes insanely infrequently.
criddell 3y ago
That’s definitely the high road solution. The low road solution would have been to start suing HA users under the CFAA. So I guess they took the middle road.

Angostura 3y ago

Possible answers would be for the company to create an official integration, using a change state trigger rather than a polling trigger - or possibly to throttle requests from a particular IP to a certain number per day to incentivise parsimonious usage

xur17 3y ago
Absolutely. It would also be possible for them to create a local API that home assistant can call over the local network. The real problem is that the company just doesn't care.
greggsy 3y ago
HA even claim that it’s used as a test bed for many iot products, so it can often have integrations before any other platform. Kind of makes sense, give many cross platform integrations there are in it.

lvh 3y ago

A third-party hub would have a similar problem, though, right?

mikeryan 3y ago
MyQ has built in integrations for Apple Smart Home and Alexa. I’m assuming in those situations the MyQ app passes state to those services so they don’t have to poll.
- achandlerwhite 3y ago
  Not for HoneKit unfortunately. They did sell a separate -$100 box that would bridge it officially but have discontinued it.

giancarlostoro 3y ago

Why not... just allow HA receive callback events at that point when things change? I feel like this has an easy resolve that doesn't piss off your power user customers, and makes them encourage others to invest in your products, IE power users, and they'll come back because despite being a little extra engineering effort, they were glad you thought of them.

twicetwice 3y ago
Good suggestion, but where and how does HA receive callbacks? I would guess that almost all HA instances are behind residential LANs and most aren't accessible on the public internet. You could use dynamic DNS and forward ports, but that's flaky, you might run into CGNAT, etc. And anyway, it's best if your HA instance isn't publicly addressable; mine is only accessible over my personal WireGuard VPN and I intend to keep it that way. I'm sure this is a solvable and solved problem, but I do believe it is non-trivial, and potentially a major headache for a company to implement just to support a tiny niche of users. I'd be delighted to find out I'm wrong though! And, unfortunately, the business case isn't there, since this weakens lock-in effects. I don't endorse this reason—that's why I run my own HA instance and don't buy or use any products that require the cloud or otherwise can't be operated entirely locally (including flashing Valetudo to my robot vacuum!).
- tuckerman 3y ago
  If you pay for the home assistant cloud subscription (built into HA, ~5 USD/mo) they can provision custom callback URLs for you so you don’t have to expose your HA instance. I have this setup for certain integrations such as Samsung Smart Things. It’s not a perfect solution since it costs money but it’s a nice alternative to exposing your HA instance or some other front end proxy to the internet.
  - andrewaylett 3y ago
    Unfortunately it's not actually that different in effect -- Nabu Casa proxy the encrypted TCP connection, rather than terminating TLS and proxying HTTP, which is great for privacy but not so much for providing an extra layer of security on top of HA itself. It is also much easier for those without easy access to extra static IP addresses. Given the target audience I think it's probably the right approach.