Homey Community Forum

[App] Twinkly

Apps
#1

small

Automate your Twinkly Christmas Lights

App Store Page: https://homey.app/a/com.twinkly/

Description

This Homey app allows you to control Twinkly christmas lighting. It uses an unsupported method for communication between Homey and Twinkly devices so no garantees can be given that it works and continue to work. The app is currently limited to turning the lights on or off and changing the color of all lights.

Warning: Due to using this unsupported method of communication there is also a limitation where you can not use the Twinly smartphone app in combination with this Homey app. Be sure to (force) close the Twinkly app when trying to add and control your Twinkly lights with Homey.

Instructions

  • Make sure you have your Twinkly lights configured using the Twinkly smartphone app and you have them connected to your home network.
  • Assign a static IP address to your Twinkly lights in your router.
  • Close the Twinkly smartphone app to avoid communication conflicts.
  • Add your Twinkly as device in Homey, it should be discovered in the pairing wizard.

Note: As this Homey app uses an unofficial method of communicating with the Twinkly lights the functionality is limited to turning your lights on/off and changing it to a solid color.

Final Words

I took over the development of this app on 2021-03-02. Thanks a lot to @Phuturist who originally created this app. I will try my best to keep this app alive and stable, and if possible improve it future.

7 Likes
#2

Known Issues

None

Changelog

v3.0.6

  • Fixed: Dimming not working on SDKv3 version.
  • Fixed: Potential memory leaks when uninstalling/updating the app. Note: This only fixes the issue for upcoming updates/uninstalls. You might want to consider rebooting your Homey after this update.
  • Few minor under the hood changes to improve performance.

App ownership changed

v3.0.5 - 2021-02-22

  • Update to SDK3 (requires Homey firmware 5.x)
  • Added dimming capability
  • Minor improvements

v1.1.1 - 2019-12-18

Added an action card for switching demo mode on or off.

v1.1.0 - 2019-11-18

  • Autodiscovery has been added to make pairing easier
  • An action card for setting your Twinkly lights to a solid color has been added as extra functionality

v1.0.3 - 2019-02-07

  • FIX: improvements to pairing template for firmware 2.x
  • FIX: code refactoring in driver (replace callbacks with promises)

v1.0.2 - 2019-01-21

FIX: small fix to avoid app crashes when reconnecting after a disconnect

v1.0.1 - 2018-12-02

  • FIX: small improvement that might fix issues for some people

v1.0.0 - 2018-11-25

NEW: initial version

#3

Nice! And just when Twinkly is found at the Black Friday sales. Guess I have to buy one (or a few) :slight_smile:

I’ll let everyone in Homey homies know about your app!

#4

Just bought one. Will try when I get home. :slight_smile:

#5

Wich version did you get? And can you tell me where? I’m looking for the smallest Twinkly version, but the only one I can find is at Intratuin at 50 euro’s (wich isnt’t that expensive, but Black friday discount would be nice haha)

#6

Bought the 175 led. In sweden from kjell.com

#7

when do you think this app is available in the appstore as a beta

#8

Someone else that has problems with connecting to a local network. Have tried everything. Only the direct that works.

#9

When Athom approves the app, that sometimes takes a day and sometimes a week. Out of my hands.

Yes, it’s buggy. Took me a while to get it connected as well. On Android you could try to purge the app settings and cache and try again.

#10

Awesome, was thinking of starting an app for the Twinkly lights myself but am lacking time. Will try after Sinterklaas :slight_smile: Thanks!

#11

Version 1.0.0 is published in the app store. It has been tested with firmware version 2.0.22-mqtt but it seems it does not work properly yet with firmware version 2.0.23-mqtt which is currently in beta. When this hits stable the app will need to be updated. So you might want to stick with 2.0.22-mqtt until the Homey app has been updated.

#12

Got Twinkly Strings (225 leds) connected with static IP and firmware 2.0.22-mqtt but for some reason cannot get it to work with the Homey app, on/off doesnt do anything. It works fine through the Twinkly app.

#13

Different LED strings seem to be using different commands. I need to figure out which LED string uses which command.

Anyone experiencing this issue can help me fix this by doing a CLI install of this Homey app version which contains extra debug logging, This should tell me what is going on. Just run this version from command line and first control the Twinkly with the smartphone app than try to control the Twinkly with my Homey app. The logging should show the status your Twinkly is in (something like off, effect or movie).

Please report your findings here.

1 Like
#14

i do also have the 225 string and it works

#15

Update: It seems to be working suddenly now (strings 225). :slight_smile:

#16

Good to hear, would you consider updating your rating in the app store as well.

#17

Done, thank you :slight_smile: !

#18

Cool!
Just bought the 175 version. Need to test this before Christmas I guess :smile_cat:

#19

v1.0.1 - 2018-12-02

  • FIX: small improvement that might fix issues for some people

Seeying the reactions here and on Github this improvement probably wont have much effect. If the Twinkly app is not working for you make sure you select a predefined effect within the Twinkly smartphone app, then close this smartphone app and pair your Twinkly with Homey. That should make sure you are able to turn in on and off.

#20

I’ve used it for turning my lights on and off, but I’ve had problems using the Twinkly app to change effect. Been on support with Twinkly devs all Christmas trying to figure out what’s going on.
Seems to work fine now after deleting it from Homey…
I kept getting “Unauthorized” “NSErrorFailingURLStringKey”, “NSLocalizedDescription = Unauthorized”.

I’d like it to work with Homey, but for now I’m just cutting the power with a power strip instead.

I also have some problems with effects abruptly stopping and restarting when looping (especially the Glow effect and white LED).