[Bridge] Homey Virtual Devices experiment

Athom decided that Virtual Devices are not (yet) available in Homey (Cloud),
but there are no flies on a Power User! :innocent:

Only extra requirement for this “Power User” experiment is a Homey Bridge!

Install the KlikAan KlikUit (KAKU) App to your Homey or just try adding a KAKU Device.
If you want a Button just add fe a “socket”,
A Dimmer is also possible, or a Light ( E27 type device or Bulb )
I guess it could be any “Receiver” type of device.
When pairing, just blink your eyes and Say Yes :white_check_mark:

Change your Device Icon to something nice that you like from the Default Homey Icons and Change The Plugged in setting and if you like set the Power Usage.

only drawback is some air frequency pollution. (Transmitting unnecessary RF signals on 433Mhz.)

Welcome to the Community,
if Support asks just say that you are a Power User :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

(For you convenience I kept the Original device names in front, but many if not all Receivers! are Possible)

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What would be possible use cases for the virtual devices?

I was thinking of creating a virtual device “all lights” and create a flow to turn off all my different lights when “all lights” is turned off. Now I can say to google “ok Google, turn off all lights” instead of “ok Google, start flow turn off all lights”. Is that a correct use case?

that was already answered fe here:

but there are more places :mag:

Hihi, I did something similar with non-existent Somfy sunshades before I discovered the VD app on Homey Pro. Only I paired without blinking. :grinning:

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@Dijker You are a very advanced user, please can you rewrite you OP?

What is fe?
What flies?
What is Homey Cloud vs Homey Bridge?

Under Settings in the Homey App, in Experiments, I have four options, two of which apply: Power user (on/off), Virtual Devices (on/off). It does not look like you need to be a power user to get access to native virtual devices.

I am not using the native virtual devices yet, I found the APP for Virtual Devices pretty wonderful and am trying to understand what you are trying to achieve here with the native virtual devices capability, please educate us, thanks.

Homey cloud is the new beta app/software. Homey bridge is an accessory to that, to be able to use the local wireless protocols zigbee, z-wave, Bluetooth LE, IR and 433MHz (f.i. ClickOnClickOff).
The experimental option “Virtual Devices” is not available (yet? No one knows).
Also the app Virtual Devices can’t be installed (yet) on Homey Cloud.
Hence the “workaround” from Geurt, with Homey bridge :crazy_face::+1:

.

You are talking about the Homey Pro. The topic is about the new Homey Cloud.
Nonetheless, afaik the virtual knob and -switch aren’t possible to add as new device, when the Experiments “Virtual Devices” is disabled.
It is not connected to “Power User” in any way.

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Not sure I need to update as most is explained here already by Peter

According to my search engine FE is Iron (Ferrum, Ferrite) or For Example …

animated-fly-image-0044

If you say there are no flies on someone, you mean that they are quick to understand a situation and are not easily deceived . Oh, he was a smart one, all right. There were no flies on him.

O, and Experiments are NOT available on the Bridge,

Athom stated the audience for the Bridge is not the “Power Users”

/OT
I guess this Topic wasn’t intended for you, as you have a Pro!
Therefor I added [Pro] to a lot Topics about Homey Apps [APP] that are ONLY for users with a Homey Pro, and here a [Bridge] to info a Tip for Homey Bridge users.

it is confusing with different audiences,


But I guess we need more Tags, any tips on making the community more clear for different categories let us know. (PM or in appropriate topic)

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Bummer. The trick worked without a bridge, but something’s changed lately.
After selecting a random KaKu device, a pop up appears: “Homey Bridge required”

Without virtual devices (VD) made by Kranenburg, I’m not buying the bridge.

VD is the one app that I used intensively on the Pro. It adds new functionality (eg. turn something on when the button is on), reduces the number of flows, allows tracing what (de)activated the button.

Without VD life would be tough.

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Why would you buy a Bridge anyway if you already have a Pro?

  1. My middle name is: tinker
  2. The Pro hardware won’t last forever

But the Bridge won’t be its replacement.

That’s interesting, please explain

Athom has said so. Also, the Bridge is severely limited.

The bridge will never have the functionality of the Pro. Many apps for the bridge will also not be available. It’s just a Homey light, not even capable of connecting to a Pro to even serve as a repeater. In addition, it is not able to connect to devices on its own network unless they have their own web-based API. If you are a Pro user, you should keep your hands off the bridge, otherwise frustration is certain.

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I get the confusion.
There’s almost no attempt to show the very limited # of devices and apps for the cloud/bridge Homey.
Also not mentioned:
whole categories of apps which will never be available, like the Tools category.
The community app store apps are mentioned as unavailable, but I had to look for it, it is kind of hidden.

Google app store:

Don’t forget this, that is absolutely not true for Homey cloud:

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