Question for a Homey ZWave Guru

Hi,

I have previously reported the bug in the Secure Horstmann app, which prevents Homey from working with the SSR302 Secure 2 channel boiler controller

If I delete the Secure app will I still be able to connect the Secure srt321 thermostats? And will I then be able to add the SSR302 boiler controller?

Is it just the broken Secure Horstmann App that is buggering everything up?

Removing the app also removes the drivers and handlers, so i guess not.

So, if Iā€™m understanding this correctly Homey can only add zwave devices that are supported by an App?

I was hoping Homey May be able to understand non app zwave devices.

The boiler switch is a 2 channel one- that may be tricky without an app.

If I canā€™t get Homey the Secure App fixed I cant use Homey and have no other way forward.

A damn shame, the heating system is its biggest task :frowning:

Does anyone know of a way around this?

No, that is not correct. If the device uses generic capabilities it can also be added using the generic Z-wave option. For the boiler switch i suppose this is not applicable.

What secure app are you referring to? Homey doesnā€™t fix anything, it is just the device.

Yep. Build your own app for it. Or put a request for an app in the app request topic.

There is a bug in the Secure Horstmann App that causes the SSR302 to fail when adding it to Homey.

It is not a device issue, it is an app issue.

Yup done a couple of weeks ago.

What now?

Also DMā€™d developer.

What now?

Already answered that one:

Wow that is one hell of a leap from buy a Homey install the Apps that control everything to write your own app.

But like buying a car and finding the tyres are faulty and the dealer says well if you canā€™t get Goodyear to fix them - manufacture your own tyres.

Disappointing, Iā€™ll keep a close eye on the progress of Homey and when support for a zwave 2 channel heating / Hot Water Controller or just the SSR302 gets fixed, Iā€™ll buy another Homey and try again.

Apart from intermittent Hue Hub connectivity Homey is really impressive and shows great promise and is very close to appliance based HA.

Thanks for all your constructive assistance and support to a new Homey user.

No, itā€™s like buying a car with 3rd party software in it and then the dealer points you to the supplier of the software because the dealer itself hasnā€™t the required knowledge.

What do you expect of me? That i instantly become a developer and fix it for you?
I just point you in the right direction, but get slapped for it because you donā€™t like the answer.
Well, asking it multiple times doesnā€™t solve the problem eitherā€¦

If you donā€™t really want to hear the answer, donā€™t ask the question.

Btw, name one other brand of controller that supports this device out of the boxā€¦

Vera, Indigo to name two.

But Homey is better in other areas.

I had hoped that someone, a zwave guru, may know of a constructive, practical, workaround.

Your responses in this thread act as a illustration of the Dunning Kruger Effect. :slight_smile: thank you for that.

If we donā€™t keep it friendly in here am gonna close the topic.

Well, if i hadnā€™t responded you probably had been mad about the community for not getting an answer at all. But no problem dude, i will ignore your questions from now on. :+1:

Btw, iā€™m not too proud to admit to be wrong, indeed it seems Vera supports it out of the box. And it is much cheaper, soā€¦

@Busta999 its not like the dealer telling you to manufacturer your own tires. What has happened is you have asked a random person whether your tire is flat, they have responded ā€˜yesā€™ and then you got upset at them for not manufacturing a new tire for you.

Please keep in mind that this is a community forum, we members of the community are no different to you, and help you receive here is from people who are donating their time to help you.

I would suggest that if you get in contact with the developer that you remember they too have donated their time to create the app, they do not get paid for it and you should remain respectful and thankful for any help they offer you in fixing your problem.

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@RoyWissenburg @Jamie

You are quite right, the analogy was not a good one, and I was wrong to express my frustrations in this forum, I apologise.

To determine the HA Hub I wanted to move to I drew up a list of must haves and would liked, I published on these forums, hoping to qualify my decision.

Homey ticked all the boxes with more than a few extras.

The ā€œapplianceā€ nature of Homey is years ahead of anything else. I am blown away by that.

The implementation phase ran into the usual learning curve issues and some implementation issues required some commitment, ie the issue with Greenwave devices, the App that Homey developed ran into an issue, a hardware issue that required a software workaround. More than happily developed a workaround and shared it on these forums.

Even the issues with Athom Hue Hub app where Hue hubs were intermittently ā€˜lostā€™ was an issue I worked with Athom to diagnose issue and hopefully now resolved.

The wall was hit when one of the critical features, the Secure SSR302, documented as supported, has a bug that prevents its connection to Homey. This device controls the Heating and Hot Water, so is a core functionality.

Without Homey support for this device I have purchase an run another HA Hub to control this critical element.

Fellow users of this forum identified the documented to dev, bug.

More than happy to pay the developer of this app, I have funded other dev plugins, because I recognise the value of the app and support that work.

Unfortunately the developer is not responding to any communication.

Left with having to purchase another HA Hub to operate the TRVs Thermostats and heating/hot water controller I was left with no other option but to abandon my Honey adventure.

Homey is a great product and I am extremely excited about it potential and a major leap forward in HA Hubs.

Essential to execution of an appliance based HA Hub requires some validation of the quality of the apps that sit within its eco system.

While I fully understand that Athom cannot warranty externally developed apps they are more than willing to use them as support for the breadth of device capability.

Case in point I purchased Homey on the basis it supported a very specific range of devices.

Their lead as an appliance HA Hub depends on these external apps because when they do fail they reflect a diminished functionality for the end user.

I will keep a close eye on Homey as I believe they are on a great track, but for me, no heating or hot water is not an option my wife will endorse :slight_smile:

Thank you all for your help, and apologies again for my inappropriate rant.

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@Busta999 I understand your frustration, while it was not unwarranted it was perhaps a little misdirected.

Ill be honest, I dont know anything about the device which is not working, nor do I know which other controller you are now using.

But learning to fix it yourself is certainly an option. There is a very friendly #developers channel on slack and documentation, its prob easier then learning to set up some (not all) other controllers.

Or you could perhaps create a bounty - let a developer know you are willing to pay for a fix. (note you would likely need to supply them with the device which you want fixed).

Both are very viable options now that you have another solution in place ā€¦ if your still inclined to do so.

@Jamie

Absolutely, mea culpa.

Very good suggestions, the last time I wrote code was 20-30 years ago, intellectually interesting but my current workload totally drains me right now and I just donā€™t have the bandwidth.

I have a spare SSR302, it is very specialised and plugs into a very specific heating interface, I have problem donating one at all, just unlikely to find the right skills with the same setup.

I canā€™t remember his name but he identified the issue to a single misplaced character in the code and he messaged the developer a few weeks ago with the precise remedy.

All moot, I have returned Homey to Athom.

I flirted with keeping Homey and try and find a way to get to work, but the window for return was closing. I explored every opportunity that I was aware of, asked if anyone else could think of a way.

Some great suggestions, but a tad too late for me gamble on right now. Ā£360 is a lot to pay for something that cannot do the job it was purchased for. If it had been Ā£100 I would have taken a punt, but it was too much of risk for that kind of stake for me.

The HA I have right now is pc based and I wanted to move to a more appliance based one following a catastrophic disk failure on the pc it was running on.

I have gone back to that in the interim.

Iā€™ll give some thought to the bounty option, I like that, more than happy to pay for that.

Thanks for your help and constructive suggestions, much appreciated.

Too late now, but I am just wondering, did anyone let you know that you can easily download the code, fix the single misplaced character and then run said code on your homey? Its called a CLI install. Takes about 15 minutes to set up the first time.

Good luck!

Damn, really!

No, never had anything to do with github up until Homey.

No idea you could do that, all paths went back to the developer or start from scratch and develop a new one- a stretch too far for me.

Iā€™ll look into that, if I can actually do that or secure the aid of someone (or compensate them) then I can purchase Homey again - Iā€™ll have a 15 day window to test it.