Wyze- Home Assistant Feature request has over 850 upvotes. Are you a home assistant fan? Are you interested? I could help you set it up!

[RoldyBuffalo]

I have been using Home Assistant for over 6 months now. I was wondering if you were interested in home assistant, and wyze, but don’t like all the privacy issues with cloud integrations like alexa, google, ifttt, samsung, what have you. I was hoping you could shoot on over to this feature request to upvote a Wyze Sense/Wyze Camera/Wyze Plug (hell)/Wyze Whatever integration into their platform.
Feature Request on the Wyze Forums for Home Assistant

I created a post on the home-assistant forums linking the feature request, it’s blown up in the past 2 months. Glad to see so many of us want to take back our smart home from the cloud.

If you’re interested in home assistant, and would like help getting started, well, this thread could do the trick. Ask me fairly well any question below, the possibilities are endless.

[Customer]

Terrific! Thank you for offering. As a technically capable person but complete newbie to Home Assistant:

1. What is the easiest way to get HAss running with or without Wyze products? I don’t care about Wyze RTSP vs. Dafang Hacks. That’s the easy part. I’m talking about getting up and running with at least some local control and local storage in a reliable fashion. Can I get recording, multiple vendor hardware, high availability to my own remote VPS, control via both mobile app and web browser…? Is there a ready to run package that includes many good common options and presets?

2. Should I start with a PC? A Pi? Multiple iterations?

3. Is there any hope of long term interoperability and stability similar to what is promised for Apple HomeKit?

4. Are the paid cloud components offered by Home Assistant developers (a) entirely optional and (b) completely replaceable by self hosted versions of the same thing?

5. What is the level of Alexa integration? The voice and app control are my primary home automation method at present. Could everything still be driven through Alexa?

6. Is there any REAL hope of a self hosted voice control replacement?

Thanks again for the offer.

[RoldyBuffalo]

Thanks for your interest bud. I’ll try to reply the best I can.

1: The easiest way currently to get hass running, with and without wyze sense / wyze cameras is to get a raspberry pi 4/3 and sd card, power supply, and case. with that, you can use etcher to burn the hassos to the raspberry sd card, boot to that sd card, voila you have local control within 5 minutes or less or several integrations right out of the box, like roku, lifx, generally things with already established local control options. You can also run it on pretty much any debian based server or virtual machine software like docker (it's a docker based app) or proxmox Then, beyond that you install a couple addons like the file editor, install hacs for more addons, then you’re off to the races. I and several others even backup their hassos (home assistant, aka, hassio) to google cloud in the even of a break down, we can be back up and running with a fresh copy on a fresh sd card in minutes. As far as web control, the best way(s) to do that is A: Duckdns/custom domain ssl certs (fully integrated) or B: the brewed up alexa/google/vpn integration that does cost an amount of $5 a month for full integration of alexa, google, and your own personal web link that you can use in the home assistant android/iphone/chrome app. You don’t have to spend a single extra dollar if you don’t want to, the alexa, google, and vpn integration however more difficult, can be done manually for free, hope this clears up that one.

2: I started on a virtual machine on my desktop, too much overhead and wanted it running 24/7, moved to a rpi4b4g, then finally now moved to both a rspi4b and an intel nuc, running 2 different versions of hassos. It’s a work in progress, I don’t really need to run 2 versions, but I like my custom dns server separate.

3: Hassos plans to be the next big thing on home automation. it’s open source and locally run from the ground up, and at this point it’s become massive enough it can’t be stopped.

4: All paid components (there is only one, for $5 a month) can be done with enough know how on your own for free

5: Full, cloud control, no local control as alexa does not offer that

6: I have seen videos on youtube of people creating their own voice assistant, with home assistant as almond (open source tts) and the front end are both available locally, it could be done in a way that allows for the controllers to be used without internet.

Any other questions?

[Customer]

@RoldyBuffalo

5: Full, cloud control, no local control as alexa does not offer that

So can I get Alexa to drive all the setups I would make inside HAss? Or would I need to replicate all customizations in both HAss and the native Alexa app?

If I set up a group of cameras, or bulbs, etc. only inside HAss and name it “Living Room”, can I tell Alexa “dim the Living Room to 20 percent”?

[RoldyBuffalo]

short response? yes. You essentially post your devices through your alexa/google integration, from the integration in hassos, into alexa/google. You can add/remove/sync items from hassos into alexa. Futhermore, you can also use the integrations in hassos, to do things like play sounds, speak, run routines, and the like, from hassos, on your alexa.

Here is the forum for the alexa integration(s)

The built in integration ($5)

This is the only thing to cost money in home assistant, even so, there is a fully free to use edition, that has all the same features, it just takes some level of knowledge to setup

You use that integration to do things like play sounds, play music, lights, doors, covers, anything that alexa can do, hassos can send to it. As far as Wyze in particular is concerned, the added benefit of having the sensors, or other additions later in hassos, is the full local control, in the event the internet goes down, or an actual emergency. The cloud is always a problem when dealing with legitimate emergencies in the real world.

The integration itself can be done for free, by anyone, anytime, anywhere. It just takes, as stated, an amount more knowhow to pull off.

This is that integration, again, free alexa control of hassos and visa versa.

[https://www.awesome-ha.com/](This will give you an idea of it’s capabilities, but it’s so much more powerful then even this shows.)

I’ll be around most the night if you got anything else to throw at me, or anyone else has any questions. Particularly from the Wyze team. I’m not trying to drag my feet on this, I’ll do my best to field any questions from the different people watching; furthermore, a lot of the information I’m giving is googleable(ish) It just might be easier hearing it from someone who is involved.

[Customer]

Thank you for such great info. I took a quick look at some of it. A little confused on terminology; apparently “Hass.IO” used to be the name for a particular packaging but is deprecated, and the Docker image is recommended.

Also came across indirect video reference to an Apple Google Amazon home automation “partnership” I was unaware of. I thought the video might have been a spoof until I searched for info.

In a rare move, Apple, Amazon, and Google just announced a major partnership

[RoldyBuffalo]

To put it frankly? Yes, I must apologize as I didn’t really clarify on the terminology. Hass.io(you really shouldn’t link to that, who knows…), hassos, and home assistant, are all the same server application, with a couple minor tweaks. Essentially, it boils down to what you want to run it on, what type of control/maintenance you want to perform, and then you would have your answer.

Hassio, while depreciated, is still in use by many, simply because of it’s ease of installation in the docker framework. (hass, is a docker application in of itself) but it’s not officially supported anymore, as of just a month of two ago, it is not considered community supported, so although it’s not supported exclusively by the hass team, it is still maintained to a degree.

Moving on, getting started, you would likely want to go with this guide for anything other then a raspberry pi install

and the basic, go to guide for installation is here

but really, as you may have noticed, many people use them interchangeably, haphazardly

I’ll add this little bit too.

I started for a period of a month running it on a virtual machine in windows, moved to a raspberry pi 4b 4g, used that exclusively for almost 4 months, then moved to an intel nuc to run a plex server with hassos. (all while maintaining my set-up and config, I just restored snapshots inside the UI)

[rbruceporter]

I would be careful recommending deprecated packages, tools etc. The very fact they are depreciated should be a red flag. Just because something is still in use, even wide use, is not a valid reason to recommend something no longer actively supported. (That’s what depreciated usually effectively boils down to.)

Instead recommend the active variant as that usually represents the version with the most frequently updated sources, something very important in a system being used for your home’s security.

Now if it’s just a matter of one platform over another then it’s usually safe to pick the one you are comfortable with. Example I use 2 different variants of Homebridge. For one I use the Raspberry Pi “official” image. Another one I run the instance on an Debian Linux system. Not official but fully supported. I do this mainly because for one specific plugin the Debian system appears to be more stable than the official image.

But since IoT is an attractive target for hackers I tend to avoid out of date systems. I know Hass strives for “local” operations for just that reason. But if the underlying system is hacked anything hosted on it is vulnerable. So stick with the system variant being actively developed, supported and updated. It’s safer.

[RoldyBuffalo]

I see your point, but home assistant specifically does not use the word depreciated anymore. They use the terminology community supported, which was why I explained it, I was just using the same verbage as him. Thanks for your input. I also did not recommended any version which is not fully supported by home assistant, did you click the links? I did not recommend a depreciated version, community supported or otherwise.

https://www.home-assistant.io/docs/installation/ <<first link

https://www.home-assistant.io/getting-started/ < second link

But like I said, I see your point, clearly. I’m not recommending anything of the sort, It’s just a matter of terminology, and a recent change hassos did when switching names

https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2020/01/29/changing-the-home-assistant-brand/ <Rebranding

[rbruceporter]

That seems fine, but avoid the use of loaded words like depreciated. It has a very specific meaning and connotation.

If you are “responding in kind” to someone else that has misused the word, don’t. Instead correct their usage. It’s safer and more responsible.

The last link you included was very clear about what each name meant. They apply to three very different things. This does not match up with the posts above which imply the three things are just different variations of the same thing.

This is how misinformation builds and it scares people that otherwise may have tried something away.

In their words:

We started out as a Python application (called Home Assistant) and later added an operating system (HassOS) and management system (Hass.io Supervisor) to it, to allow users to easily manage their homes, but also to provide a system that is easy to keep up to date.

These different projects all come together in Hass.io.

[RoldyBuffalo]

"
We started out as a Python application (called Home Assistant) and later added an operating system (HassOS) and management system (Hass.io Supervisor) to it, to allow users to easily manage their homes, but also to provide a system that is easy to keep up to date.

These different projects all come together in Hass.io.
"

I’ve been at this a while, so, consider I have been through several revisions of the entire project. I’m linking, generally to the home assistant project. When I say hassio, I mean home assistant. when I say hassos, I mean home assistant. when I say home assistant, I mean home assistant. I’m not sure where the mix-up here is? It’s all the same project, different designations for different components in the project. Futhermore, with the rebranding, it’s increasingly difficult to specify what you mean. I specifically mean, the entire home assistant project

[rbruceporter]

I am happy if your happy.

[RoldyBuffalo]

Did you have a question? Because the home assistant team did a much better job of responding to the snarky “why all the different names bud” and “depreciated?” on that exact post I linked, the one you said explained it well. Read the comments, it throughly explains why they made the change, why they re-branded, and why they just have to deal with the difficulties.

also
this is what he meant by something being depreciated. Nothing to do with anything I have linked (https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2020/05/09/deprecating-home-assistant-supervised-on-generic-linux/)

talking about he generic linux install, of the supervised version. that’s all, nothing do to with any installation method you should be using. Futhermore, as stated, it wasn’t “depreciated” so much as it was just sucked up into the community to reduce the workload on an OPEN SOURCE WORKING FOR FREE team.

[rbruceporter]

No I had no question at all. I have used Home Assistant several times. I was and will continue to object to the misuse of phrases like depreciated and the misrepresentation of things in general. If you find that to be “snarky” that’s entirely okay with me.

It was not my intention but I unfortunately can’t always control what others interpret or infer. I do like to avoid confusing language and representation when possible and that’s what I was discussing.

[Customer]

Guys guys gentlemen ladies whatever. If we’re going to go all grammarian can we please properly distinguish between “deprecated” (the issue at hand) and “depreciated” (what is happening to the value of this thread if the needless bickering keeps up)?

Thank you. I may still be (more?) confused about the project(s) but still much appreciate the info and dialog.

[rbruceporter]

Good catch! My eagle eyes missed that. Spell check was happy because both spellings are correct just not interchangeable!

[RoldyBuffalo]

Oh my, can’t say it’s a first. Definitely won’t be the last. In any case, it’s over in regards to the miscommunication, or is it not?

Home assistant is a project, hassio is a component of that project, as is hassos. Furthermore, as I stated, the only thing that’s really needed to get your feet wet is the links I gave for the installations. You shouldn’t be starting off in a community supported version. It doesn’t particularly matter in the grand scheme of things, because if done properly, home assistant (if you want to be technical hassio is doing this, in home assistant, hassos) will make a secure cloud backup every day at a specified time. Then, if you really beans something up (and I will say, as you may have guessed, I have strings for fingers and my typing isn’t the best, it’s really, really, really, REALLY hard to permanently screw up home assistant.) but if you really, like, it’s borked and won’t do anything, screwed something up, reinstall, and within 10 minutes (5 for reinstall/reflash if you’re familiar, and 5 for the snapshot restore) everything is right back to where is was the night before. I love the snapshots and the configuration checkers they have built in, it really makes things so much easier for someone like me to code effectively. My previous workplace had inline code checkers much like home assistant does, lovely they are.

I will give some examples:

bad code / incorrect config

in the file editor inside hass

validation before reboots

correct code / valid config

[RoldyBuffalo]

I’ll put this here too. My current configuration includes a wyze sense component that was created by an enthusiast in college, he no long has time to maintain the repo on git-hub for the wyze sense/wyze sensor/door sensor/motion sensor component any longer. It uses old code that he was able to sniff from the bridge, and needless to say it isn’t perfect. from time to time (you see it alot on the git-hub) the sensors will die, or the bridge will go all wonky. likely due to the unruly python script that was seemingly crafted out of thin air. But, here are all my sensors. it includes a sensor I created out of the other sensors that’s simply a “last called” sensor.

I also currently have my wyze cameras fully integrated, but with only the help of the rtsp firmware provided by wyze. I use the ffmpeg protocol to stream the cameras into home assistant.

I use these cameras, and sensors, to craft my own home built, home brew, security system with video logs of ingress and egress, motion sensing alarm system, all for… checks notes $5 a sensor? $20-$30 a camera? yup!

[peepeep]

C’mon this is a “Regular” level comment. This man needs to be promoted. I am offended by his mere “Member” status. Cor blimey.

[capbanks]

You know, I used to think of myself as being reasonably technically savvy. Then, I read this thread and found out just how ignorant I really am. Pretty much the only thing that made sense to me was the mention of “Raspberry Pi” even though he dropped the “e” and the end of “Pi”. Thanks guys! lol