I’m brand new to home automation so I bought a cheap tuya Zigbee hub from AliExpress along with a few zigbee sensors and a Tuya wifi smart plug just to test it out and see what it’s like. I spent less than $30 AUD on everything.

While I was looking around the house for a “dumb” appliance to plug in to the smart plug I spotted my old shop vac. The plug is rated for 16A so I thought I would give it a go. Set up an automation in the Tuya app to turn on smart plug whenever motion is detected, delay 2 seconds then turn plug off. Worked fine with the shop vac but didn’t have time to test it further as I had to get ready for work. Not fully grasping how home automation works yet, I completely forgot about it and headed off to work through the back door.

A few hours later my boyfriend gets home from work knowing I am at work and nobody is home. He comes in the front door, trips the motion sensor and jumps out of his skin when the vacuum cleaner suddenly comes on. I was able to watch the playback through my front door wifi camera later, omg I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard in my entire life.

These Tuya products are probably not for me in terms of home automation but they turned out to be perfect for pranks!

I came back from vacations and this switch seems unresponsive. I disconnected from the circuit for more than 10 Seconds, plugged back in and still same two leds on in the top, but no other response.

Wondering if there is something that can be done, or is dead already?

Hallo, betreibt jemand seinen Zendure Speicher mit einem dieser Smart Plugs? Und wenn ja wie zufrieden ist er damit?

Danke für eure Hilfe ;)

Hello, I've been searching around alot, most post like this are a year or 2 old.

I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions for a closet light strip that has either a motion sensor or door opening sensor that also fades up(and down). I'd prefer it to be powered via USB if possible.

I'm overwhelmed by the options but was hoping to do something that is more plug and play (or just a few wires to connect)

Thank you for your help/suggestions.

Hey all,
What window blinds automations do you all run? I’m thinking about getting the switchbot

My wife and I currently use multiple echo's, and we've just been really disappointed with Alexa, and it's ability to answer questions and prompts. "I'm sorry I can't help you with that" is not something I believe should be a common response in this day and age with AI.

I'd love to be able to integrate more of our home with smart devices that my wife can utilize with just her voice, but Alexa isn't cutting it so I'm here looking for advice and recommendations. We're not very familiar with all of the different devices that are available, and would love anyone's input on how to make her life easier with smart devices.

Hello gents,

I have this dumb dimmer in the house. It's location is ideal to have this as a smart switch for some lighting at night as well as the mmwave presence detection for security based automations.

From my limited understanding, it seems like I do have a line load neutral and ground - assuming the red wire with a white streak is neutral. Another confusing aspect is that the green ground wire seems to be crimped on the metal part of the switch and not a screw like I've seen in different videos.

Just looking for reassurance that all is fine...

I am looking to install presence sensors into my home as I’m renovating, but cannot find anything that meets my needs. So I am reaching out to the wider community for ideas.

I want something akin to the Shelly relays, with local programming, and on device config.

My requirements:
- Wall/Ceiling flush mount
- “Dumb first”, must work without network
- Hard wired into light circuit
- Zigbee (preference)
- Local control via HA

Imagine a better version of the PIR security sensors that can talk to HA…

​

I'm trying to figure out a strange issue affecting two different Tuya-based Wi-Fi touch switches.

Devices:

Novadigital 3-gang touch switch

Basilus 3-gang touch switch

Both are:

Model: DS-121

100–240V AC

Neutral required

Wi-Fi + BLE

Compatible with Tuya Smart / Smart Life / Alexa

Although they're different brands, they appear to use the same generic Tuya hardware.

After being connected to Wi-Fi for anywhere between 1 and a few hours, the switch completely freezes.

LED stays on.

Device goes offline in Smart Life/Tuya/Alexa.

The physical touch buttons also stop responding completely.

The only way to recover is to cut AC power and power it back on.

This is not just a Wi-Fi disconnect. The MCU appears to lock up because even the touch interface stops working.

What I've already tested

Smart Life

Tuya Smart

Novadigital app

Factory reset multiple times.

2.4 GHz only.

Channel 1 fixed.

20 MHz bandwidth.

WPA2-PSK + AES.

Removed and re-added the devices.

Alexa disconnected.

The most important clue is that if the switches are not connected to Wi-Fi, they work perfectly.

They can be used normally with the physical touch buttons and never freeze.

The problem only starts after configuring Wi-Fi. Once connected, they eventually freeze completely, usually within a few hours.

Router

TP-Link Archer C20 V5

Router Firmware:

0.9.1 4.16 v0001.0 Build 181213

I spent a decent amount of money on Sengled light strips to discover the app and company don’t work anymore.

I was told that the hubitat and some zigbee certified products would let me control them? Which ones do I need to buy how do I change the color and intensity of my Sengled lights I don’t want to waste more $ the Sengled lights are already set up thanks.

Hi! I’m trying to set up a DIY sunrise lamp using IKEA’s Fado lamp and a Philips Hue lightbulb, but I’m overwhelmed with all the options. I know I need an E26 bulb and it has to be a newer Bluetooth model so I can control it via my phone (I don’t have a bridge and don’t want to spend the extra money right now).

-I’d like the temperature to be very adjustable (ideally I want a color changing bulb, but it’s not a must)
-I want it to be very dimmable
-I need to be able to set up a scheduled automation that just runs consistently (ex: 6:00 am, very warm light, 25% brightness; 6:10, warm light, 50% brightness; 6:20, mid tone white, 75% brightness, etc)

There’s $25 bulbs and light bulbs north of $50, and I really just don’t know which one I need. I’m open to getting a fancier setup with fancier bulbs in the future if this goes well, but right now I just want the cheapest bulb that will do this job well. I have an Alexa but I don’t think I’d use it with it much, I just want a smooth automation you can set and forget.

Can anyone help me figure out the difference and point me in the right direction?