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iOS 11 HomeKit Software Authentication Support


addilapi

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Posted

EDIT.

Use this guy's instructions; much better. Things are working now (except, I'm not sure what step 8 is about..), just need to continue to figure it out :) and I may be having some problems with configuring to load on boot.

Just to add, that I'm using the lite version of Raspbian to my SSD. Be sure to put that "ssh" file in there! (step 10) and then ran everything via terminal on a Mac, so I'm starting from step 4 and going through to step 9.

Basically imported automatically all my ISY devices and scenes into HomeKit. Using on an multiple iPhones, different Apple Watches, two HomePods, and multiple AppleTVs. Does not work with Siri on a MacBook Pro (which I believe is to be expected).

 

On 11/30/2017 at 3:31 PM, daveman918 said:

An update:

 

Stood up another Raspberry Pi 3 last night to use at our weekend place and the 2 ISYs that are there. It's so simple to get this up and running and with good design of your config.json file, you end up with well functioning homekit integration. The first setup has been up and running in our main home since my post on the 22nd. The 10 easy steps are:

  1. Buy a Raspberry Pi 3
  2. Hook it up to KB and monitor
  3. Boot up the Pi in Noobs
  4. Install Raspbian Lite for command line (or desktop if you want that)
  5. do an apt-get update and upgrade
  6. Run the script in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S66mtwNkQo
  7. Install the Homebridge NPM package: https://github.com/rodtoll/homebridge-isy-js
  8. Follow the instructions to configure the ISY module at link in step 7
  9. Configure Homebridge to start on boot. I like this method: https://timleland.com/setup-homebridge-to-start-on-bootup/ 
  10. Be sure to enable SSH in raspi-config if you want to get into the Pi later via SSH

The place where you'll run into trouble is in the config. It has to be structured properly. :-)

 

Edit: For those who want a bit easier way to edit configs and add packages you can use this HomeKit add-on:

https://www.npmjs.com/package/homebridge-config-ui

 

Dave

Posted
19 hours ago, DrGerm said:

Does not work with Siri on a MacBook Pro (which I believe is to be expected).

Nice job, and the quote above is correct!

Posted
On 2/24/2018 at 9:24 PM, DrGerm said:

Edit: For those who want a bit easier way to edit configs and add packages you can use this HomeKit add-on:

https://www.npmjs.com/package/homebridge-config-ui

Thanks for this bit.

I've got homebridge-isy-js and homebirdge-isy-maker all set up and they work great so far, but I did not know about homebridge-config-ui  until now. That is awesome.Much better than ssh'ing from a terminal window and text editing config.json.

  • 4 weeks later...
Posted

With the release of IOS 11.3, seems to be more info on the HomeKit software authentication:

Software authentication

Software authentication is likely to be a boon for those smart home manufacturers who already have products on the market. Instead of designing and manufacturing (or buying) new Apple-approved hardware for their smart home products, companies can opt for software-based authentication. If there's a smart camera, doorbell, light, garage door opener, or any other smart home product that you wishworked with Apple HomeKit, this new option means it's all the more likely to become a reality.

It's important to note that while software-based authentication will be a good thing for established players and companies with products already on the market, it's unlikely all HomeKit accessory manufacturers will use the new option. There are already loads of companies creating HomeKit-enabled products that include the Apple Authentication Coprocessor. What's more, there are also companies that make hardware modules with everything built in. Companies can buy the module, customize it to fit their product, and create an accessory that's ready to pass MFi certification.

https://www.imore.com/how-homekits-software-authentication-works?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheIphoneBlog+(iMore)

 

  • 5 weeks later...
Posted
3 hours ago, Venicenerd said:

Would love to know if UD has been able to look into this at all. :)

I've been following this a little, there are a couple related threads.

My short take (and I am NOT an expert in these forums) is that a hardware solution is very unlikely to be a good fit for UD, and in regards to a software solution I think there was some initial skepticism (with everyone in the industry, not just here) that Apple is really opening this up; and now I think there is a response from a moderator in this thread stating they are looking at how it could be fit in.

As an aside, I am still using Homebridge and it is awesome. But I hope this is only a temporary set up until an "official" solution.

  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...
Posted
On 6/11/2018 at 4:03 AM, Venicenerd said:

Looks like iOS 12 will come with new development tools for HomeKit that should speed up the process dramatically. Have a look:

https://developer.apple.com/wwdc18/231

Hopefully this will increase our chances of native HomeKit support?

I certainly hope this is true. We're building a new home and HomeKit has a high family acceptance factor for us so far. Hate for the great UDI platform to be left behind. 

  • 3 weeks later...
Posted

It really is becoming important for ISY to be compatible with HomeKit.  I am beginning to move our house to HomeKit as it crosses so many devices and has so many nice features, but Insteon is the big missing piece...and the ISY is certainly better than the Insteon Hub. 

Posted

Hi Dan Blair,

We would love to alas, even now, the cost of adding HomeKit chip to our devices is way too exorbitant and pretty much unrecoverable. Hopefully things will change.

With kind regards,
Michel

Posted

I would definitely be willing to pay for Homekit integration. 

As it is now, if homebridge ever stops working, I will have to move off ISY-994i all together. As much as I love the iSY-994, Homekit integration has become very important to me. I'm not going back to Alexa.

Posted
1 minute ago, stevesreed said:

I would definitely be willing to pay for Homekit integration. 

As it is now, if homebridge ever stops working, I will have to move off ISY-994i all together. As much as I love the iSY-994, Homekit integration has become very important to me. I'm not going back to Alexa.

Yeah, I’m in the same boat.  Homebridge seems to be rock solid for me, however I always worry about the future whether it be iOS updates which break it, or simply neglect from the dev community.  This reminds me of when I use to run a hue bridge to host ISY devices on my Amazon Echo, though it worked, it was hacked together and required constant babysitting.  It would be much better if we had an official solution via ISY support.  This addition IMO would make the ISY stand out even moreso in the market place...

Chuck

Posted

I’m not too worried about Homebridge (in general).  Apple officially allows HomeKit access to “hobbyists and makers”, which Homebridge seems to fall under.  

The ISY Homebridge plugin is what I worry about.  It’s already unsupported and incomplete (limited z-wave device support).  An updated ISY firmware could break it.   ?

Posted
7 minutes ago, jasont said:

I’m not too worried about Homebridge (in general).  Apple officially allows HomeKit access to “hobbyists and makers”, which Homebridge seems to fall under.  

The ISY Homebridge plugin is what I worry about.  It’s already unsupported and incomplete (limited z-wave device support).  An updated ISY firmware could break it.   ?

 

100% agree with this. It also doesn’t support all the latest HomeKit device types such as Window Coverings or Alarms. And who knows if it will even work with ISY firmware when 5.0 comes out? 

I understand that adding a chip into the ISY is not financially feasible but why can’t Universal Devices fork the ISY HomeBridge plug-in and keep developing it? It indeed is rock solid but needs to be updated with the latest device types and updated for further compatibility. I assume that most Universal Device customers are pretty tech savvy and should be able to get HomeBridge running on a Pi, especially if Universal Devices provides an image file that has everything already set up. 

I really do hope that there will be some official movement towards HomeKit integration, however, I’m already looking at my exit strategy. Indigo has Insteon and Z-Wave integration and their new HomeBridge plugin seem rock solid and is getting major praise from the community. 

Posted

Venicenerd,

We are not makers and hackers. And by Apple's stringent not-invented-here-we-will-sue-you mentality, it's little risky in many aspects: we'll in the same situation as we are now + we'll have to pay legal fees. This said, I will check to see if we can have something similar in Polyglot but with no guarantees of endless support.

With kind regards,
Michel

 

Posted

That’s great news, Michel. Here is my list:

-  currently the Insteon Micro Open/Close module is not recognized by the Homebridge plugin. I managed to add it to the code myself but it only shows up as an outlet since the plugin doesn’t support HomeKit Window Covers yet.

- add support for all current HomeKit devices (window coverings, alarms, etc...). The current plugin is outdated and only supports a small list of HomeKit accessory types. 

The plugin seems very stable at this point. It’s more a matter of bringing it up to date and maintaining it so it will continue to work with future Homebridge and ISY Firmware Update. 

Posted

No stability issues with the plug-in for me, either.

For enhancements, here's my list:

- for all ISY z-wave devices to be accessible in HomeKit.  My z-wave GE Smart Fan Control works in HomeKit, but none of my Leviton plug-in modules (lamp dimming and 15w outlet) show up in HomeKit.

- if possible, the ability to override a device type on HomeKit.  My z-ewave GE Smart Fan Control shows up as a lamp dimmer.  HomeKit has no problems accessing it, but since it thinks its a lamp, it gets included in devices when I say things like "Hey Siri, turn off all bedroom lights".

Michel, this is awesome news to hear!  I know it's really early on and this could not pan out, but thank you for taking the time to investigate it!

Posted

No stability issues on my end.

Regarding enhancements:

Variables would have the ability to be recognized as devices (switches, fans, lights, etc.).  This is exclusively how I currently use HomeBridge via the homebridge-isy-maker plugin which works perfectly and offers great flexibility.  Simply using the prefix “hb.” in front of the ISY variable and following with the suffix “.switch.on” turns that variable into a HomeKit switch, sensor, etc. depending on the suffix used to differentiate which device category you wish for it to be.

Posted
On 7/23/2017 at 1:34 PM, Michel Kohanim said:

Hi guys,

 

HomeKit works with Homebridge. We have a version working but it's not native. Above and beyond having a bridge in between, we have no plans for native support such as those we have for Echo and Google Assistant.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

That's really disappointing. What's the reason?

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