Simple Control (Roomie) remote access

[yeskiear]

I was wondering if anybody is using Simple control for there user interface? I have just upgraded to simple control 5 in the hopes of utilizing remote access for the first time.  I have run into a issue with feedback when I am away from my home.  When I am connected to wifi everything works as desired, but when i am away the feedback no longer works.  I can control my lighting devices, but the feedback does not update.  I have contacted simple control support and sent them diagnostics.  They are see a response of device not found. They had me try deleting and re-adding the ISY as a device while paired with the hub.  That didn't seem to work.  Hopefully somebody can steer me in the right direction.

 

Thanks

[daveman918]

I haven’t had this issue. What are you using as a simple control hub?

[yeskiear]

I am using an apple tv 4k as my hub

[wintermute]

I had problems with using an AppleTV 4K as my hub... it just didn't work well. I went through the whole process of putting it into its Single App mode, etc., but it wasn't reliable. It would become unresponsive at times, laggy, etc. I also realized that I really needed remote access to the hub device so that I could better remotely check pairing status, reboot the device if needed, and reset the hub if needed... so I switched to a headless MacMini as the hub and now it is working much, much better. A previous generation MacMini will do, but a newer one is better since the Simple Hub software has a Mac OS 10.12 minimum requirement which will likely go up, requiring a newer Mac. If you utilize HomeKit devices, however, the Mac OS Simple Hub app doesn't currently support Homekit due to limitations set by Apple (this may change.) As far as using an iPad for the hub.. I don't like the idea of using an iOS device as the SC Hub. Again, no remote access. Also, I'd think that it would kill the battery since the device would need to be On constantly and thus also charging constantly... that's one of the worst things for battery life.

Oh, remote access issues are likely a router/firewall issue. One way to solve this issue and also make your network more secure is to replace your router with a hardware VPN router... then you can securely and remotely access your home network just like you are on your local network (as long as the VPN passes local traffic that your software requires, which most do.) You may want to look at VPN hardware routers by Ubiquiti, Draytek or Mikrotik.

[wintermute]

Just an update to SimpleControl Remote Access issues: According to the makers of SimpleControl, they are dropping remote access from the product in future versions. They have realized that remote access is better addressed with a VPN. I recommend a hardware VPN-Router in most instances as it doesn't usually require ongoing fees and allows secure access to your entire home network when away.