I'm trying to better understand if and how this plugin can assist in providing a virtual garage door that's easy to control via voice. I'd like to be able to ask my Alexa devices to open/close the garage door and have the door do that. I can currently accomplish this with the garage door integration that Alexa already knows about, but the Alexa devices want me to verbally state a PIN to take action (which I understand is for security, but the concept of me having to state my PIN out loud seems relatively insecure).

Can I use this plugin to establish a virtual garage door device that Alexa knows about, and when I ask to open the garage door, the virtual device would trigger an automation in Home Assistant to control the real garage door (which HA already knows about)?

I don't know what garage door integration you use, but I find it unlikely that any Insteon device (real or virtual) would allow you to bypass the PIN requirement required by Alexa.

Can Home assistant control the door without a PIN?

@dwengrovitz , I am assuming you have some kind of Alexa skill for a commercial garage door opener. Which one? Sounds like your code is a function of that skill. What I think you are trying to accomplish is to get away from that proprietary skill and get to a home automation friendly one, either through the eisy or home assistant . This integration is tailored to either the Ratgdo device or network interfaces you have manually added to your eisy. Ratgdo is a device to handle the MyQ family of openers (liftmaster for example) or it can contect to generic contactor style doors. I originally wrote it to connect to my network interfaces before I got the Ratgdo. Btw: there Is another plugin on the store which is specific to the Ratgdo. As far as voice control, it’s the same setup for any Eisy device, use the UD Alexa skill. Set up in the portal.

I don’t use Home Assistant anymore, the Eisy is my core integrator. When I can’t find a plugin that meets my needs I write it. I found the overhead for HA to be onerous.

Hope this helps

Mine is very simple, with Alexa defining it as an on/off device, setting a variable. Program logic then handles all the details such allowing by time of day, alarm status, etc.

21 hours ago, oberkc said:

Can Home assistant control the door without a PIN?

I am not entirely sure - it can open the garage door via the app UI (without a PIN) but the voice control I am using in HA is currently Alexa - and that seems to require the PIN.

11 hours ago, sjenkins said:

Hope this helps

Thanks - it does. I am currently using a Genie opener, which has an integration for HA but not eisy (that I know of). I'm mainly trying to get around the commercial integration and what appears to be Alexa's requirement to provide a verbal PIN when opening the door by voice.

10 hours ago, Guy Lavoie said:

Mine is very simple, with Alexa defining it as an on/off device, setting a variable. Program logic then handles all the details such allowing by time of day, alarm status, etc

Thanks, Guy - I'm familiar with setting up a virtual device and letting Alexa see it as on/off then triggering an automation of some sort. I just wasn't sure if the voice control would then have to be "turn on the garage door" vs "open the garage door" which seems a bit less natural for others in the house.

I'll keep playing around with more ideas on this - but I appreciate you guys all providing some input!

Yes, the word for open vs turn on may or may not work. Try opening a light and see what happens. Here at home we're all set up in French with Alexa and "ouvre/ferme" works both ways.

The ud alexa interface allows you to pick a state variable and decide on/off open/close raise/lower

Edited 11 hours ago11 hr by sjenkins