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[bkenobi]

I'm planning on updating my garage door openers at some point.  Costco has the Genie with Aladdin Connect built in for a pretty fair price right now.  I'm wondering if anyone knows the Aladdin Connect and whether it's capable of local control or simply cloud based?  I'm not worried all that much about remote control (away from home) of my garage door but it might be nice to control from HG locally.  I haven't found any details yet with simple google searches but will continue to investigate if no one knows.

[Tuicemen]

Im not sure if youve checked Github yet but there is a plugin for homebridge there which you may beable to modify for HG https://github.com/iAnatoly/homebridge-aladdin-connect-garage-door

[Tuicemen]

I remembered reading a thread on the smart things forum for garage door intergration. You might find this thread interesting as it does indicate Aladdin does have  an Api and one user was able to control the opener using restful commands. https://community.smartthings.com/t/genie-aladdin-garage-door/142856/27

[HA Dave]

I've been using the Chamberlain line of automated garage door opener (MyQ) for some time... 2-3 years now, I think.

I am not sure what your terms mean... exactly. Even NON-motorized doors are of course... locally controlled.

To the best-of-my-knowledge ... no garage doors work exclusively as cloud appliances. The addition of "phone app control" merely works as an additional remote (along with the old RF remotes). Of course... current technology does mean that phone/app control is via the web/cloud... that IS the way things work now-a-days.

I have only used the "remote feature" to allow entry while my wife and I were out (for my step-daughter) just one time. But we have both been notified of the door being accidentally left open more than once. That is the most notable and IMHO the most valued app/web/cloud feature.

But now... Amazon is offering provisional entry/delivery into garages. And... I am prepared for that too... with two (one cloud connected) cameras  in the garage.

[bkenobi]

I assumed that the function of a garage door was pretty self explanatory.  I didn't realize that it was unclear that the door itself operates at the location it is installed.  And in fact, the motor that is at the heart of the garage door opener also performs its tasks (both raising and lowering of the door) in very close proximity to the door it is opening/closing.  There are also typically 1 or 2 other methods to operate garage doors when "automating" them.  Beyond a person manually lifting them, the garage door opener assists the user by providing the force and thus work needed to transition from the open to close state and visa versa.  To operate the opener, the user can either press a button on the wall (typically) which can be located at a man door entrance or perhaps by the door itself.  Many if not all doors also have a RF component that allows for a remote control within some finite distance (perhaps as much as half a mile in my experience).  This allows the user to open the door at the push of a button on a remote transmitter.  Some doors also have a keypad that can be mounted to the outside of the structure which sends a signal to open after the correct combination has been pressed.

In my case, I am looking at a garage door opener that has "home automation" features built in.  The opener can connect to "WiFi" and then be utilized through the internets via a cloud.  I have read that some devices are able to provide what is commonly called "local control" which means to be able to operate it "locally".  In this sense, the person would be connected to the "WiFi".  This would not require the internet of things to be involved and all commands would remain "local" to the "WiFi" network.


tl;dr:  I want to control the garage door opener locally on the WiFi rather tan relying on the cloud.

[brobin]

Understand that you want local WiFi control and NOT cloud based. There are WiFi and Ethernet controlled relay boards that can do just that. An example of one is at https://ebay.to/2Uj7EsR for $20. You can access it via your router's WiFi using port forwarding and it has its own server to operate the relays which you can wire to a garage remote fob to control one or two doors. Most of the WiFi ones I've looked at require an app and the cloud.

My Stargate has an Ethernet connection set up as a static IP address with port forwarding so I can access it from anywhere and operate relays that are wired to the switch pads in a garage door opener fob.  I've set up the relays to go on for 1 second to transmit from the fob to the doors (two relays, one for each door). The above device can do the same thing.

Because the Stargate receives and can act upon X10 commands I can also control it with Alexa using my Smartenit Harmony P2 device.
When I say "Alexa open double" the P2 sends N4-ON and the Stargate uses that as a trigger to operate the relay. When I say "Alexa close double" the P2 sends N4-OFF.  To prevent inadvertently opening or closing the door I have a magnetic alarm contact on each door connected to digital inputs on the Stargate so the open/close status is known and used as a conditional so if N4-OFF is received and the door is already closed the relay will not be triggered.  The Stargate will also close either door if left open for more than 15 minutes after the alarm is set and text me whenever the doors are opened.  I'm sure you can interface to HG to do the same.

The doors are named 'Double' and 'Single' and sometimes Alexa hears 'Bible' when I say 'Double' which results in a random passage being recited rather than the door operating.   

My Doors are Liftmasters with the MyQ hub. The MyQ hub is compatible with Google and IFTTT but not Alexa. They forced Amazon to delete the unofficial MyQ skill that worked great but wasn't theirs.  The Google and IFTTT compatibility are "free initially" which indicates that they'll start charging at some point. The app works fine but is cloud based.

[Tuicemen]

Although both links I provided deal with Alexa control prior to a skill being created. They use the Aladdin API which allows local control using restful commands to its wifi address. I'd suggest posting on the homegenie.club site as it is most likely someone has already created a HG program for the garage door opener

[HA Dave]

...... I am looking at a garage door opener that has "home automation" features built in.  The opener can connect to "WiFi" and then be utilized through the internets via a cloud.  I have read that some devices are able to provide what is commonly called "local control" which means to be able to operate it "locally".  In this sense, the person would be connected to the "WiFi".  This would not require the internet of things to be involved and all commands would remain "local" to the "WiFi" network.


tl;dr:  I want to control the garage door opener locally on the WiFi rather tan relying on the cloud.

Chamberlains MyQ setup does NOT have the WiFi connectivity built-in to the door opener itself. Instead... they make/provide a specialized unit/HUB (similar to the way Ring devices work) which acts as a go-between between the door opener and your WiFi router.


Currently.... 5G is not yet available in my area (a city). The bandwidth that had once been dedicated to that new newfangled television thingy.... was decidedly wasted on what has become such a simple technology. So TV's were switched to digital and that bandwidth re-purposed for broadband (AKA 5G).

So... currently broadband (AKA the Internet) comes into my home like phones used to.... via a "wire".... then I use a device(s) that changes and exchanges the wired "data packets". I own my own router... and have some degree of control over the packets that get exchanged within my own internal network.

BUT.... eventually..... I believe.... I will just be buying 5G very much in the same way I currently buy phone service (via RF transmission) . The idea of a redundant piece of equipment between a device and the Web already sounds kind of old fashion. After all... I can already use my phone as a hot-spot. Or buy an always connected ipad that doesn't need my home broadband.

[brobin]

...... I am looking at a garage door opener that has "home automation" features built in.  The opener can connect to "WiFi" and then be utilized through the internets via a cloud.  I have read that some devices are able to provide what is commonly called "local control" which means to be able to operate it "locally".  In this sense, the person would be connected to the "WiFi".  This would not require the internet of things to be involved and all commands would remain "local" to the "WiFi" network.


tl;dr:  I want to control the garage door opener locally on the WiFi rather tan relying on the cloud.

Chamberlains MyQ setup does NOT have the WiFi connectivity built-in to the door opener itself. Instead... they make/provide a specialized unit/HUB (similar to the way Ring devices work) which acts as a go-between between the door opener and your WiFi router.

That's the one I was referring to but it's operated through a cloud based server which he'd prefer not to use. IF the MyQ server were to be hacked I suppose the door could be operated so the solution I mentioned above - or something like it - would limit the cloud exposure to only his router.  The Genie Aladdin app is cloud based too.  All that said, for myself, I'm not terribly concerned about having the garage door in the cloud.  I only set it up the way I did after MyQ stopped working with Alexa. There are many ways to skin the cat.

[HA Dave]

..... There are many ways to skin the cat.

I agree. NOT that I have ever literally removed the fur covering from one of those things.

Yes... at some point point in time... Russian hackers may find a way to open our garage doors. But it would be a guess (just a guess)... that it might also be about the same time they learn how to "transport" directly into our garages. But wouldn't they just "beam out" the contents of our garages? Or... just use their "Replicators" to make cars?

I don't think home automation is about the treatment of people who concern themselves with future shock of technology advances. I know... some people are concerned about the evil, scary, cloud. But I can't fix that.   

[bkenobi]

Wanting local control has nothing to do with Russian hackers though it might concern some.  It has to do with being able to use the garage door opener with the functions I purchased it with beyond the life of the manufacturer's cloud system.  I doubt Aladdin Connect will last as long as my garage door opener.  The one on my smaller door was originally on the double door and that makes it somewhere around 30 years old.  The double door has one that's really a bit undersized and it's still on the order of 20yo.  I expect to be able to use a garage door opener for up to 20 years rather than the 3 that the cloud is likely to function.  My refrigerator is also 15yo (and the garage fridge is probably 20yo).  Smart fridges will have a firmware fault in the next couple years and require a new BIOS in order to keep my beer cold.  I expect to use household appliances for a lot longer than the cloud will last...

[HA Dave]

........ I expect to be able to use a garage door opener for up to 20 years rather than the 3 that the cloud is likely to function.  My refrigerator is also 15yo (and the garage fridge is probably 20yo).  Smart fridges will have a firmware fault in the next couple years and require a new BIOS in order to keep my beer cold.  I expect to use household appliances for a lot longer than the cloud will last...

You might be correct. I dated a woman with psychic abilities many years ago. Her predictions were always wrong. But... I am sure YOU must be using a more scientific method of "future modeling". Maybe you could share that with the forum sometime. I know I'd love to include the date and time of predicted (yet unscheduled) future events into my Home Automation setup. Currently.... my setup can't even predict tomorrows weather with any real accuracy.

I don't know if there are forums that deal with future shock syndrome's. But those forums may have better answers about the scary events yet to be known to happen (in a future time-line).

Everyone here... KNOWS (now if not before the old X10 closed)... that modern technology is always in a state of change and evolution. There is NOT ONE piece of modern high technology available today... that anyone can guarantee will remain viable tomorrow. OR... that any user of such tech... will be here tomorrow to use it. What is... is what is. We have what we have. It's all very circular.

Discussing such scenarios would be akin to discussing if Rocky could beat-up Rambo.

[brobin]

I think bkenobi's point, with which I concur, is that even assuming no undue security risks of using the cloud, there are some things that you just don't want to have to replace simply because a company has moved on or failed.  If the device will continue to function without the cloud that's OK but I don't want to make a significant investment in an appliance that MUST be connected to the cloud to function - particularly if I can create those functions for myself or don't even care about them.  Never in my life have I felt any need to communicate with my fridge, dishwasher or washer/dryer. Despite the economic package designed to keep people and companies working right now, some companies will fail or put operations that are not profitable on the back burner - things like cloud based servers that generate little or no revenue.  I'm not saying the cloud is bad - to the contrary, I think it's great and I use it but my beer will stay cold without it. 

[bkenobi]

Pretty amazing to think that in order to buy a standard appliance these days, one must first add a notification to their HA setup for 2:14AM on August 29.  But then, since everything is moving forward we must just learn to adapt.  I am sure some of us will be unable to comply, but that's just the way the future is.

[HA Dave]

....... If the device will continue to function without the cloud that's OK but I don't want to make a significant investment in an appliance that MUST be connected to the cloud to function - particularly if I can create those functions for myself .....

You must be far more prosperous than myself. I mean... sure I have a generator and I could muster-up an in-home server. But to live as a one-man island 24/7 would require some serious cash.

Never in my life have I felt any need to communicate with my fridge, dishwasher or washer/dryer.

Really? And you have no desire to have an AI smart home? Weird...

I'm not saying the cloud is bad - to the contrary, I think it's great and I use it but my beer will stay cold without it.

You're doing MUCH better than myself. Here in America where I live... we are totally dependent on web/cloud based communications. Even our power grids are cloud dependent, along with radio, TV, phone, and of course internet. As a matter of FACT... we couldn't even keep our beer cold (for very long) without our cloud-based technologies.