In conjunction with the launch of its new Nest Learning Thermostat, Google is launching an updated plugin to display and manage thermostat settings in its app. It turns out that this redesign also applies to older models.
The updated user interface for the Nest Learning Thermostat in Google Home more closely mirrors the appearance of the device in the Home app itself. The heating or cooling controls, current temperature, and humidity in the room will be displayed at the bottom.
In fact, one would assume that the new user interface would be available only for the new product, but it seems that this is not the case.
Android Police noticed that an updated plugin interface suddenly appeared in the Google Home app for the old generation of Nest Thermostat. They didn’t specify which thermostat they used, but it’s one of Nest’s legacy thermostats, and it’s not a 2020 model. In fact, based on the user interface, it was assumed that it was from the Nest Thermostat E.
Update
As we approach the debut of Google’s new Nest Learning Thermostat, the new user interface is becoming more common for users of older Nest thermostat models. Over the past few days, many more users have seen the updated design. Supported models include the 2020 Nest Thermostat and the Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd generation), so it looks like the updated user interface will be available for all thermostats.
It is noteworthy that the 2015 Nest Learning Thermostat shows temperature sensors in the Google Home app just like the updated model (see photo).
Smarty Ninja hasn’t had the opportunity to test Govee products yet, but the company’s range is constantly expanding. Like other Govee devices, the new Matter-enabled lamp uses 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi to work with the Matter protocol. This makes the lamp compatible with Apple Home. The lamp’s LEDs can display any of 16 million colors, as well as multiple colors simultaneously, including warm and cool shades of white.
One of the features of this lamp is the ability to create images in the Govee app, which are then displayed on the device itself. The app also offers many colorful animated presets.
The lamp is equipped with a manual control on the top, which allows you to adjust the brightness and intensity of the colors. In addition, you can switch between standard and animated effects. The light flux mainly comes from the main part of the body, but the lower part of the stand is also illuminated and has a stylish embossed design. The maximum brightness of the lamp is 500 lumens (probably when the cool white color is on), which is standard for a table lamp of this size.
At the moment, the lamp is only available on Amazon in Germany and the UK, but hopefully it will be available in other countries soon.
Most users access Google Home through their mobile or smart device, but the app is also available through a web browser. Google Home’s web interface isn’t the best way to access your smart devices, but that is gradually changing. Google adds occasional updates to the client – with the latest one adding new methods of accessing your Nest cameras.
So, what’s new?
Last weekend, Google started rolling out the update, and now, most users should get access to a better version of Google Home for the web. The main feature is access to Nest Cam history with the ability to upload clips. Before the update, you couldn’t view recorded clips through the web version, and users had to resort to the mobile version of Google Home.
Other updates include additions to the platform, like the ability to adjust clips, and access to public previews. Google states that the ability to manage videos will roll out in a few weeks and will support Nest Cam and Nest Doorbell devices.
If you can’t see the features
If you still don’t have access to the new features, you’ll have to wait a few days until your account gets the update.
If you like testing features before they are released, see Public Preview. Public Preview lets you test features before release, but you might face issues or errors. Now that the update is available for Google Home for Web, here are some features that you can get your hands on:
Event editor for Google Home automation
Garage door monitoring for Nest Aware subscribers
Added support for 1st Gen Nest Cams
Remember that you’ll need a Nest Aware subscription to access most of these features, priced at $8/mo. To check out the updated Google Home web platform, visit home.google.com
Wyze has updated its budget camera to the v4 version. Its resolution is now 2.5K. It also includes better night vision and a bigger optical sensor. Together, they create a clear image that compares to some of the best security cameras. Apart from that, the camera has a built-in siren and a projector. With this in mind, the Wyze v4 may become a successor to its previous counterpart, Wyze Cam v3, which was considered the best budget security camera.
Price compared to competitors
Wyze Cam v4 was introduced on 26th March 2024, priced at $35.98. And at the moment of writing this article, it was on sale, and it cost $29.99. However, even $35.98 is cheaper than its direct competitor, the Blink Mini 2 from Amazon, priced at $39. The Wyze Cam has more resolution and a built-in waterproof plug. So you won’t have to buy a separate power supply to power outside, unlike Blink.
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Design
The Wyze camera got quite a few updates. It’s now available in light gray or white. The rounded corners on the camera give it a more modern look. If one trusts Wyze, the camera’s body has a rating of IP65, which means it can withstand harsh and extreme weather conditions from -20°C to 50°C, along with rain.
Located on the front panel above the Wyze Cam v4 is a projector. The camera lens is at the center. A little below are the status LEDs and microphones from both sides. The back panel at the top part is where the acoustics are. The outdated Micro USB cable is at the center in the back. The user needs to plug the flat 180cm long power supply shipped with the camera. The cable might be hanging between the power supply and the camera.
The lower part of the camera is where the connect button and the microSD card slot are, along with a folding leg with a magnetic base. The Wyze camera can attach itself to the wall thanks to the leg mentioned. You can extend the leg from the bottom part for additional height or to change the camera angle relative to the wall. You can rotate or tilt the camera to create a precise viewing area. Wyze also includes adhesive 3M rings, which easily stick to the bricks or the siding and then attach the camera via the magnetic leg.
Image and sound quality
The Wyze cam has a resolution of 2560×1440 or 2.5K and high productivity in dark places, an advantage compared to its budget competitors. The optic sensor creates a bright and clear view during the day and night, thanks to the saturated colors during night vision. The camera shows a formidable view even with high-contrast lighting.
It isn’t uncommon for budget cameras with low-resolution overload at rapid lighting changes, causing them to flicker or lose their color balance. Since the Wyze camera focuses on the main view rather than background items, that issue doesn’t persist as much.
The Wyze cam, having 2.5K resolution, has more pixels than the average 1080p camera for clear video quality.
A new feature based on artificial intelligence is called Smart Focus. When enabled, the camera automatically zooms in and keeps people in its field of view. So, the built-in AI not only detects what object is visible (a person, a parcel, a vehicle, or an animal), but the AI also tracks it for a few moments.
Of course, one can disable Smart Focus to ensure a wild field of view without zooming in, but the camera detects events and focuses on details so well that I recommend keeping it on. The Wyze cam quickly detects motion and pushes a notification in less than two seconds when the object hits the camera’s point of view. If you don’t have Wyze’s subscription, you will only get a screenshot of what triggered the event, and you will have to wait five minutes to get an update. That long waiting period can be disheartening, especially if you were to miss an important notification.
But Wyze offers an alternative solution. The camera supports saving recordings locally on an SD card, which does not require a subscription.
The camera detects motion well at night since it has plausible IR vision. Also, you can use the built-in LED projector at 72 lumens to light the field of view with a bright white light, which warrants saturated-colored night vision with realistic shading. The colors on this camera are almost as saturated as professional models with HDR support.
Another advantage of this camera is the audio. Human language or even sounds like barking all sound natural, albeit slightly compressed during playback, since the camera is trying to clear background noise, such as cars or the wind. You can hear someone talking during a dual-sided conversation or understand what one said in video recordings.
Wyze Cam v4 and the mobile app
The Wyze app has a simple and comprehensive interface that displays all your cameras and recorded clips on a single screen. It also has versatile settings. The first thing to load is the main page, which shows miniature icons of all your Wyze cameras. The button for the routines tab at the top so that you can click on the “I’m away” button to control cameras with one click. Near the settings are helpful tips encouraging you to experiment with your Wyze devices. For example, you can turn on the lights if a camera detects motion or your phone connects to the home network.
Tap the camera icon to open its live feed almost instantly. From here, you can control its spotlight, microphone, siren, or record using the buttons. You can access advanced features using the settings icon. These include changing the resolution, setting up motion detection zones, or setting up sound triggers or even baby cries.
Security concerns and conclusion
Truth be told, Wyze has gotten into trouble quite a few times. For example, in 2022, hackers could get into Wyze Cam v1’s feed thanks to its vulnerabilities. Back then, the company stopped support for the camera and didn’t even warn clients about the vulnerabilities. And in February this year, Wyze said that its clients could see video from strangers’ cameras. This issue was covered by both Ukrainian and international media.
In conclusion, the security methods of this company are questionable at best, but some clients are already speaking out about it. They say that if you use the camera outside and save recordings to the SD card only, you wouldn’t find a better camera for the price. So, I assume many will appreciate the news that Wyze Cam v4 is now available for sale.
It’s still an open question whether Smart Focus or other AI-enabled features, like human motion recognition or object detection, will work if a customer has not purchased a cloud plan. I’ll keep you posted and add additional information to this review if I get more.
Powered by a battery and detects motion via radar technology, which helps the sensor to be more precise. But the appearance of the Ring Battery Doorbell pro didn’t change, since Ring decided not to bother with updated designs.
What’s new
Ring, one of the leaders in the smart home industry, introduced a new doorbell which runs on batteries. The Ring Battery Doorbell Pro, priced at $229,99 USD was based on the Ring Battery Plus, which released last year. It allows for video with 1536p resolution and the ability to see a person full height. A 3D motion sensor based on a radar instead of a passive IR sensor was also added. The motion sensor update is expected to send out more precise notifications about detecting people specifically. The device received dual-band Wi-Fi, video previews in color, night vision in color and audio with noise removal.
Alternatives
Now Ring has three wireless doorbells with a battery as the power source: the 2nd Gen Video Doorbell for $100, the Battery Plus for $150 and the Battery Pro for $230. The new Pro has almost all the features from the wired Video Doorbell Pro 2. The only features missing are the less useful Alexa Greetings. But the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro looks the same as any other Ring doorbell.
Just like all Ring Doorbells that run on battery, the new one can also be connected to a power source to charge the battery and function with already present wires. If you don’t have a Ring Protect subscription (priced at $3,99/mo), Ring will only provide messages about motion and live view from the Ring app. If you buy the subscription, you will get cloud storage for video, which is triggered on certain events, and smart notifications about people or parcels.
Of course, the Battery Doorbell Pro works with Amazon Alexa, it notifies about visitors through Echo or can translate the live view on the Echo Show display.
Today, we are reviewing a quite interesting and questionable to an extent device – Qinping Motion and Light Sensor T. The letter “T” in its name means it has Thread support. Also, the device has Apple Home support, as claimed by the manufacturer, which only piqued my interest further.
Aqara compatibility
Although the device works on the Thread protocol, when it first boots, it can be discovered as a Bluetooth device and work that way later.
In reality, there shouldn’t be any problems with adding the device to the Aqara system. Just scan a QR code or enter the pairing code in the factory app. Don’t forget to turn on pairing mode on the device. For that, hold down the blue button for 10 seconds. When the LED inside stops blinking and lights up, stop holding the button.
This device is for the Aqara ecosystem, but I can’t check how the device works with Aqara hubs since I don’t have one at home. I assume that support for Bluetooth or Thread is required for the device to work.
I will once again remind you that both protocols – Thread and Bluetooth – work at the same frequency.
Home Assistant compatibility
Since Home Assistant allows for devices that work with Apple Home, this device should also be A-OK. There is a requirement, though – you must set up the Bluetooth integration. Besides, if you plan on installing the sensor far from the Home Assistant controller, Bluetooth Proxy also becomes a requirement. What that is and why use it is a topic for a different article, so for now, follow the link to learn more.
So now, we put the Qingping Motion & Light Sensor T into pairing mode by holding down the blue button under the casing for 10 seconds. After a while, Home Assistant will discover a new device and request to add it.
The next step is to enter the code which is on the photo.
Now that you’ve added the sensor, you can optionally assign it a room or a zone.
Below is the device page where you can see its status: the motion and light sensor, battery status, etc.
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I will again remind you that, at the moment, the Qingping Motion & Light Sensor T works in Bluetooth mode. Of course, this is enough for full functionality, but if you’re building a Thread network and don’t want to inconvenience yourself with Bluetooth Proxy, you can put the device into Thread mode.
Connecting the Qingping Motion & Light Sensor T to Thread
For Thread to work, you must have a border Thread router in your home network. In Home Assistant, the “OpenThread Border Router” addon does the job, which doesn’t work without a Thread adapter.
For the device to connect to the network using Thread, go to the device page and click the “Provision Preferred Thread Credentials” button.
After about a minute, your sensor will connect to the Thread adapter. You may see the device become unavailable for a few seconds, which is when it’s changing modes.
In the “Diagnostic” column, the sensor’s status has changed to an end Thread device (Child).
Something that might be strange is that the “OpenThread” integration is empty. The sensor is still in the “HomeKit Device” category. Perhaps it’s because the device is for HomeKit.
By the way, many people think that if the device works using Thread, it also means that it will work with Matter as well, which isn’t the case. Thread is simply a method of transferring information between devices, like a wired connection in a local or Wi-Fi network. Matter takes care of compatibility between ecosystems on a logical level.
Conclusion
The device I’m reviewing works well. It quickly reacts to motion, and the additional light sensor allows use in many scenarios. The dual CR2450 batteries guarantee good battery life without replacing the power source, but we still need to test that theory. If you own an Aqara hub and have devices you can use as Bluetooth gateways, then the device is definitely for you.
Otherwise, you’ll have to set up a Thread network, and it’s hard to do for now due to the lack of many devices that support the new protocol.
Wyze Cam v3 Pro is a wired video camera for outdoor or indoor installation. The surveillance camera has a resolution of 2K and can process local images for quick recognition of people.
What’s new in the Wyze Cam v3 Pro
Wyze, a company specializing in smart home devices, has just released the next generation of its popular budget security camera. The new Wyze Cam v3 Pro, priced at $49.99, has a proprietary processor with built-in Edge AI to process the video stream faster and send alerts when objects are detected.
Wyze says that the Pro version of the camera now has a faster processor, an improved speaker, a microphone, and a better Wi-Fi connection thanks to dual antennas, although Wi-Fi still works only at 2.4 GHz.
Another new feature is called Smart Focus. It is part of the new Wyze camera app interface. Smart Focus adds a thumbnail image from the freeze frame, while the main view window focuses on the person detected by the camera, giving you more information about the subject you are watching.
Meet the brand new professional version of our bestseller. 2K resolution. Built-in spotlight. Built-in siren, Edge AI, IP65, two-way audio, microSD support, color night vision.
Wyze Cam V3 Pro is a camera with an IP65 waterproof rating. Like the previous generation, it connects to a USB cable but now has a new 5V2A power adapter. Wyze claims the new product provides video at 20 frames per second during the day or 15 fps at night. It uses a high-quality proprietary 4-megapixel Starlight sensor with full-color night vision and a built-in spotlight and siren speaker.
The camera has a micro SD card slot that supports up to 256 GB for round-the-clock recording. The lens has a viewing angle of 116 degrees and 8x digital zoom. All Wyze cameras integrate with Alexa and Google Assistant for voice control, and the new product is no exception. And with the help of its own Wyze app, it is possible to set up schedules or use automation rules.
Compared to the Wyze Cam v3, the reason to spend an extra $20 on the new Wyze Cam v3 is the higher camera resolution. The second reason may be the local processing of events when a person is detected on the video because the new product uses a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor with AI, which now makes calculations not in the cloud.
The camera is not compatible with Cam Plus Lite.
Since the camera uses local video processing, the notification of detected persons will be free. However, to view the recorded footage, you need to subscribe to the Wyze Cam Plus service for $1.99 per month or $20 per year. Please note that this camera will not be compatible with the Cam Plus Lite service. Cam Plus Lite is a free service that provides up to 12 seconds of recorded video from the cloud with a 5-minute break between recordings. That is, if you do not use an SD card to record video when the camera detects motion, you will not be able to get the video, only a thumbnail of this video.
Wyze Cam Plus service will provide unlimited video recording and add the function of detecting people, pets, parcels, and vehicles. In addition, you will be able to view the video from your Wyze cameras on the web portal.
Today, I want to show you a rather interesting and perspective device from a well-known Chinese brand. Should you buy it today? You can read this article to learn about its pros and cons.
SONOFF MINI Extreme Wi-Fi Smart Switch – or MiniR4M – is almost entirely a carbon copy of the MiniR4. Visually, it’s only distinguishable by the plating color on the contacts. It’s green here.
Disassembling the MiniR4M
The build of both devices is also almost identical, the only difference being the controller microcircuit. The previous device has Esp32-DOWD installed, but this one has Esp32-C3.
View from the relay’s side.
The PCB looks like this. The contacts are well-soldered, and the power tracks have a proficient cross-section. Note that the L In and S1 contacts used to connect the relay are interconnected. So, take safety precautions when connecting the device to a 220v network since the relay will have a high voltage.
How to add the MiniR4M to your smart home with eWeLink
Let’s start with the native app for Sonoff devices since you’ll only be able to upgrade its firmware and unlink the relay from the switch in said app.
In the image below, you can see the pros and cons of using the device with different smart home apps compared to eWeLink.
So, let’s hook the MiniR4M to the wires and connect it to the network. Here are multiple possible ways to connect it.
In my case, I connected the Shelly switch (actually a button) to the S1 and S2 connectors, the cable to L In and N, and the lamp to L Out and N.
After its first boot, after a few seconds, a pop-up to add the device to SmartThings has already appeared on my phone. Since I decided to add it to eWeLink first, I closed this pop-up.
So, after the device turns on, an LED will start blinking with a “2 short, 1 long” pattern, which means the device is in pairing mode. If that doesn’t happen, hold the button on the case for ten seconds. The phone should discover the new device. Also, connect your phone to a 2.4GHz network since the MiniR4M does not support 5GHz. One of the steps is entering the password to your Wi-Fi network. Just follow the steps on the screen.
After you add the device to the app, you can control and set it up. On the main screen, only the on/off setting is visible, but there’s way more in the app. From the settings, I’m highlighting “Switch Mode” – here, you can choose the switch type, which you will connect to the relay. In my case, it’s “Pulse Mode.” If you have a regular switch, select “Edge Mode.” In the settings, you can also disconnect the switch from the relay, change the device’s behavior during power loss, turn off the LED, etc.
This amount of features should be enough for the average user, but since Sonoff positions this device as a Matter device, it should work in multiple smart home apps. By default, just as I thought, MiniR4M is a cloud device. So, let’s try to add this device to other systems using the Matter protocol.
And here is where the fun begins…
Attempts to add the MiniR4M to Home Assistant
To clarify, when writing this review, the device received a 1.0.1 firmware update, and the eWeLink app got a 5.0.1 update. So, while reading this text, all the bugs may have already been fixed.
So, to add a Matter device to a compatible smart home system, you must have a QR code. It’s already there on MiniR4M’s case, and it’s also there on the box the device came in. But hypothetically, let’s imagine that the box was already thrown away, and the device was installed on a mounting box that’s inaccessible. Here, the stock app comes to our aid, which can generate the QR code required to pair the device to Home Assistant.
For that, in the app (in the device’s plugin), click the “Enable Pairing Mode” button. In response, we get a pop-up with the QR code and, take note, two underscores without numbers. Meanwhile, the device goes into pairing mode, followed by the LED (two short and one long flash).
For convenience, I printed the screenshot with the QR code and will now attempt to use it to add the MiniR4M to Home Assistant. On the phone, in the Home Assistant app, open “Settings” – “Devices & Services,” then click the “+” button below and select the first option – “Add Matter device.” After a few seconds, the camera app will open, and we must scan the QR code. After we do that, we get an error. The device refuses to connect.
But there’s more. After returning to the eWeLink app, the MiniR4M is offline. To work with it, reset the device to factory settings. For that, hold down the button on the case for 10 seconds. But, of course, you need physical access to the device.
Adding the device to Home Assistant while bypassing eWeLink
Since we already know how to add Matter devices, no additional problems should arise. Hold the button and eventually scan the QR code on the case or the box. The QR code that you printed before serves no use anymore. The device should connect without problems in two tries at most.
In Home Assistant’s Matter integration, the device will use a “Switch” entity by default. You can always change it to a different one, for example, Light. The next part is like always – use the device however you want in Home Assistant with nearly instantaneous response time.
Home Assistant’s Matter integration has a setback. We can’t, at least not in the current version of the Matter integration, “share” the device with a different smart home system. But how does Google Home combat this issue?
Adding the MiniR4M to Google Home
Just like before, put the device into pairing mode by holding the button on the case for 10 seconds. Of course, this will reset the device to factory settings. Theoretically, after that, your phone should “discover” the device and show the corresponding pop-up. All you have to do from there is click the “Add” button and scan the QR code.
If that doesn’t happen, open Google Home. In the second tab, click the “Add +” button, then select “New Device” – “Next.” In the window that opens, select “Matter-enabled device.” Scan the QR code and wait. All left to do is select the room and name the device.
From Google Home, you can turn the device on and off.
But the fun part is that from the app, you can generate a working QR or a pairing code to connect with other systems (or to save it for later). Apart from that, you can directly add the device to pre-installed smart home systems without opening the QR code scanner.
Conclusions
In my opinion, the first Matter device from Sonoff came out interesting and perspective. According to the retailer’s vision, there should be “an out-of-the-box cross-platform experience.” But, considering the device is still recent, it doesn’t work as well as the end user would think. Even in eWeLink, the relay can ignore commands for half a minute. Bugs with QR code generation only bring more inconveniences. Hopefully, firmware updates will make the “fever” go away.
Maybe someone is waiting to install a custom firmware, like ESPHome or Tasmota. Sorry to disappoint, but according to the regulations for Matter devices, the bootloader is locked, which means you can’t change the firmware other than through OTA updates.
So, I can’t recommend this device despite considering its low price, at least for now.
In one of my previous articles, I introduced you to a way to flash NSPanel for better compatibility with Home Assistant. We used ESPhome as a basis, which controlled the ESP32 controller. But we left the firmware of the device screen unchanged, which allowed us not to change the appearance. In turn, the screen with the microcontroller “communicated” with each other using the NSPanel Protocol.
I suppose that someone may not like the standard NSPanel interface. Perhaps you will not even be satisfied with the limited number of screens. Let me remind you that you can switch interface screens using swipes. There are only three of them.
That is why today, I offer you a way to change the NSPanel interface to an alternative one called NSPanel Lovelace UI.
Preparing and flashing NSPanel
I chose Tasmota as the main firmware in NSPanel Lovelace UI. Although it is possible to add an ESPHome component, I didn’t succeed with ESPHome and decided to configure Tasmota. That’s why I’ll tell you about this particular firmware.
So, let’s start with flashing Tasmota firmware to the ESP32 controller in NSPanel. If you, like me, have already installed ESPHome on this device, the easiest way is to “update” over the air (OTA). Go to the NSPanel web interface, select the previously downloaded firmware file from your computer at the bottom of the page and click “Update.” After about a minute, the device will reboot with the new Tasmota firmware.
upload firmware Esphome
If you still have the original “factory new” firmware, you will have to disassemble the NSPanel and download the Tasmota firmware using a USB device, sometimes called a TTL converter. I already told you how to do it in this article.
After flashing and rebooting the device, the microcontroller will not connect to your Wi-Fi because it does not know anything about it yet. It will create its own open Wi-Fi access point with the word Tasmota in the name. Then, connect your smartphone to the network and enter the address 192.168.4.1 in your browser, the temporary address of our NSPanel. Here you can choose your Wi-Fi network and save your password. Save the settings. After rebooting, the NSPanel will connect to your Wi-Fi. I highly recommend specifying a static address for our device in the router settings.
Configuring NSPanel with Tasmota firmware
The first thing to do is to specify a device template for Tasmota. To do this, go to the device’s IP address in the browser. In “Configuration,” click Configure Other and paste the following template code:
In Tasmota, go to Consoles > Manage File System and download the previously specified file.
Reboot your NSPanel.
Updating the Nextion screen firmware on NSPanel
Now let’s update the screen firmware. To do this, in Tasmota, go to Consoles > Console and, depending on the version, use one of the following commands:
EU Version: FlashNextion http://nspanel.pky.eu/lui-release.tft
US Version Portrait: FlashNextion http://nspanel.pky.eu/lui-us-p-release.tft
US Version Landscape: FlashNextion http://nspanel.pky.eu/lui-us-l-release.tft
Press “Enter.” The firmware download and screen flashing will start. Depending on the network speed, the process may take five minutes. Wait until the download is finished and reboot the device.
Setting up Home Assistant
Installing the AppDaemon plugin
The easiest way to install AppDaemon is through the Home Assistant Supervisor Add-on Store. It will connect automatically to your Home Assistant instance.
Adding the babel package to AppDaemon (optional)
To localize the interface (date in your language), add the babel package to your AppDaemon. In the AppDaemon settings tab, in the python packages field, enter the text “babel” and save the settings.
Installing Studio Code Server and Home Assistant Community Store
To configure the NSPanel Lovelace UI, you will need to edit the apps.yaml file. Editing yaml files will be more convenient in the Studio Code Server interface.
HACS is the Home Assistant community store that will allow you to easily update integrations and community automation through the Home Assistant web user interface. You will get notified about updates. You can install them by simply clicking a button. I already wrote about how to install HACS in my previous articles.
Install Lovelace AppDaemon Backend Application
Click on the Home Assistant web interface on the left menu bar on HACS.
Click “Automations” on the right panel.
In the lower right corner, click “Explore & download repositories.”
Type NSPanel and click NSPanel Lovelace UI Backend in the list that appears.
In the bottom right corner of the panel, click “Download this repository with HACS.”
Now a confirmation panel will appear. Click “Download” and wait for the download.
You now installed The Backend Application, and HACS will notify you when updates are available.
Configure MQTT on Tasmota and in AppDaemon configuration
First, set up a connection to your MQTT server in Tasmota.
Please fill in the “Topic” field as it will be in the configuration. Change “Topic” to something unique for your device, you’ll need it later in the appdaemon/apps.yaml settings.
Now configure the MQTT connection in the AppDaemon configuration file. Please add your MQTT server configuration, user, and password to appdaemon.yaml. Then restart the AppDaemon container after adding the MQTT configuration. You will find this file here: config/appdaemon/appdeamon.yaml
secrets: /config/secrets.yaml
Specify tasmota_your_mqtt_topic according to the topic used in the Tasmota MQTT configuration.
If your settings and configuration are correct, you should see the following screens on NSPanel:
Getting acquainted with an example of a complete NSPanel Lovelace UI configuration
Below, under the spoiler, you will find the full text from my NSPanel configuration file. Also, look at the images of several interface screens of my particular configuration. You can see the screensaver screen with the weather in the header of this article.
That’s it for today. See you!
P.S.
After pressing the switch button, the relay response time of the device with Tasmota firmware became a little longer than it was with ESPhome. Perhaps the reason is that NSPanel is waiting for a command to turn on the relay from Home Assistant. At the same time, in ESPHome, all the “magic” happens only in the device without waiting for a response from Home Assistant.
I changed Tasmota on the NSPanel and installed ESPhome with the Lovelace UI component. You can find the ESPhome configuration file in my GitHub repository at this link. I changed Tasmota on the NSPanel and installed ESPhome with the Lovelace UI component. You can find the ESPhome configuration file in my GitHub repository at this link. Now the switches are working quite lively and, frankly speaking, it is more familiar to me to configure ESPhome.
This router is not the company’s first router. Back in 2018, Synology released its MR2200ac Wi-Fi 5 Mesh router. Now, four years later, the world saw the RT6600ax. It is clear from the name that the router can provide a total data transfer speed over a wireless connection of up to 6.6 Gbps.
The router’s productivity and its software
As I said, the router can work at 6.6 Gbps, but this is only possible if the client supports tri-band Wi-Fi. Such indicators are thanks to the 4×4 Wi-Fi 6 formula. The device’s six external antennas help maintain a stable connection. The RT6600ax uses 80 and 160 MHz channels in the newly licensed 5.9 GHz spectrum to achieve higher bandwidth.
The enclosure features 2.5 GbE WAN and LAN ports that users can use to set up a Multi-gig connection for maximum performance when using NAS.
With the release of the RT6600ax, the company also updated Synology Router Manager (SRM) to v1.3, the latest version of the operating system on routers. With an easy-to-use user interface, SRM shows users what’s happening on the network and helps protect connected devices from potential threats.
Users will be able to create up to five separate networks. You can map each network to three wireless SSIDs, providing a higher degree of control for the user and the security control panel. If you have IoT equipment that rarely receives updates, you can configure a separate network for these devices or add separate firewall rules. That will increase the level of security of your network.
Synology RT6600AX makes it easy to split smart home traffic with up to 5 separate Wi-Fi networks.
The router also has advanced parental controls for rule-based network access.
Another cool feature is a full-fledged app store for the router. Synology has made some extensions to the functionality of the router optional. You can use the app store to download the ones you need. That is much better than most routers because they have slower updates. In addition, it allows Synology to update individual applications when security holes are discovered or to add even newer features.
Features of the Synology RT6600ax router
It is the world’s first router that supports the 5.9 GHz band. Wi-Fi 6e operates in the 6 GHz band, which significantly increases speed, but dramatically reduces the distance to clients. A frequency of 5.9 GHz and a channel width of 160 MHz allows maintaining balance between the transmission speed and the distance from the router to the consumer. But the list of devices that can work at 5.9 GHz is small now.
Smart Connect combines different frequencies into one SSID, but Smart Connect doesn’t support the 5.9 GHz frequency range.
The RT6600AX operates on three different Wi-Fi bands: one 2.4GHz and two separate 5GHz, one of the 5GHz radios being the one that can transmit on 5.9GHz. Most users should use the Smart Connect feature, which links the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands into one SSID and automatically switches between the frequencies. Even if your equipment does not use the 5.9 GHz band, Smart Connect will allow you to reach connection speeds of up to 4804 Mbps.
Main Hardware Specifications of Synology RT6600ax Router
Comes with updated Synology Router Manager 1.3
Quad-core processor Qualcomm 1.8 GHz
1 GB DDR3 Memory
Tri-band Wi-Fi 6 with support for 6600 Mbps Bandwidth potential:
2.4 GHz: up to 600 Mbps
5 GHz-1: up to 4800 Mbps
5 GHz-2: up to 1200 Mbps
Six adjustable antennas (4×4 MIMO)
Support of 5.9 GHz / 160 MHz channels
4 IGbE (Gigabit Eithernet) ports (1x WAN 3x LAN)
1 LAN/WAN 2,5 GbE port
Mesh support with future devices via 5GHz Backhaul
USB 3.2 Gen 1 port
Conclusion
The Synology RT6600ax is a very, VERY good router. As Wi-Fi 6 continues to grow in popularity and more 802.11ax-enabled client equipment appears, this device could be a great buy. That said, while the hardware of the RT6600ax is a leap from the previous RT2600ac, the software here is a little less ambitious. Considering that SRM 1.2 would probably be updated to 1.3 on already outdated devices, the Synology RT6600ax looks less attractive. After all, if it’s your first time using a Synology router, you can’t blame the software. Add to that the increased bandwidth potential of 5.9 GHz and greater support for 160 MHz, and you have an incredibly promising product.
However, if you already own an RT2600ac, you may find that the recent improvements in virtual networks and SSID generation are not it to justify the purchase. The RT6600ax is the most powerful router Synology has ever made, and it comes with great software to boot.
