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Comment by nunez | Hacker News Reader

I love HA but hate how manufacturers are going all-in on preventing people from integrating their devices into the platform without an alternative.

Chamberlain MyQ did this by turning on CloudFlare Super Bot Fight and 429'ing anything that doesn't look like it came from their app. That's fine and reasonable, but I can't even pay to create an OAuth client, even though I am paying for their Tesla integration, and they provide no pathways for integrating with Apple HomeKit or Alexa.

I don't want to use a billion apps to control my house. HomeKit was supposed to solve this, but companies just won't let up.

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I'm at the point where I vote with my wallet on something like this. I'm in the process of buying a heat pump / HVAC system, and I've been very clear with the salespeople that _local_ Home Assistant support is a must-have requirement. No clouds, no apps, just Home Assistant.

If we ask for it, especially at the point of sale, companies will catch on at some point.

I would be surprised if any of them had the first idea what you were talking about, and they probably don't even work for the manufacturer. Even if they do, their feedback is extremely unlikely to make it back to product, and even less likely to be taken into account.

Re: MyQ, check out ratgdo [1]. It's a lovely little hardware project that wires into Chamberlain/Liftmaster controllers and provides a local WiFi-only interface. It integrates perfectly with HA and requires no soldering or disassembly to install. It's a shame Chamberlain discontinued their homekit bridge, because it shouldn't be necessary to use a cloud integration to trigger a garage door.

[1]: https://paulwieland.github.io/ratgdo

I have; he's super backlogged (great problem to have!)

Apparently you can still buy the HomeKit bridge (it's even on Amazon) and it will still work.

Update: I landed up getting a Meross. Very easy to set up and works fantastically within HA. I'm going to keep myq since the Tesla integration does add value and $45/year is a very reasonable cost, but if that changes, then myq is gone.

MyQ was my reason for trying HA. When I saw that the plug-in keeps hitting their API over and over, my excitement faded. I know Chamberlain are the ones causing this issue to begin with (missing HomeKit integration) but DDOSing somebody’s API is not a solution.

My experience with HA came to an end when my gate unexpectedly opened on its own - and based on the log in the phone app, it came from HA.

MyQ had a HomeKit bridge... which they cancelled [1]. My experience with it was that, aside from eliminating the Internet/cloud dependency, it didn't make the MyQ experience any more reliable overall and I'm much happier with ATHOM's ESPHome-based kit.

[1] https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/23/23318157/chamberlain-myq-...

I have a Meross garage door opener and it has been rock solid for 2 years. Not a single hiccup or miss.

The issue I’d like to solve is my driveway gate. It’s too far from WiFi and I don’t want to run any cables. It’s Homelink and MyQ compatible but that’s about it.

I suppose I could take one wireless remote and replace the switch with a HomeKit compatible relay. lol

If it's conceivable that a WiFi signal isn't completely obstructed, Ubiquiti UAP-AC-M + UMA-D antenna.

If not, DIY with a couple LoRa ESP boards.

Have you considered ESP32 or something like a Konnected device to pretend to be a wall button? I'm in the market for a jackshaft and myq stuff is a huge red flag for me

Ah shit, I had plans to reverse engineer the opener too. Thanks for saving me the time, anyway. Next option is to try to reverse the opener button, but I've already determined that it's not a simple "short these two connectors" style like in the days of yore. I hope it's not some kind of rotating key like what remotes (justifiably) use, but given how much they charge for their "smart" buttons, no guarantees.

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