Really looking forward to an update from this. Not a lot of other videos out there, but what there is, seems like ihost gone through lots of different versions including matter introduction. Im really excited about the local control and no cloud base reliability. Ive just ordered an ihost with the intention of lighting control in a house renovation I am doing!
I will be frank. It's on my list to re-visit... but due to personal circumstances.. getting through my backlog ... well it takes time. I have not forgot about it
Sounds and looks like a home assistant light, more limited and less mature. I'll stick to home assistant but I have to admit the hardware looks cute. I think there is definitely a place for it, as home assistant can be quite overwhelming for people and yaml is still needed, while this looks more like a simpler approach.
My personal believe is that devices like this will drive production of more open smart gadgets that we can integrate in both ecosystems ewelink and via local controls only - and thats a win win to each side
this is promising, this could be a direct replacement for Home Assistant Yellow. now to get home assistant supported on this thing, I hope someone donate each of this model to armbian so we can get debian support for this nice unit. Once armbian working along with all of its radios, it should be easy to do a supervised install of home assistant.
I think other than packaging there is little benefit in wiping it clean and using it just like a raspberry. Especially if this would require such effort to re wrote drivers for each hardware. There is nothing wrong with staying on rpi or similar hardware for HA. this device meant to enable easy integration. Heck you could simply connect it to your existing instance via rest or NodeRed driven mqtt right now
I wasn't aware of delay. I know some of my friends got their boxes. In that case... You could have it as something to get you by if you don't have a dedicated SBC. If you already run Rpi then it's not exactly an upgrade
I just ordered two, thanks! I am very much looking forward to playing with these, as I'm a LONG time Sonoff fan, and own a huge pile of Sonoff devices.
Good presentatiojn, to see what this device can do .. But remains end-consumer device .. As an example: How is it with backing up all the work you've donne over the years, and restoring, may be, to a new device ? Any fault-tolerance available ? For the approach, I am impressed to see, how Sonoff did integrate all these different technologies .. Happy to see docker, whicj indeed is quite inovative for this kind of devices ..
I have a little home automation experience, enough to be dangerous. Would like local control as Alexa has difficulty when we have internet outages. Not sure how Alexa and iHost might work together but I will keep watching. Thank you for your reviews
iHost have the ability to make a CAST screen. This is esentially a LAN web interface. You can have a tablet or a dedicated screen with this page on, and it will work as long as you have the access to the local LAN - even if your ISP is down and alexa is not responsive. It's a good idea to have an option like this available as backup
Hi, just received mine! After quite a bit of setting up, I've been able to replicate my existing devices as found in the eWeLink app onto the hub. Hub can now be used to switch my switches! When ordering the hub, I also included a few door/window sensors and a push button for use as a doorbell. While these do work and appear in the hub webpage, I can't seem to get these additional devices to appear in the eWeLink app. App does show the hub but when selected is just shows a banner page with no devices/data
My iHost arrived today. And it has been a rather sobering experience. It feels beta - at most. At first the card wouldn't format. Had to reset the box with the pin. So far I've had no success whatsoever in installing a docker. Pairing Zigbee devices only worked with Sonoff sensors (I failed in pairing other devices such as Ikea lamps, motion sensors etc.). Time settings are wrong for chosen location due to missing setting for daylight savings time. I don't know how to access logs. And even if I had managed to get it running, there is no way to create backups. I sincerely hope that future versions (now 1.5.3) will dramatically improve the iHost, because currently it is far from I had hoped for.
Turns out, it is the sd card. Read it in a support forum. Larger cards cause a problem. New SanDisk Ultra with 128GB renders the iHost unusable. Switched it with an old (but still class 10) 32GB card. Now it works.
I put my order together with a couple of other things and then I was reminded that the price will go up significantly once VAT and courier processing charges are added. Hence ordering through your link ITEAD link is no good, unless ITEAD has a warehouse in the UK. I might as well order through other sources and have the thing here immediately. NOW I remember why I had an account with them but no orders. 😂🤣😂
I have one on order. They delayed shipment until end of April. BTW, I use their TX with RF series wall switches everywhere I can. Every switch in the house is a TX except my 3-way switches. I have emailed them repeatedly to say "stop calling it a 2-gang or 3-gang switch. IT IS NOT a multi-gang switch. Its a 1-gang wall unit with 1, 2 or 3 switches.
@@notenoughtech I am referring to the TX series (EN) the white glass face plate. Its a one gang form factor with 1, 2 or 3 switch capability. They continue to refer to these as 2 or 3 gang. The industry does not. And they confuse people, that don't realize the little blue square is the on/off button so it throws off their correct decision
@@obijuan- I'm not sure what do you mean. Gang is referred to a separate switching circuit. So a switch with 3 internal relays to control 3 different light "lanes" independently would be considered a 3 gang.
@@notenoughtech I think you do understand. I pointed out quickly that they FORM FACTOR determines if its is a 1 gang opening in the wall. You are simply being as hard headed as Sonoff is. When your nomenclature of a product goes against the already understood terminology that people have been using for a hundred years, you need to adapt. Go into a hardware store. Any hardware store. Ask the clerk to show you a 1 and 2 gang outlet box. Are they the same size? No. I can see I am wasting my time with you. Good day. Very disappointing. I thought I had found a great reviewer and someone with much insight into Sonoff. An ally. I have 5 dozen+ Sonoff products installed. I thought I had found someone to bounce complements and complaints off. Good to learn early.
When it controls things like Philip Hue and Alexa locally and i no longer need to worry about internet connections messing up my smart home then I will give it some thought.
I haven't seen an option yet to import devices already linked to another hub.. but assuming you have enough router devices you should be able to control it.
great video! just bought one to have a play with and pit against HA / Smartthings. However, in terms of the automated scenes I'm still yet to find one as good as the Samsung SmartThings hub. I have an automation on my Smartthings that says "If bathroom light/fan stays on for 5 mins, then, turn it off in 1 hour". This is good for when I have a shower before going to bed I don't have to stay up to turn the fan off anymore. Can this be done on iHost? or do I need to use NodeRed? in which case, I should just use Smartthings or HA then right?
Thanks for the great presentation on this device! Could you please share which is better iHost or Raspberry Pi + Zigbee2MQTT und NodeRed? I would like to learn more about iHost. Do you offer other iHost tutorials?
This looks like a scaled down version of hubitat hub. I'll stick with my non-proprietary home assistant dell thin client . Have had way to many hubs like this.
What is the best way to REMOTELY control Zigbee devices connected to iHost? Or how to make sure local scenses will be pushed to smartphone (for example leakage sensor connected to iHost). How can i get notification to smartphone?
Great video! What happen when you have power outage, then all device will start once the power coming again? Does it will sync automatically? Do we need to pairing again?
Does docker mean you could add also Homeassistant too or only docker images delivered or certified by sonoff ? Still not sure how to think about it and if it is a risk or not . Have some of these switches and pow R devices to monitor energy consumption and some newer Elite powermeter with and with out powermeter. AFAIK it is a wifi, bluetooth, zigbee and matter bridge, right ? I have seen renote integration that is why I am asking , but I like the node red api integration that looked quite simple. great video cause I watched it now at least the 3rd time - back in the beginning when released I subscribed and came back cause I have to make a decision if it has benefits or too much limitations if I would buy only the entry version with just 2 GB even thought my HomeAssistant had been running on a 1 GB Pi 4 without flaws. Not sure how powerfull the sbc is . Hope you will release an update video soon ! thanks a lot
Short answer is yes. You can interface using API. I hope to see the HA add on which makes it easier in the future. You could have this run HA, ZigBee and let you Lan control sonoff WiFi stuff
@@notenoughtech i also hope that there will be an HA add-on for that because i already have a mini pc running HA alone and control all my devices from there. Also about API i am not quite sure what do u mean or how it works but it will be nice if you like to make a video showing how to add it on an existing device running HA
Anything that can do web requests can interact with ihost. You can type in URL into browser and receive information about what's going on in your ihost device. That's the API
@@notenoughtech as i see sonoff keep growing and getting fame i hope they will make just with a few clicks to be able to add it. I am planning to order one mainly for the local control
Thinking about migration to this thing from HA befre the beginning of the next heating season. Did you try to connect third party zigbee devices, e.g. heating valves?
When I install this thing on my existing system, will I still be able to monitor and control my system remotely using the ewelink app on my mobile phone?
I'll be testing this later on when I talk about the API and interaction in NodeRed specifically. I was really short on time (most things didn't work in my 1st week) and I wanted to make sure the video gives a good idea of what iHost is (and it's not). So watch this space
Today I have received my ihost I installed it with out any problem most of my wifi sonoff devices were added easily The problem it doesn't support sonoff rf bridge and this is a problem, how I'm supposed to make scenes off line when all of my sensors are not supported.
I am a novice but have figured that zigbee deivces are the way I go, would this work as a zigbee hub wiith possibly a interesting options or will this be too complex for a noivice?
This is ideal for a person like you. You can start with off the cuff ZigBee integration and as you know more about DIY aspects of it bring more options without buying the dedicated hardware separately. It's what I consider the strongest point of the device. Hardcore automation fans are usually quick to dismiss needs for simple UI to get ppl start with automation. Sadly there is a little gate keeping in the community which believes that you either go all in and learn to manage all aspects of it or you are not worthy of using DIY at all.
Any idea if they will be implment a container for mqtt.. That would be fantastic if they did. Reason is it would fantastic to be able to add things like sonar sensors and other device that I user tasmota or esphome with
You can add the mqtt container. At the moment you are not limited to what containers you can run but some configuration isn't available. Mqtt should be running fine of you are ok with default configuration. I'm not sure how much you'd have to change.
The WiFi devices can connect to it "directly", The hub uses LAN to be part of the same network, just doesn't use WiFi right now to allow wireless connection with your router
Quickly before I forget. On your webpage linked here for more info there is a spalling mistake in the table of prices. Early Bird is Early Bid. Now the boring stuff is out of the way do you know what it’s do to an existing Zigbee Network? I’m guessing it’s a Zigbee coordinator only and so I’d need to repair devices? Also did you test any non-Sonoff Zigbee devices? I have some Tuya Zigbee compatible radiator heads: would be great if this saw them. Also I wonder what it does if you plug a USB Zigbee dongle into the USB-A port on the back: use the internal or external… Ordered one of the very early bird ones anyway in the hope they add matter in the future.
Thanks I have updated the correction 😍 It's likely you'd need to rebuild your mesh from scratch. As I'm limited in time right now. I left the API play node red and zigbee experiments for a other video. I only had the device in fully working condition like a day before launch.. hence me mentioning the story about it. Watch this space
Good evening, this is about the forth time i am watching this video. Please it is possible to add non Sonoff or ewlink to this hub. i have some tuya zigbee and wifi devices with a couple of sonoff device.
You can remove containers, but by "wiping everything" you will remove drivers for the coordinator. There is no point of removing anything just add HA container.
Probably don't need to wipe anything; just install HA as a container alongside everything else. Will be interesting to see how it can interact with the local hardware.
Great video! Do you know what's the roadmap to support WIFI devices? I have more Sonoff WIFI than Zigbee at home. Bonus question: Can you programmatically control the LED on the front? It could be a great way to display current solar production to inform the family when we have free energy available.
At the moment the only "roadmap" I know is the one posted on product page (I didn't have access to this info at the time of writing my review). For now you cannot control the led (unless I'll find this in API) but i don't think it should be hard to implement. I like your idea! It's pretty cool use case. I wish I had solar power installation. Maybe next year
I'll be playing with less off the cuff stuff soon. I was trying to get the initial video out on the launch day, after holiday I will experiment with API, ZigBee and more
Thanks! I ordered two. I myself have ioBroker running on Synology (Docker), but I know I have to test this one - and one is for my neighbor. He does not yet know that he will want one - but I know that he will. I am not a maker, but a user - but I am getting addicted to smart home devices. So you have a new subscriber here. By the way: I really like the spectrum analyzer in the background. Would you happen to have a link for that one? Me likes and me wants - and I am afraid I would accidentally grab a crappy model (judging by some reviews, some of them don't seem to be all that good). Along with the iHost I ordered yet another NS Panel Pro, which I will not sideload (to install stuff like fully browser or such). I will keep that one in Sonoff-mode, just to see how it will work together with the iHost.
Thanks for the sub. Here is the link to the analyser notenoughtech.com/featured/awesome-led-panel-from-hell/ I hope the pro panel gets integration soon with ihost for exciting opportunities
@@notenoughtech "Designed in hell"... "Various components will provide you with various challenges"... Thanks, Mat. I think I will just stick with envying you for that very nice gadget!
On the basis of your video, I bought one recently. It does what it's meant to do, except the WiFi switches I have, and I can't reach it remotely from my phone..... doo. I lined it to eWeLink and I can operate my switches now while I'm at home, but the garage door and the outside lights are not remotely accessible. Not useful to me really..... I tried tailscale and it worked, but I have to turn it off to even get my emails. Its just a dedicated VPN between 2 or more secure stations..... not usable for this purpose.
Was just reading the Sonoff ?blog on this and realised when you synchronised your eWelink Account and it populated your devices did it also copy across that account’s scenes & administrator functions or was it more just like sharing devices between phone and tablet accounts etc?
My iHost is still broken. They e given up trying to solve it by blaming my ISP even though I’ve tried a router than wasn’t provided by my ISP and I connected to my ISP, or the Sandisk SD Card even though it works on my computer and bike camera. Only about 20% of my wifi devices that are listed as supported on their websites synchronise at all. It can see most of them but can’t sync. I can control them locally on my phone so I know the wifi network is okay. It doesn’t even connect when the iHost and device is connected to the same router and I’ve tried multiple routers. There is a bug that prevents synchronisation and they’ve given up trying to solve it. The only way it could be not related to the iHost would be for 3 of 3 routers I’ve tested having a firewall between the Ethernet port and wifi on the same router. It just doesn’t seem likely that all 3 routers would have the same problem. And why would it not also stop my phone connecting to the device over than LAN… has anyone created alternative firmware for this yet, because at present I have a white brick with LEDs that makes beeps.
This looks interesting - but what does it do that a normal nodered setup with zigbee2mqtt wouldn't do? Does this allow local control with sonoff that would not be possible with a generic setup?
Achei a primeira vista bem promissor. Se adicionarmos algum dispositivo nele, esse é automaticamente sincronizado na Alexa? Caso não, continuaria configurando pelo eWeLink e, em teoria, tudo seria exportado para o IHost. Minha outra dúvida é que se exportarmos todos os dispositivos zigbees, a bridge antiga pode ser desligada, ou é ela que fará a gerência da malha zigbee? Moro no Brasil é fica muito difícil comprar por conta da conversão da moeda. Vou aguardar mais algumas evoluções para analisar a possível compra. Parabéns pelo vídeo. Ficou excelente!
Hello, sorry for late reply - I'm on holiday. Yes you can add devices via ewelink and these will show up on iHost and Alexa, Another way is to use NodeRED and link these via iHost with Alexa node - I have tutorials about this. If you switch over to iHost as your coordinator you can turn off zb hub or even better flash it with router firmware so it can be added as an extender - not sure if it will work at the moment but ill be testting this in my follow up
It's a new series so chances are - yes as they are in the same space as NS Panel - but I have no extra info to confirm this at the moment. Any device that comes with Local LAN control option in eWeLink app should be compatible in the end
been a user of welink for a few years, never heard of this device intill it hit the fourms and i got a email on how bad it was. looks interesting if they get there s___ together. i have alot of original wifi / rf bridge stuff in the house, probably 20+ devices, including six 3 button wireless rf switches. i feel like they would not support them on this device, how does it handle the original( non zigbee) rf bridge , or does it have rf built in? i like sonoff but they are slow as turtles to basic functionality. they dont update features for the old stuff, and tend to focus on the new zigbee stuff. would be trival to add double tap detection on the rf switches.( just time between last seen press) but they only add the feature on zigbee. still waiting on being able to manage / configure rf device scenes in web panel, or maybe place a switch button in cast. you can cheat, by duplicating the rf scense( a pain) as a normal scene then you can have a cast button. i remember when it took over a year for them to get s31 to work in webapp, even just on/off. and another year after that to get the camera to render in webcontrol that we pay for.( idk if its less secure tho here) single logged in user in panel was also a nightmare intill cast came along, signed out daily. the android app has become so slow , it takes about 18 seconds to start just to be able to toggle a light. finally got official 120v compatible wrgb bulbs, and theres bugs , like where if you go set>10 % brightness then tell it off in scenes it actually never turns off. i linked ewelink with amazon for alex, but i would love a way to block devices like the cameras or sensitive devices from being accessed tho that, since they are known to help themselves to it. cameras are great tho , rtsp > agentdvr. wish i could set them to lan only somehow.
I know RF bridge isn't yet on support list, but at some point I would expect most of ewelink devices to end up there - it's just a matter of time - how soon? That's the money question. As per your network worries, have you checked Fing app? I use it to manage my devices on LAN. It's a great little tool especially if you have a fingbox.
Im undecided as i have mainly zigbee devices of sonoffs but I'm not far off dabbling with home assistant purely because the ZigBee bridge is being annoying and dropping out! not earning any wife points!!
I had very little time to play for now, so I cannot give a personal recommendation without being dishonest. I like what they did with iHost and i like where it is going. If that extra price difference on launch isn't a big deal, I would wait until the product matures. Then you can commit with a full knowledge. It sucks to be an early adopter, but also it's much fun to play with gadgets early
To my knowledge you can run anything that has a container for arm devices. What's exposed hardware wise by the hub is another story so you might end up working with API directly rather than like I presented it in NodeRed
I have gotten mine - and it is far less impressive than expected. Lot of translation and ui issues which is inconstistent if you check where they have put the PLUS button, sometime upper right corner, sometimes lower left corner and of cause to make it easier 2 buttons in these corners. Support is there and reacting but not really helpfull. If you start docker you get a dialog box and with a hard readable light grey remark they tell you that you should look for a Linux ArmV7 docker image - and if you do so for home assistant you might ask yourself what in the hell should i take out of those dozens of docker images. You might ask the support and wait for the reply - or simply watch the only tutorial in portuguese about how to install HA on ihost. And there you will find out that the armV7 is a misleading advice cause it is the first image the guy from portugal or brazil had taken for his tutorial in portuguese - where of cause I could not understand the reasons why. But it worked out to take the first search result, the linux distribution and forget about the arm and V7 topic . Days later sonoff support replied what ? you need to take the linux distribution, the first one and forget about arm V7 Not so well thought through - at least for me a nightmare to start with. And I still do not know how to get the addons or even a terminal installted without having access to the command line. I hope you will make an update soon and all the other who had recommanded the ihost without showing how to solve the big issue and shortcoming the product still has 2 months later. Would not buy one again cause too many shortcomings to get productive at least with Home Assistand and also a very limited sonoff device support. Not kidding, they promised a lot more than they delivered cause even the Pow Elite switches with power consumption monitoring are only working partly, which means those elites with a display do work while the same model without display all bought in May 2023 do not work, all delivered from SonOff directly. So no old stock or inventory and all devices updated to the most recent firmware. Therefore i am not so impressed and can not recommend it , not for the cheap price during early bird nor now for 20 or 40$ more.
oh, thanks. Are wifi devices still paired to the wifi? I am asking because if I change the wifi router, I will have to pair them again and my home has many minir2 :)@@notenoughtech
Hardware sales. They are still hardware company. I don't think they care much about the data as they have nothing to monetise it with. They do want to push sales. And by opening up their system they could achieve this. Previously the cloud was the driving motive. As locking you to an ecosystem would drive more sales. But that's an approach that got very old very quickly. With all of us flashing devices ... They have little to loose
IHost was a very promising devices. BUT Sonoff could not produce a stable firmware. Most people soon discovered that it is good only for simple demostrations. Major issues are still unresolved and each new firmware version introduces more new problems.
I agree, the support for the firmware could be better, it's a step in a good direction and considering how they replicated hardware in the latest hub, I think the work on software for this is far from over
It's not. The reality is that you as a POE owner are a minority. Which means almost everyone else will not use Poe. Poe equipment cost extra which also means that if you have it home, you have money to more purposely build hardware (also more pricy) the reason Poe less solutions are cheaper is simply the market. It may cost as you say $5 in raw components but you must include everything else that need to be scaled to accomodate it. It's not as simple as you think it is when doing things at scale. Check how much does it cost to add Poe to raspberry pi - product is fully compatible with Poe powers.
Considering that HA can run on more than just RPI - question is why would you? there is no benefit in turning this into a linux board, the appeal of this device is that it can run ewelink as well as DIY stuff, otherwise you are really turning this device back into something like a Raspberry Pi 3 with worse support.
You can literally run HA on any other Linux board. It will work just fine especially that most add-ons rely on usb implementation of the hardware which will cause almost no issue. RPI has great support and it's my default SBC but picking ihost instead is like selecting a lawnmower to trim your hedge
In all fairness this is just a UI builder. The actual dashboard would be composed via cast dash boards. The preview has less rounded corners and it has a proper rectangle when opened in full screen. Not a big issue in my opinion.
It's nice, but the manufacturer claims 'Open API Interface' only (at least so far). Without a real Open Source-Option (see FAQ point 15 on there product page), it's not good enough- it's better to stay away from this device.
Lack of open source isn't a reason to stay away from the device. Do you refuse taking public transport and participate in society because not every service and device uses open source? Do you refuse medicine... out of possible reasons to dismiss the product, you have probably picked the least applicable.
@@notenoughtech Do you beleave the fary tale that Sonoff will provide updates every two months? For how long 2 or 3 years? Sonoff won't be able to put money into the support after this device is no longer sold. The chances that you can place this device in a trash bin in 3 years are rather high. And please, don't compare it to medicine and public transport.. did you understand 'soft'-ware?
To me Sonoff has been always about easy firmware change to Tasmota. Sooner or later someone will come up with an Armbian tutorial, so you'll have all the open source goodness. I am currently running Armbian and HA supervised on a Google Coral Mini with 2GB RAM and a very weak CPU and it works fine. I can imagine it will run on the iHost just as fine. Can't test it as I don't have an iHost (yet).
@@nlublovary No, this device will never get official Armbian-support. The manufactorer still claims, that there will be no OpenSource-support by design (read the FAQ). If I speak about OpenSource I mean the hardware/platform not the iHost-Software. There is no chance for a propper Armbian-version- it's a dead cow.
I think most of the people don't need this. I would be just happy if already existing sonoff device would work. On they're cloud, I don't care just work. And In my opinion it's a bad strategii to push new product whit not working functionalities. It makes the brand unreliable. And they are sometimes.
I agree with the latter statement about ITEAD needing to improve their software game. I do believe that this would be really good device also for people who do not use fancy DIY stuff... as it leaves you always with an option. After all, it would serve well as just eWeLink ecosystem hub
Just remember what Sonof tried to do with their older smart speakers and their "Recycle Mode" where they essentially bricked your devices DELIBERATLEY!!! I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.
Shitoff Sonoff! Very bad software! Wasted 90 USD in expectation of a good software and tighter integrations but this sucks. Couldn't install HACS on Home assistant in this device. Without HACS sonoff devices will not connect to home assistant.
Honestly? I know there is a smiley at the end of the comment... but C'mon... that's such rubbish approach. Imagine you opened a company and came up with a cool product that in your eyes works pretty well, and someone just said they think its rubish cause you hold a passport of X nationality. I think i would have more respect for the comment if it said - I won't buy it as it looks ugly
Not gonna lie, it looks like it can play Nintendo Wii games also.
I'm positive it can do Doom :)
Really looking forward to an update from this. Not a lot of other videos out there, but what there is, seems like ihost gone through lots of different versions including matter introduction. Im really excited about the local control and no cloud base reliability. Ive just ordered an ihost with the intention of lighting control in a house renovation I am doing!
I will be frank. It's on my list to re-visit... but due to personal circumstances.. getting through my backlog ... well it takes time. I have not forgot about it
Sounds and looks like a home assistant light, more limited and less mature. I'll stick to home assistant but I have to admit the hardware looks cute. I think there is definitely a place for it, as home assistant can be quite overwhelming for people and yaml is still needed, while this looks more like a simpler approach.
My personal believe is that devices like this will drive production of more open smart gadgets that we can integrate in both ecosystems ewelink and via local controls only - and thats a win win to each side
this is promising, this could be a direct replacement for Home Assistant Yellow.
now to get home assistant supported on this thing, I hope someone donate each of this model to armbian so we can get debian support for this nice unit. Once armbian working along with all of its radios, it should be easy to do a supervised install of home assistant.
I think other than packaging there is little benefit in wiping it clean and using it just like a raspberry. Especially if this would require such effort to re wrote drivers for each hardware.
There is nothing wrong with staying on rpi or similar hardware for HA. this device meant to enable easy integration. Heck you could simply connect it to your existing instance via rest or NodeRed driven mqtt right now
@@notenoughtech Home assistant Yellow mass delivery is delayed another 5 months - so as a stopgap this could be useful (vs. nothing).
I wasn't aware of delay. I know some of my friends got their boxes. In that case... You could have it as something to get you by if you don't have a dedicated SBC. If you already run Rpi then it's not exactly an upgrade
@@notenoughtech Fully populated HA-Y are mainly delayed by R Pi CM4 supply issues.
I just ordered two, thanks!
I am very much looking forward to playing with these, as I'm a LONG time Sonoff fan, and own a huge pile of Sonoff devices.
Two? Wow is that because of the 128 device limit? 🤣🤣
@@notenoughtech More because I'm a poor dude living in a $900 motorhome in the boonies of Northern Nevada, USA...
;-)
That's one way to make savings. One day I'd love to do a full camper smart conversion. Preferably VW T1 with a split windscreen (the hippie one)
And TH-cam swallows the link 🤦
Ordered 1 today
Looking forward to its arrival
Good presentatiojn, to see what this device can do .. But remains end-consumer device .. As an example: How is it with backing up all the work you've donne over the years, and restoring, may be, to a new device ? Any fault-tolerance available ? For the approach, I am impressed to see, how Sonoff did integrate all these different technologies .. Happy to see docker, whicj indeed is quite inovative for this kind of devices ..
Just ordered one. I need to see what it does. Good work on the presentation.👍
I have a little home automation experience, enough to be dangerous. Would like local control as Alexa has difficulty when we have internet outages. Not sure how Alexa and iHost might work together but I will keep watching.
Thank you for your reviews
iHost have the ability to make a CAST screen. This is esentially a LAN web interface. You can have a tablet or a dedicated screen with this page on, and it will work as long as you have the access to the local LAN - even if your ISP is down and alexa is not responsive. It's a good idea to have an option like this available as backup
Hi, just received mine!
After quite a bit of setting up, I've been able to replicate my existing devices as found in the eWeLink app onto the hub. Hub can now be used to switch my switches!
When ordering the hub, I also included a few door/window sensors and a push button for use as a doorbell. While these do work and appear in the hub webpage, I can't seem to get these additional devices to appear in the eWeLink app. App does show the hub but when selected is just shows a banner page with no devices/data
Did you manage to sort this problem? I’m in the same pickle.
@@jamesmather6286 sorry, no it's still the same
My iHost arrived today. And it has been a rather sobering experience. It feels beta - at most. At first the card wouldn't format. Had to reset the box with the pin. So far I've had no success whatsoever in installing a docker. Pairing Zigbee devices only worked with Sonoff sensors (I failed in pairing other devices such as Ikea lamps, motion sensors etc.). Time settings are wrong for chosen location due to missing setting for daylight savings time. I don't know how to access logs. And even if I had managed to get it running, there is no way to create backups.
I sincerely hope that future versions (now 1.5.3) will dramatically improve the iHost, because currently it is far from I had hoped for.
Turns out, it is the sd card. Read it in a support forum. Larger cards cause a problem. New SanDisk Ultra with 128GB renders the iHost unusable. Switched it with an old (but still class 10) 32GB card. Now it works.
Sorry for the late reply - I had stuff on my head - I'm glad you got the docker aspect to work with your new card
I put my order together with a couple of other things and then I was reminded that the price will go up significantly once VAT and courier processing charges are added.
Hence ordering through your link ITEAD link is no good, unless ITEAD has a warehouse in the UK. I might as well order through other sources and have the thing here immediately.
NOW I remember why I had an account with them but no orders. 😂🤣😂
That's fair. Unfortunately the joys of international orders. Catches me every time.
Thanks for video - Seems to have advanced a bit .. see that Home Automation can be a docker ... very useful
Amazing and interesting ,, well done itead !!
Thank you for the overview. Very helpful!
Nice video
I’ve window tube ac motors with Rf signal 433.92
Is love to set it up with G home assistant
I have one on order. They delayed shipment until end of April. BTW, I use their TX with RF series wall switches everywhere I can. Every switch in the house is a TX except my 3-way switches. I have emailed them repeatedly to say "stop calling it a 2-gang or 3-gang switch. IT IS NOT a multi-gang switch. Its a 1-gang wall unit with 1, 2 or 3 switches.
I'm sorry which device do you refer too? They do hav e multi gang switches.
@@notenoughtech I am referring to the TX series (EN) the white glass face plate. Its a one gang form factor with 1, 2 or 3 switch capability. They continue to refer to these as 2 or 3 gang. The industry does not. And they confuse people, that don't realize the little blue square is the on/off button so it throws off their correct decision
@@obijuan- I'm not sure what do you mean. Gang is referred to a separate switching circuit. So a switch with 3 internal relays to control 3 different light "lanes" independently would be considered a 3 gang.
@@notenoughtech I think you do understand. I pointed out quickly that they FORM FACTOR determines if its is a 1 gang opening in the wall. You are simply being as hard headed as Sonoff is. When your nomenclature of a product goes against the already understood terminology that people have been using for a hundred years, you need to adapt. Go into a hardware store. Any hardware store. Ask the clerk to show you a 1 and 2 gang outlet box. Are they the same size? No. I can see I am wasting my time with you. Good day.
Very disappointing. I thought I had found a great reviewer and someone with much insight into Sonoff. An ally. I have 5 dozen+ Sonoff products installed. I thought I had found someone to bounce complements and complaints off. Good to learn early.
When it controls things like Philip Hue and Alexa locally and i no longer need to worry about internet connections messing up my smart home then I will give it some thought.
Hello! I’d like to add all my DualR3 relays for lighting to Apple Home. Is that possible?
@NotEnoughTECH Great video... Thanks.
Can I use just 1 iHost if I have many Sonoff ZigBee devices connected to 2 SONOFF Zigbee Bridge Pro devices?
I haven't seen an option yet to import devices already linked to another hub.. but assuming you have enough router devices you should be able to control it.
great video! just bought one to have a play with and pit against HA / Smartthings. However, in terms of the automated scenes I'm still yet to find one as good as the Samsung SmartThings hub. I have an automation on my Smartthings that says "If bathroom light/fan stays on for 5 mins, then, turn it off in 1 hour". This is good for when I have a shower before going to bed I don't have to stay up to turn the fan off anymore. Can this be done on iHost? or do I need to use NodeRed? in which case, I should just use Smartthings or HA then right?
does it work with xiaomi/alexa/google/mijia/etc smart devices?
I'll be investigating this in my follow up
ah wicked been hoping some one would make a decent version of home assistant this sounds like it
It would depend on how HA and underlaying firmware can utilise the extra hardware like the coordinator, bluetooth WiFi etc
Thanks for the great presentation on this device! Could you please share which is better iHost or Raspberry Pi + Zigbee2MQTT und NodeRed? I would like to learn more about iHost. Do you offer other iHost tutorials?
This looks like a scaled down version of hubitat hub. I'll stick with my non-proprietary home assistant dell thin client . Have had way to many hubs like this.
hey can the devices controlled by the iHost also be controlled via Google Home or EWELink App?
What is the best way to REMOTELY control Zigbee devices connected to iHost? Or how to make sure local scenses will be pushed to smartphone (for example leakage sensor connected to iHost). How can i get notification to smartphone?
Hello, can this device enable the R5 Switchman Bluetooth subdevices to work locally without internet?
thanks.
I'm not sure if I'm honest
Hello! Could you also control nsPanel's thermostat function locally via the iHost?
It would use the ewelink integration. It's cloud based but it also uses local Lan for Comms so it should work without the internet
Great video! What happen when you have power outage, then all device will start once the power coming again? Does it will sync automatically? Do we need to pairing again?
You shouldn't need pairing
Does the ihost works with t2, t3 us series wifi switches?
Another Thread hub. whoohoo, a perfect companion to our nest hubs, apple tv4ks, homepods, eero routers and echo speakers!
I don't think you watched the same video 🤣
does it supporting WI-FI Devices Paring or only Zigbee?
Does docker mean you could add also Homeassistant too or only docker images delivered or certified by sonoff ?
Still not sure how to think about it and if it is a risk or not . Have some of these switches and pow R devices to monitor energy consumption and some newer Elite powermeter with and with out powermeter. AFAIK it is a wifi, bluetooth, zigbee and matter bridge, right ?
I have seen renote integration that is why I am asking , but I like the node red api integration that looked quite simple.
great video cause I watched it now at least the 3rd time - back in the beginning when released I subscribed and came back cause I have to make a decision if it has benefits or too much limitations if I would buy only the entry version with just 2 GB even thought my HomeAssistant had been running on a 1 GB Pi 4 without flaws. Not sure how powerfull the sbc is . Hope you will release an update video soon !
thanks a lot
any updates about your products supported ?
Boring boring boring and then NODE RED! That is a gamecharger. But can it run home assistant? will it be matter compatible? will they use thread?
You can run any container including HA. I don't know the answers to Matter yet. These are only my suspicions for now.
CRAZY thought: could you run Home Assistant in iHost docker?
Yes you can run any container for arm
quick question this can work with home assistant to control there local? also can you connect other zigbee brand devices ? like woox or whatever?
Short answer is yes. You can interface using API. I hope to see the HA add on which makes it easier in the future. You could have this run HA, ZigBee and let you Lan control sonoff WiFi stuff
@@notenoughtech i also hope that there will be an HA add-on for that because i already have a mini pc running HA alone and control all my devices from there. Also about API i am not quite sure what do u mean or how it works but it will be nice if you like to make a video showing how to add it on an existing device running HA
Anything that can do web requests can interact with ihost. You can type in URL into browser and receive information about what's going on in your ihost device. That's the API
@@notenoughtech as i see sonoff keep growing and getting fame i hope they will make just with a few clicks to be able to add it. I am planning to order one mainly for the local control
Hmm, are you able to access dashboard and control you home from smartphone when not connected to home network?
Yes as long as you deal with port forwarding
Would you be able to connect Xiaomi ZigBee sensors to it or link the mi home account on it
At the moment I only had luck with some devices. it's a hit or miss with zigbee outside of the ewelink ecosystem
Thinking about migration to this thing from HA befre the beginning of the next heating season.
Did you try to connect third party zigbee devices, e.g. heating valves?
I'm still working on the video covering 3rd party use and API
When I install this thing on my existing system, will I still be able to monitor and control my system remotely using the ewelink app on my mobile phone?
Yes - integration with eWeLink allows you to use it via app
does this mean I will have access to the data like temperature/humidity etc and I can use them on my own?
yes
@@notenoughtech nice thats cool. thx for heads up
How to link Alexa enabled devices to add
We need a a new video on iHost, did it improve ? Is it worth buying, what can it do today ? Is it faster than cloud ?
@@tamasdebreczeni5335 I'll add it to my list
Interesting approach, big elephant in the room: can it talk to all types of zigbee devices or is it limited to sonoff stuff only ?
I'll be testing this later on when I talk about the API and interaction in NodeRed specifically. I was really short on time (most things didn't work in my 1st week) and I wanted to make sure the video gives a good idea of what iHost is (and it's not). So watch this space
Today I have received my ihost
I installed it with out any problem most of my wifi sonoff devices were added easily
The problem it doesn't support sonoff rf bridge and this is a problem, how I'm supposed to make scenes off line when all of my sensors are not supported.
You cannot add RF directly, but if they enable support fro RF bridge in docker, then you would be able to talk to it via cloud
I am a novice but have figured that zigbee deivces are the way I go, would this work as a zigbee hub wiith possibly a interesting options or will this be too complex for a noivice?
This is ideal for a person like you. You can start with off the cuff ZigBee integration and as you know more about DIY aspects of it bring more options without buying the dedicated hardware separately. It's what I consider the strongest point of the device.
Hardcore automation fans are usually quick to dismiss needs for simple UI to get ppl start with automation. Sadly there is a little gate keeping in the community which believes that you either go all in and learn to manage all aspects of it or you are not worthy of using DIY at all.
Any idea if they will be implment a container for mqtt..
That would be fantastic if they did.
Reason is it would fantastic to be able to add things like sonar sensors and other device that I user tasmota or esphome with
You can add the mqtt container. At the moment you are not limited to what containers you can run but some configuration isn't available. Mqtt should be running fine of you are ok with default configuration. I'm not sure how much you'd have to change.
@@notenoughtech thank you so much for that information, should be getting my ihosts in the next couple of weeks
Can you make a video on how to install the Portainer addon on ihost ewelink?
I will take the note about it but I make no promises right now
Did you manage to get it working as a WiFi hub? So WiFi devices could connect directly to it and not have to go via the network.
The WiFi devices can connect to it "directly", The hub uses LAN to be part of the same network, just doesn't use WiFi right now to allow wireless connection with your router
Quickly before I forget. On your webpage linked here for more info there is a spalling mistake in the table of prices. Early Bird is Early Bid.
Now the boring stuff is out of the way do you know what it’s do to an existing Zigbee Network? I’m guessing it’s a Zigbee coordinator only and so I’d need to repair devices?
Also did you test any non-Sonoff Zigbee devices? I have some Tuya Zigbee compatible radiator heads: would be great if this saw them. Also I wonder what it does if you plug a USB Zigbee dongle into the USB-A port on the back: use the internal or external…
Ordered one of the very early bird ones anyway in the hope they add matter in the future.
Thanks I have updated the correction 😍
It's likely you'd need to rebuild your mesh from scratch. As I'm limited in time right now. I left the API play node red and zigbee experiments for a other video. I only had the device in fully working condition like a day before launch.. hence me mentioning the story about it.
Watch this space
Great video 👍..is there any limit in the number of devices connected
128 is listed. With well developed router network your mesh could be even bigger.
Good evening, this is about the forth time i am watching this video. Please it is possible to add non Sonoff or ewlink to this hub. i have some tuya zigbee and wifi devices with a couple of sonoff device.
Thanks Mat.
Can anyone recommend some smart wall switches that can be wired in a 3 way circuit and be used in ihost hub scenes?
Sonoff M5 and TX series should be compatible with iHost - I have them featured on the channel
"this isn't a hub"
I actually thought it was a Nintendo Wii 🤣
Considering the CPU inside... It's not far off
Any idea if I can just wipe everything and use it like a raspberry pi with built in zigbee and install home assistant OS? Great video!
You can remove containers, but by "wiping everything" you will remove drivers for the coordinator. There is no point of removing anything just add HA container.
@@notenoughtech 😆No，you really can "wiping everything" and use it as a SBC - Of course, to do so would be to waive the warranty
Probably don't need to wipe anything; just install HA as a container alongside everything else. Will be interesting to see how it can interact with the local hardware.
Great video! Do you know what's the roadmap to support WIFI devices? I have more Sonoff WIFI than Zigbee at home.
Bonus question: Can you programmatically control the LED on the front? It could be a great way to display current solar production to inform the family when we have free energy available.
At the moment the only "roadmap" I know is the one posted on product page (I didn't have access to this info at the time of writing my review).
For now you cannot control the led (unless I'll find this in API) but i don't think it should be hard to implement.
I like your idea! It's pretty cool use case. I wish I had solar power installation. Maybe next year
How many cameras can it support, and could you add external storage via the USB port, for recording? Thanks.
I'll be playing with less off the cuff stuff soon. I was trying to get the initial video out on the launch day, after holiday I will experiment with API, ZigBee and more
@@notenoughtech OK thanks - I will keep an eye out!
Thanks! I ordered two. I myself have ioBroker running on Synology (Docker), but I know I have to test this one - and one is for my neighbor. He does not yet know that he will want one - but I know that he will. I am not a maker, but a user - but I am getting addicted to smart home devices. So you have a new subscriber here. By the way: I really like the spectrum analyzer in the background. Would you happen to have a link for that one? Me likes and me wants - and I am afraid I would accidentally grab a crappy model (judging by some reviews, some of them don't seem to be all that good).
Along with the iHost I ordered yet another NS Panel Pro, which I will not sideload (to install stuff like fully browser or such). I will keep that one in Sonoff-mode, just to see how it will work together with the iHost.
Thanks for the sub.
Here is the link to the analyser notenoughtech.com/featured/awesome-led-panel-from-hell/
I hope the pro panel gets integration soon with ihost for exciting opportunities
@@notenoughtech "Designed in hell"... "Various components will provide you with various challenges"... Thanks, Mat. I think I will just stick with envying you for that very nice gadget!
On the basis of your video, I bought one recently. It does what it's meant to do, except the WiFi switches I have, and I can't reach it remotely from my phone..... doo. I lined it to eWeLink and I can operate my switches now while I'm at home, but the garage door and the outside lights are not remotely accessible. Not useful to me really.....
I tried tailscale and it worked, but I have to turn it off to even get my emails. Its just a dedicated VPN between 2 or more secure stations..... not usable for this purpose.
Port forwarding or vpn to you network would work just OK? That's how I usually access my devices remotely
Was just reading the Sonoff ?blog on this and realised when you synchronised your eWelink Account and it populated your devices did it also copy across that account’s scenes & administrator functions or was it more just like sharing devices between phone and tablet accounts etc?
It only syncs up the devices. To enable access for these devices you need to share the cast dash board URL with the person.
My iHost is still broken. They e given up trying to solve it by blaming my ISP even though I’ve tried a router than wasn’t provided by my ISP and I connected to my ISP, or the Sandisk SD Card even though it works on my computer and bike camera. Only about 20% of my wifi devices that are listed as supported on their websites synchronise at all. It can see most of them but can’t sync. I can control them locally on my phone so I know the wifi network is okay. It doesn’t even connect when the iHost and device is connected to the same router and I’ve tried multiple routers. There is a bug that prevents synchronisation and they’ve given up trying to solve it. The only way it could be not related to the iHost would be for 3 of 3 routers I’ve tested having a firewall between the Ethernet port and wifi on the same router. It just doesn’t seem likely that all 3 routers would have the same problem. And why would it not also stop my phone connecting to the device over than LAN… has anyone created alternative firmware for this yet, because at present I have a white brick with LEDs that makes beeps.
This looks interesting - but what does it do that a normal nodered setup with zigbee2mqtt wouldn't do? Does this allow local control with sonoff that would not be possible with a generic setup?
Yup it allows you to easily integrate eWeLink devices for local controls without the need for flashing.
@@notenoughtech Ahhh okay!
What is the power consumption?
I'll measure this in my follow up but it's unlikely to be more than a 2-3W
Once you have Node Red on that thing, you are set. Much better than my Raspberry Pi Zero. 😂
Definitely faster haha. But for best performance the 4G version would be recommended. I'm surprised to see how well all runs on dual core cpu
Achei a primeira vista bem promissor.
Se adicionarmos algum dispositivo nele, esse é automaticamente sincronizado na Alexa? Caso não, continuaria configurando pelo eWeLink e, em teoria, tudo seria exportado para o IHost.
Minha outra dúvida é que se exportarmos todos os dispositivos zigbees, a bridge antiga pode ser desligada, ou é ela que fará a gerência da malha zigbee?
Moro no Brasil é fica muito difícil comprar por conta da conversão da moeda. Vou aguardar mais algumas evoluções para analisar a possível compra.
Parabéns pelo vídeo. Ficou excelente!
Hello, sorry for late reply - I'm on holiday.
Yes you can add devices via ewelink and these will show up on iHost and Alexa, Another way is to use NodeRED and link these via iHost with Alexa node - I have tutorials about this.
If you switch over to iHost as your coordinator you can turn off zb hub or even better flash it with router firmware so it can be added as an extender - not sure if it will work at the moment but ill be testting this in my follow up
If I get it, would that mean all my sonoff devices will be working without internet?
Yes, you will need a local network only. To some extend you already have this available via LAN option in eWeLink app
I have enough sonoff tx switches will it be compatible ?
It's a new series so chances are - yes as they are in the same space as NS Panel - but I have no extra info to confirm this at the moment. Any device that comes with Local LAN control option in eWeLink app should be compatible in the end
been a user of welink for a few years,
never heard of this device intill it hit the fourms and i got a email on how bad it was.
looks interesting if they get there s___ together.
i have alot of original wifi / rf bridge stuff in the house, probably 20+ devices, including six 3 button wireless rf switches.
i feel like they would not support them on this device,
how does it handle the original( non zigbee) rf bridge , or does it have rf built in?
i like sonoff but they are slow as turtles to basic functionality.
they dont update features for the old stuff, and tend to focus on the new zigbee stuff.
would be trival to add double tap detection on the rf switches.( just time between last seen press) but they only add the feature on zigbee.
still waiting on being able to manage / configure rf device scenes in web panel, or maybe place a switch button in cast.
you can cheat, by duplicating the rf scense( a pain) as a normal scene then you can have a cast button.
i remember when it took over a year for them to get s31 to work in webapp, even just on/off.
and another year after that to get the camera to render in webcontrol that we pay for.( idk if its less secure tho here)
single logged in user in panel was also a nightmare intill cast came along, signed out daily.
the android app has become so slow , it takes about 18 seconds to start just to be able to toggle a light.
finally got official 120v compatible wrgb bulbs, and theres bugs , like where if you go set>10 % brightness then tell it off in scenes it actually never turns off.
i linked ewelink with amazon for alex, but i would love a way to block devices like the cameras or sensitive devices from being accessed tho that, since they are known to help themselves to it.
cameras are great tho , rtsp > agentdvr. wish i could set them to lan only somehow.
I know RF bridge isn't yet on support list, but at some point I would expect most of ewelink devices to end up there - it's just a matter of time - how soon? That's the money question.
As per your network worries, have you checked Fing app? I use it to manage my devices on LAN. It's a great little tool especially if you have a fingbox.
Im undecided as i have mainly zigbee devices of sonoffs but I'm not far off dabbling with home assistant purely because the ZigBee bridge is being annoying and dropping out! not earning any wife points!!
I had very little time to play for now, so I cannot give a personal recommendation without being dishonest. I like what they did with iHost and i like where it is going. If that extra price difference on launch isn't a big deal, I would wait until the product matures. Then you can commit with a full knowledge. It sucks to be an early adopter, but also it's much fun to play with gadgets early
Can I run Openhab in docker on this?
To my knowledge you can run anything that has a container for arm devices. What's exposed hardware wise by the hub is another story so you might end up working with API directly rather than like I presented it in NodeRed
I have gotten mine - and it is far less impressive than expected.
Lot of translation and ui issues which is inconstistent if you check where they have put the PLUS button, sometime upper right corner, sometimes lower left corner and of cause to make it easier 2 buttons in these corners.
Support is there and reacting but not really helpfull. If you start docker you get a dialog box and with a hard readable light grey remark they tell you that you should look for a Linux ArmV7 docker image - and if you do so for home assistant you might ask yourself what in the hell should i take out of those dozens of docker images.
You might ask the support and wait for the reply - or simply watch the only tutorial in portuguese about how to install HA on ihost. And there you will find out that the armV7 is a misleading advice cause it is the first image the guy from portugal or brazil had taken for his tutorial in portuguese - where of cause I could not understand the reasons why.
But it worked out to take the first search result, the linux distribution and forget about the arm and V7 topic .
Days later sonoff support replied what ? you need to take the linux distribution, the first one and forget about arm V7
Not so well thought through - at least for me a nightmare to start with. And I still do not know how to get the addons or even a terminal installted without having access to the command line.
I hope you will make an update soon and all the other who had recommanded the ihost without showing how to solve the big issue and shortcoming the product still has 2 months later.
Would not buy one again cause too many shortcomings to get productive at least with Home Assistand and also a very limited sonoff device support.
Not kidding, they promised a lot more than they delivered cause even the Pow Elite switches with power consumption monitoring are only working partly, which means those elites with a display do work while the same model without display all bought in May 2023 do not work, all delivered from SonOff directly. So no old stock or inventory and all devices updated to the most recent firmware. Therefore i am not so impressed and can not recommend it , not for the cheap price during early bird nor now for 20 or 40$ more.
Can you setup without a pc?
Yes you can do all this on your mobile or tablet
How to add Wi-Fi devices? Was ever explained on this video and I missed it?
You use ewelink app
oh, thanks. Are wifi devices still paired to the wifi? I am asking because if I change the wifi router, I will have to pair them again and my home has many minir2 :)@@notenoughtech
If it ain’t open source all we have is the answer to this question: what is in it for Sonoff ?
Hardware sales. They are still hardware company. I don't think they care much about the data as they have nothing to monetise it with. They do want to push sales. And by opening up their system they could achieve this. Previously the cloud was the driving motive. As locking you to an ecosystem would drive more sales. But that's an approach that got very old very quickly. With all of us flashing devices ... They have little to loose
sonoff almost used the interface of the homey pro application.🤣🤣🤣
I had to google that- but you are right... very similar indeed
firmware update auto ?
It won't update until you tell it to
Bluetooth is Thread compatible?! Maybe you mean Matter?
Yes sorry.
Time to dust off my wii
IHost was a very promising devices.
BUT Sonoff could not produce a stable firmware.
Most people soon discovered that it is good only for simple demostrations.
Major issues are still unresolved and each new firmware version introduces more new problems.
I agree, the support for the firmware could be better, it's a step in a good direction and considering how they replicated hardware in the latest hub, I think the work on software for this is far from over
Why nobody uses poe? :(
For the same reason you don't see 10G network on these devices. Cost
@@notenoughtech it costs about 4 dollars max for the end customer
It's not.
The reality is that you as a POE owner are a minority. Which means almost everyone else will not use Poe. Poe equipment cost extra which also means that if you have it home, you have money to more purposely build hardware (also more pricy) the reason Poe less solutions are cheaper is simply the market.
It may cost as you say $5 in raw components but you must include everything else that need to be scaled to accomodate it. It's not as simple as you think it is when doing things at scale.
Check how much does it cost to add Poe to raspberry pi - product is fully compatible with Poe powers.
@@notenoughtech nope. Google for “poe to usb adapter”
It's only a matter of time before someone installs home assistant os on this thing as a raspberry pi alternative.
Considering that HA can run on more than just RPI - question is why would you? there is no benefit in turning this into a linux board, the appeal of this device is that it can run ewelink as well as DIY stuff, otherwise you are really turning this device back into something like a Raspberry Pi 3 with worse support.
@@notenoughtech yeah but raspberry pi's are still expensive and can be difficult to get. Also it's nice to have ZigBee built in.
You can literally run HA on any other Linux board. It will work just fine especially that most add-ons rely on usb implementation of the hardware which will cause almost no issue. RPI has great support and it's my default SBC but picking ihost instead is like selecting a lawnmower to trim your hedge
7:42 What a stupid decision to render the image from the webcam in a rounded window!
In all fairness this is just a UI builder. The actual dashboard would be composed via cast dash boards. The preview has less rounded corners and it has a proper rectangle when opened in full screen. Not a big issue in my opinion.
It's nice, but the manufacturer claims 'Open API Interface' only (at least so far). Without a real Open Source-Option (see FAQ point 15 on there product page), it's not good enough- it's better to stay away from this device.
Lack of open source isn't a reason to stay away from the device. Do you refuse taking public transport and participate in society because not every service and device uses open source? Do you refuse medicine... out of possible reasons to dismiss the product, you have probably picked the least applicable.
@@notenoughtech Do you beleave the fary tale that Sonoff will provide updates every two months? For how long 2 or 3 years? Sonoff won't be able to put money into the support after this device is no longer sold. The chances that you can place this device in a trash bin in 3 years are rather high. And please, don't compare it to medicine and public transport.. did you understand 'soft'-ware?
I have sonoff switches released 5 years ago which work just fine. Still on eWeLink.
To me Sonoff has been always about easy firmware change to Tasmota. Sooner or later someone will come up with an Armbian tutorial, so you'll have all the open source goodness. I am currently running Armbian and HA supervised on a Google Coral Mini with 2GB RAM and a very weak CPU and it works fine. I can imagine it will run on the iHost just as fine. Can't test it as I don't have an iHost (yet).
@@nlublovary No, this device will never get official Armbian-support. The manufactorer still claims, that there will be no OpenSource-support by design (read the FAQ). If I speak about OpenSource I mean the hardware/platform not the iHost-Software. There is no chance for a propper Armbian-version- it's a dead cow.
I think most of the people don't need this. I would be just happy if already existing sonoff device would work. On they're cloud, I don't care just work. And In my opinion it's a bad strategii to push new product whit not working functionalities. It makes the brand unreliable. And they are sometimes.
I agree with the latter statement about ITEAD needing to improve their software game. I do believe that this would be really good device also for people who do not use fancy DIY stuff... as it leaves you always with an option. After all, it would serve well as just eWeLink ecosystem hub
no root/ssh? it’s just another paperweight…
Nothing stops you from continuing using raspberry pi. Not everything needs root to be a successful product
@@notenoughtech
yes, but i prefer ssh for docker
Just remember what Sonof tried to do with their older smart speakers and their "Recycle Mode" where they essentially bricked your devices DELIBERATLEY!!! I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.
They had smart speakers? That's news to me :)
You're thinking of Sonos, not Sonoff
Shitoff Sonoff! Very bad software! Wasted 90 USD in expectation of a good software and tighter integrations but this sucks. Couldn't install HACS on Home assistant in this device. Without HACS sonoff devices will not connect to home assistant.
it is chinese brand, so i do not care anymore what they do, i would not buy :)
Honestly? I know there is a smiley at the end of the comment... but C'mon... that's such rubbish approach. Imagine you opened a company and came up with a cool product that in your eyes works pretty well, and someone just said they think its rubish cause you hold a passport of X nationality.
I think i would have more respect for the comment if it said - I won't buy it as it looks ugly
after 10 months ihost still is shit.i will turn off put in cabinet and wait then they upgrade software
I have the " a year in" video in my pipeline... :)