WTB: Phillips Hue Bridge, blubs or other smart lights, Google home\mini and home automation in general

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Forums › Offers and Wanted › WTB: Phillips Hue Bridge, blubs or other smart lights, Google home\mini and home automation in general

landcruiserguy

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#269782 8-Apr-2020 07:18

I am about to put an order in to Kogan (still shipping during the lock down) but wanted to check if people had unused gear first.

I was standing in Noel Lemmings on the last day of the before time wondering what to panic buy and I ended up with a Hue bulb. It's not the Bluetooth model so sadly it doesn't do anything interesting.

I am looking to buy a couple of google home minis and some smart bulbs, either hue or another cheaper brand. If anyone has gear they want to offload let me know. Also looking for advice on building a system around zigby vs just running a separate wifi network for the smart home stuff.

dacraka

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#2456819 8-Apr-2020 07:24

FYI: The Prime Minister is urging people not to purchase non-essentials to create less risk getting exposed and create less demand for delivery drivers.

Mod Edit MM: Updated name to title

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gehenna

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#2456924 8-Apr-2020 10:23

Use Alexa instead. Google Home isn't supported properly in NZ. It works, but not everything works and it can be quite frustrating to deal with.

kobiak

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#2456928 8-Apr-2020 10:28

I've got some kogan (power sockets) and arlec grid (bulbs) hooked up with google home.

Works like a charm! it's all Tuya re-branded gear, so can be used in one app or even tuya original.

Arlec/deta is pushing for more smart gear in AU which should follow to NZ at bunnings. They have got bluetooth/wifi hub with sensors (temp/humid, PIR, open/close) which I'm very interested in.

helping others at evgenyk.nz

gehenna

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#2456942 8-Apr-2020 10:37

Yep, like I said, Google Home works...but it's not supported here. So if you decide you want to use the Home for more than just telling your lights to turn on and off, or change colour or brightness, you'll likely run into issues.

kobiak

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#2456944 8-Apr-2020 10:41

gehenna:

Yep, like I said, Google Home works...but it's not supported here. So if you decide you want to use the Home for more than just telling your lights to turn on and off, or change colour or brightness, you'll likely run into issues.

only not supported:

- calls
- local news/radio (some people say it works, but I don't listen to radio)

Everything else is supported and local weather/traffic/scenes/calendar/personalised

helping others at evgenyk.nz

gehenna

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#2456989 8-Apr-2020 11:37

That's not accurate. There's more that isn't supported e.g. Exchange calendar/mail services.

kobiak

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#2456994 8-Apr-2020 11:47

gehenna:

That's not accurate. There's more that isn't supported e.g. Exchange calendar/mail services.

according to google QA it's not google home problem but MS devs. https://support.google.com/googlenest/thread/908895?hl=en grey area, but not that I'm using it (exchange/outlook) anyway. all my events in gmail account and shown in home/assistant.

helping others at evgenyk.nz

landcruiserguy

761 posts

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#2457012 8-Apr-2020 12:20

dacraka:

FYI: The Prime Minister is urging people not to purchase non-essentials to create less risk getting exposed and create less demand for delivery drivers.

Mod Edit MM: Updated name to title

Lucky for me her sovereign power does not extend to Australia and she is unwilling to tell her ministers and Simon Bridges to stay at home.

gehenna

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#2457015 8-Apr-2020 12:22

kobiak:

according to google QA it's not google home problem but MS devs. https://support.google.com/googlenest/thread/908895?hl=en grey area, but not that I'm using it (exchange/outlook) anyway. all my events in gmail account and shown in home/assistant.

Doesn't really matter whose problem it is, the point I'm making is that not everything that works on Alexa out of the box in NZ works on Google Home out of the box. If you're OK with that then go for gold.

landcruiserguy

761 posts

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#2457018 8-Apr-2020 12:24

kobiak:

gehenna:

That's not accurate. There's more that isn't supported e.g. Exchange calendar/mail services.

according to google QA it's not google home problem but MS devs. https://support.google.com/googlenest/thread/908895?hl=en grey area, but not that I'm using it (exchange/outlook) anyway. all my events in gmail account and shown in home/assistant.

This is useful thanks guys. I don't think I care about exchange integration and I don't think we have any local news worth listening to. Keen for some more guidance as to Google vs Alexa so I don't want to end up with both. I don't use the other amazon services (other than buying things) and I do need you tube and google play integration with my smart devices.

gehenna

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#2457061 8-Apr-2020 12:30

Having had both, Alexa is much better integrated with other smart things. So if you end up expanding your home infrastructure I'd recommend Alexa as you'll find an integration for pretty much every smart device out there.

landcruiserguy

761 posts

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#2457542 8-Apr-2020 16:16

gehenna:

Having had both, Alexa is much better integrated with other smart things. So if you end up expanding your home infrastructure I'd recommend Alexa as you'll find an integration for pretty much every smart device out there.

I think more of the Alexa devices support zigby directly so thats a pro. Do the google services like play music work on Alexa?