Hoobs Review Listener Review

HT Guys Podcast Listener Steve was kind enough to write a review of Hoobs, a plug and play hub that makes smart accessories compatible with your favorite ecosystem. 

Hoobs Review

I have a number of home automation devices.  For lights I began using Insteon switches some years back, in fact, I followed Ara down this path.  I have My Q in the garage, Ring doorbell and cameras, Sonos speakers, Nest protect smoke alarm, and I think that is about it.  I can make them all work with Alexa to some degree but I have not really come across an iPhone/iPad app that will control everything and allow automations simply across all devices.  

My family and I are all on Apple products so ideally the Apple Home app should work and it has always looked good.  But, none of the items above are HomeKit enabled out of the box.  I have looked at Homebridge in the past and even bought a Raspberry Pi to play with.  The idea of Homebridge has always been promising but I am not an IT person and the command line interface in Linux is a bit beyond me and my desire to learn.  

Recently, I came across Hoobs which is available at https://hoobs.org.  Hoobs takes Homebridge and adds a GUI layer that makes it less intimidating for people like me.  There are three ways to get Hoobs.  First, is a ready built box that is essentially a Raspberry Pi with the Hoobs software pre-installed for $169.  Second, is a SD card flashed with the Hoobs software for $19.90 so you can self install on a Raspberry Pi.  And third, a download of the software for $7.00 with instructions to flash an SD card.  

$169 seemed high for the complete set up so I went with the $7.00 download.  I have some computer skills and had the Raspberry Pi sitting around the house.  From my experience with Hoobs you should not use it unless you are comfortable in flashing the SD card and loading it on your own hardware.  Hoobs tries to make it look like this is plug and play but it is a bit more complicated.  

The Hoobs software sets up the Pi as a local server running Homebridge.  The first thing you do is add the Hoobs server to the Apple Home app.  Then you go download plugins for your devices.  Hoobs has the ability to run any Homebridge plugin and there are many that are Hoobs certified.  Hoobs even has a dedicated plugin page in the server where you can see what you have installed and search for additional plugins.  In general, the certified plugins have a simpler set up process than non-certified plugins and include a GUI for setup rather than having to manually update a json file.  

My first try was Insteon because at the time I just hoped that I would be able to control my many switches in the Home app.  There is a Homebridge plugin for Insteon called Insteon Local but it is not Hoobs certified and there is a json file that needs to be updated for every device.  The instructions are good and with patience I got the lights working. Brilliant!

I then began installing additional plugins for My Q, Ring, and Sonos.  This is where things became cool.  There are Hoobs certified plugins but there is still a bit of json to update for each, not hard but required a little patience and determination.  Once this was done I opened the Apple Home app and had access to lights, cameras, and garage doors. Sonos only allows turning speakers on and off in the Home app but overall it is fantastic!  Having access to a good app to control all devices is great and will be much easier for my family to navigate rather than the sea of apps we had.  Using the A-lady was OK for somethings but sometimes it is better not to have to talk to the house.  We still use the A-lady and will likely not switch to Siri.  I get the security concerns but it is super convenient and the Sonos integration is really good.  

There have been some learnings to keep things running.  I have had some issues keeping the Insteon Hub connected to Hoobs, but after some Googling and IP address updating this seems to be resolved.  It is not completely plug and play and definitely has elements of being a hobby.  But it has been a fantastic upgrade to my home automation for the $7.00 and time that I have invested.  

I recommend Hoobs for people like me, not command line wizards but not afraid to get a bit into the weeds.  If you are not comfortable downloading the Hoobs software and flashing the SD card then I thing you should stay away from Hoobs until it becomes more plug and play.  For most HDTV Podcast listeners, I think this may be a good way to make things work on HomeKit.  

Thanks again for the show.  

Steve