Just ordered one of these from AMAZON for delivery in Feb.
$49 with free delivery seemed like a great deal direct from AMAZON AU
EDIT - Seems like you can also get 2 for $79
Cheers,
Matt
CamelCamelCamel.
if the motion sensors and the buttons are Zigbee then the Echo plus should pair with them
To get started, "Enable Skill" in Alexa, link your Mi account and discover your devices.
Use the device name to identify your device, you can change it in the Mi Home app.
Supported Devices: Mi Air Purifier v1/v2/pro, Mi Humidifier, Mi fan, Yeelight light bulbs, Mi Desk Lamp, Philips light.
Supported Actions: turn on, turn off, set percentage, set color, set color temperature.
For air purifier: set percentage will switch to Favorite mode and set your fan speed to the specific percentage.
For fan: will set speed to the specific percentage.
For humidifier: will adjust its mode to low/medium/high according to the percentage you set.
For light bulbs and lamps: set percentage will control the brightness; use Set Color and Set Color Temperature if the device supports the action.
I believe you can make it work on both google and Alexa using Home Assistant or OpenHAB, if that is an option for you.
Set the Yeelight app to Singapore server, and set mihome app to China server. Keeps the lights working
Home Assistant can work with the China Server devices directly via the Gateway
Awesome , 2x coming :) Home Automation is so much fun. Alexa just sounds better than ok/hey google all the time :)
I changed my trigger word to "Computer" which I really prefer (Star Trek fan lol). The google trigger is annoying.
thanks for the tip :) and yeah computer sounds awesome go star trek !
But when will they add Majel Barrett's voice?
Will we have the ability for multi speaker audio?
I cant see the 'Multi-Room Music Group.'. Do you have it on yours?
Normally it's under Smart home -> Groups -> Multi-room music but it isn't showing in Chrome but works in Microsoft Edge. Try that.
People whinge about Xiaomi utilising cloud based apps due to privacy, then say they are happy with Google Home and Alexa monitoring their own private conversations 24x7…. Never change Ozbargain.
I think I'll give these speakers a pass
Amazon will have to find another way to harvest the songs you sing in the shower.
2 questions
Echo is better for automation. I have a couple already. What I control and do I can't do with a GH, hence my choice.
You don't need to have the amazon echo to use the dot right? Same with google home with the mini?
Like GH and the mini are separate products, the Echo and dot are separate products. The difference is that the bigger units have better speakers, that is all.I've read that google home seem to answer questions better than amazon echo, such as 'what time does the train come'. Has anyone found this to be the case?
Hard to say for local services, Alexa has not been localized to AU yet, most current users are masquerading as americans and have to deal with American services (uber, weather requests, etc). You will be able to call out to your phones, or 'listen in' to a specific device in a specific room (like an intercom).
Cool cheers guys.
Cheers OP :)
I'm starting set up a smart house now, but starting from small things like plugs. Any suggestion? The one sold on Amazon AUS is too high price and many is offered on Google search :\
I have a few of these and really like them. Choose CN-AU plug. https://www.itead.cc/smart-home/smart-socket.html
Just wondering what else it can do other than
Looking to buy, but can't justify spending $49 on it. Also android voice assistant on my phone can do some of these things.
Any current GH/Alexa owners please advise, share experiences how it improved their lives or is it just buy another new product for the sake of buying it, because its something new or somehow fulfills you. Thanks
Any tips on where I can go to read about getting started with home automation using these?
My comment on having 4 Echos, 3 full 1 dot and one GH is that Alexa is much better for a few reasons but primarily (for me) we use it as an intercom between rooms (don't have to get up while watching tv to tell my daughter to go to bed then I can turn her light off remotely ;-)) and we use it to talk to family in the UK rather than getting out a device and the quality is great. Leaving messages is also supported. I have a harmony hub so telling Alexa to turn on Nova in the morning turns on my Sonos speakers to the radio which is nice.
Basically you don't need it but once you have one (or more) it's difficult to imagine not having it. In the kitchen it pays for itself in not ruining meals just with the timer alone…
Weather, traffic, spelling, calculator, all things you can do with another device but it becomes very intuitive just to talk to Alexa and get the answer.
GH was always a little more accurate on Australian things and natural speech questions but having both I bought more Echos and will probably continue to do so for more rooms so i can dim my lights while listening to music in my hot tub on the deck without touching my phone. First world problems :-)
OK Google, broadcast
Been waiting for this to use with my Sonos
Going pretty aggressive with pricing considering they're US$49.99ea over at Amazon US, no discount for 2
I have a couple of Google home minis and a one Alexa echo dot v2. Sound quality Alexa wins, voice pickup and from distance Alexa wins. Quality of answers Google wins.
With Alexa I can drop in on family In the USA {Provided they add me through their app} so I don't need to use phone or Skype.
I also like it that I have to call Alexa with one word that is easy to pronounce than two words hey/OK plus google,
Seeing this over and over. I wonder if Google Assistant would be "winning" if it had a better hotword?
Are the UX designers so in love with their company that they can't consider not hearing it every time? Amazon has been far better at selling the idea of a lady in a tube than Google.
Which is stupid really, considering the sheer depth of the knowledge graph Google has to offer - the entire Google index of the internet - not to mention their AI and machine learning smarts.
Google is on their way to making a real life Star Trek style Universal Translator. By comparison, Amazon Echo is really just a voice activated egg timer.
Yet everyone l-o-v-e-s their Alexa!
Anyone know whether the Alexia assistant can enter calendar events into an exchange server calendar or office 365 calender? Similarly can Alexia read events from exchange or office 365?
This would be handy to know.
Would be nice linking my work account to this to announce upcoming meetings etc.
I don't know about exchange, but I did some research and it can hook into iCloud calendars through the Alexa iOS app, so I can't see why exchange wouldn't work.
Can I use an Echo to make a voip call - something like - "Alexa Skype wife" and it calls and I can chat using the Echo?
As far as I know, it only supports Echo to Echo calling.
So the far end will have to have an echo as well, no skype support I don't think.
Thanks - I did a bit of googling and this is probably the option i found:
"What if my friends don’t have an Echo, can I still call or message them from mine?" - Yes! Those friends would simply need to download the free Amazon Alexa App on their smartphone, available on iOS and Android, verify their mobile number and enable Alexa calling and messaging.
That's not a bad solution actually.
Giving friends and family are willing to install the app just for this purpose lol
Thanks OP. Bought 2 dots, now I have 3.
Now I won't have to scream like a maniac from one end of the house to the other. To their credit this largely does work, but obviously it's more civilized and practical to not have to yell from 4 rooms away.
Where is Logitech Harmony, SONOS skills in AU store? And all the other skills that I used to use before amazon forced me to AU store? What a disaster!! What was amazon thinking? While I have been using those app for years without any issues in US store now all has magically vanish and can’t find any except Lifx. Amazon - Please make sure all the apps are available in the new store before forcing users to the store! Or DON NOT force to an empty store. Very disappointed. It was nice with Alexa for all these time. Now Google Home it is. Bugger…
Just change yourself back to the US store. Amazon Web chat should be able to do it for you if you can't work it out.
This is the problem with the Xiaomi/Yeelight products: the Yeelights on their own work fine with Google Home and Alexa, via the Singapore server.
But Xiaomi accessories such as the button switches and motion sensors only work via the Gateway, which needs to be connected to China.
I have two switches and three sensors that won’t work on Alexa. I'm not willing to give up those in order to control the lights with my voice.