I'm looking into buying the hubitat and one thing that isn't clear to me right now is whether you can actually trigger the Mic setting for the Google Home Mini.
I've read elsewhere that there is a Mic on/off setting for the device that is supported by HE, just wondering if it can actively be used in certain scenarios or whether it's something that you have to change manually for the device.
The scenario I have in mind is for example:
Doorbell rings and face recognition detects that it's someone I know. At that point I would like to have Google's Mic unmuted for long enough for me to say something like 'unlock door'. This kind of trigger would limit the amount of time GH is listening in on its surroundings which would make using voice control more palletable for me.
Assuming the above would work, would it then also be safe to assume that I could somehow map a button (dashboard or otherwise) on any adroid device to activate the GHMini Mic as and when I need it?
Thanks in advance!
PS: Why oh why did HE include this in their Privacy Statement? However, non-personally identifiable visitor information may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses.
Guess it's still great to have local operability as a market differentiator compared to ST (with Samsung probably taking a lot more liberties with your data) but would've been an even more awesome product if they hadn't included this...
The microphone switch is a physical on/off switch on the Google Home devices. I do not believe you can control whether the microphone is enabled or disabled via software.
I know there is a physical switch, but I definitely remember reading somewhere (with screenshot) that there was a software switch in HE to this.
I'll see if I can find it again and link to it from here...
Hmmm or did I just dream this?? Was up pretty late last night
Can't seem to find it just now but could've sworn I saw a Mic related mute setting somewhere in a screenshot together with people talking about the Mic in GH.....
The privacy policy you are referring to is specific to this Community Forum platform, not the Hubitat Elevation hub's data.
Samsung, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, etc... are all using your personal data as a product that they can use and sell. You ARE their product.
Oh cool, I wrongly assumed that it applied to the Hubitat account as a whole, including the device and ecosystem. Thanks for the clarification.
So then what does apply in terms of privacy policy to the actual device and the fact that it needs an account, plus the fact that it also needs to communicate with certain cloud instances (depending on what you use on the device of course)?
This type of question is probably best answered by one of the Hubitat Staff, like @patrick or @bravenel.
However, I will state that you are not required to use Hubitat's Portal, nor the cloud endpoint, nor even connect the Hub to the internet. The hub can run independently, only requiring you to set this time via your browser if the hub is rebooted while disconnected to the internet. My hub ran fine for about a week last year during Hurricane Florence, which knocked out power for 5 days and internet for 7 days. I was running my house via generator and my Hubitat Elevation hub just kept on trucking (once I set the time correctly using the browser-to-hub time-sync feature.) With ST, nothing would have worked in my house, as I run quite a few custom drivers and apps that I have written over the years.
Thx again for clearing up more misgivings on my part.
I thought I read you needed to have a Hubitat account to activate the device. So if I interpret correctly from what you are saying you only need to have this account if you would effectively want to connect to cloud integrations such as Google, Amazon and the likes.
That's pretty cool and gives a lot of flexibility with the option to remain completely off-grid.
I'm borderline tempted to partly go cloud just for the voice integration though as the Mrs is just too keen on it. But would be great if we could switch off the Mic on a software basis. You can voice control deactivate the GHMini's mic, so if it hasn't been implemented yet, maybe it could still be in future for HE as a software setting as well?
For now I guess I'll just have to make the call between keeping the Mrs happy and have Google listen in all the time or use the Mini's as TTS only.
Well, I believe you need an account initially to register the hub and update its firmware.
Whether you keep the hub connected to the internet afterwards is entirely up to you. Most users leave it connected to be able to use Mobile Presence detection, Push Notifications, Remote Dashboards, and integrations with 3rd party services such as Google, Amazon, Ecobee, etc...
Just a head's up on using the Google Home Mini as a TTS device... There are a few ways to do this, including Hubitat's native Chromecast Integration (Beta) app. I have found that particular integration to be a little unreliable at times, and some believe that it causes performance issues with their hubs eventually. I have removed it as I prefer to use Amazon Alexa devices anyway. TTS on either Google or Alexa devices really is not natively supported by either of those companies via a published API designed for direct integration with home automation systems. There are many community developed integrations for both, but those have their pros and cons as well. Sounds like you do your homework, and reading through these forums will help you gain an appreciation for the various methods that exist.
Actually, we have changed up the need to register. Hubs now ship with initial software on them. So it is possible to use a hub completely offline or without an account. Portal was changed to find hubs on your network without being logged in.
A Hubitat account is not required at all to use a hub locally.
However, without connecting it to the internet or using portal, you will need to find the IP address manually and access it directly.
That's just amazing news in this day and age Patrick. Love it and as a consequence just ordered it!
I might register because of the voice stuff eventually, but at least you guys give us the option to stay completely off grid!
Look forward to getting this in and start tinkering with it.
Now if you guys could return the favour and start building a software switch for Google Home (Mini) or Alexa's Microphone pls
Keep in mind it does need a network connection to upgrade to latest version. There are still some older hubs in the sales channels, so it is possible to get one without the preload, but it's highly unlikely.
