I just downloaded the latest apk today and the dark grey /blue icons have changed.
In the past when devices were turned on there was blue drawn on top of the icon. This has changed now and the lights and switches change to their "native" colours of white outline with yellow infill.
I hope that this is just a big and not an intended change.
I can confirm by the way that lamp does indeed now work as a keyword to trigger the light icons
yes, that makes sense and should be easy to do!
version 1.0.946 (beta)
There's a new option (nav drawer -> more settings -> read-only mode) which, when toggled on will prevent any device commands from being sent to the hub. You can still view device options as well as add new devices or edit existing ones (I already have a 'lock edit mode' option so I didn't want to overlap functionality).
I definitely get the need to prevent accidental touches from kids and I also tend to use my wall-mounted tablets for a quick update on status (ie: are all the locks locked? lights off? etc). But, I would still want to be able to lock a door or turn off a light too if necessary.. So, I will think about a way to enhance this in a future update to allow for both.
I don't have the update yet, but looking forward to trying it out when Google says it's available. What do you think about making it a 2-step process of clicking and opening the tile then being able to control the device?
I, for one, don't want to see this. It would be too easy for little fingers to do things they shouldn't and the current open tile>unlock>close tile>operate device is less likely to allow that. Additionally, and I'm not sure you are proposing this, if applied to all tiles it makes it cumbersome to operate normally.
My biggest concern is accidentally selecting (and moving my finger over) a tile with a slider interaction associated with it (ie: blinds or dimmable lights). Maybe there's a way to put a restriction on those types of devices? I do agree with you @LosinIt- I also like the functionality of easily turning switches on and off by just tapping on them. And now that I'm experimenting with this a little more, @jpage4500- when I click on a "blinds" tile, the blinds move from their current position to 100% open or 100% closed. I'd like to be able to click on the blinds tile (the same way I can currently click on a fan tile) and then move the slider to determine the position of the blind. It looks like I can do this by long-pressing on the blind tile. Would it be possible to change the default so a short click on a blind tile would bring up the slider instead of 100% open or 100% closing the blind? Sorry for the very long-winded message.
@jpage4500
So I confirmed.
No matter what I do I cannot use cloud feature without having gps enabled. Also app does not not switch to local when wifi is detected untill I force stop the app.
This is a major number as I cannot use this app even locally while cloud feature is enabled. Please help. I tried on both my samsung tab and phone.
Basically I switch on gps..
Activate cloud token I'd and switch off.
I try with and without wifi and still sais cannot connect to server.
Can anyone confirm this and that I am doing it correctly.
I just tried doing what you said on my Pixel 5:
And I had no issues connecting to the cloud with "location" off, both on wifi and via LTE.
Thank you.. that's very strange. Have no idea as to why it can be as no matter what I do.. gps has to be on
The global read-only mode option in the latest update is definitely a step in the right direction. I tend to use my phone for looking at things when I'm away from the house and don't usually need to manipulate anything, so the global lock is fine and solves the fat finger issue. I can also see this as a good fit for child-proofing scenarios.
Personally I don't need childproofing, and when at home I'd like to quickly turn on/off a light or two. If not in read-only mode and I happen to hit the wrong tile I can easily undo the action and no harm done. I don't need to guard those types of tiles with a read only mode. However, if I accidentally flip a virtual switch tile that I use as an alert ("Aquarium Heater Stuck On!"), I have apps that see that change and generate text messages and other audio warnings. Those are the kinds of tiles I'd like to protect. So ideally I'd like the ability to set or clear a read-only lock on individual tiles (by long-pressing on the tile to bring up the option settings).
This is something I can do pretty easily enough.
I'm thinking of changing the global read-only setting to multiple options including:
Hopefully that would cover most of the use cases. I could offer the same choices for individual tiles too -- so a combination could be used too
I just tried this myself to confirm; That's correct - to use cloud mode you need to grant location permission to the app. Just the "Allow only while using the app" permission. If you deny this permission later on the app won't know what WIFI Access Point you're connected to - and thus will default back to local mode, not cloud mode.
I can assure you the app isn't using your location in any way or sending any kind of data anywhere. But, I understand how many people don't like giving these permissions to apps anyway which is why I don't even prompt for it unless you want to enable cloud mode.
While the permission needed is called Location - I'm only interested in the WIFI AP you're connected to and comparing that with the one you logged in on. If they're equal -> local mode; otherwise -> cloud mode. Older versions of Android didn't require this permission but it was introduced with Android 10
EDIT: I actually thought of an alternative to using the WIFI SSID that won't require location permission. I might be able to get the IP address of the device and compare it to the IP you logged in with to determine local or cloud mode.. I'll do some investigation
This makes sense, as I did allow the location permission when I initially installed the app, then tested with @j.dechlan's instructions, and everything still worked.
Way too many routers use the same subnet. e.g. my office public facing router is 192.168.1.x as is my home network (with both having the same gateway address) and I didn't setup the office router.
You also may want Location later for something else, e.g. for automating a radar or weather map or something.
Thank you. I don't mind using the gps especially when I'm out of the lan.. the problem I have is when enabling cloud mode.. the app now wants gps permanently (actual gps) on regardless of if I am on the lan or not..
Your message above makes sense..
However since gps is a battery hog, I keep it on only when I have to. Now I'm faced with can't connect to server even on both my networks detected...
Thanks for the help..
I use this as I have a server linked to cameras and door sensors and when I get messages from either, I prefer one app to rule them all..lol..
Also please make a way to select multiple times for deletion md or editing
You're right.. plus many devices would get a new IP address on restart or after a power outage.
I don't see how that's possible.. the app never gets or requests location data. It only gets the current WIFI SSID and only when the app is brought to the foreground. This doesn't use or need GPS in any way.
What device / OS are you using? I turned off Location entirely on my device and the app always connect to the cloud endpoint. You're saying in your case it's always trying to connect to your local IP?
I've worked on location-based apps in the past and even they often don't use actual GPS. Android/iOS use a lot of other ways to determine location that don't require GPS (network strength, nearby WIFI connections, etc). That last part is likely why Android now requires apps to get location permission if they want the WIFI SSID. Only a few apps like Maps require GPS the entire time -- and yes, they do drain the battery very fast.
@jpage4500 not sure if you missed this post. ^^^
Did you make any changes to the dark grey/ blue theme?
Previously the icons were all blue when on or off, but now they go yellow when on.
Is there any way for me to download an older apk in the meantime to restore the previous look? I could only find links in this thread to the latest apk which always gets updated
Ahh, yes I saw that but wanted to think about it more before replying. This is probably a longer explanation than necessary but technically, the way it was originally implemented wasn't how I wanted it to look. The original logic I used for changing icon colors changed everything to that color. It worked great for all-white icons but didn't look good IMO for the 'on' light bulb and switch which had yellow in the middle. It also looked worse for custom icons so I had to disable it if a custom icon was used.
I'm using new logic now that can replace a single color with another color. That's seen here for an RGB/color light bulb that's set to some purple-ish color.
Since I now have logic to just change a single color, I decided to try it for custom icon colors as well. That didn't look great either though:
So, I decided to ignore the 'on' light bulb and switch cases -- not changing the icon color at all for these 2 cases and that's how it is today:
The downside is what you're saying.. showing yellow for light 'on'. But, the upside is that I can now change colors for custom icons as well (that snowman on the left for example).
Anyway, long story short - I like the new replacing a single color logic - but I also think I understand what you're looking for as well. Let me see if I can figure out how to change those 2 cases (light and switch 'on') so they use the custom color instead of the yellow.
Download the Hubitat app
