How to connect Cammy Cameras and IFTTT

Henry McLean-Low — Fri, 23 Jun 2017 12:41:50 +0000

We are fans of Cammy Cameras, read our We Own It Cammy review here.

The biggest frustration we had was the lack of integrations, allowing you to activate other devices if motion or intruder is detected. The most obvious being IFTTT, especially now with the maker tool you can do multiple actions.

After a bit of testing we have found a hacky solution that connects Cammy Cameras to IFTTT

When an intruder is detected, all our Hue lights now flash red then stay on red.

Note: This does rely on Gmail and IFTTT being quick there can be a slight delay however its the best solution at present.

Let us know in the comments how you get on!

How to setup Cammy to work with IFTTT

Requirements:

IFTTT account (its free, sign up here)
Gmail account
Cammy Camera
Other tech to activate – in this how to we will use Phillips Hue

Open the Cammy App and set your email address for to your Gmail account.It can only be Gmail as IFTTT can access Gmail, if given permission. If you are not happy giving IFTTT access to your Gmail you could setup a special email just for Cammy then create a rule to forward to your main email.
On the Cammy app Under Settings > notifications – check email notifications. This means it will sends you an email if an intruder is detected.
To test email is setup and working, under alarms set ‘Arm’ and walk in front of the camera. You should receive an instant email. If not adjust the sensitivity of the camera.
Now you need to set your ‘arm and disarm’ correctly – as this is the trigger. You don’t want it armed all the time or it would be endlessly triggering IFTTT. We have ours to track location of our phone, with scheduled disarms for when the cleaner comes in.
Now go to IFTTT and enable GMail service: https://ifttt.com/gmail
Now the slightly complicated part, but still easy, using IFTTT new maker platform. Go to https://platform.ifttt.com/

If you don’t care how it works and just want to connect Cammy Cameras to Hue or WeMo you can use our pre-made applet, once you have done above:

Cammy activate Philips Hue

Cammy activate Wemo

With these you can select your lights or plugs – we have done the work for you!

However if you want to make your own its very simple:

1. Click New Applet
2. Set the Trigger as GMAIL
3. Select ‘New Email in inbox from’
4. Select ‘Hidden from user’ – this prevents you changing it later by mistake
5. Enter: team@Cammy.comOne thing to note is if Cammy send other emails this could trigger, we are wrong on an improved way but for now this is good enough. FYI we have never had a Cammy email from this address other than Intruder alerts.
6. Now you can control any integrated IFTTT service and it will be triggered by an intruder alert from Cammy.For example – Philips Hue
7. Then name and give the applet a description:
8. Click ‘enable on IFTTT’
9. Once on IFTTT turn it on
10. Its done!! To test it arm your camera and walk in front of it – just remember to turn it back to location based once tested.Enjoy!

The post How to connect Cammy Cameras and IFTTT appeared first on Smart Home Geeks.

WeMo Switch by Belkin Review

Henry McLean-Low — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 21:34:31 +0000

WeMo Switch

Cheap solutionLots of integrationsSimple solution

No Apple Home SupportSome setup hassleSDK discontinued!

3.3We like it

How it works

Value

Connectivity

Setup

Reader Rating 0 Votes

This is a We Own it review!

WeMo is created by established manufacturer Belkin international. It was first launched in 2009.

The WeMo range includes quite a few different home automation gadgets, in this review we will specifically looking at the WeMo Switch.

Our WeMo Plug, front on and side view to see profile.

What does it do?

This little gadget plugs into your existing wall plugs, allowing devices to be plugged into it to make them controllable via wifi or mobile.

This means everything from Christmas tree lights to fans can now be controlled remotely!

The plug also has a manual switch on the top for when you don’t have your phone to hand, or just feel like pushing a button rather than an app!

How does it work and What is the tech?

The plugs need wifi and obviously power! There is no installation and you can plug and unplug them whenever you like. It’s as easy as unplugging anything from a wall plug with no skills required or change required to your existing wall plug.

Once setup the app then lets you control the plugs as well as setting rules, for example on at 3pm of at 8pm.

The tech is pretty simple.

The plug simply turns the power on or off to the device plugged into it. It does not give any functionality control for example you can’t control the speed of a fan or change mode on fairy lights plugged into it.

How easy is it to set up?

The devices are plug and play and should be pretty simple to install.

However that said we did have issues with the devices going offline and not being able to control them or see them in the app.

After much research we discovered this was caused by the Virgin Media Superhub once settings were tweaked the plugs work perfectly.

( If you are reading this to try and find a solution to your WeMo switch going offline when using Virgin Media Super hub 2, here is a link to a detailed guide. )

What’s the connectivity?

WeMo first came out before AppleHome as such it doesn’t meet their strict requirements (see here) so will never work with Apple Home.

They also only work on a 2.4 GHz wifi network.

That said they do work with an impressive list of integrations:

IFTTT
Amazon Echo (Alexa, Dot, Tap)
Nest

They did use to have an SDK to allow anyone to develop an app that integrates with WeMo. Sadlyfor reasons we cannot understand this was discontinued (See their post here).

How much does it cost?

The plugs are very reasonable at £39.99!

WeMo Switch

Check the Price on Amazon UK Check the Price on Amazon US

What’s it like living with it?

Handy – where these are good are for hard to reach plugs, for example under the Christmas tree – allowing you to create a timer and easily control a plug that’s not within easy reach. Also they are great for use on the Iron plug – no more ‘did I leave the Iron on’ as you can quickly check or set a rule via IFTTT that if your not in then ensure it is off.

What are our final thoughts?

These are a simple yet effective way to automate a lot of your plugged in tech. However the big limitation is that they only control power so on or off.

The post WeMo Switch by Belkin Review appeared first on Smart Home Geeks.

WeMo – Smart Home Geeks

How to connect Cammy Cameras and IFTTT

How to setup Cammy to work with IFTTT

WeMo Switch by Belkin Review