This lets in some light, without too great a shock to the system. At 7 a.m., the blind opens to the “partial” position. On weekdays, the blind is controlled by a timer. Positioning it centrally means we can both easily reach it. This button is directly above the center bed (we have overhanging cupboards, which give a comfortable position for this), and controls the bedroom blind. In that situation, I’m usually leaving direct from my office, so instead of switching off all the lights, it just does so for the office lights. I’ve also configured the lock to re-lock after a delay, so that means we get a consistent and reliable experience of automatically unlocking and then re-locking the door.Ī long-press is used when I’m leaving home while Steph is still here. That unlocks the smart lock, and switches off all the lights. Front doorĪ single-press is used when we’re both leaving home. For lights, for example, I usually prefer to ask Siri to control them, but my partner Steph prefers to use buttons - so we have Hue dimmer switches for each.Īdditionally, I sometimes come to bed later than Steph, and speaking to Siri would wake her, so for closing the blind and switching on/off an electric blanket, I’ve been picking up the phone to do it in the Home app. They don’t do anything I couldn’t do by asking Siri to do it for me.īut there are arguments in favor of physical buttons. OK, I admit it: These buttons are gadgets. Wi-Fi network is better, but a button has one other benefit: Pressing it unlocks the smart lock as well as switching off the lights. Yes, that shouldn’t need a button, but I’ve mentioned before that presence detection is really unreliable for an 18th-floor apartment, typically triggering outside the building or in the lobby. In the case of another button, a single press of the button next to the front door runs the Leave Home scene. Tap each in turn to get the usual HomeKit configuration, where you can either trigger a scene, or control one or more HomeKit devices individually. That done, just long-press on one in the app to configure it.Īssign it to a room, then you’ll see Single Press, Double Press and Long Press as available actions Once you’ve done this, you can quit the Flic app and just use Apple’s Home app to configure the buttons.Īlthough I named the buttons in the Flic app, these names weren’t passed through to the Home app, so I had to name them again there. The website says the starter kit comes with three buttons, but mine actually had four. You initially have to use the Flic app to add buttons to the hub. We have our router in a hallway in the center of the apartment, as this gives the best coverage - but is also where none of our ceiling fans are. In the best of cases, this limits it to controlling IR devices in a single room, but for many of us makes it impossible. ![]() ![]() Unfortunately, there’s a catch: The transmitter has to be plugged into the hub. This is something I’d love to have on a couple of ceiling fans, for example. That’s an optional infrared transmitter, meaning that you can use Flic buttons to control infrared devices, which would also be a way to effectively make them HomeKit-compatible. In the desk shot above, you can see a black blob on the right. The buttons use Bluetooth 5 LE, so are good for up to about 150 feet. Now that they are HomeKit-compatible, they can control any HomeKit device.įlic buttons offer three functions per button:įor example, I have one set up to control a Hunter Douglas blind:īattery life is said to be up to three years, and the battery is replaceable. The first-gen buttons relied on integrations with specific devices. OK, it’s easily solved by adding a dumb Ethernet switch, but it’s still junk we have to find a home for. I quickly ended up using all the Ethernet ports on my router with these. ![]() ![]() The need for hubs is one of my grumbles about smart home technology. They have a pleasant-feeling mechanical click, and a three-color LED to indicate the status when pressed. The front has a Flic logo, while the back has an adhesive pad with a peel-off cover. They measure just over an inch in diameter by a third of an inch thick. The original Flic buttons from Shortcut Labs could control a reasonably wide range of devices - including Ikea, Nanoleaf, Lifx, Lightify, Philips Hue, Sonos, Spotify, and WeMo - but HomeKit support now makes them suitable for a much wider range of smart home products… Look and feelįlic buttons are small, white, and round. Second-generation Flic smart home buttons now have HomeKit compatibility, along with multi-color LEDs to indicate the status of the device they control. When I saw that Flic HomeKit-compatible smart buttons were available, I had to take them for a spin.
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