im considering buying a sonoff ihost but i got a few question beforehand that i need to sort out and maybe you guys can help me out with it.
i want to control a house with two parties (one on ground floor, one on second floor)
is it possible to create two different CASTs to show the respektive party only the controls they should have access to?
now with available matter support, how about linking Amazon Alexa to the ihost? i’ve only found a single yt video about the topic and sadly it’s in portugese.
I’m currently using alexas to control (tuya) lightbulds and such. will this be possible with ihost and matter?
It’s problematic. Doesn’t work as desired and it is still in a state of development. I wouldn’t count on it.
Bear in mind that iHost is a Zigbee local server in the first place. This implies fields of application. As this is a propriety project of Sonoff/eWeLink, the compatibility (integration) with other platforms and/or Zigbee devices is limited. The matter is somewhat rescued by the possibility of installing Home Assistant, but HA runs in docker mode, which enforces integration limitations. If you don’t have devices running in the eWeLink ecosystem, let it go.
i know, “local” and using alexa is kinda contradictory. if you have any suggenstions on how to get some of both worlds its highly appreciated.
i read a bit into HA but got somehow scared away by all the installation stuff. that’s why i was looking for a more “out of the box” solution.
wasnt my plan to first need to learn proxmox, docker and whatnot
To a large extent, iHost is an ‘out of the box’ solution but, like any other operating as part of a specific platform, it does not have the versatility you may have hoped for. In addition, it has proved that marketing story-telling pales in comparison to reality. The software is still under development in the sense that features described as already implemented are being added (with varying degrees of success). I bought iHost in a promotion at the opening of the sale. I quickly had to curb my enthusiasm. Constantly waiting for something that still isn’t there and was supposed to be. And so it continues to this day.
The iHost is an interesting device. As hardware it has a lot of potential, but the software lags far behind. That is why, after a not very encouraging experience, I decided to switch to Home Assistant. It works on the RPi. In a few days I had everything I wanted to have with iHost. I haven’t parted with eWeLink. I still use the cloud and a number of Sonoff devices. The best part is that a lot of “can’t be done” can be done with HA.
Integration with Alexa is a separate topic. It’s nice to have voice control but overall Alexa sucks and in these times of rapid AI development it’s like a not very bright old woman with dementia.
Hi. Where do you live? I am in SA, and you can buy my 4G iHost for half price. I have too many devices and automations and iHost cant keep up. I had tremendous troubles and many email sent to itead with regards to iHost. In short trems, its rubbish and a waste of money.
