My brother resides in the United Kingdom with his wife and children. Today, he completed installing FaceAge on his bedroom door, as a precautionary measure in case his kids unexpectedly enter the bedroom at an inopportune time.
Worried your cloud-controlled smart devices could be ruined by the manufacturer? You should be.
Our latest newsletter covers the recent cloud disasters from three companies, and why local control is the only safe path forward for your smart home 
#Newsletter #SmartHome #HomeAutomation
https://newsletter.openhomefoundation.org/you-dont-own-it-if-they-can-break-it/
What's new in Home Assistant?
2025.7 release was filled with so many good things we're bringing you 3 feature highlight videos this month! 
Here's the final video: Chapter 3 - Sub-entities & credential sharing!
Read more 
https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2025/07/02/release-20257/
Does anyone know a USB camera which has focus (provides sharp images) starting at 2cm maximum 5cm distance from the front of the lense?
Not a webcam, more for tinkering, like https://www.ebay.de/itm/176974679649?_skw=usb+camera&itmmeta=01K1D7BGFWMTMNKNDFNAE23R6D&hash=item2934834e61:g:55oAAOSw-1xn7Oi9
The data in the usual webshops hardly mentions this technical data.
Background: I want to try some OCR on a Ferraris power meter. (I have the led based method detecting the pass of the red bar. Want to try OCR now.)
#homeautomation #usbcamera #electronics #ocr #ferraris
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Drehstromzaehler_offen.jpg
Oh dear lord. Help me, I’ve discovered @homeassistant.
July has been jam packed with new additions to the WWHA program - for this month's final addition, Shelly is joining! 
They certified Z-Wave devices like their retrofit smart switches & relays, turning dumb devices into smart ones. 
Check out the blog for more details
#SmartHome #HomeAutomation #HomeAssistant
https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2025/07/29/shelly-joins-works-with-home-assistant/
Hey #smarthome folks, can somebody recommend a device that
* can serve as a WiFi 6/7 access point (connected via ethernet)
* can run @homeassistant
* can act as a #matter over #thread border router
* ideally is fairly small and has an embedded power adapter
Today I was able to play around with @esphome@fosstodon.org and #HomeAssistant
Turns out that outsourcing the voice processing might be a bit slower but it's working great so far.
I will try to switch over to the faster alternatives. But I am quite happy that I managed to get this Esp S3 screen working with cards so the device shows other interesting things while idle.
Btw: "Retro" is one of our lights in the office.
#foss #homeAutomation #ESPhome
In September, we're celebrating our 12th Birthday! This year, we're doing something new - we want to share YOUR stories. 
Does Home Assistant help you in unexpected ways? Do you know of or have projects that inspire others? Fill out this Form and tell us about it!
#SmartHome #HomeAutomation #HomeAssistant
https://forms.gle/V6rWxqsA7rpTSH1E8
What's new in Home Assistant?
2025.7 release was filled with so many good things we're bringing you 3 feature highlight videos this month!
Here's Chapter 2 - Area card and dashboard improvements!
Catch all the latest https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2025/07/02/release-20257/
I wonder how many signatures we could get for an EU initiative that would require manufacturers to sell same quality "dumb" counterparts to their regular "smart" offerings of appliances and electronics, at the same or lower price.
Dumb TVs, washing machines, coffee makers, toothbrushes, etc. that would not require apps, wifi, bluetooth, phoning home, ads, etc.
Remove anything extra that is not required for the core use case of the product.
What's new in Home Assistant?
2025.7 was filled with so many good things we're bringing you 3 feature highlight videos this month!
Here's Chapter 1 - Assist asks the questions!
Find the blueprint and what else is new this release on our blog https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2025/07/02/release-20257/
Planned obsolescence in full effect.
This is why you should never buy devices that depend on cloud services to be able to function.
Pulling at Threads With the Flipper Zero - Gone are the days when all smart devices were required an internet uplink. The WiF... - https://hackaday.com/2025/07/15/pulling-at-threads-with-the-flipper-zero/ #microcontrollers #homeautomation #networkhacks #flipperzero #homehacks #matter #thread
We have another addition to our Works with Home Assistant program to share - Zooz!
They bring an awesome selection of device types and certified the first Z-Wave devices in the program this year. Learn more about what devices they certified in the latest blog
#HomeAssistant #SmartHome #HomeAutomation
https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2025/07/15/zooz-joins-works-with-home-assistant/
The #homeautomation protocol is named #Thread, perhaps that is a typo as #Threat is more apt and accurate. If you roll your own device you might very well experience the full force of their blood thirsty lawyers.
What the actual F.
In 2025.7, we made improvements to the Areas dashboard.
The dashboards the community has shared helped shape this design 
and we would love to see how it works for you. Even if you already have the perfect dashboard, try it out!
Share your thoughts here 
https://forms.clickup.com/2533032/f/2d9n8-32191/NK2MUOVKXQVH2L0NHI
