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Alex Tripp

@alextripptech

A blog about smart home gadgets, consumer tech, and more!

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11.01.2025
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Latest posts by Alex Tripp @alextripptech

I’ve done it backing up the config, installing HA on the new machine and then uploading my backup and restoring. Worked well, I had zero issues.

17.09.2025 17:02 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Parks Associates Estimates Approximately 13 million New US Internet Households Have Entered the Smart Home Market Since 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Parks Associates, in partnership with the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), has released a new white paper, Smart Home Evolution:...

Smart homes aren’t just for early adopters anymore.
Parks Associates says 54M U.S. households now own smart devices. 13M added since 2020. Nearly 40% of new buyers are β€œearly majority,” not tech hobbyists.
Have we hit the mainstream?
#homeassistant #smarthome

www.prnewswire.com/news-release...

27.08.2025 16:56 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Creality launches its new K2 and K2 Pro desktop 3D printers: Technical specifications and pricing - 3D Printing Industry Your seat at the Additive Manufacturing Advantage awaits! Register free forΒ AMA: EnergyΒ andΒ AMA: Automotive & Mobility. Chinese 3D printer manufacturer Creality has expanded its flagship K series with...

Creality just launched the K2 & K2 Pro printers, multi-material, multicolor, and even AI-powered features baked in. Cool evolution for hobbyists, but I wonder: will Creality’s AI actually make prints more reliable, or just another buzzword? #3dprinting

3dprintingindustry.com/news/crealit...

25.08.2025 18:32 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I literally just finished fine tuning this too! Got the perfect temps and perfect ramp up/down times based on times and floors. Been feeling great and AC been running less. Getting electrical usage in home assistant helped me realized how often our AC was on and lead to a deep dive.

12.08.2025 16:47 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Your smart home doesn’t need to do everythingβ€”just the right things. Automate the boring, the repetitive, the β€œdid I remember to…?” moments.

What’s one thing in your home you’ll never go back to doing manually?

#smarthome #homeassistant #homeautomation

12.08.2025 16:32 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Matter 1.4.2 | Enhancing Security and Scalability for Smart Homes When we first launched Matter, our goal was clear: empower device makers to build reliable, secure smart home products, and help users easily start and grow their connected homes. With the release of…

Matter 1.4.2 just dropped! Better reliability, no-Bluetooth onboarding, router integration, cryptographic device ID revocation, and improved battery/network performance.
#matter #smarthome #homeassistant
csa-iot.org/newsroom/mat...

11.08.2025 18:37 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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New Addition to the Blog: 3D Design and Printing Projects - AlexTripp.Tech Over the past year, I’ve shared a lot about smart home automation, Home Assistant, and the various ways I’ve optimized my tech setup. But behind the scenes, one of my favorite tools for making my home...

I’m bringing 3D printing backβ€”but this time, it’s part of my smart home blog.

I’ll be posting STL designs I’ve made to solve real problems around my house (and maybe yours too). No physical sales, just clean digital downloads.

alextripp.tech/new-addition...

08.08.2025 22:32 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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ULTRALOQ Makes First Apple Home Key-Compatible Smart Lock

ULTRALOQ just launched the first Apple Home Key-compatible smart lock.
Cool idea, especially if you can share temporary NFC keys to guests. But for me? Geofencing or temporary codes already solve that.

Hopefully it becomes a standard going forward!
#smarthome

www.morningstar.com/news/pr-news...

05.08.2025 16:17 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Cybersecurity in IoT: Mandatory from August 2025 From 1 August 2025, all new radio-connected devices entering the EU market must comply with strict cybersecurity standards. What does this mean, and how can manufacturers prepare? We explored the topi...

Starting today, all new IoT devices in the EU need to meet strict cybersecurity standards.
Big win for security, but will it slow innovation? Or make smart home devices pricier? Does this make your smart home safer or more secure?
#smarthome #iot #homeassistant evertiq.com/news/2025-06...

04.08.2025 18:00 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Crippling Google Home issues spark potential class action response After numerous reports of Google Home issues, a US law firm has announced that it is investigating a possible class action.

Google’s smart home mess might end in a lawsuit.
Glitches, broken routines, and unresponsive devices. Users are fed up. I try my best to stick to all local where possible. What about you? #smarthome #google #homeassistant www.androidauthority.com/google-home-...

31.07.2025 16:50 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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THIRDREALITY Launches the World's First Matter-Enabled Smart Mechanical Keyboard MK1 -- Turn your keyboard into a smart home control center. /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Debuted at CES 2025, the MK1 drew strong interest from attendees for its novel concept: offering desktop users a seamless way to control...

ThirdReality’s MK1, a smart mech keyboard.

As a Home Assistant fan, I love the matter protocol support. But in practice… most of my automations are voice-driven or fully automated.

Could this be the start of smarter workspaces, or just a niche toy? #matter #smarthome

www.prweb.com/releases/thi...

28.07.2025 19:04 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Ikea goes all in on Matter smart homes Over 20 new devices are on the way.

Something I missed earlier this month is that ikea is going all in on matter. Anyone looking to pick up a bunch of ikea gear? #smarthome #ikea #homeassistant #matter

www.theverge.com/smart-home/7...

24.07.2025 18:55 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Zooz Z-Wave Long Range 240V XS Relay ZEN57 800LR 100-240 Volt Control PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS Β  BETA RELEASE:Β  Β You may need to update the firmware for this device, selected functionality or advanced features may not be available on your hub at the time ...

Smart home life: always chasing smaller hardware πŸ˜…
TheSmartestHouse has the Zooz ZEN57 800LR, their tiniest relay yet. Seems that it’s beta right now and my only concern is I don’t see an ETL cert like the Zen51. Anyone grab one yet? Specs here: www.thesmartesthouse.com/products/zoo...

23.07.2025 14:40 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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ChatGPT Wrote the Code for My Motion-Activated Smart Home Dashboard - AlexTripp.Tech Affiliate Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through those links at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products and servic...

Finally put this little post out. Was fun learning how to prompt ChatGPT effectively to write a script that would have taken a lot longer just researching it. #ai #homeassistant #smarthome

alextripp.tech/chatgpt-wrot...

22.07.2025 17:35 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Recently β€œvibe coded” a script to use a PIR sensor on my Raspberry Pi 5 that runs the touch screen monitor we’ll use for our Home Assistant dashboard. It also sends motion events via MQTT Writing a blog post now, and hope to launch it this week! #ai #vibecode #homeassistant #smarthome

18.06.2025 14:53 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Been a while since I posted but I just got these! #homeassistant #shelly

12.06.2025 01:37 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Your outie is a weird homelab guy. Your outie uses openSUSE. Please, don't interrupt. Your outie won't shut up about openSUSE.

27.03.2025 18:44 πŸ‘ 26 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1

Been a bit lazy with my home assistant setup lately since work has been busy. What’s everyone been working on? #homeassistant #smarthome

25.03.2025 18:10 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I don’t need you to be telling me my high school memories can now have a beer with me. 🫠

19.03.2025 18:43 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I need to try these yet. I also tend towards no yaml but sometimes I see an example and it’s like β€œohhh just copy paste this bad boy and edit for my sensor” and that’s how I end up with a ton of yaml lol

06.03.2025 18:22 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I’ve gotta find some time to do the water meter right up but I approached it using the ai on the edge that I think is linked in the official home assistant documentation!

05.03.2025 19:49 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Using Software Defined Radio to Send Gas Meter Data to Home Assistant - AlexTripp.Tech Introduction Tracking utility usage in Home Assistant provides valuable insights into consumption patterns and helps optimize energy use. While smart electricity meters often have integrations, gas me...

Recently setup an SDR dongle to capture gas meter consumption and send it to my #homeassistant instance:

alextripp.tech/index.php/20...

05.03.2025 04:27 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Dogs escaped this morning due to a contractor not closing our back gate. Anyone got a good door sensor for outdoor use or am I left trying to waterproof an existing product? #homeassistant #smarthome #homeautomation

01.03.2025 17:16 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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And I can’t believe I found it!

27.02.2025 16:44 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

It is! Working perfectly now. Sensitive enough it doesn’t turn off when I’m sitting at my desk but not too sensitive it’s always on

27.02.2025 14:14 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Does anyone know of a smart light switch that is a true toggle? I’ve done the β€œtoggle” switches that always stay in the middle and I’ve added sonoff/shelly relays to normal toggles. But I’d much prefer a true toggle all in one. #homeautomation #smarthome #homeassistant

27.02.2025 14:13 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I need this for my office

24.02.2025 20:49 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I was getting super mad at this new mmWave sensor I got until I realized I had to set the β€œsmall” detection sensitivity all the way down. Read some people thought it can pick up small vibrations causing it to stay triggered #homeassistant #smarthome #homeautomation

24.02.2025 20:43 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Well that’s dumb. I used some of their zwave dimmers for years with zero issues

21.02.2025 15:27 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Got some good data coming in from my water meter using esp32 and β€œai on the edge” #ai #aiontheedge #homeassistant #homeautomation #smarthome

19.02.2025 17:07 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0