Comfort Automation/ Security System Forums

Hi,

Thought it might be worth throwoing in a few suggestions (not limited to android, but as I use android mostly said id throw it in here).

1) Double tap to exit app (ive noticed this feature is included in the assocaited camera app, and it works very well, so a similar feature would be nice in the comfort app).
2) Bypass zone feature. Recently had a zone fault that was triggering an alarm and needed to bypass it. Would be nice to see this as a feature in the app.
3) Customisation of names. I used to be able to edit the iphone app config file to change zone names (for example changing \"bedroom 1\" to \"kellys room\". Thought I could do the same for the android app, but for some reason the file is not recognised in android after I do this. Anyway, would be nice to be able to do this.


As a general comment, would it be worth considering moving away from the control menu as the way of configuring the smartphone apps, and have a more dedicated menu for this. The phone control menu does not neccessarily translate well to the smartphone app, as smartphone control is a lot more detailed and is normally used differently.

For example, I would like to be able to add more commands and more feedback responses, but by using the control menu, this is limited to just ten feedback elements.


On a related note, any progress or thoughts on push notifications to smartphone for alarm activations etc. It seems odd not to have this functionality and to still rely on dial up or sms technology for this.

Thanks for the suggestions

Quote:Double tap to exit app (ive noticed this feature is included in the assocaited camera app, and it works very well, so a similar feature would be nice in the comfort app).

You mean double tap the back button. In Most apps a single tap on the back button exits, I am not sure why double tap is better, that seems slower
In Comfort, the back button pops up \"are you sure you want to exit?\'
Perhaps that message can be removed and  just have the app exit

Quote:2) Bypass zone feature. Recently had a zone fault that was triggering an alarm and needed to bypass it. Would be nice to see this as a feature in the app.

Perhaps that may be introduced in the future. Force arm is usually a better way, except for zones that always open and close, perhaps a door that is not fully closed and blown by the wind. A faulty zone is normally always open (or closed)

Quote: Customisation of names. I used to be able to edit the iphone app config file to change zone names (for example changing \"bedroom 1\" to \"kellys room\". Thought I could do the same for the android app, but for some reason the file is not recognised in android after I do this. Anyway, would be nice to be able to do this.

That should still be possible. We did not remove that. Can you send the cclx file to support@cytech.biz so that we can test the app with it? What OS are you on and are you using the latest android version 1.95?

Quote:For example, I would like to be able to add more commands and more feedback responses, but by using the control menu, this is limited to just ten feedback elements.

Can you give an example  of using more than 10 menus and 10  commands in 6 groups? That seems to be a lot already

Quote:On a related note, any progress or thoughts on push notifications to smartphone for alarm activations etc. It seems odd not to have this functionality and to still rely on dial up or sms technology for this.

That is in the pipeline. However the development is substantial and we may have to charge for it. Is it something you would pay for? would you consider an annual charge? (this is like a survey question)

Hi,
Thanks for the reply. Will get back with a bit more detail later when I get to a laptop, but with regard the push notifications my thoughts are.

In order to get a self monitored system I wither have to use gsm or landline at the moment. I have to purchase hardware for the gsm to do it, but I think for what it is and the functionally it gives I don\'t think it is worth purchasing a gsm module.

I don\'t have a landline anymore and the reason is I only used it for comfort, so it was not something I was willing to pay that about of money for (about 300 euro per year for line rental here)

So, for push notifications, I would be willing to either pay a reasonable once off fee for the feature, or a small annual fee.

I would not for example want to pay a once off fee similar to the purchase price of a new ucm, unless I needed the ucm for this and other features for example.

A poll perhaps?

Out of interest why did you not consider the UCM/GSM4, as I am a personal fan of this?
It can send sms for all different alarm types including arming and disarming, and user-defined alarms, AC failure, trouble etc and tells you the zone or user information related to the alarm. That is exactly what you would get for the app notification. I suspect SMS would be more reliable than notifications as 3G reception is not as consistent.
The sms also lets you control and see the status of your appliances and lights, and the help function makes it easy now

The  cost of £150(?) seems quite reasonable. You  have to pay more than that for a \"designer switch\" which seem to be so popular these days. if you buy a prepaid sim card it only costs maybe a  pound or two a month.

Hi,

I suppose didn\'t go the gsm route, as I do t want to have to pay monthly charge for rental etc, that would be the primary reason.

Looking forward a bit more, whatever solution I would prefer a more integrate solution for example I don\'t like the idea of notification comming in via gsm, and then be app for control.

On the 3g side of things, I\'m not sure I understand what you mean regards reliability, do you mean 3g connection to comfort?

Potential issues with SMS here in the UK (and Ireland) is that the SLA for delivery by providers is 3 days.

A large percentage of SMS\'s get delivered in seconds, however due to the nature of the Comfort system (being an alarm), this delay in notification would be a pain.

Vangelis

One problem I had with PAYG simms is that unless you keep using them then they auto disable after say 90 days;  I learnt this the hard way as couldnt work out why my alerts stopped when i did get an eventual alarm. 
 
So if you are going the PAYG route then remember to send out an SMS from comfort on a regular basis to keep the service active. Personally I didnt want this hassle so got the cheapest contract I could get from vodafone UK at around £8 per month.  I got it discounted slightly as I said I only wanted data and not monthly voice minutes;  unfortunately carriers dont seem to have twigged yet that they can offer a data only contract.
 
It\'s like having to have a UK TV licence even if you just want to listen to the radio!

[user=1]slychiu[/user] wrote:

Quote:Thanks for the suggestions

Quote:Double tap to exit app (ive noticed this feature is included in the assocaited camera app, and it works very well, so a similar feature would be nice in the comfort app).

You mean double tap the back button. In Most apps a single tap on the back button exits, I am not sure why double tap is better, that seems slower
In Comfort, the back button pops up \"are you sure you want to exit?\'
Perhaps that message can be removed and  just have the app exit

Quote:2) Bypass zone feature. Recently had a zone fault that was triggering an alarm and needed to bypass it. Would be nice to see this as a feature in the app.

Perhaps that may be introduced in the future. Force arm is usually a better way, except for zones that always open and close, perhaps a door that is not fully closed and blown by the wind. A faulty zone is normally always open (or closed)

Quote: Customisation of names. I used to be able to edit the iphone app config file to change zone names (for example changing \"bedroom 1\" to \"kellys room\". Thought I could do the same for the android app, but for some reason the file is not recognised in android after I do this. Anyway, would be nice to be able to do this.

That should still be possible. We did not remove that. Can you send the cclx file to support@cytech.biz so that we can test the app with it? What OS are you on and are you using the latest android version 1.95?

Quote:For example, I would like to be able to add more commands and more feedback responses, but by using the control menu, this is limited to just ten feedback elements.

Can you give an example  of using more than 10 menus and 10  commands in 6 groups? That seems to be a lot already

Quote:On a related note, any progress or thoughts on push notifications to smartphone for alarm activations etc. It seems odd not to have this functionality and to still rely on dial up or sms technology for this.

That is in the pipeline. However the development is substantial and we may have to charge for it. Is it something you would pay for? would you consider an annual charge? (this is like a survey question)

Hi Slychiu, 
Apologies it took me so long to get back with more detail but here goes:-

Double Tap.I find the double tap works really well to exit from an app quickly without havig to verify. Single tap with verification is still good, in case you select it by mistake, but its difficult to double tap by mistake, so double tap should be an immediate exit from app.
Again, I am comparing this to the use of the camera app that comfort uses, and I think it works very well for that.

Bypass Zone:-The reason I wanted this was for an intermittent fault on a zone that may trigger randomly. If you are away and the alarm sets off, then you disarm and rearm, but you can only bypass if the alarm is still active. 
I currently have an intermittent fault on a pir, but cant bypass it if it is not active when I am arming. (in actual fact the problem is due to a pir activation when I hve the fire lighting which I will fix with a dualtec pir, but the principle is the same as if I had an intermittent fault).

Customisation of names in app.I will forward you my file, and my edited file, I am probably doing something stupid to be honest it used to work when I had IOS app, but cant get it to work using android.
PS:- perhaps if we had a seperate app control menu in comfigurator we could do the name customisation there, see below.

Using more than 10 comands (a dedicated app control menu config instead of existing phone control menu).

I have enclosed a snapshot of my current menu. I think it works well for voice control over phone where you can only listen and control one command at a time, but to apply this to an app, where you can display multiple commands and status at the one time I\'m not sure it translates as well or gives you its full potential.
For example, ideally, I would like to be able to see something like this, where I select a room, or a cluster of rooms in the app, and can both see the status and toggle them at the same time. Below is a representation (\"x\" would be where comfort shows the feedback status)
KitchenMain Lights  Toggle    XPelmut Lights Toggle  X

HallCentre Lights Toggle   XFront Hall Toggle         X
That kind of a setup is not possible using the phone control menu, as you can only select on feedback per room (with a max of ten rooms for example)

Hope this makes sense ? I have enclosed also a mockup of how this might look with the ability to togle each light etc.

Just on the app control menu, here is a snapshot of what my current looks like, and a mock up of what I was thinking could be done if the ap
The first hows the kitchen main lights and in order to change the status, I have to select 3 levels through the app menu, then select back to confirm the status. To then turn on the second set of kitchen lights, I need to go through another two levels of menu (selecting the pelmut lights, and then controlling them.
Using a more app focused menu, all you would have to do is select the room, and then toggle the status of each light wihtin that room. No need to scroll through various different menus etc, it can all be done from within the \"room\"