Stated Purpose:
To get LiftMaster/Chamberlain/MyQ to integrate specifically MyQ Garage Door Openers with @SmartThings, without the need for an additional Bridge. To be clear, at this point in time, it’s NOT about trying to integrate every possible MyQ-Compatible Device (such as Locks & Cameras).
There are many LiftMaster/Chamberlain Customers with MyQ Garage Door Openers that have chosen the SmartThings Platform and would appreciate a seamless experience within the SmartThings App, rather than having to bounce out to the MyQ App.
@brbeaird has done an amazing job with his MyQ Bridge, but with current MyQ Systems in place, it’s uncertain whether/not it can be sustained. Besides, he could probably use a break
@SmartThings: Please make a fresh attempt to reach out to LiftMaster/Chamberlain/MyQ and kindly update the SmartThings Community herein as to your progress, or non-progress, and what we can do to help.
The codeowner for the MyQ integration in Home Assistant made a similar effort, albeit on an individual basis rather than a larger coordinated campaign, but reported back that “This is not something MyQ seems interested in.”
That does not mean I’m not supportive of the effort, but I think a broader effort among the various Smart Home platforms to gain access to the API might have a slightly better chance. But people are going to have to accept the idea of access being granted on a subscription basis. MyQ has not shown any interest whatsoever in giving anything away for free.
As @jkp mentioned, SmartThings published their API about two years ago. Since that time, it is the responsibility of the device manufacturer to create and maintain a smartthings integration. Smartthings no longer does anything from their side for specific devices, except in a very few rare partnership cases, and MyQ is not one of those. So you should direct your campaign at Chamberlain.
@jkp Good to know… but a new phone call (to MyQ) from an old acquaintance (SmartThings) might help encourage them along
@bthrock fair point for sure, but there are other choices that Consumers can turn to other than LiftMaster/Chamberlain/MyQ!
Such as Genie/Aladdin Connect which already offers integration with SmartThings and is free of charge!
Frankly, I always thought/expected many companies to at least offer some basic integration with SmartThings… and clearly from the list of Partner Companies, many have!
Instead of LiftMaster/Chamberlain/MyQ being resistant to SmartThings, they could use a SmartThings Integration as a stepping-stone to offer paid services.
@JDRoberts well said! And with the help of the SmartThings Community, that’s exactly what I hope to do ! I’ve already reached out to the Corporate Link in my original post and hope other SmartThings Users do the same.
Many of those companies simply support one of the three popular independent standards
Zwave
Zigbee 3.0
Matter
They didn’t have to do anything special for smartthings, other than provide a device to be tested.
Which is why it’s often true that the official integration has fewer features than the device has with a custom edge driver, or on a different Z wave/zigbee platform. The smartthings integration is often just at the simplest level.
MyQ and other devices which have a proprietary integration on their side would have to do a lot more work to be a smartthings partner.
And these days, most home automation companies are looking to the new matter standard with the hopes that they will only have to create only one integration, not one for each platform. There is less and less industry interest in custom integrations.
The matter standard does not yet include garage door openers, but once they do, it seems likely that that will be the primary third-party standard that companies like Chamberlain would look at. The fact that Chamberlain recently dropped its support for Alexa, Google assistant, and HomeKit makes it feel like they are rethinking their entire integration strategy.
But you’re certainly welcome to ask them. You never know, they might decide it’s something they’re interested in.
IMHO, you can always “follow the money” to understand a company’s strategy. @jkp is spot-on: there is money to be made and, as he pointed out in a subsequent post, they have the lion’s share of home garage door installations upon which to cash in.
My house has that brand opener and I have the myQ app on the phone–but seldom use it. If I’m away from home, it is an easy way to let one of the family into the place or to check that the doors are closed. The clicker on the visor is Plenty Good Enough for our day-to-day use case.
However, should I become interested later on in having SmartThings control the garage doors, I’d probably go with an external solution such as one of the many ZWave or Zigbee devices that are tailored for garage door control across opener brands. (I probably won’t, as I don’t trust the reliability of SmartThings enough to “let” it open or close access to our home. When I first got on board, years ago, I had high hopes for alarm systems and door locks–but my experience in that arena was disappointing. Instead, I honed in on non-security things: lighting automation and temperature/humidity monitoring are done reasonably well by SmartThings, especially since more and more is happening local to the hub.)
Sorry for being a downer on this subject. Technically, it is a cool challenge and I appreciate the remarkable workarounds that have sprung up to fill this (and other!) gaps in interconnection of technology. Don’t get me started on TV/CableBox/DVD remotes!
True, but the installed base is what matters, so there’s zero leverage here. Some people might take Smart Home integration into account the next time they buy a Garage Door Opener, but almost no one is going to swap out their existing doors to gain such access, especially when there are third-party alternatives already available.
Again, not arguing against the effort, just trying to think it through. IMO, there needs to be a compelling (economic) argument beyond the sentiment of a relatively small number of interested Smart Home users to persuade MyQ to react.
And, for whatever it’s worth, I’ll throw the following out there without sharing my views on the relative value of petitions like these.
Yes! This is in the category of “it doesn’t hurt to ask” ! And that’s all I’m doing and hoping others kindly do the same
Appreciated!!! Sometimes it’s just a matter of reaching the right person
No apologies necessary @Barkis ! There’s always hope
They are a heavy hitter, no doubt! But they didn’t get there by “not” listening to their customers!
That was a survey of 950± builders asking which garage door openers they used. Turns out I’m a Builder/Developer and have used LiftMaster for many years. But my next buying decision is very easy: Which company has a propriety app and ALSO works with: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Samsung SmartThings, Alarm .com, Clare Controls, Brilliant Smart Home Systems, Control4, and Yonomi (and is in the process of implementing Amazon Key) ?
Currently, it’s Genie! Maybe Chamberlain/LiftMaster/MyQ makes the next buying decision more difficult by stepping up and providing more platform integrations !
Participating in the discussion onto he HA side and with some industry insiders. Here’s what it comes down to.
Chamberlain has bet hard on paid access. Thier business model relies on it. They are no longer interested in just providing the gdo. They want the device to be your access to thier value added service. (remember this it drives everything else)
Problem is like every other ceo in existence they don’t exactly understand tech and why paid access stop something as simple as a GDO isn’t what they should be charging for.
So that means if you’re not offering to pay for access they’re simply not interested.
Ok so home brew is out. (and chamberlain is currently ACTIVELY working with cloud flare. Killing access to solutions they didnt author.) if yours still works just wait. Cloud flare is good at what they do. It’s only a matter of time and chamberlain could always use code signing to lock out everything else. (I suspect they will within the year)
But SmartThings had already said. It’s up to a device manufacturer to reach out and use the SmartThings API.
But chamberlain wants you to build the solution using thier api and pay money to access (from what I hear there’s a company access license too… Soooo…)
SmartThings has ZERO upside (financially) to pay Chamberlain for access… Chamberlain could build thier own integration and ask clients to pay for access but im pretty sure thier internal models show they wouldn’t make back the money for authoring the integration.
What this amounts to is a company holding thier clients hostage for access to something that should just be basic access because they want more money.
There is no amount of friends calling friends that will change this until Chamberlain realizes they bet on something that isn’t going to happen. It’s actually going to be fun to watch when they figure that part out… Probably signaled when they get the next C-level and finally release a matter compatible device.
Thus I WILL NOT buy a chamberlain GDO, don’t reccommended them and if I had one in my house, I’d be making an order on Amazon and it would be replaced TOMORROW.
Exactly the opposite… When it prevents people paying it’s enemy #1 to chamberlain and why it’s not already there.
They’re wifi not Thread so they don’t have the resource constraints for upgrading. It could have happened a year ago.
I think you’ll see this happen at the same time Chamberlin gives up thier quest for more cash.
Edit: and @JohnRichard as a builder I like where you are going but I’d ask you to consider dropping the ‘has an app’ part. And instead demand manufacturers use ‘industry standard protocols such as Matter or Zigbee or ZWave’ to provide connectivity.
Theres no value in having to round trip to somones cloud to be allowed to open my garage. The only reason they want it is the data for the data brokers for another funding source.
Chamberlain also wants to sell you proprietary garage cameras, a “Smart Garage Video Keypad,” Amazon Key, myQ Connected Garage add-on for Honda & Accura touchscreens, Smart Locks for your door (co-branded Yale devices), and Voice Control from your Mercedes! Can’t blame 'em for trying! (I must say I agree with your assessment they will be disappointed!)
My door openers were part of a new build home, installed by the builder. Like you, I probably would have gone another direction. But, that’s why there exist universal ZWave/Zigbee solutions for folks with pre-existing Chamberlain devices who want to take a chance letting SmartThings control access to their premises…
Yeah im suprised Yale signed on for that but if they didn’t someone else like Level or Kwikset would have. Fortunately I’m a Schlage person.
Interestingly enough for the manufacturiers that did not immediately sign on to support matter, I’m seeing a wave of monetization attempts. Coincidence?
I did reach out to SmartThings Support directly… specifically about MyQ Integration… and heard this back from them:
“…but the bit of good news I can give you is that the majority of these features are on our radar and we on the support team are looking out for every request to make sure this feedback is heard. I feel like we’re on a good path to reach the functionality that you’re looking for, and I really appreciate all your honest feedback and support for SmartThings so far!”
Perhaps there is already something in the works? Perhaps Hope Springs Eternal
That being said, I do think it’s important for each/every one of us that would like MyQ/SmartThings Garage Door Integration to reach out to Chamberlain Corporate with a simple request:
"I’m your customer, I would love MyQ to be be integrated into SmartThings. The Customer is Always Right "
If it’s just about money, I would gladly pay for a subscription if it means native integration and stability with MyQ with other smart home applications.
) they’re expecting matter to eventually solve all these issues.