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User guide

Controlling The Device

Home Assistant

You can configure most of the settings directly in Home Assistant.

To get to the device's page in Home Assistant, click settings in the left side bar, then open Devices & Services, move to the Devices tab and click on the name you gave your Home Buttons during setup.

Home Assistant Device Page

Configure Button Actions

To configure button actions, click "+" on the Automations card, select one of the buttons and set up an automation with Home Assistant's editor.

Home Assistant Triggers

Settings Menu

Open the Settings Menu by holding any two buttons together for 5 seconds. The buttons will start to pulse. You can navigate the menu by pressing the corresponding button:

  • 🔴 red button - Setup
  • 🟠 orange button - Wi-Fi Setup
  • 🔵 blue button - Restart
  • 🟢 green button - Close settings menu

Factory Reset

To perform a factory reset, hold the 🔵 blue button for 10 seconds. Home Buttons will restart and all user settings will be reset to default. You will have to set up the device again.

Setup

Setup allows you to change connection settings and other configuration options. Home Buttons establishes a web interface accessible within the network it is already connected to.

Enter setup by going to the Settings Menu and pressing the 🔴 red button.

The 🔴 red button will start to first blink quickly and then pulse.

It the quick blinking doesn't stop, the device could not connect to the network. Please check the Wi-Fi settings.

Navigate to the setup page via the web browser at http://HB-XXXXXX.local. Please see the label on the device for the exact address.

Setup Page

Change Wi-Fi settings

Click Configure WiFi to change Wi-Fi connection settings. Select a network, enter the password and click save. Wait a few seconds and then press any button to exit setup. Home Buttons will connect to the newly selected Wi-Fi network.

Change MQTT settings & Button labels

Click Setup to change MQTT settings or button labels. A page with the following parameters will open:

  • Device Name - Name of your device as it will appear in Home Assistant.

  • MQTT Server - IP address of your MQTT broker. Usually the same as IP of your Home Assistant server.

  • MQTT Port - Port used by MQTT broker. The default is usually 1883.

  • MQTT User - MQTT user name (can be empty if not required by broker).

  • MQTT Password - MQTT password (can be empty if not required by broker).

  • Base Topic - MQTT topic that will be prepended to all topics used by Home Buttons. The default is homebuttons.

  • Discovery Prefix - Home Assistant parameter for MQTT discovery. The default is homeassistant. Leave that unchanged if you haven't modified Home Assistant's configuration.

  • Static IP - Optional. IP of Home Buttons. Must be outside the DHCP address range of your router.

  • Gateway - Optional. The IP address of your router.

  • Subnet Mask Optional. Usually 255.255.255.0.

  • Primary DNS Server - If left empty, Gateway IP will be used.

  • Secondary DNS Server - If left empty, 1.1.1.1 will be used.

  • Button Config - A string of 4 characters that represent the mode of each button. The default is BBBB. The characters represent buttons 1-4. You can select between a button (trigger) B or a switch (toggle) S.

When done, click Save. The 🔴 red button will blink 2 times, indicating that the setup was successful.

If MQTT connection is not successful, the 🔴 red button will blink 5 times. You can start the setup again by entering the settings menu and pressing the 🔴 red button.

Wi-Fi Setup

If Home Buttons becomes inaccessible on the local network due to changed Wi-Fi settings, you can restart the Wi-Fi setup at any time.

Open Settings Menu by holding any two buttons together for 5 s and press 🟠. Wi-Fi hotspot will be established.

  1. Home Buttons establishes a Wi-Fi hotspot for configuration. Connect to the network named HB-XXXXXX with your device. The password is password123.

  2. After connecting to the Wi-Fi network with your device, a captive portal will pop up automatically. If it doesn't, open the web browser and navigate to http://192.168.4.1.

    Wi-Fi Setup Page

  3. Click on Configure WiFi and wait a few seconds for a list of networks to appear.

  4. Select your network, enter the password and click Save.

Home Buttons will disable the hotspot and connect to your selected Wi-Fi network in a few seconds. The 🟠 orange button will blink 2 times.

If the 🟠 orange button doesn't stop pulsing, the connection was not successful. Please check the password and try again. Press any button to stop the Wi-Fi setup. To repeat the Wi-Fi setup, enter the settings menu and press the 🟠 orange button.

Sync switch to a device

The button must be in switch mode to sync it with a device. To change the mode, enter the Settings Menu and press the 🔴 red button. Navigate to the web interface at http://HB-XXXXXX.local. In the button field Button Config change the mode of the button to S. Click save.

  1. In Home Assistant, go to Settings -> Devices & services -> Devices tab -> your Home Buttons and verify that the button is displaying as a switch

  2. Add the Linked Entities blueprint to your Home Assistant

    Blueprint

  3. In Home Assistant, go to Settings -> Automations & scenes -> Blueprint tab -> Linked Entities

  4. Select the Home Buttons switch entity as the first entity

  5. Select the device you want to sync with as the second entity

  6. Save

The switch will now be synced with the device. The state of the switch will reflect the state of the device.

Opening The Case

Unscrew 4 screws holding the front panel of the device. Carefully remove the front panel. Be careful not to strain the button wires.

Opening The Case