Review on 🚪 Lomota Smart Wi-Fi Garage Door Opener Remote with Tuya Smart Life APP Control, Compatible with Alexa, Google Assistant, No Hub Required for Hassle-Free Setup by Nick Winnett

GOOD• Compared to MyQ, it is easier to use and much more flexible. The Tuya/Smart Life platform is reliable in my experience and integrates seamlessly with Google Home and Alexa. Happy to give up the MyQ app that has always tried to sell me an integration I don't need. (FYI, I'm not going to integrate a garage door opener with Google or Alexa because the idea of someone outside my home being able to just yell "Hey Google, open the garage" doesn't sit well with me. But I could if I wanted to , and I appreciate the fact that this is allowed with no additional fees/upsells.) • I LOVE the geofencing features that come with the Smart Life app. I set this to open the garage door when I enter the geofence (106m) around my house and close the door when I exit the geofence. It literally just opens when I arrive and literally closes when I leave without a second thought on my part. • Setup is very easy, especially if you are used to using the SmartLife app. Personally, I've only started using home automation products that use this app - it's reliable, fast, and the devices are very affordable thanks to Revain. • The SmartLife app starts much faster than the MyQ app. I rarely use the MyQ app because it takes forever to open, then you have to log in and then you get to the open door screen. The process with MyQ only takes 15 seconds but it seems like an eternity and it's about 12 seconds more. • It is listed in the ETL. It is important! All electrical "stuff" must be UL or ETL listed. INSTALLATION TIPS • I programmed this into my wireless network prior to physical installation. It just makes setup a little more convenient. Like many other SmartLife items, I had to program it manually - slow blink mode with my iPhone 11 (iOS 14.6).• See attached image. I connected the magnet that triggers the open/close sensor directly to the "carriage" that travels back and forth in the channel/rail using double sided tape and two very small screws. Then I attached the sensor to the track. After some testing everything works great as long as they are within 3/4 inch of each other. If your opener has a slide that wraps around the rail, this method may not work for you. I then used some hot glue to attach the wire to the top of the rail to bring it back to the motor block of the GD opener and Lomota unit. This gives the setup a very neat look and I really don't see any extra wires. Experiment with this to make sure it doesn't open/stop when it should close - let me try to explain. ○ There are four "states" a door can be in. 1) Closed, 2) Open, 3) Close, 4) Open. ○ The sensor can detect state 1 - when the door is closed. But unlike the MyQ I had in my last home, Lomota doesn't differentiate between open, open, or closed (states 2, 3, and 4). it only knows that it is NOT "closed". Theoretically, if the device is in the process of closing (but not "closed" yet) and someone/something triggers another closing action, it can try to close again and abort the closing process - e.g. B. when a button on the wall is pressed it is in the process of closing but not fully closed yet. ○ To counteract this, I will create an automation in the Smart Life app so that the door will automatically close and send me a notification if the door is open for an hour. That way, over time, I'll learn how often this automation actually works and if it's really worth worrying about. To be clear, this is an absolutely unnecessary measure - I expect the Lomota device to work perfectly, but being new to this I'm trying to think through "what could go wrong". THE BAD • I think the security of the MyQ app could be better because it forces you to log into Every. Lonely. One, but honestly, it's PITA. I want convenience and not trying to build Fort Knox. If someone really wants to break into my house, all they have to do is break the window and climb in. I think the safety features built into Smart Life are *reasonable* and I'm fine with that. • I can't think of anything. write negatively except for the slightest concern about its inability to distinguish between the three non-closed states (open, open, and closed). I don't suspect this will be a problem, so I'm not deducting stars, but I've also set up an automation to alert me how often (if ever) the opener is open when it shouldn't be. ——Update after 6 weeks of ownership——So after 6 weeks I have to say I love this thing • "Siri, [open/close] garage" is awesome! • I don't use geofencing to open the garage. The garage is bigger... just to close it. I've found that on rare occasions the Smart Life app doesn't realize I'm home until I arrive... and forces it to open the garage when I don't want it to. Poorly. But the ability to add click-to-go automation to Siri works just as easily. I literally don't reach for the clicker in my car anymore! • Notifications are a little shaky but I'm pretty sure it's my settings • It starts up MUCH faster in the Smart Life app than the MyQ system I had in my previous home • it just works • I will never go back to MyQ after this, it's much better for a fraction of the cost.