Is there no way to get Pico remotes to show up in HomeKit? I was wanting to perform some automations with them.
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Is there no way to get Pico remotes to show up in HomeKit? I was wanting to perform some automations with them.
Currently, there isn't any way to have the Pico remote show up in HomeKit.
The Pico remotes are transmission-only controls and don't have the ability to receive signals (same concept as a TV remote).
One thing you can do is create scene(s) either in the Caseta app or in the Home app that could replicate the function of the Pico remote.
Indirectly, yes you can. What you would be doing is using the Pico to control another Lutron device (that is HomeKit enabled), then if you have a HomeKit hub (Apple TV or iPad), you can set up a trigger in the Home app. The trigger would be set to kick-off another homeKit enabled device. See this video as an example: https://youtu.be/5mgqbXB9PG8
This is a request that many have been asking for years. And with the latest Homekit update it is technically possible. Philips Hue does it with its 2 physical remotes.
Lutron Caseta is a great product - I own over 25 devices and enjoy the product by itself and its integration with many hubs (Logitech Harmony, Alexa, Homekit, etc.) but in my opinion, not exposing the Pico remotes in HomeKit a big missed opportunities. Semi-power users might start moving away from pico remotes in favor of other physical or vocal remotes/controllers.
I tried the workaround (Pico remote triggering a Caseta plugin dimmer, which then activates a Homekit action), but it is not a long term nor scalable solution.
3 years and still no support for Pico remotes in HomeKit. Pretty disappointing. I have been relying on Philips Hue remotes for the last year and replacing my Pico remotes. They don't look as nice wall mounted but at least I can add extra commands to the buttons using homekit. I can't understand why Lutron doesn't add this support.
Yes it's pretty disappointing this still hasn't happened.
I am looking to buy a system that has scene control in Homekit. I see that the Hue Remote and Tap both have button assignments within the Apple Home app which fits the bill, but the Pico remote with a switch plate adapter to add to my current wall bank is a much better and cleaner solution. Phillips did it via software updates. Can Lutron give us an update as to if this is even being worked on, and if so the time to release... and it better be soon if you want to not lose customers to other brands?
The Pico remote is one of the best remote switches around. I have some rooms which have a mix of switches (Lutron, Ecobee and VOCOlinc) that can all be controlled via HomeKit. It would be really great if a Pico remote could be made to show up as an input switch in the Apple Home app and then via automation action control any number of HomeKit devices.
pardon my ignorance, new user here just now installing my first round of Caseta switches. Since all picos have to be tied to a main switch, what would the benefit be to having Pico visible on homekit, since those lights are already able to be controlled by the main switch?
Control of non-Lutron HomeKit devices and scenes.Quote:
Originally Posted by MOD220
I have a good number of Philips Hue bulbs. If I could just install Picos as my room switches to control those lights, I would.
Thanks, I did not realize pico remote could work independently of the master switch.Quote:
Originally Posted by julianm
Within Lutron’s app, you can program the Pico to control Lutron scenes. Unfortunately that does not extend to HomeKit scenes.Quote:
Originally Posted by MOD220
Julianm et al,
There's a thread in here that talks about how you can kind of fake this behavior by proxying the Pico via a paired Lamp Dimmer module. I've written up a full post about it with detailed instructions on how to get it to work. I've been using this in my home since seeing people talk about it in here, and it works well. It's not ideal, but it can hold us over until Lutron adds HomeKit support for the Pico.
https://www.thedigitalmediazone.com/...-with-homekit/
CES 2019 news are now. and Lutron introduced a new fan switch (which can be cool) but still no enhanced integration for the Pico remote in Homekit. Very disappointing.... I don't understand this business decision.
A new switch which might not even work with HomeKit.Quote:
Originally Posted by giacino
Could someone from Lutron tell us if there are plans to expose the Pico in HomeKit at some point. The variety of Pico Remotes for both the Caséta and RA2 systems are terrific and this would allow for the switch's functionality to be combined with other accessories from other HomeKit compatible lines. For instance a LUTRON PJ2-4B-TSW-P01 could be used to not only set the lighting for a Lutron scene, but could additionally set the temperature on an Ecobee thermostat, the brightness and color on a Phillips Hue light strip, and activate a Hunter Symphony fan by tying a HomeKit scene to each of the buttons. I know I'm not the only one that hopes this happens. Please let us know!
I gave up on waiting for Lutron and have been using this Homebridge plugin. https://github.com/smockle/homebridge-lutron-casetaUnfortunately the owner of that plugin is, as of June, no longer a Pico Remote user and does not want to continue maintaining it. It really is great to have Pico Remotes control my HomeKit products directly. I ended up purchasing a number of additional remotes and wall-mounting them. I control HomeKit-based fans, Hue lights, and even an August Smart Lock. Lutron is really missing out here. They already have HomeKit support for some aspects of their products, and remotes are a directly-supported feature of HomeKit itself. I don’t get why they’re so resistant to this.
We appreciate this request and will bring this to engineering and marketing teams to be considered as a future integration feature for the Pico Remote. Thank you very much for your comments and insight.
Matt H. This "request" was asked for 2 years ago! Only now you are submitting it to "engineering and marketing teams"?
Lutron announced some new devices in CES 2020, but still, the Pico remotes are not accessible within Homekit. We've been asking for this option for years and still nothing. It is technically possible (Philips Hue does it). I cannot understand why Lutron doesn't see its benefits.
Not that I have done it, but here is a way to do it via the Lutron Integration Protocol with telnet talking to homebridge.
I really want this to happen. I would buy pico remotes to replace all of the toggle switches that control my Hunter Symphony fans. I hate that I have Lutron switches everywhere except for my fans. I have 4 of them. The Picos look so much nicer. Hunter fans even show up in the Lutron app. I wish I could use a pico to control them. Lutron, please expose the Pico remote in HomeKit. I would use them over any other brand.Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt H.
I don't think Lutron has any control over what Apple includes or excludes in HomeKit. The Pico is a one-way transmitter. In the Lutron app, you are not actually pushing a button on a Pico. You are telling the bridge to do what ever the ON button for Pico #1 is supposed to do. The other hubs do the same thing for Pico remotes. I'm not sure why mighty Apple hasn't addressed what seems like a simple fix.
The Pico remote doesn't directly control any load/zone. To control a fan you would need a Pico switch (PD-6ANS) or fan control (PD-FSQ). You could then add a Pico to control the switch/fan control.
I haven't done it but Lutron says you can control HomeKit enabled Hunter fans though the app. I don't believe you can currently do this with a physical Pico.
Lutron could make a Hunter compatible Pico, similar to the Sonos Pico.
If they made a Hunter Pico, this would solve my problem. Lutron, please make a hunter Pico like you've made a Sonos Pico!
I would assume the reverse, Luton has complete control over what's displayed in Homekit and how it's exposed to Homekit. Apple only controls what it could be exposed as.
You don't actually add any Caseta devices to Homekit, you add the bridge and it exposes Caseta devices into Homekit items. Likewise, Homekit doesn't interact with the switches, it only interacts with the bridge and that interacts with the switches.
It's possible there isn't any Homekit device that functions close enough to a Pico to map it into.
I have a Philips Hue Smart Button, linked to the Hue bridge, and it's exposed just fine in Homekit. But, it also means, Homekit sees it as a button and can be configured to do whatever when the button is pressed. It has different functions between Hue and Home apps too. In Hue, there's both a press and a long press. In Home, the only options is Single Press.
If a Pico was exposed in Home, I'm not sure how it would be exposed. Say a dimmer Pico with favorite button. Would that show up as 1 button, 2, 5, something else? When you push the different buttons, what event would be sent to Home? A button press for each one, on for the on, off for the off, but for a single button, something else? This all assumes there's a Home construct that's close enough.
Look at the PJ2-4B-GWH-L01, PJ2-4B-GWH-S01, PJ2-4B-GWH-L31, PJ2-4B-GWH-S31, PJ2-4B-GWH-L21, PJ2-4B-GWH-S21, PJ2-4B-GWH-LS21, PJ2-4B-GWH-L41, PJ2-4B-GWH-P01, PJ2-4B-GWH-P02, PJ2-4B-GWH-P03. All of them have 4 distinct buttons with different markings on them. In theory, they could all be exposed to Homekit as 4 distinct buttons each with a Single Press action. Then, you could do whatever you want in Homekit based on that action. Or, do nothing and let the Lutron bridge control it. In the Lutron bridge, each of those 11 different Pico models does something very different, with very different limitations vs each other and they are not interchangeable. I would bet this disconnect between the way the Lutron bridge and design deals with the Pico and the options available for exposing it in Homekit are the stumbling block. There probably isn't a Homekit option that maps directly and they probably don't want to expose all of those models as 4 individual buttons.
Come on Lutron, please add this feature!The buttons should each show up in HomeKit as a StatelessProgrammableSwitch. This has been supported in HomeKit since iOS 10.3 (over 2 years). Similar to the Hue Tap switch, where Philips retroactively added HomeKit support: https://9to5mac.com/2017/10/03/phili...motion-sensor/
Using the no-longer-maintained Homebridge Lutron Caseta plugin I mentioned earlier, Picos just get exposed as a Stateless Programmable Switch with a number of buttons. Other than the fact that it requires Homebridge (which I’d like to move away from) and that it’s not maintained (which is worrisome), this works great for me. Wish Lutron would just do this. I’d add a screenshot but the forum software seems to be acting up.
Picos are a one way remote. They transmit commands only. You cannot query a Pico to get the status of its assigned devices. If you look at the Caseta app, the Picos never show that they are on, even though you can adjust its controlled devices. In order for a device in Homekit to show up, it must get feedback from the device, which Picos cannot do.
I’m sorry but this is simply not true. Please see my post immediately above yours in this thread. I’m using Picos via a Homebridge plugin right now. HomeKit supports stateless programmable switches as a device type. And Philips Hue officially supports exposing Hue Tap buttons (which are even less stateful than Picos could ever be, since they lack batteries entirely!) using this device type. The necessary HomeKit communication happens with the hub, and the stateless buttons trigger actions.Quote:
Originally Posted by davisadm
+1, adding Picos to HomeKit woul allow me to have 100% of my wall controls be Lutron. I have to use Hunter’s ugly fan control to use their Symphony HomeKit fan. I wish I could map a Pico to the fan’s controls. Pleas make this happen Lutron!
Lutron? Anyone listening?
Hi Lutron, why can't we add a virtual switch or dimmer in the Lutron Caseta app so we could use a Pico to control a vitual switch that Homekit, Smartthings and others would be able to see as a normal device and use as a trigger for a scene?Are you interested in selling tons of Pico remotes? Currently, I buy Aeotec Wall Quadmote that works well with Smartthings, it is expensive but it does the job. And by the way, this is also what I recommend to my friends and customers. But I would like to recommend Picos because they are less expensive and they can mimic a normal switch on a wall.You can do it!Quote:
Originally Posted by scottlitch
I would love this feature too. I have 3 Pico remotes not being used, and it would be awesome to use them as HomeKit triggers.