Haier, the air conditioner maker, takes down open source third-party Home Assistant integration

cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/10882099

Thankfully I don’t use any of their products, but this really pisses me off. They claim that this open source project “causes significant economic harm to their company”

This is ridiculous. It is truly ridiculous. How can something that enables the user to efficiently control their AC cause “significant economic harm”???

Consider forking the repository or mirroring it to another platform like GitLab, Codeberg or your self-hosted Git server, so the project can continue to exist and someone can maybe fork it and maintain it.

The effected repos are: github.com/Andre0512/hOn and github.com/Andre0512/pyhOn

If you don’t know about Home Assistant, check it out. It’s an amazing piece of open-source software, that you can run at home on your own server and use it to control your smart home devices. That way, you don’t need to connect them to the manufacturer’s (probably insecure) cloud. It gives you sovereignty over your smart home instead of some proprietary vendor-locked garbage. Check out their website and the Lemmy community: !homeassistant

I also highly recommend Louis Rossmann’s video about this: youtu.be/RcSnd3cyti0

He makes awesome videos in general, consider subscribing.

As Rossmann said, don’t ever buy anything from such a shitty company that doesn’t respect their customers. This move by Haier is nothing other than a slap in the face for everyone, who just wants to comfortably control the product they paid for. This company is actively hostile towards their paying customers. Fuck these bastards!

tired_n_bored,
  1. Give the copyright to the FSF
  2. Donate to the FSF
jackpot,
@jackpot@lemmy.ml avatar

why donate it? theyll just be sued? do they have powerful legal teams?

tired_n_bored,

The FSF actively encourages people to do that, and yes their legal team is there. Not sure whether it’s “powerful” but surely better than a single developer

lambda,
@lambda@programming.dev avatar

How do you “give copyright” to them?

erranto,

I always thought about why don’t FOSS projects that are at risk of getting sued by big corp like (NewPipe, Popcorn Time, streamio, tachiyomi …) embrace the dark web or git over torrent via VPN, so their projects don’t get threatened with take downs. z-library ended having to move to the dark web after all.

ShortN0te,

Most ppl don’t think about that or don’t know that their project will take off. And then it is already too late.

nullbyte000,

@erranto @Dehydrated z library, pdfdrive, piratebay

erranto,

pdfdrive Thanks for the suggestion, is it any better than z-library or do they host the same content ?

nullbyte000,

@erranto almost similar ig earlier they had pdfdrive.com now they moved to pdfdrive.to

Dehydrated,

Anna’s Archive is probably the best source for books. I use it all the time, actually, I even use it right now. It’s also great for students who need textbooks. Fuck Pearson and those other scammers!

Pantherina,

You get unknown I guess. People move to Github to get a chance of contributions

phx,

From what I read, this project does help integrate with HA to avoid using the Haier app, but still uses Haier’s cloud. Can anyone confirm if this was true?

MrMcGasion,

Based on the documentation on the GitHub, it looks like it does use Haier’s cloud. Which, doesn’t make Haier’s actions any less shitty, but I can understand a company not wanting a bunch of users using their undocumented API, especially if there’s potential to have automations hitting it more frequently than their own app does (not that I have any reason to believe this project was actually being inefficient with API calls).

Pantherina,

Well then I guess it is pretty obvious

baseless_discourse, (edited )

EDIT: sorry, I read it wrong, I thought the reply says the addon “doesn’t” use the remote API.

I digged a bit on the code, and every command indeed go through the cloud. So even if you use this addon, Haire can still collect a fair bit of data about you, since there is no way to communicate locally and directly to the AC.

But the addon only sends the minimum amount of data to achieve functionality, so definitely not as much data as using Haire’s app.

Can you link to where the documentation that specify they don’t use API?

Because I am looking at pyhOn (dependency of hon, and also being taken down), it seems like when executing a command, they do contact the cloud. Specefically


<span style="color:#323232;">url: str = f"{const.API_URL}/commands/v1/send"
</span><span style="color:#323232;">    async with self._hon.post(url, json=data) as response:
</span><span style="color:#323232;">        ...
</span>

github.com/Andre0512/pyhOn/blob/…/api.py#L215 . The call to API is later used to send command:


<span style="color:#323232;">result = await self.api.send_command(
</span><span style="color:#323232;">                self._appliance,
</span><span style="color:#323232;">                self._name,
</span><span style="color:#323232;">                params,
</span><span style="color:#323232;">                ancillary_params,
</span><span style="color:#323232;">                self._category_name,
</span><span style="color:#323232;">            )
</span>

github.com/Andre0512/pyhOn/blob/…/commands.py#L14…

And the API_URL indeed points to a remote API:


<span style="color:#323232;">API_URL = "https://api-iot.he.services"
</span>

github.com/Andre0512/pyhOn/blob/…/const.py#L2

phx,

Yeah, so I can kinda understand Haier’s position here though they probably could have just set/quoted some ToC’s on using their cloud services.

It also means that IMO the plugins weren’t offering much other than integration, and this probably would have been a product I’d have avoided even before they started acting like dicks.

Local control or bust (or ability to reprogrammed with FOSS firmware)

RvTV95XBeo,

Bit of a tangent, but I hear Haier’s legal department can be reached at cybergovernance@haier-europe.com, if anyone has any questions about the legal grounds they’re claiming, I’m sure they’d be happy to elaborate - they clearly have plenty of free time on their hands.

Admetus,

Haier is Hai Er in Chinese, just saying.

DeltaTangoLima,
@DeltaTangoLima@reddrefuge.com avatar

Forked, and mirrored to my Forgejo server. As someone else pointed out on a different community, this is a great example of the Barbra Streisand effect in action.

People like me, without Haier appliances, are now aware of this fuckwittery, and have actively taken steps to preserve the code, before it gets taken down.

Dickheads.

dannym,

Seconded, and added Haier to my mental list of companies to never buy from.

rottingleaf,

Had a nice TV from that company. It was really long ago, though, and the terribly bright blue indicator of it being on I didn’t like, especially when using as a PC monitor.

sparr,

And, since we don’t own or use any Haier appliances, we aren’t subject to their TOS.

JoeKrogan,
@JoeKrogan@lemmy.world avatar

Another one to the boycott list

sxan,
@sxan@midwest.social avatar

Wouldn’t be a bad idea for potential customers to write Haier and let them know they’re on a personal blacklist.

Is there an OSS-hostile list, like the opposite of the Awesome-XYZ lists?

qaz,

codeberg.org/QazCetelic/OSS-Blacklist

dannym,

Someone really should maintain a list like that, hosted on multiple non big tech git hosts.

This recent Anti-FOSS propaganda needs to stop

qaz,

Fork away!

codeberg.org/QazCetelic/OSS-Blacklist

andyburke,
@andyburke@fedia.io avatar

Don't ever buy anything from these people, got it.

comfortablydumb,

How many GBs do these ACs upload to the company’s cloud?

pearsaltchocolatebar,

That ended up being a router error. It was actually something like 1mb.

Dehydrated,

Too many probably

poVoq,
@poVoq@slrpnk.net avatar

Seems like I dodged a bullet by recently deciding for another company. Definitely on my permanent do-not-buy list now, thanks for letting us know that you do not want any customers, Haier 😑

Dehydrated,

Do you use any smart home solution with your AC? Maybe even Home Assistant? Just curious

noorbeast,

I use a BroadLink infrared blaster, as you can control all sorts of devices with Home Assistant that use infrared remotes: www.amazon.com.au/…/B086VBXSDH?th=1

Dehydrated,

This is cool, I actually such something similar for my old school (~10 year old) AC unit because Infrared is the only way to control it.

pearsaltchocolatebar,

The problem with a product like that is that there’s nothing stopping them from locking down their API to only work with their app.

noorbeast,

Compared to what what and at what relative cost? Given the actions of Haier buying into a product eco system seems like a far more expensive and risky proposition!

CameronDev,

The IR blasters can usually be flashed with open firmware like tasmota or esphome. I started with IR as well. The downside for me was that IR was one way. You can tell the unit to turn on, but you cant know if it actually did turn on.

For a cheaper IR option: www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004486051086.html

If anyone is in Aus and wants some IR blasters with tasmota, happy to ship my spares :D

frezik,

I have a Lennox multistage system with a heat pump, and furnace for when it gets too cold. The best way to run those (according to the installer) is at a low level all the time. So it doesn’t benefit much from things like location tracking to turn the system up or down while we’re out. Especially since I work from home.

What it does do is make graphs for tracking how it runs the heat pump and furnace each day.

Dehydrated,

That’s cool. Similar to how I use my heating Home Assistant integration.

CameronDev,

Not the person you asked, but i have a mitsubishi electric heatpump, which i have hooked up to homeassistant via an esphome library. It has a header on the controller board that you can connect to.

Normally the header is for their $200 controller and app, i spent $10 on the parts.

github.com/geoffdavis/esphome-mitsubishiheatpump

I think i better start mirroring the repo…

domi,
@domi@lemmy.secnd.me avatar

I did the same thing for Panasonic ACs if anybody wants to get rid of the cloud: github.com/DomiStyle/esphome-panasonic-ac

CameronDev,

Might just mirror that repo to be safe :D

Dehydrated,

That’s amazing. I love such open source projects! I love the Lemmy, Home Assistant and Open Source community.

pearsaltchocolatebar,

I have a diy thermostat project (really a multi-zone hvac setup) that I might pick back up given what’s going on.

It kinda fell by the way side after my 3D printer started having issues.

kif,

I installed this same system a few months ago. It’s been fantastic - responsive and intuitive. The 5V pin in the CN105 connector means no external power or wiring is required. We haven’t touched the remote since it was installed.

CameronDev,

Yeah, its great. My only complaint is that you cant set the vane positions. And the temp sensors are a bit meaningless due to the height on the wall.

I intend to investigate the vane positioning in the future.

oatscoop,

I’m running a Venstar Colortouch thermostat. They’re not cheap, but they have a local API and there’s a Homeassistant integration.

Dehydrated,

That’s great

Jaysyn,
Jaysyn avatar

What are my appliance alternatives to Haier? I've read they own a lot of other companies.

iamnotdunningkruger,

Haier bought the GE appliance business a few years ago. There are only a few other appliance manufacturers so your choices will be significantly more limited.

frunch,

For major household appliances in the USA, Haier owns GE and Hotpoint. I wasn’t a big fan of GE since the acquisition and it’s only gone downhill since. Whirlpool, Maytag, and Amana (all owned by Whirlpool) are often the companies i would look at. I have fairly specific recommendations for each appliance, feel free to hit me up with any questions

notfromhere,

How is the plugin illegal?

Dehydrated,

Ask those brain dead fucks at Haier

notfromhere,

It sounds like someone out of their jurisdiction should host the repos and tell them to pound sand.

Dehydrated,

Codeberg is hosted in Germany

subtext,

Pretty sure the maintainer is in Germany so that wouldn’t help (unless you meant something else by your comment)

gomp,

It’s not like a judge said it’s illegal… what happened is that a huge multinational company sent a menacing letter to a developer regarding their hobby project, and the developer —understandably— decided to comply.

4am,

Yeah, even though the claim is 1000% horseshit, it’s not like some small time python dad has the means to defend against a giant multinational in court.

Laws are only for the common man.

RvTV95XBeo,

The developer has not yet fully complied - the repo is still up, they have legal insurance and are in discussion with lawyers, and they have responded requesting clarification on the specifics of their alleged “violation”.

In the mean time, I think many people have reached out to Haier to express their displeasure. On an unrelated note, the original menacing letter came from cybergovernance@haier-europe.com in case anyone was curious.

Static_Rocket,
@Static_Rocket@lemmy.world avatar

significant economic harm to our company

Oh! I have a solution! Make it a local API you fucking goofs.

rishado,

My manager once asked me if I could code in API

speaker_hat,

It depends if it’s in the cloud or not

Damage,

I went with Daikin 'cause they had local control… Except that they changed it in the meantime, and I had 2 different AC splits connected to the pump, one of them is older and still has local control, while the other is newer and doesn’t. Fuck all of them.

pearsaltchocolatebar,

You can make a thermostat with a raspberry pi, a few sensors, and a relay board. They’re pretty simple devices.

Really, you don’t even need a pi. An ESP8266 would be more than sufficient.

Source: I made my own thermostat from an esp8266, some sensors, and a relay board.

Damage,

I did that, for my gas heater.

AC is more complex, it has fan speed, air direction (2 of them), temperature settings and so on. I solved with an IR blaster, but that’s not what I wanted, I specifically selected this brand to have local control via wifi.

frezik,

Good enough for a fan, furnace, and AC setup. What we need going forward, though, is something that can intelligently use heat pumps to take into account electrical costs, current rooftop solar generation (if any), and the heat pump’s efficiency ratings in order to most efficiently balance between the heat pump and a regular furnace. Can choose the balance between either cheapest way to run or the least amount of CO2 (which won’t always match up). May also have to consider multi-stage setups where you can run it at low/medium/high levels.

I don’t think it’s impossible for a FOSS solution to do this, but I don’t think anyone has tackled it, either.

kent_eh,

I don’t think it’s impossible for a FOSS solution to do this, but I don’t think anyone has tackled it, either

That’s just a software problem. Not all that difficult, assuming the hardware manufacturers don’t lock you into some bullshit locked down proprietary cloud control thing.

frezik,

Nah, I’d rather data get sent out to external servers and then come back. This is efficient and very smart.

eager_eagle, (edited )
@eager_eagle@lemmy.world avatar

Translation: our legal team has to justify their employment, thus we’re threatening non-profit open source projects that can’t fight back and pose no harm whatsoever to the company’s financials, market position, customers, or any other stakeholder.

It’d be awesome if the maintainers could get a pro bono advice / representation here to make a proper response. They’re volunteering their free time improving an extensive list of crappy products of a brand and this is what they get back? Disgusting move from Haier.

Rentlar,

EFF.org would have lawyers, that I hope would take up the case to help the original repo maintainer out…

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • opensource@lemmy.ml
  • tacticalgear
  • DreamBathrooms
  • InstantRegret
  • magazineikmin
  • osvaldo12
  • Youngstown
  • ngwrru68w68
  • slotface
  • everett
  • rosin
  • thenastyranch
  • kavyap
  • GTA5RPClips
  • modclub
  • megavids
  • normalnudes
  • cubers
  • ethstaker
  • mdbf
  • Durango
  • khanakhh
  • tester
  • provamag3
  • cisconetworking
  • Leos
  • anitta
  • JUstTest
  • lostlight
  • All magazines
    •