So, the main reason I pulled the trigger on getting this doorbell is that our previous one (a Zmodo) was literally falling apart. I don’t know if it was age, sun or aggressive button pressing, but the button was half gone.
Yobi is the first (maybe second, but first for consumers) Homekit enabled doorbell (as advertised during WWDC ’20).
When you’re on the bleeding edge, getting cut is a likelihood. The Zmodo had a clever install. You installed and connected your doorbell wiring to a plate. The actual hardware slid on and locked down with a screw.
Yobi ain’t got time for that!
Installation
They Yobi comes with an ugly gold frame. You connect your wiring directly to the device. The frame leaves zero room for wiring. I guess Yobi assumes you have plenty of doorbell wiring that you can pull out to make use of, but that is easily shoved back inside.
Try as I might, I couldn’t get my not long wiring to connect to the device and shove back inside. Yobi provides some wire extenders which help, a little.
The solution I came up with was to use one of their little off-set bits. They include two, one that angles your device slightly up or slightly down and one that angles your device slightly to the right or left. The upside of these is they also provide some space for wires.
If you plan to go this route, get your own screws. This is the screw they give you, the head is so small it passes right through the slot it’s meant to hold your device to the wall through. Who thought this screw made sense? Oh and it’s such a shitty and soft metal, you’re likely to strip the head putting the screw in. One and done.
Thankfully I have quite the collection of random screws from other projects.
Overall
Once you get past the pretty janky install, connecting this thing to your network, and Homekit Home, is actually really easy, Sorta.
They put the homekit code on the back of the device. Nowhere else, not in the documentation, anywhere. Likely depending on your wiring, the device is on, when shoved into the frame.
Thankfully the iPhone camera is good and I could capture the code from severe angle.
Once you get past that, it’s actually really easy. Kudos to Yobi here, adding to HomeKit once scanned took one shot. I’ve had other gear that took a half dozen attempts.
What Would Improve?
I’d ditch the gold. I’d include usable hardware. If possible, I’d make the frame either have room for wires, or have the wiring attach to the frame.
Once I have more time, I’m going to have to take mine off the wall and tighten up the install, which I don’t relish.
That said, it’s nice to have one less app, and to have my doorbell in HomeKit. I assume once iOS 14 is released to the public, the whole “Homepod announce doorbell” thing will work.
(which I LOVE) app on my iPad and do more than I can on the iPhone. It’s nice to have an app that knows the device it’s on and offers an experience that matches the real estate. The Rachio app isn’t an iPad friendly app even, so it just runs the iPhone app in 2X (which means I immediately uninstalled it.) Maybe Rachio should send their Dev team to 
, door locks, and cameras. Since then I’ve added another Camera to the front porch, and some smart bulbs.
(Wired, so that it’s HomeKit friendly). Overall it’s a good camera if you can get past Logitech’s mostly horrible install and set up instructions. Really a homeKit code that’s grey font on black plastic, 2pt font, under a piece of the camera, so you need to write it down since you can’t pair while the camera is unpowered… Really Logitech? Beyond that, it’s a great camera. It is weatherproof and does a great job at night. I don’t pay for the smart alerts, because nearly $10/month is a bit extreme. It’s great as is and really I want it more for watching for upcoming appts and watching for deliveries.
bulbs. I’m not a huge fan of smart bulbs vs. smart switches since smart bulbs have a point of failure that switches don’t, the switch. I’m going to have to get some covers or something for the switches in question. That said, they’re a great addition. Using the Home app on iOS I’ve chained two bulbs (one fixture) to turn on with another set of lights, so now it’s one and done, lighting the living room. Handy for sure. I’ve added a bulb to our jam cellar room in the basement, with the intention of adding a motion sensor. Right now that little room has an old-timey pull string. I’m hoping to just make it, “open door, the light comes on. Motion stops, light off”
to the rooftop. We’ve got some nice patio lighting up there, that I hate plugging and unplugging. I used to just leave it on all the time, which is kinda wasteful during the day, but easier then going over to the plug and fiddling with the cover to turn it all on, etc. (yes, laziness rules the day)