Unbridged Camera

[clossie]

I have noted the following statement in the current version release notes referring to the option to Unbridge Cameras: if true, all Ring Cameras we be treated as external accessories, which generally leads to better performance. This means they each need to be individually added to HomeKit

I thought I would try selecting the option to see what happens - In alignment with the notes, my 4 cameras dropped from the Homebrodge plugin and are no longer visible in HomeKit...If your cameras are already bridged, they will be deleted from HomeKit when you enable this option, and you will need to reconfigure any associated automations or HomeKit settings

What I cannot seem to figure out is how to add the cameras back in? Any guidance would be appreciated as I would rather figure this out before it becomes default

[gcastelli3]

i was told by the programmer. "Simply select to add an accessory, and then, on the screen where there is the option to scan the code, select "more options" and you will see the individual cameras. Select the one you wish to add and enter the code or select use camera to use the QR code." I can see the devices in that list however, I have tried both the qr code (camera) and the 5 digit code and neither has worked for
for me. Hoping this will be fixed soon. I am going back to original setup for now.

[tsightler]

I'm not sure why codes are only 5 digits, that is weird but I guess maybe a HOOBS thing. This is why it's not really easy to provide direct support to HOOBS users as they basically repackage Homebridge and do various things to make it easier to consume, but with that they take on responsibility to be first line support

In the end, this is not a HOOBS plugins, it is a Homebridge plugin. The goal is to support HOOBS as well, but they have to take point support because only they are familiar with the changes they make and the configuration of their solution, that information is a black box to us. Some plugin developers have even explicitly stopped supporting HOOBS because of this as HOOBS users come and flood their Github pages with issues that are not related to the plugin at all, vs contacting HOOBS support.

At some point, support for bridged cameras will likely be removed, but there is no current timeline.

[gcastelli3]

Trying to dig into this. Maybe the problem is that I am trying to enter the Ring pin but what may be needed is the bridge pin which is 8 digits. It does allow me to add Accessory Port Pool range a well. In the logs it tells me what ports are assigned for each camera as well

[tsightler]

To be completely honest, I have no idea what you are referring to with regards to Ring PIN. In base homebridge you get a QR code/pin for the bridge so that you can add it. This code is 8 digits in the format of XXX-XX-XXX. You just use this same PIN for pairing standalone accessories as well. When the plugin starts up you can look in the logs and should see messages similar to this:

Front Door 717B is running on port 42316.
Please add [Front Door 717B] manually in Home app. Setup Code: 649-41-545

The setup code is the PIN, and should be the same for every camera as well as the bridge, at least it is in native Homebridge. I would not really expect HOOBS to be different.

[gcastelli3]

OK that was it. Home was looking for the plugin pin and not the pin of the Ring device. They are now appearing and connected correctly. The Hoobs log does not provide the Setup code line as shown but it is on the Ring Bridge page under PIN. Thanks, sorry for driving you crazy but hopefully this will help others as well.

[tsightler]

Great! Glad you got it working and thanks for sharing!

[clossie]

Following the above - I solved my issue as follows.

System:
Homebridge plugin running on QNAP T251
Ring Plugin - Running as Child Bridge

Process -
Select Unbridge Camera in Ring Plugin.
Restart the Ring Child Bridge.
Restart the Homebridge server.
Open the Ring Plugin logs and ensure each camera you have shows as a Manually Configure option. The code (for me anyway) was the same as the overarching Homebridge 8 digit pin.
Restart your HomeKit Homehub - for me a MiniPod
In HomeKit select “Add Accessory” and select the “more options” text.
My 4 cameras now appeared herein. Selected each and used the Homebridge plugin code and one by one they added fine.