HSBuddy

This section will help you get up and running with HSBuddy.

Installing HSBuddy

There are 2 components to HSBuddy that you need to install and configure separately:

1. The mobile application that runs on your phone or tablet. You can get this application using the following links, depending on the kind of device that you are using:
   • Apple App Store
   • Google Play Store
2. The server plugin that runs on your HomeSeer server. You can install the plugin using the Plugin Manager on your HS server website. The plugin can be found under the User Interfaces section:

Installing the plugin on your HomeSeer server is not required in order to use the app. However, some Features will not be available unless you have the plugin installed.

Plugin requirements

Please make sure your HomeSeer server meets the following requirements, based on its operating system.

For Windows:

You will need Windows 7 or later. If you are on Windows 7, make sure that the .NET Framework 4.5 is installed.

For Linux (x86/64):

You will need to install the mono-devel package, for example:

sudo apt-get install mono-devel

For Linux (Raspberry Pi):

You will need to install the mono-devel and libsqlite3-0 packages, for example:

sudo apt-get install mono-devel
sudo apt-get install libsqlite3-0

Connecting to your server

The first time you start HSBuddy it will require that you configure your server settings. The application supports two connection types: Direct and MyHomeSeer connections.

[Option 1] MyHomeSeer Connection

HomeSeer provides an proxy service to make your server accessible on the Internet. The service is called MyHomeSeer and is available to all HomeSeer clients.

On your HomeSeer server

To setup your server to connect to MyHomeSeer you must:

1. Create an account at https://myhs.homeseer.com/
2. Enable MyHomeSeer Remote Control in your server:
   • Go to Tools > Setup > Network
   • Choose to Enable remote access through MyHomeSeer service

On the HSBuddy app

Back in the Connection options, you will need to provide the user name and password of your MyHomeSeer account so that the application can connect on your behalf.

If you get authentication errors trying to access your server, you can try enabling the option Use alternate authentication from the Advanced section on the Settings tab.

[Option 2] Direct Connection

Connecting the HSBuddy app directly to your HomeSeer server requires that your server is accessible to the Internet. This process will be specific to your Internet Service Provider, the brand and model of your router, whether your server runs on Windows or Linux, and other details. Suffice to say, it is not a straightforward configuration, and definitely not recommended unless you know what you are doing. I’ve put together a quick guide to help orient you in case you decide to pursue this route: Direct Connection Setup

To setup a Direct Connection from the app, you need to provide the user name and password to your server as well as your server host, port, and whether to connect using HTTP or HTTPS. If you are connecting via a local network you may specify your server IP address in the host field.

If you are connecting using HTTPS and your server is using a self-signed certificate, you will need to enable the Accept invalid certificates option from the Advanced section on the Settings tab.