Controlling Tailwind with Siri
I was able to use a combination of IFTTT Webhooks and Apple Shortcuts app to control Tailwinds via Siri.
1) Enable Integration with IFTTT via Tailwind App
2) This guide shows the same basic setup
3) Update the shortcut with a Siri command
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Official comment
Cameron,
That is very resourceful of you! Kudos!
I'm wondering if now is the right time to tell you that our next app update will have Siri Shortcuts control included?
Scott
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I'm using the Siri shortcuts control... but wow is it really slow. Not sure if it's just how Siri works, or if it's something specific to Tailwind. I'll say "Siri, open the large garage door" - and then like 2 minutes later, it opens...
It's really too laggy/slow to be useful. Do I have something set up wrong, or is this expected? Stand alone IFTTT commands work very quick - its only when I use the new siri shortcut that it takes so long. Maybe I'll try what Cameron did instead of using the built in function...
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Ryan,
It should not be that slow. It should happen within seconds. I just did more testing right now and every time it responds within 2 seconds or less of Siri confirming the command.
Can you please try it again and let me know how it goes. Perhaps something somewhere was offline when you tested?
Scott
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Please check out this link from Apple. Just scroll about halfway down the page to the section on setting up Siri Shortcuts through the settings menu.
https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT209055
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Ok, I was able to get my iPhone setup with Siri control. One disappointing thing is I apparently have to unlock the phone which defeats the convenience but I guess it's better than nothing. Would be interested to know if there's a way to not need to unlock the phone. Seems weird because I"m using voice control so the phone should know it's me.
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We are considering removing this restriction, but with a very large disclaimer in the app if you do that. If someone can imitate your voice, they can open your garage door simply by speaking to your phone. There's currently no way for us to secure the open command with a PIN code like with Google Assistant and Alexa, so we would need a substantial disclaimer in the app if we enable this.
I am an iPhone user myself. I generally find that I'm holding my phone in my hand when I issue the Siri command, so I just hold my thumb briefly over the home button for the fingerprint scan and it's done. The only time it's a problem for me personally is when I'm wearing gloves.
Anyways, I've asked the team to look into removing the unlock requirement. Will see what they come back with.
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Scott, I hope they remove this restriction. I use my hands free steering wheel controls to activate Siri so my phone us usually in my pocket which isn't convenient to unlock. In this day and age most of us find out pretty quickly if we have a lost or stolen phone and can remotely wipe the iPhone clean so I think the actual risk is low. Thanks for being so responsive.
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Will you please consider removing the PIN restriction (or at least making it optional for users with Alexa or Google home integration) I’ve already got enough PINs to juggle and I really don’t like having a common household PIN just to allow my wife and friends to open my garage door from the inside going out. It makes no sense.
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Albert,
Thank you but you will need to talk to Google and Amazon about that. Both of those companies require the PIN code. As a device manufacturer we must disclose the type of device we are integrating during the certification process. The moment we disclose that Tailwind is a garage door controller, both Amazon and Google require a PIN code to issue an open command and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it. You will find the same to be true of ANY device that controls a garage door.
HOWEVER, there is a loophole if you are an IFTTT user. Tailwind has both actions and triggers. You can use IFTTT to create an open command without a PIN code because we have an action on IFTTT for opening the door. So you just set up the trigger to be a voice command of your choosing, and set the trigger as opening the door.
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