MUZZLEY BLOG

Create and Enjoy your Smart Home with Muzzley

[muzzley]

New Version is Out!

Hi there!

The new Muzzley app is here! Celebrate Spring time knowing that your home is taken care of. In the next few months, we are bringing together a new set of services that will help you be safer and healthier around your home and while you're out. 

Hello, lifestyle!

We are bringing new services within the next few months to make your life healthier, safer and more enjoyable. This will be enabled by, of course, your smart devices! Stay tuned for what’s coming next.

New devices arrive :)

In welcoming services to the Muzzley app, we had to make a decision on what devices to keep and which ones needed to go. In the new app version, you will find more reliable and secure smart devices: Somfy One camera, Netatmo Welcome camera, Logitech Circle 2 camera and Fibaro smoke detector are just a few of the new devices! 

Sign up with a new account & set up new “Agents”

In this new version, we kindly ask you to create a new account. This happens because, even though most of the app features remain the same, you will need to set up your devices and "agents" again. Your current “agents” will expire on April 30th, so make sure to create new ones when downloading the new version. Also, no more social media sign up. The new version lets you create a new account safely and privately.

Keep your devices running smoothly

Please keep in mind that the new version will not contain some of the devices you currently use. We do plan to add some devices from the previous version into the new one soon. If you want to keep your current setup (devices and automation) on your Android phone, that will be possible by downloading our APK.  

Download the App Now in iOS and Android. 

If you have any questions about the new version of Muzzley, what to download and how to maintain your devices and automations, please feel free to contact us at any time at [email protected].  

Have a great day!  

The Muzzley Team 

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Visit Muzzley at MWC 2017!

Muzzley will be launching its new B2B offer at MWC 2017! 

Book a meeting with our Partnerships Director, Teresa Costa ([email protected]).

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The perfect mood for Valentine’s, by Muzzley

We believe the best way to surprise your partner is with a fantastic meal, so why not take our suggestion? But of course, it has to have with an IoT touch :)

First, here’s a quick recipe for a Bolognese, using your Slow Cooker:

1 - In each of 2 large skillets, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and ½ tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat.

2 - Add the onions and garlic to one pan and the ground meat to the other. Season each pan with ¾ teaspoon salt and pepper. Cook until the onions and garlic have softened and are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste to the onions and cook for another 3 minutes. Cook the ground meat until lightly browned, about 6 minutes.

3 - Transfer the onion mixture and the meat to a slow cooker. Add the chopped tomatoes and their juices, thyme, oregano, basil, and the bay leaves. Cover and cook for 4 hours on high or for 8 hours on low. Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaves.

4 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; cook the spaghetti until al dente. Drain and toss with the sauce. Transfer to plates, and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, a drizzling of olive oil, and chopped basil. Recipe from: http://www.foodandwine.com/

Now, to make this really interesting, you can connect your Slow Cooker to a WeMo Switch, and have the meal ready for when you get Home:

And once it starts to cook, the romantic mood is set automatically, so when you get home, the romance kicks in faster:

Have a great Valentine’s everyone!

Cheers, 

The Muzzley Team

[muzzley]

Push Notifications are now available as Actions on Muzzley Agents!

Setting up notifications based on the state change of your devices is now possible inside the Muzzley app!

Create Agents to send you notifications when the state of your devices changes! If the temperature of your thermostat is changed, if your sprinklers start to work, or even if your lights are turned on, be notified thanks to this new feature!

To create a notification Agent, please follow the following steps:

1 - After defining the Trigger option, click on the “I’ll make sure that” button

2 - Next, click on the “Push” option, under the Notifications menu, and click “Next”

3 - Now you can write the content of the notification, and finish by clicking “Done”.

4 - Once you have completed the Agent setup, just click the “Finish” button...and that’s it!

Please let us know if you have any trouble with this process, or if you have any other suggestions please send us an email to [email protected], and we’ll get back to you shortly. Your feedback is very important to us!

[muzzley]

How to make your Home Trick or Treat ready for Halloween!

Halloween is here, and with it, comes that basic need to spook everyone that knocks on your door for trick or treating!

Here’s our suggestion to spook up your home. You’ll need:

- Insteon Open/Close or Hidden Door Sensors

- Insteon Plugin Lamp-Dimmer Modules (part of the Insteon Home Automation Starter Kit)

- UV Black lights + Fluorescent Light painting 

Step 1 - Start by setting up the Insteon Sensors and Plugin Lamp-Dimmer Modules

Step 2 - Once the devices are connected to Muzzley, please connect the black lights to the Insteon Modules, and start painting your costume with the fluorescent light (example: like a skeleton!)

Step 3 - Next, go to the Muzzley app and Create an Agent using the Insteon Door Sensors as a Trigger, and the Insteon Plugin Lamp-Dimmer Modules as Action. 

This way, every time you open de door to answer trick or treaters, suddenly your home lights will get dark, and you’ll be a living breathing skeleton, creating the perfect scary environment! 

You can get 15% off on Insteon products by inserting the discount code MUZZLEY1 here, valid until the end of November 1st.

[muzzley]

Sunset/Sunrise feature available on Muzzley Agents!

It’s finally possible to create Agents based on Sunset and Sunrise hours worldwide!

Want to start your sprinklers only after Sunset? Only want to turn off your outdoor lights right after sunrise? Learn how to do it below:

Step 1 - On the Muzzley app, click on the Agents symbol, and then on the “Add an Agent” button

Step 2 - Please name the Agent, and then click on the “+” sign to choose the type of Trigger for your Agent

Step 3 - On the “When I detect that...” menu, select “World events” and then click “Next”

Step 4 - Select the “Sunrise” or “Sunset” option, the Location you want to set, and the days you want the Agent to be executed on. The Location screen can be seen below, where your current location automatically appears, or you can simply click “Search address” for others. Click “Save” to get back to the World Events screen, and when you’re done, click “Done.”

Step 5 - Now all you have to do is select your Actions by clicking on “I’ll make sure that...” and you’re all set!

Please let us know if you have any trouble with this process, or if you have any other suggestions by sending us an email to [email protected], and we’ll get back to you shortly. Your feedback is very important to us!

[muzzley]

Muzzley welcomes it’s first remote control button to the family!

Muzzley introduces it’s first ever remote control for multiple devices!

Presenting our latest integration: Qmote, by Qblinks.

Here are the steps to adding this device to your Muzzley account:

Step 1:

- Download Qmote by Qblinks app from App Store

Step 2:

- Create Qblinks account and login on the app

Step 3:

- Turn On Bluetooth on your phone to pair with Qmote, and click on the + sign on the Qmote app to add it

Step 4:

- Once you’ve added Qmote on the Qblinks app, it’s time to tell the Qblinks app which clicking patterns will be used on Muzzley. To do that, start by adding actions clicking on the arrow on the right side of the screen

Step 5:

- Select the clicking pattern you’d like to use

Step 6:

- Select the app in which you’d like to use the clicking pattern (in this case, select the Muzzley app)

NOTE: you will need to repeat this process for every clicking pattern you want to use on the Muzzley app.

Now, let’s add this device on the Muzzley app:

Step 7

- Go to the screen containing your list of devices, and click on “+ Add a device”

Step 8

- Select the option with the “Qblinks QMote” signature

Step 9

- Insert your account credentials and click on “Sign In”

Step 10

- Select your device, and finally click “Add to My Devices”...and that’s it!

The Qmote will then appear on your list of devices like so:

Now you can create Agents inside the Muzzley app using Qmote! Please make sure you only use clicking patterns authorized for the Muzzley app, as previously showed on steps from 1 to 6. 

If you never created Agents on Muzzley before, learn how to do so right here.

Muzzley also suggests use cases for your devices, which you can checkout here.

Please let us know if you have any trouble with this process, or if you have any other suggestions by sending us an email to [email protected], and we’ll get back to you shortly. Your feedback means gold to us!

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Changing Time and Unit settings on the Muzzley app? You got it!

Do you use the metric system? Or do you use imperail units? 12 hour or 24 hour time format? Now Muzzley allows you to choose between them according to your preference!

Here’s how to do it:

1 - Go to User Profile on the Muzzley app

2 - Click on the Settings option, and then select Units of Measurement or Time Format according to what you want to change

And that’s it! How simple is that?

Please let us know if you have any trouble with this process, or if you have any suggestions on how to improve it by sending us an email to [email protected], and we’ll get back to you shortly. Your feedback means gold to us!

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Muzzley integrates with Honeywell Lyric Thermostat!

Muzzley is once again proud to extend the family of compatible devices!

Announcing our latest integration: the Honeywell Lyric Thermostat.

Checkout some useful use cases you can try here.

Please let us know if you have any trouble with this process, by sending us an email to [email protected], and we’ll get back to you shortly.

Please let us know what other devices you would like to see in Muzzley. Your feedback means gold to us!

[muzzley]

Muzzley now uses the Connected Home as a notification center for calls and SMS!

Muzzley now allows you to use incoming text or calls to trigger actions on your connected devices! This feature is only available for Android users.

To start using this feature, please follow this easy set of steps, explaining how the new feature works:

1 - Go to the Agents screen and click on “+ Add an Agent”. Click on the + sign below “When I detect that”

2 - Select the option “My smartphone”

3 - Now it’s time to select the type of trigger: incoming text messages or calls (or both) from specific or any numbers

4 - Click Done when you are finished. Next, click on the + sign below “I’ll make sure that” to select the set of actions that will be triggered if the conditions defined previously are verified. When you are finished, click Done.

5 - Don’t forget to name your Agent, click on Finish, and that’s it!

Please let us know if you have any trouble with this process, by sending us an email to [email protected], and we’ll get back to you shortly.

Also, please let us know what other devices you would like to see in Muzzley. Your feedback means gold to us!

[muzzley]

Muzzley Use Cases for the Connected Home

Part of Muzzley’s philosophy is to help our users create their Smart Home, by making suggestions on how they can take the most advantage of their Connected Devices.

Here are some examples, organised by feature/category of devices:

Remote control (Qmote, by Qblinks)

1 - Using Muzzley’s location feature, click once on the button when you arrive home to light up your garden, and use the same click when you are at work to turn off all lights at your home.

2 - Tired after a days work and going to bed early? With just a click of a button, turn off all your lights at home when you go to bed.

3 - In the morning, when you go to work, use a clicking pattern to lock your front door once you leave the house, and the same to unlock it when you arrive home.

Learn more here.

Lights (e.g. LIFX, Philips Hue, Milights)

1 - Simply tap a Shortcut that turns off your LIFX lamps when you leave home. Learn how to create a Shortcut.

2 - Create a sequence of mood lighting and dimming until lights go completely off for bedtime (this is especially great for kids). You can do this by setting up an Agent.

3 - Control your lamps with your voice with Amazon Echo. Just say “Alexa, ask Muzzley to turn off the Living Room light”. Here’s how to set up Amazon Echo in Muzzley.

Thermostats (e.g. Nest, Ecobee3, Netatmo Thermostat, Honeywell)

1 - If temperature is too high, automatically turn on fans connected to smart plugs to help take the edge off the summer heat wave and save energy before using the thermostat.

2 - A high temperature may lead to high levels of humidity. If the temperature is high, turn on a lamp Blue meaning it’s time to crack a window and let fresh air into your home.

You can take advantage of these examples by setting up an Agent.

Voice assistants (Amazon Echo)

1 - Voice instruction: “Alexa, ask Muzzley to run the ‘Freezing Agent’” - perfect for cold nights where the Agent is set up to increase your temperature and dim the lights

2 - Voice instruction: “Alexa, ask Muzzley to run the ‘All Lights On Agent’” - this will turn on all your smart lights and lights connected to smart plugs at once

3 - Voice instruction: “Alexa, ask Muzzley to turn on the corridor lights” - ideal for when you’re running to the bathroom in the middle of the night

Learn more about our integration with the Echo here.

Weather Stations (Netatmo)

1 - When outdoor freezing temperatures approach, nudge the set temperature on the thermostat up a couple of degrees. This way on those extra cold nights, the inside is just a little bit warmer.

2 - When weather station forecasts for rain/cooler weather, turn off sprinklers (for example, Rachio Sprinkler or GreenIQ).

Learn more about Muzzley’s compatible Netatmo Weather Stations and other matching devices right here.

Smoke Detectors (Nest Protect)

1 - If smoke is detected on the kitchen and Emergency mode is activated, turn all your home lights to red to alert you as soon as possible.

Learn more about why smoke detection is important and how it can affect you here.

Event Calls/SMS

1 - When you get incoming calls or text messages from your better half, let your home lights change color to warn you, so that you’ll never miss another chance to talk to that special someone.

2 - Don’t want to be disturbed with calls? Know who tried to call you by triggering different colours on your light bulbs, so you know who you have to call right away.

3 - We know your baby needs to sleep, so he grows up to become a strong Muzzley user. Instead of waking up your baby, let your lights warn you of incoming calls, without making any sound.

Learn more about this feature and how to set it up here.

Hi there! Yes, we’re talking to you! If you have any useful use cases you thought about or are currently using, feel free to share them with us by sending an email to [email protected]. Other users will surely appreciate it...we know we do!

[muzzley]

Muzzley Integrates with Lights & Locks on the Wink Hub

Announcing our latest integration: Lights and Locks through the Wink hub. Muzzley is happy to welcome these new members to the family with our most recent Wink Hub integration:

Lights

Hampton

Connected Cree

Commercial Electric

TCP LED

OSRAM

GE Link

Philips Hue

Locks

Kwikset Lock

Schlage Lock

Do you use Wink?  Vote here for the next Wink product to be added to Muzzley.

Setup Instructions

Here are the steps to adding these devices to your Muzzley account:

Step 1

Go to the screen containing your list of devices, and click on “+ Add a device”

Step 2

Select one of the options that contain the “by Wink” signature

Step 3

Insert your account credentials and click on “Sign In”

Step 4

Select the devices you’d like to add, and finally click “Add to My Devices”...and that’s it!

Please let us know if you have any trouble with this process, by sending us an email to [email protected], and we’ll get back to you shortly.

You can also let us know what other devices you would like to see in Muzzley, either more Wink compatible devices by voting here or email us at [email protected] regarding other devices that you have in your connected home.

[muzzley]

Indoor Carbon Dioxide

Stuffy rooms are no fun to be in.  High levels of Carbon Dioxide can contribute to the stuffy feeling in a room, but high levels of Carbon Dioxide may be present even when we do not notice.  In addition to impacting indoor comfort, research also shows that decision making is impaired by high levels of Carbon Dioxide.

More and more Muzzley users are integrating devices that monitor Carbon Dioxide levels in their smart homes. We believe even more people could benefit from monitoring and maintaining healthy indoor Carbon Dioxide levels. Everyone should be able to breathe clean, fresh air inside.

In this article we will address three important questions about indoor Carbon Dioxide: How do you know indoor Carbon Dioxide levels?  How can you or your family be affected by high Carbon Dioxide levels? What can you do to improve indoor Carbon Dioxide levels?

How do you know indoor Carbon Dioxide levels?  

First let’s take a quick step into basic biology.  Humans breathe in Oxygen and breathe out Carbon Dioxide.  Plants use Carbon Dioxide in photosynthesis to convert it back to Oxygen.  This process isn’t something that plants and animals actually have to think about, and we aren’t really wired to detect precise levels of either oxygen or carbon dioxide.  Outdoor Carbon Dioxide levels are approximately 350-450 parts per million (ppm).

If you come inside from outdoors and feel that a room is stuffy, you have a pretty good indicator that the Carbon Dioxide levels are probably high.  But the stuffiness may not actually be Carbon Dioxide.  It could be that the room is warm or humid or both so there is no guarantee that feeling is from Carbon Dioxide.  

Fortunately, there is a way to know with detail your indoor Carbon Dioxide levels, the Netatmo indoor weather station module.  Netatmo monitors indoor Carbon Dioxide levels automatically.  It works with Muzzley so in addition to the automated notifications that Netatmo can send you, you can create interactivity rules using information in Netatmo to do things like turn on a red light.  In this way you can become more aware of indoor Carbon Dioxide levels. 

How can you or your family be affected by high Carbon Dioxide levels? 

Carbon Dioxide levels above 700 ppm may make a room feel uncomfortable, and you or others may even complain of a feeling of stiffness in the air, and odors may be noticed or things that already smell may actually become more intolerable.  

In a 2012 study conducted at the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), significant reductions in decision making abilities were noted on six of nine scales when Carbon Dioxide was at 1,000 ppm.  

A 2015 study from the Harvard School of Public Health confirmed the findings of the Berkeley study and actually found significant negative impact when Carbon Dioxide levels reached only 930 ppm. 

As levels increase from 1,000 to 2,500 ppm, general drowsiness can be felt.  According to the LBNL study, at Carbon Dioxide levels of 2,500 ppm participants in the study had reductions on seven of nine scales and actually had dysfunctional ratings for thinking strategically and taking initiative. 

What can you do to improve indoor Carbon Dioxide levels?

The first step to addressing the problem of high indoor Carbon Dioxide is awareness.  Set up alerts with your Netatmo Weather Station Indoor Module and connect it to your Muzzley app. Learn more about the Netatmo Weather Station here.

Muzzley will provide you with tips based on your Carbon Dioxide levels to help you manage your indoor environment. With Muzzley, Netatmo and a connected light bulb, you could also create an Agent like this one to turn a light red when Carbon Dioxide levels are high:

Often times, the simplest solution is to open a window or door and allow fresh Oxygen from the outside to circulate naturally.  In cases where levels are high and a quicker exchange of air is desired, place a fan in front of an open window or door to blow fresh air from outside into the room. 

For persistent problems with indoor Carbon Dioxide, a consultation with a professional contractor my help you understand if a whole house ventilation system that supplies air from the outside is appropriate for your home.  You are also welcome to ask us at questions by sending an email to [email protected].  

[muzzley]

Windows 10 welcomes Muzzley to the family!

Muzzley is now available on the Windows 10 app. You can access your smart home on your smartphone, tablet and… PC! Download now!

The Windows app has a new design and improved user experience, with easy on-boarding so you can easily manage your devices. We also added new features for Windows user we think you’re going to love. Check out Shortcuts and Agents!

Here's a preview of how Muzzley looks in Windows 10:

Shortcuts 

Quickly execute your most used actions just by clicking on a button!

Learn more about Shortcuts in Muzzley.

Agents 

Hook up all your smart devices - when an action occurs in one device, another set of actions is triggered in other device(s).

Learn more about Agents in Muzzley.

Profile 

If you have any suggestions or issues you’d like to report, please let us know. Your feedback is really important to us!

If you have any suggestions or questions, send us an e-mail to [email protected] - we’re happy to help you get set up with Muzzley in Windows 10!

Also, don’t forget to check out the our full list of smart devices. If you do not have Muzzley yet, download the free app from the App Store, Google Play or Windows Phone Store.

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On-boarding Your Smart Home Experience

Muzzley wants to help you create and enjoy your smart home. We believe a simple and easy-to-work app is the first step for an enjoyable experience.

We asked ourselves: Is our app easy to use? Do our users understand its functionalities? Are they taking full advantage of their smart devices and the connections between them?

We figured we needed to help you take the most out of Muzzley. We then came up with a new and fresh On-boarding experience, where we guide you through every step of the way.

First time in the app all the way to the first device

Introducing New Features

How do you like this new On-boarding? Send us your feedback to [email protected]; we’d love to hear from you!

Oh - and don’t forget to check out all our smart devices. If you do not have Muzzley yet, download it is iOS, Android and Windows Phone.

[muzzley]

Enjoy Your Smart Home

Setting up a smart home may be easy. You choose one or more smart products, buy them and install them. Then download an app and control them through the smartphone.

We couldn’t help but wonder... Is setting up a smart home all there is to it? What if the $300 worth of devices you just bought can’t work together? And even if they can, will you know what connections to create, and why they are relevant to you?

We spent the last couple months trying to answer these questions, and here’s what we came up with: a feature called ‘Cards’ that actually lets you enjoy the smart home experience.

What are Cards?

Cards are personalized suggestions that provide you ideas on how to manage your smart home more efficiently, without you having to program every single action.

How do they work?

Cards are sensitive to your location, time zone, the weather... And they adapt to the kind of devices you add to Muzzley.  

Here are some examples:

Cards are customized to you. This means we will send you suggestions that will help you understand the full potential of your devices and how to use them together.

Just a heads up! You can save a suggestion directly to your app or decline it at any time. We will progressively adapt our suggestions based on your choices.

Where can I find them?

Cards show up on your feed at the bottom left-hand corner (top left-hand corner in Android):

We’d love to hear your feedback on this new feature! Send us an email at [email protected].

Oh - and don’t forget to check out all our smart devices. If you do not have Muzzley yet, download it is iOS, Android and Windows Phone.

[muzzley]

Create Your Smart Home

We’re on a quest to let you create and enjoy your smart home. And what’s a smart home without smart devices?

Choosing the right devices is not always an easy task. They are expensive, sometimes don’t work with the others you already have, and even if they do, you might not know how to make them work together. Other times you just don’t know what’s out there.

Here’s where Muzzley comes into play. We just expanded our ‘Cards’ feature and now help you create your smart home, with suggestions of devices that are right for you and your family.

What are Cards?

Cards are personalized suggestions that provide you ideas on how to manage your smart home more efficiently, without you having to program every single action. Now, you can also see product suggestions, know more about each product and learn how you can benefit from them.

How do they work?

Cards that suggest products are sensitive to the kind of devices you add to Muzzley, as well as your lifestyle (e.g. if you’re a parent, a pet-owner, a workout-addict, etc). We’ll first show you why we believe you need a certain product, then let you learn more about it, and finally allow you to purchase it.

Here are some examples:

Where can I find them?

Cards show up on your feed at the bottom left-hand corner (top left-hand corner in Android).

We’d love to hear your feedback on this new feature! Send us an email at [email protected] and tell us what you think.

Oh - and don’t forget to check out all our smart devices. If you do not have Muzzley yet, download it in iOS, Android and Windows Phone.