Yes I’m no expert. But I have used it for probably 10 years now to be able to access ssh on my computer when I’m traveling. But there are maybe certain cases where it won’t work.
And lately I used it together with VPN service in my router and then I have access to HG and whatever like the phone was on the local network.
I dismissed it in the past for a couple reasons.
Yes I use free and have to renew every month. But it takes only like 30 seconds so I didn’t see it as a big problem. Much better for me than have to check if the external ip have changed.
There are a lot of dynamic dns services, use them and connect to your HG host with the domain name instead of IP.
Here you can find comparison of some of them: https://socialcompare.com/en/comparison/dynamic-dns-providers
Btw, I think you can try to contact Generoso through Play Market.
If I remember right when you leave feed back in the app store the developer gets an email stating so.
That might work best. I tried the contact link and it went to the google+ page.
Either way it is probably hard to get in contact with Gene.
The google play page says 10,000 downloads and he’ll release the code. It says 500 IIRC…
Pity Gene doesn’t resurface. There’s renewed interest in HomeGenie. Who knows he might actually make some money from it this time round.
I know he’s probably watching us all flapping in the breeze with his creation.
The current download count is ever so slightly short of the target 
. Don’t hold your breath for a code release just yet.
what might be easier is to ressurect bounz’s vue version… i also thought about creating a windows app as i don’t hide the fact that i hate the ui as its, as its so hard to extend… really need the non minified source too
Gene has resurfaced. He has been answering issues and help request on HomeGenie github.
That’s sounds promising !!!
But I think that have happened before? A couple of commits and then quiet for a year.
And either way no matter what his plans are I think that killing the old forum was a misstake.
But we will see what happens.
It is not unusual for any developer to go quiet for a year or even more.Looking after a forum is a lot of work depending on how active it is. Since I never got into HG back then I wasn’t able to help out with it which many forums need.
If activity slows (few posts per month) it is easy to dismiss and pull the plug.
Commenting on suggestions and expressing interest in Ideas put forth peaks a developers interest. Lurkers or leachers do nothing for keeping a forum or project active. Stating your moving on due to lack of progress will kill a project quicker then anything. I’ve just taken an interest in HG and would hate for it or the Android app to die.
We’ve been here before. The difference this time is there’s a far greater choice of home automation projects available now.
Users are no longer willing to wait around for the odd update here and there and being at the mercy of one single developer.
Projects like Home Assistant with a vast array of technologies already developed and its large user base and community have now taken the lead.
I’m afraid HG has lost a lot of ground and unless an experienced developer like @Bounz takes the lead with this forum there’s little chance of progressing this project with exchange of ideas on the GitHub.
Adds arent what is killing HG. There are still lots of developers (experianced and novice) that still use HG. If there is enough interest in an add then a program addon and widget can be created. The problem is slow bug fixes which affects the main server program. The inability for other developers to implement the fixes is the issue. Since the plus app is a pay app I understand a single developer working on it. However communication or lack of it is still the driving force behind progress. HG is discussed on several HomeAutomation forums. There is no offical forum for Genes HG any longer so GitHub is where all issues, suggestions, questions for the server should be posted. Suggestions or issues with the plus app should be posted in the feed back for the app on Google play.
A forum is a conduit for the exchange of ideas. Github is the place where these ideas come to fruition.
As I mentioned before the HG project needs suitably qualified coders/designers on board to bring the project to the next level. Even the original developer admitted this.
There’s no shortage of “code hackers” using HG and while they may contribute in their own way the project needs a structured approach from people who fully understand the base code.
The consensus is that the code needs a complete rewrite and I doubt under the current conditions that would happen anytime soon.
It can be clearly seen from the original HG forum how many experienced coders contributed some very useful code to the project. That has all but disappeared now.
Personally I’ve all but migrated from HG at this stage. I’m sure there are a number still using HG productively but very few if any are contributing in any meaningful way.
Maybe you should set up your own HG forum and with your enthusiasm for HG you could possibly encourage some of the “old gang” back if they haven’t already moved on to bigger and better things.
I agree HG needs designers and developers but not just fly by night ones, they need to be active and have access to update the code not just put in a pull request.
As for a complete rewrite almost all HA software can benefit from this however few are willing to take up the challenge.
I already have two forums going which have HG threads, another HG forum I don’t think is required. This one works fine, the issue is getting the word out that HG users need to participate and to use this forum to express their ideas.
There was a vibrant forum with a couple developers adding to the code base beyond Gene. Gene tried to move the forum once and it didn’t go well. When he shut doors, Bounz created this forum but 2 things hindered acceptance. First, Gene wasn’t here. Second, the forum isn’t a classic style layout and IMO users rejected participation. Add to that a missing founding developer for 2 years and the BE being more focused on Windows than RPI (where most original users operated) and you can see the result.