Finances opener that works with all the key smart home programs
The Meross Smart Wi-Fi Storage Door Opener (MSG200) is a brilliant low-cost and comparatively simple choice for making your current dumb storage door controller smart. It really works with lots of of current storage controllers, even actually outdated ones, and ties them into your smart home ecosystem of selection, whether or not that be HomeKit, Alexa, Google Home or SmartThings. There’s plenty of wires to take care of and every little thing appears to be like a bit retro however, given it’ll reside in your storage, that is probably not a motive to not make investments.
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Works with over 1,600 storage door controllers -
Finances price-tag -
Works with Alexa, Google, HomeKit and SmartThings -
Straightforward to put in
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Plenty of messy wires -
Bizarre HomeKit notifications -
Preliminary arrange directions are complicated
Meross Smart Wi-Fi Storage Door Opener (MSG200HK): Introduction
- Appropriate with Alexa, Google Home, HomeKit and SmartThings
- Works with hundreds of various storage door openers
- Makes use of 2.4GHz Wi-Fi
Ever because the Chamberlain Group began killing off HomeKit, Alexa and Google Assistant entry to the MyQ ecosystem, after which made the choice to stop third-party apps utilizing the APIs thus nuking the likes of Home Assistant, I’ve been looking out for a gadget to make my storage door slightly smarter.
Step ahead the Meross MSG200HK, a sub-$70 smart storage door opener that performs properly with all the key smart home programs.
The Meross MSG200HK, additionally known as the Meross Collie, is appropriate greater than 200 storage door manufacturers, and will be put in on over 1,600 totally different fashions.
I’ve put in it on a fairly-recent Chamberlain Liftmaster Evolution LM80EVF, however the Chinese language model tells us it is going to even work with historical storage openers from the Nineties.
So it’s low-cost and it’s broadly appropriate, however is it any good?
Learn my Meross Smart Wi-Fi Storage Door Opener MSG200HK evaluation to seek out out.
Design and elements
- Can management 3 totally different storage doorways
- Powered by Micro-USB
- Open and closed sensor included
I discussed within the intro that, at lower than £70 / $70, the MSG200HK is a cut-price smart storage door opener however Meross does even have a few cheaper choices.
There’s really a non-HK MSG200 and, you guessed it, meaning no HomeKit; however you continue to get Google Assistant, Alexa and SmartThings management. That’ll price you round $40.
The MSG100 mannequin really is available in at lower than $30, or simply below $40 in case you want HomeKit entry.
Nonetheless, the MSG200HK is probably the most full mannequin from the Chengdu-based smart home specialist. Not solely does it assist all the key platforms however a single gadget can really management three totally different storage doorways.
It additionally boasts an exterior antenna, which the MSG100 fashions shouldn’t have, so it might probably higher obtain these 2.4GHz Wi-Fi indicators.
It really appears to be like like a mini Wi-Fi router from the early 2000s, so not precisely a lovely gadget however, given it will likely be residing in you storage and never your front room, that’s probably not a problem.
As talked about, the MSG200HK is able to controlling three storage doorways. Within the field you really get wires to do two doorways although, not three – it’s round $15 / £10 for the additional wire in case you do have to get that third door management arrange.
The wires merely slot into the ports on the again of the gadget. Additionally on the again is the Micro-USB port for powering the gadget. You’ll get an influence block within the field however I’ve had no points having the Meross powered through a direct USB-A port on a gang plug in my storage.
The very first thing you want to do earlier than shopping for, not to mention putting in, the Meross MSG200HK is to verify your storage door opener is appropriate. You are able to do this utilizing the Meross on-line portal however the Meross app may also be certain it is aware of what mannequin you’re making an attempt to put in with in the course of the setup step.
Each strategies discuss you thru checking compatibility utilizing helpful photos and also you’ll be fairly assured that your current opener is supported (or not) following this course of.
As soon as you might be certain you’re able to go forward, the app talks you thru the entire crucial steps. The app itself is fairly helpful but it surely does get a bit confused half method by the place, after getting paired the gadget itself, it then talks you thru some bits you’ve already completed.
The paper guide within the field additionally barely contradicts what the app says however, regardless of these barely complicated blended messages, it’s really tremendous simple to get the MSG200HK up and working.
Out of the router-like Meross MSG200HK unit itself comes two wires; the primary connects to your current storage door opener, as per the set up directions, and the second terminates with one half of the open/closed sensor.
In my case, it was only a case of inserting the wires into the 1 and a pair of slots on my Liftmaster and I used to be assured by the app that I didn’t want to fret about what wire went in what slot.
These wires clearly give the message to your current opener to hold out an open or shut motion, primarily based on the ‘router’ receiving a command.
You’ll have to get a bit inventive together with your wire hiding; but it surely’s only a storage on the finish of the day, nobody is in search of prizes for neatness.
The excellent news is that these wires are tremendous lengthy, round 5m every, so you should not have any points getting your unit wired as much as your current opener and in a spot you need it to reside, and now have the open/shut sensor on the by the place the storage door closes.
On the again of my current storage door opener, I had slightly door panel to cover the wires and buttons. However I couldn’t put this again in place with the extra Meross wires, so I needed to get the drill out to make slightly gap:
Throughout the set up course of, it really asks you ways lots of the ports you wish to activate. I simply selected one as I simply have a single storage door.
Nonetheless, I discovered that by the point I had accomplished the set up course of, all three ports have been energetic.
It really provides the gadget to HomeKit as a bridge after which provides three separate storage door ‘gadgets’. The excellent news is that, when you go into the Meross app and deactivate the unneeded ports, it ‘deletes’ the extra ‘gadgets’.
These deletions are additionally synced with the likes of HomeKit and Alexa, so that you gained’t litter up your gadget listing with unneeded gadgets.
The open and shut sensor is slightly little bit of a faff to put in, purely because it’s a wired gadget so that you’re going to should snake and safe the lengthy wire in the direction of your door.
When you’ve acquired it in place although, it really works nicely – it’s purely a magnetic sensor to supply a reside standing to the related apps and platforms.
The sensor is only for standing. It doesn’t decide when the storage door is closed; the unique settings out of your installer are saved.
In use
- Previous open/shut strategies will nonetheless work
- Voice, app and Watch choices all accessible
- A number of safety features
When you’re all up and working, your regular storage open strategies – suppose keyfobs, wall panels and the like – will all nonetheless work; the MSG200HK doesn’t work on their frequency.
As a substitute, the method is that the router-esque gadget receives a Wi-Fi sign – whether or not that’s from a voice command, a faucet of a button in an app, a time-specific routine, and so forth – and relays that message to your outdated storage door opener over that wire you’ve caught within the again.
That’s principally the way it makes a dumb factor smart.
Relying on what smart home system(s) you utilize, you’ll have a number of totally different choices for controlling your related storage door.
I arrange the MSG200HK by HomeKit however, as a result of I already use Meross gadgets (comparable to the wonderful Meross Smart Wi-Fi Plug Mini) with Alexa, it synced into Amazon’s smart home system for me too.
What that meant was that I had quite a few methods to manage the opening and shutting of the storage door – together with voice management with Siri or Alexa; with safety measures comparable to pin codes or Face ID wanted to open, for apparent safety causes.
But it surely additionally meant that I used to be getting notifications left, proper and heart concerning the open/shut standing of the door. That’s not Meross’ fault, however I did have to leap into the related apps to find out what notifications I needed precisely.
I discovered HomeKit was the very best for letting me know in regards to the storage door being left open in a single day, however I additionally used the native Meross app to alert me if the storage door was left open, at anytime of day, for greater than half-hour. Within the app, Meross calls this warning the ‘Additional time’ reminder.
The MSG200HK additionally syncs up with Apple CarPlay, providing you with a helpful tile in your automobile’s dashboard so you’ll be able to simply open and shut your storage door from inside your car.
The addition of the MSG200HK to my storage door has additionally meant that I can depart my home keys at home totally because the connecting door between my storage and utility room has a Yale Conexis L2 smart lock put in, so I’m capable of open each doorways utilizing my cellphone.
Or, certainly, my Apple Watch… that means I don’t should even take my cellphone out with me, ought to I’m going working. On the Apple Watch Meross app, it’s a must to manually choose to sync the MSG200HK to the Watch from the iPhone app.
The system isn’t with out its quirks. One difficulty I’ve is that my Apple Home standing usually says ‘Obstructed’ when it’s closed; I feel that is after I’ve manually closed the storage door utilizing an outdated keyfob after initially opening through HomeKit.
One other drawback is that the Meross app saved telling me that it was having hassle closing the door, when it wasn’t – the door was closing tremendous.
I discovered tinkering with the open/shut door timings sorted this. As talked about, the open/shut sensor is solely used for a standing so it doesn’t cease or begin the storage door opener motor, so it must find out how lengthy your door takes to open and shut.
Within the Meross app you’ll be capable to mess around with quite a few settings, like having the door robotically shut at sure instances and you can even set an audible warning alarm for when the storage door is closing too, which I discovered tremendous annoying.
Closing ideas
The Meross MSG200HK is probably not fairly, and also you’ll have over 10m of wires to take care of for only a single storage door, however as soon as it’s up and working you’ll have a plethora of recent ‘smart’ choices on your storage door.
That doesn’t simply imply open and shutting through an app but additionally having further safety measures in place utilizing routines and automations.
How we take a look at
After we publish our critiques, you’ll be able to relaxation assured that they’re the results of “residing with” long run assessments.
Smart gadgets reside inside an ecosystem, or a variety of merchandise that – supposedly – all work in concord. And they’re designed to supply a variety of various choices. Subsequently, it’s inconceivable to make use of a tool for every week and ship a verdict.
As a result of we’re testing smart home package all day, on a regular basis, we all know what issues and the way a selected smart cleansing machine compares to alternate options that you may also be contemplating.
Our critiques are complete, goal and truthful and, in fact, we’re by no means paid on to evaluation a tool.
Learn our information on how we take a look at to study extra.
FAQs
No, the common, non-HK MSG200 mannequin doesn’t work with Apple Home – you’ll want the Meross MSG200HK (the evaluation mannequin) to get entry to HomeKit.
They’re each nice however the MSG200 has an antenna for stronger Wi-Fi and works with 3 storage doorways at a time.
Neither the MSG100 or MSG200 fashions work with Matter at current.
Meross Smart Wi-Fi Storage Door Opener MSG200HK: Specs
Enter | 5V/1.0A DC or increased |
UK RRP | £70.99 |
US RRP | $69.99 |
Measurement (Dimensions) | 3.7 x 3.1 x 0.9 in. or 9.3 x 7.8 x 2.2 cm |
LED | 1 x Standing LED |
Energy Twine | 4.9ft / 1.5m |
Smart home Ecosystems | Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Samsung SmartThings |
Sensor Wire | 16.4ft / 5m |
Wi-Fi | IEEE 802.11 b/g/n, 2.4GHz, 1T1R |
Wi-fi Safety | Assist 64/128 bit WEP, WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK |
Certifications | US/CA: FCC, IC, ETL EU: CE, RoHS, WEEE |
Surroundings | Working Temperature: 0°C~40°C (32°F~104°F) Storage Temperature: -40°C~70°C (-40°F~158°F) Working Humidity: 10%~90% non-condensing Storage Humidity: 5%~90% non-condensing |