Logitech removes local API access. Bricks Harmony Hub for Home Automation Enthusiasts
In another episode of Company knows Best, Logitech has decided to remove the unofficial local API access to their Harmony Hubs. For many people (and most of you reading this), this will effectively brick your device in regards to using it with any 3rd party Home automation solution like Home Assistant or OpenHAB. These represent two of the largest, most widely adopted, Home Automation solutions out there.
The reasoning behind the change was to close ‘Security issues’. It’s interesting that closing down the API will force all Harmony Users to use the Logitech cloud services completely now. All interactions with your home environment will now incur a roundtrip path to the Logitech servers first and of course never work in the event of an Internet outage on either side or if in the future Logitech sunsets this product.
It’s a move that says clearly to the user, We can protect you better than you can; now expose that IOT device to the internet!
You can read some great coverage on this topic and the situation on the official Home Assistant Blog : https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2018/12/19/logitech-stance-on-local-api/
If you were considering purchasing a Harmony Hub, I would suggest looking at the BroadLink RM Hub instead. It is less expensive and provides local API control. I have been using one in my Smart home for the past year or so without any issues.
Happy Automating!