Having a connected, home automation home is today an undeniable comfort, which improves the comfort of the inhabitants, but also security and energy savings, whether we are at home or on the other side of the planet. But it still has to stay connected! Indeed, the slightest power or internet outage, and it's a blackout. Fortunately, there are simple solutions to implement, such as the Nice Hub PowerBank, specially designed for the home automation box Yubii Home recently tested (or the Fibaro Home Lite). Let's find out more in detail.
Discovery of the Nice Hub PowerBank
The Nice Hub PowerBank comes in a small, no-frills package. It is an accessory, clearly indicated for the Yubii Home or the Home Center 3 Lite as mentioned on the packaging.
Inside, we find the Nice Hub PowerBank, its battery, a small micro USB cable, and instructions for use.
It is a sleek, all-white, and rather compact box, since it measures only 83 x 72 x 24 mm.
Only a black strip on the bottom displays 4 icons, which light up depending on their status: battery, SMS, Wifi connection, and 3G/4G connection. This small box therefore has everything of a classic 4G router.
Nothing to report on the back:
On the side, however, we find a Usb-A port, which will be used to connect the home automation box via the cable provided:
On the other side, we have this time a micro Usb port, which will receive the power supply supplied with the box. Next comes a WPS button for Wifi, and the on/off button.
The back cover is removed to access the battery housing. There is also a slot for a micro SD (up to 32GB) and the Sim card. Be careful, a full-size Sim card, you will need an adapter if you have a micro sim. Important: the label shows the name and password of the Wifi network generated by the Hub, as well as the username and password to connect to its interface. You will need to note them before installing the battery.
After inserting the Sim card and the micro SD (not supplied), all that remains is to install the battery and close the cover.
We are ready to use!
Using the Nice Hub PowerBank
Using the Nice Hub PowerBank is quite simple. First, you will need to make sure to fully charge the battery. Once it is charged, you connect the home automation box to the Hub using the small cable provided, Usb-A -> micro Usb. And on the Hub's micro USB port, we connect the power supply of the home automation box:
The Hub simply comes between the home automation box and its power supply, in fact. Thus, in the event of a power outage, the Hub automatically detects it and takes over to power the box, as an inverter would. It is automatic, without any interruption, which allows the home automation box to remain operational, and this for around 12 hours, thanks to the integrated 4600mAh battery.
But the Nice Hub PowerBank also ensures the maintenance of the internet connection. In itself, an internet outage does not prevent the Yubii Home box from working, since it works perfectly locally. However, it will be unreachable from the outside. The Hub allows this internet connection to be maintained here.
However, you have to go through a small configuration phase on the Hub. To do this, you have to make sure to press the Hub button to turn it on. Once started, it creates its own Wifi network, the name and password of which are displayed on the label under the battery. You must therefore connect to this Wifi network, with your computer or smartphone, then go to the address 192.168.1.1 to access the router administration. There you enter the password “admin”:
You must then go to the connection settings, APN section, and enter the information of our Sim card provider. Here for Free for example:
Without this the router will not be able to connect to the internet. Once validated, the home screen and the icons at the top of the page confirm the good connection to the internet:
In the settings it is also possible to customize the name of the Wifi network and its password if you wish. We can be satisfied with this minimal configuration to operate as a backup for our home automation box. You then need to go to the box settings and enter the backup WiFi network:
By clicking on the scan button, the interface offers us the main or emergency WiFi network. Of course, we select emergency here:
We find the WiFi network generated by the Hub, and that's it!
From now on, if the home automation box does not find the main WiFi network, it will automatically switch to the backup network, provided by the Hub's 3G/4G chip.
The Yubii Home box is fully operational, powered only by the Hub
Using the Nice Hub PowerBank as a mobile router
If this Nice Hub PowerBank is able to provide the Wifi connection for the home automation box, it is also able to provide it for 9 other devices: in fact it can accept up to 10 devices connected in Wifi, for which it will share the internet connection. Practical! Well it will not be the fastest Wifi, since we are here in Wifi 802.11 b/g/n, the equivalent of Wifi 4 (we are at 6 as a reminder, and 7 has just been announced). But we are here on a backup system, therefore in “degraded” mode. And it was not designed to watch streaming videos, but to rescue the home automation box, which exchanges very little information on the internet.
If necessary, we can imagine using it even when traveling, because ultimately it is neither more nor less than a standalone 4G router. The inserted micro SD card even allows users to share documents.
Indeed, once configured, a new link appears under the password field, which allows anyone connected to the Wifi network to access it, without needing to know the administrator password:
By clicking on it, you access an interface allowing you to navigate through the directories of the memory card. You can upload or download documents:
The Nice Hub PowerBank router offers other fairly standard settings for a 4G router:
In short, it's pretty complete, for a device that costs around a hundred euros.
Conclusion
Keeping your home automation box always operational is a very important point in a connected home. It is indeed the heart of it, which is responsible for triggering the various programmed scenarios in order to optimize energy savings, ensure security, and of course the comfort of the occupants. We had seen various solutions in our home automation
PRA plan , but we must admit that the solution proposed here by Nice is much simpler. All you have to do is subscribe to a data subscription with the operator of your choice, put a Sim card in it, and it's functional. Here tested with a Free card that I had at €8 per subscription, it's impeccable.For use with the Yubii Home or Fibaro Lite box, it's a perfect solution! Because it has a classic USB port, it is quite possible to connect any USB adapter to it to power other devices in the event of a power outage, such as a Raspberry Pi, a camera, etc. Be careful though: the Hub only delivers 1A, and many devices today require more. A Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 for example requires 3 to 4A. It will therefore be necessary to check the power required if you want to use this Hub to power a device other than the Nice box.
In any case, it is a very interesting solution, and if you are equipped with a Yubii Home or Fibaro Lite 3 box, it is an option to seriously consider!
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