Tado X, is "Return to Schedule" possible via the Apple ecosystem?

Ditsy

We tend to use voice commands to alter a room temperature if we just want a bit of a boost. With v3 and Google Assistant it was possible to set a Google Home automation to "Return to schedule" as part of a Goodnight routine to ensure no overrides were left heating empty rooms. When we switched to the Apple ecosystem Tado didn't seem to have implemented a similar option and it's never been possible (without using another third party such as Home Assistant) to set the heating back to schedule via the Apple ecosystem.

This functionality would also be valuable for returning a room to schedule after a window has been closed. Currently I have to have multiple automations per window sensor to cover multiple time-slots and temperatures, where one "return to schedule" command would make things so much easier. I am not interested in the Tado Open Window Detection feature, it never worked robustly for us, I'd much rather use sensors.

Can anyone confirm whether or not Tado X supports a return to schedule option within the Apple ecosystem?

Ditsy

Is it possible to set Tado X back to schedule using Siri / the Apple ecosystem?

Emcee

Hello @Ditsy

I am not super familiar with this topic (maybe our other community members are?).
Our tado° article about Apple Home says to refer to this page in order to find more information about Siri voice commands.

There, it says that commands like "Start heating the upstairs" can be controlled via Rooms and Zones.
Perhaps this is what you're looking for?

Ditsy

Thanks for the reply @Emcee, I appreciate you're trying to help but that page doesn't appear to hold any answers. I think a lot of people felt that the v3 product marketing was dishonest as it was marketed as HomeKit compatible yet something as basic as returning to schedule was never possible.

It used to be possible to Return to Schedule with Google Assistant but I had to figure it out myself. Since I haven't purchased Tado X, I can't test anything myself so I guess this counts as a pre-sales question. Could you ask your colleagues for a response?

1. Is this currently supported via HomeKit / the Apple Ecosystem, and if so, how does it work?
2. If not currently supported, will they be completing the HomeKit integration for Tado X, or not?

Emcee

Hello again @Ditsy

After asking around I can confirm that, no, there's no command to go back to schedule.

The setting from HomeKit commands will apply the duration that's defined for 'Duration' in "Manual command from device" as described here.

Ditsy

Thanks for the swift response @Emcee.

I note that your sales page is using the Matter and HomeKit compatibility trust marks, and feel that it is reasonable for potential customers to assume a full integration is being offered. Is this on the roadmap, or are there no plans to offer a complete integration with Matter & HomeKit?

thefern

@Ditsy I've answered similar before, if you are in the apple ecosystem and happy to set up a Raspberry Pi or have a Mac running all the time you can install and run HomeBridge with the Tado plug in - this provides thermostat controls with an "Auto" setting which returns it to schedule. Then work with your automatons and Siri as necessary.

Of course, it should be easy for Tado to extend their HomeKit integration to include this (and include hot water controls while they are at it )!

Screenshot 2024-11-05 at 12.39.48.png

Ditsy

@thefern thanks, I've used both HomeBridge and Home Assistant in the past, and it's valid information that others reading the thread may find helpful. However both require a learning curve and a maintenance overhead, plus you tend to be reliant on very small development teams keeping the integrations running. I think many of the integrations are supplied by just one hobby developer. Some of the options I used that way were excellent, but these don't work for me long term because:

• a part of the overall control system can be very slow to be updated, or cease being updated for very understandable reasons
• I don't want a heating control system that requires everyone in the household to understand how to troubleshoot a Raspberry Pi setup or a Home Assistant setup if I'm not here

thefern

@Ditsy that's all very fair and it is certainly not for everyone.

I do believe Tado should be providing this (return to the auto schedule, control of hot water) in the first party HomeKit integration - given we already have HomeKit and we know the API exists I suspect it would be pretty easy for Tado's development team to implement. I am optimistic - maybe now we are seeing real progress (offline schedules) and have better Tado participation on the forum from @Emcee we can help influence getting the HomeKit integration extended.

Ditsy

Whilst I agree that Tado should be providing these options, the fact that these features are missing suggests they've not been captured as requirements, they're not deemed important, or perhaps they've been deliberately left out. Sadly as a v3+ user unless Tado openly commits to delivering these features I have no optimism that this will be resolved.

Surely the promise of Matter is that you can use devices from multiple manufacturers together, yet apparently Tado X doesn't support using a window/door sensor to return my heating to schedule, nor would it support Hot Water Controls in an automation. The marketing around Matter certainly suggests that we're supposed to see the Matter trust mark on a device box and immediately know that it can easily be integrated into our homes. This is not the case with Tado currently, so it seems terribly misleading of them to use the HomeKit and Matter trust logos.