Somfy threatens with bans if users overload the API – Image and sound – News

Smarthome manufacturer Somfy warns customers who use third-party scripts or apps in an email to stop using the api frequently. According to Somfy, this causes systems to become overloaded. If customers don’t stop, Somfy will hand out bans.

Somfy has sent the email to customers using third-party applications or proprietary scripts to access the smart home manufacturer’s API. The manufacturer can see that by monitoring where the traffic going to the API is coming from.

According to Somfy, the third-party apps and scripts do not respect the company’s guidelines for using the API and the back-end becomes overloaded. The manufacturer calls on users to make adjustments to their scripts before October 31, or to ask creators of apps to reduce the use of the API. Third parties should only send the ‘GET / setup endpoint’ request to the API once per user session and not use it to refresh the data repeatedly, Somfy says.

Somfy writes that users of its smart home hubs TaHoma and Connexoon are not intended to suffer from a small group of users who overload the API. In the coming months, the company will therefore rate limiters and start handing out automatic bans, if users continue to access the api frequently.

A developer who is creating a Somfy plug-in for smart home platform Homey is already working on it adjusting its Somfy integrationso that the api is accessed less often. He also says to contact the manufacturer to find a solution. The open source automation platform Home Assistant also has integration with Somfy via the API. Developers discuss on GitHub adjustments they make every polling rate to lower.

Somfy is particularly known for its smart roller blinds. The manufacturer also makes other smart home devices, such as a smart lock and an alarm system. With the TaHoma and Connexoon, the manufacturer has its own hubs in its range to control the Somfy equipment. The warning affects users of other platforms, such as Homey and Home Assistant, who use the API to integrate Somfy hardware into their ecosystem.

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