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If you have been using HomeKit seriously and find yourself exploring all the possibilities, then you will most likely be aware of HomeBridge or HomeAssistant, because you want a better word, they are platforms that allow many non-HomeKit devices to be exposed to HomeKit, although informal. Now, although many of these devices are not officially used with HomeKit, for a variety of reasons, many people like the challenge of “squeezing” certain things into Apple’s smart home platform, especially because of the ability to control The devices in the Home application of these devices can also add functions to devices that Apple does not currently support, such as sweeping robots. Others just like the hardware they have, which happens to not work with HomeKit, such as the Nest thermostat or Ring video doorbell. Furthermore, some companies, such as Sonoff, have produced a series of devices that can add firmware to make them compatible with HomeKit, even without HomeBridge. Of course, they have not yet been certified. Another such company is Shirley in Sofia, Bulgaria. They produce a variety of devices, all of which can be used with HomeKit through HomeBridge, and even provide "official" support through the HOOBS app, which is essentially An interface that makes it easier to navigate using HomeBridge.

As already mentioned, Shelly produces many products, many of which are relay type products, but for this review, they sent their Shelly H&T, humidity and temperature sensors (hence the name) and Shelly Door/ Window-a contact sensor with a built-in light sensor. In this review, I will focus on H&T.

Some of you may be happy to hear that I will not spend a lot of time on packaging this time, just because it is cheap but only practical. Although the internal foam can hold the device in place well, there are few ways to protect it. The top simply tells you what the product is, and one side provides you with a list of functions;

Now in addition to the first three points, it is interesting to see one of the very few battery-powered sensors that use wifi. So far, all battery-based sensors I have encountered are based on Bluetooth (Eve or Onvis) or use Zigbee (Hue or Aqara). The only other sensor I use Wifi is the iHome ISS50 multi-display, which is powered by the mains. However, if one year of battery life can be achieved, I guess why not? I don't know anything about the last two points, so if someone can help me in the comment section, it would be greatly appreciated.

As mentioned earlier, the device is fixed in place with foam material, although there is very little protection for the top of the device. Below the sensor itself is a rich instruction manual, although part of the setup is a bit confusing, I will introduce it later. Judging from the picture on the front of the manual, it seems that there is also a white version-very "Death Star"! Finally, there is a note with a QR code that can take you to their Facebook support group.

The spherical H&T has two sensor vents at the bottom and top, and the edges are flat, so it is obvious that it can be placed in one place. Since the device has so many tiny aspects, it is really reminiscent of the Death Star in the Star Wars movies, at least on the surface, although the design also makes it look like it was created with a 3D printer. Whether this is good or bad depends on the individual, even if they care. The center of the device has an orange ring around its circumference, which comes from the internal parts that house all the technologies. The Shelly logo is on the top, and some basic information and certification marks are on the bottom. H&T has a diameter of 45 mm/1.8 inches and a height of 35 mm/1.4 inches. The device (including the battery) weighs only 34 grams/1.2 ounces, of which the battery occupies half of the weight, so it is quite lightweight.

After opening, you can see the CR123A battery, as well as a reset button and a programming/debugging header, which can be used to flash alternative firmware on the device. According to the company's website, if you don't want to replace the battery every year, you can choose to buy a version that uses USB power.

In general, I would give Shirley credit for something that looks a little different from a normal sensor, but I think you either love it or hate it. Personally, to be honest, this is not something I intend to see, so the appearance is not that important, but my first impression is that although it feels quite sturdy, it does feel a bit cheap. Nevertheless, for about 19,99 euros, I do not expect it to compete with products such as Eve products, which are always very well designed, for example. How it performs is the most important thing, if you don’t plan to make it a topic at the party...

Initial installation First, you need the Shelly application to start installing this device and other Shelly devices. This also requires you to set up an account. Since this is officially compatible with Google Home and Amazon Alexa, there is actually nothing special about it. We will talk about the HomeKit part later, but in essence-I won't lie-although in theory, the process of adding this device may seem simple, in reality it is not.

It took five attempts to add the device to the Shelly app, but I still can't figure out how I ended up adding it. A slightly confusing description doesn't help, first, when you "...press the button, the LED flashes slowly...means Shelly is in AP mode", it needs to add it. However, in the next paragraph, it also explains "LED fast blinking-AP mode". These two sentences contradict each other, which is of no avail.

I won’t bother with this because I was able to add it eventually, and to be fair, shortly after I contacted Shelly, they replied asking for more details about the problem I encountered, which was no longer a problem in the end. Managed to add the device in this way.

Features of the SHELLY application

After the main part of the installation is complete, looking at the Shelly application and the options for this device, I am actually impressed by the large number of details that can be gathered from H&T. Similar to the way the Eve application displays graphs and event logs for its own sensor series, the Shelly application displays the lowest and highest temperature readings at any given time (24-hour mode), as well as daily humidity settings (24 hours), weekly, Monthly or yearly, and custom options. Likewise, the event log breaks down the reading into reading points of approximately 30 minutes, although this seems to be different, possibly when you access the data through the app. Clicking on any of these events will display the temperature and humidity level at that point, as well as the battery level.

I have to give it to Shirley in terms of options-in terms of customization and usability, they really launched the boat. In addition to general options such as checking for firmware updates or resetting the device, you can also get sensor-specific settings, including threshold options for both sensors. This setting allows the device to "wake up and report status when the temperature (humidity) changes by a threshold:" and an option to select how many degrees (or in the case of humidity) the threshold is passed. The app even includes an "offset" option that allows you to fundamentally adjust the readings of the two sensors, which may be needed or useful for various reasons. The last set of options is related to the Internet and security. Here you can change the wifi network connected to the device without deleting and re-adding the device, and setting a static IP address. You can also protect your device from unnecessary attention using the "Restrict Login" option, which allows you to add a separate username and password for this particular device.

Add H&T to HOMEKit

I have a complete HOOBS package, just like in a custom box containing RPi, and the HOOBS software is pre-installed, so installing Shelly H&T to HomeKit via HOOBS is not a difficult task for me. Above is a screenshot of the desktop browser interface running on my iMac. Please feel free to check for more information on the HOOBS website. HOOBS has a series of products that are displayed as "HOOBS Certified", I assume this means they have been tested, can work smoothly with HOOBS, and require less user involvement during installation. In the case of the Shelly plugin, this is really easy. I will not go into details because other users may be different, especially if they are running the "normal" version of HomeBridge, which is the underlying system that HOOBS runs on, but it has not taken any practical measures.

Needless to say, once all this is done, Shelly H&T is like any sensor in HomeKit. Since this device has two sensors, it initially only displays as one tile, which is the standard configuration in iOS 13, but you can of course separate them to display a separate tile for each sensor in the Home app.

Performance I don’t worry too much about the slightly inaccurate readings. The only exceptions may be those with more direct health implications, such as air quality monitors that measure PM2.5 levels or the content of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) in your home. So if the temperature or humidity drops by 1 degree or 1-2%, respectively, I will not suffer from insomnia. With this in mind and considering the low price of Shelly H&T, I fully expected it to be inaccurate, but to my surprise, it was the opposite. I usually trust the readings of my Eve Room multi-sensor, which together with the VOC sensor also measures temperature and humidity. I placed Shirley next to Eve and monitored their readings for 48 hours. For a temperature sensor, the results for the entire period of time are the same at all given points. The humidity sensor is only slightly off, but not always. This is something I can easily accept.

The overall impression has to be said that a few years ago, there were not many choices for many types of sensors, not just temperature and humidity sensors, so if Shirley was around at the time, I might appreciate their efforts much more. However, these types of sensors now have many choices, especially from lower-priced products such as Aqara and Onvis, which tend to add these two sensors to all of their devices-including their security alert contact sensors ( You can read our review of Onvis CS1 here) and getting something that is not native to HomeKit seems to be unnecessary extra work. This is not to say that it is a bad product, although I have previously commented on the overall construction of the device. H&T's accurate readings and the rich customization features in the Shelly application are absolutely commendable. However, I am one of those people who usually stay away from the manufacturer's apps to a large extent, but mainly stick to the Home app, so these customization options don't work for me, although they are likely to suit others.

In summary, if you don't like Bluetooth, or don't want Zigbee hubs, and only like wifi-based devices, then this does provide a unique choice. It also officially cooperates with Amazon Alexa and Google Home, so if you are agnostic to the smart home platform, then it does have it on Eve, it is a dedicated HomeKit.

Shelly has manufactured a lot of equipment, many of which put them in a more unique position than H&T, such as their relays and roller shutter controllers, so it’s hard not to appreciate the efforts they will put in to give the buying public more choices, but Considering my choice in this area, H&T is a bit difficult for me. However, please check the company's website, because if you are ready to enter the HomeBridge side, they have a lot of interesting equipment.

Full disclosure: Allterco Robotics provided Shelly H&T for HomeKit News for this review. No other compensation was made or requested.

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