Bond device web UI?

[fallingrock]

I just discovered that my bond device has a web UI.

Being a geek, I wanted to explore what was available.

I brought it up and it wanted a PIN (from the device itself). I entered the pin but the bottom of the page just shows “will load status after PIN provided…”.

The javascript console in Safari shows a stream of 401 errors.

If I type in the account code from the app, and click the Add to account button, I get a “the PIN you entered is incorrect” message.

I’m 100% sure the PIN is correct. It’s just a 4 digit number. Pretty hard to get it wrong.

Any suggestions on how I can experiment with this?

[fallingrock]

FWIW: I cycled power on the device and was able to get into the web UI.

Other than the wifi info, is there any other status I should be seeing?

Also, in the network status, I see the DNS is 8.8.8.8 … but that’s not the DNS my routers DHCP server hands out. Is the bond device ignoring the DNS provided by DHCP and using google exclusively?

[merck]

Welcome, David!

I’m going to guess you have one of the early units (serial number starting A or B, codename “snowbird”).

I’m 100% sure the PIN is correct. It’s just a 4 digit number. Pretty hard to get it wrong.

It’s not you. The snowbird units don’t know their own PIN code, so they only way to “authenticate” is to power cycle the unit and then connect within 10 minutes so that no PIN is required, as you discovered. FWIW, this is documented here: Bond Local API

Other than the wifi info, is there any other status I should be seeing?

Nope. The WebGUI doesn’t do much interesting. It currently only supports connecting to Home WiFi. It’s a back up method that we use in support for the situations where certain (usually Android) phones don’t want to stay connected to the Bond Config network during set-up.

That said, we’re hoping to be able to geek out and build in a more sophisticated WebGUI that could allow for device control etc. In fact, that might be an interesting open-source project .

Also, in the network status, I see the DNS is 8.8.8.8 … but that’s not the DNS my routers DHCP server hands out. Is the bond device ignoring the DNS provided by DHCP and using google exclusively?

Sadly the snowbird units had issues with DNS/DHCP with many routers for reasons we never could really figure out. That said, if you have latest firmware, you should be able to set a custom DNS server via the API or (maybe) the WebGUI.

We recognized that that situation was not reasonable going forward, so all newer hardware (serials starting with any letter other than A/B) has improved networking where the DHCP-provided DNS by default.

See:

[Snowbird] Firmware Improvements Needed

I have a growing list of issues with this product. It worked great when I initially bought it. When I decided to improve my home network security, I added a separate SSID for smart home devices and hid the SSID. The Bond Bridge does not support hidden SSIDs at all. This is a major oversight in development as this is a fundamental wireless function. This is the ONLY device in my house with this issue. The hidden SSID issue has remained through the new V2 overhaul/changeover. In addition, trying…

[fallingrock]

@merck

I’m going to guess you have one of the early units (serial number starting A or B, codename “snowbird”).

That would be correct.

It’s not you. The snowbird units don’t know their own PIN code, so they only way to “authenticate” is to power cycle the unit and then connect within 10 minutes so that no PIN is required, as you discovered.

OK, good to know.

Sadly the snowbird units had issues with DNS/DHCP with many routers for reasons we never could really figure out. That said, if you have latest firmware, you should be able to set a custom DNS server via the API or (maybe) the WebGUI.

Understood.

I don’t suppose there’s a way to swap the device for the newer version?

My main concern is the DNS server being used. I have my router set to use DNS over HTTPS and would prefer that all DNS requests be sent to the router instead of directly out over the internet.

Thanks!

david

[ThirteenTX]

I just made a DNS trap on my firewall to redirect all requests on port 53 to my pihole for DNS. That might be your best bet.

[fallingrock]

While I do have a few spare RP’s, my router is an asus Rt-5300, so configuring that to redirect dns requests to another system isn’t easy.

[afaq]

I had a similar desire. Ended up creating a simple / small web UI that communicates with Bond Local API over HTTP.

Screenshot attached. Made life easier since I was able to customize it to the layout / naming convention / features I wanted.

Family members just have it added as a shortcut on their phones and a bookmark on their laptops/tablets. Since the Bond Local API is not HTTPS (for good reason), it cannot be saved as a PWA, unfortunately.

In fact, that might be an interesting open-source project

@merck if this does in-fact ever kick-off, it would be awesome and I’d be happy to contribute. I essentially just want a local-only webpage so we can add different layout options (which are trivial with modern CSS/HTML/JS). Maybe even rolling in a “Developer” options page that allows upgrading to beta and more advanced actions like adding custom buttons/commands and renaming them.
Would also be a good testing-ground for new features before they are released via mobile app.

[alexbk66]

I think the best option is to make the Bond app HTML5 based, like many other apps.

[ranga]

Hi @afaq

I was looking to create a web page similar to this. Any way you can share the code?

I can share any updates I make. Thanks in advance.