IFTTT is easy to set up, but full of limitations. And while Stringify allows for complexity, it can be daunting with its flows, chains, and modes. Yonomi is a great alternative, allowing for more complexity with easy to create routines.
What Makes Yonomi Different
Yonomi (pronounced You Know Me) starts very similar to IFTTT. You connect devices, services, and accounts for the app to access. And then you set up automation (called routines here) in a “when this happens, run that action” manner.
Where Yonomi differs from IFTTT is that you can have multiple “when” triggers and Yonomi adds a “but only when” clause. So, for example, you could have a routine set to lock a door when you leave home, but only if it’s a weekday and it’s before 8:00 a.m. The only downside is that while you can combine multiple “but only” clauses (such as it being a weekday and before a particular time), the multiple “when” triggers are always treated as an OR scenario.
In addition, Yonomi has taken a completely unique track when it comes to Alexa and Google Home integration. With Alexa, any routines you make in Yonomi show up as devices in the Alexa app. This allows for a more natural syntax, and you can integrate Yonomi routines into Alexa routines. With Google Home, Yonomi has taken extra care with the syntax. No reference to Yonomi is needed, and in addition to being able to say “activate (routine name),” you can use “Turn On” and “Turn Off” with the same routines. This means if you have a routine named “Everything On” and “Everything Off” you can tell Google “Turn Off Everything” and “Turn On Everything” to control your devices.
Getting Started
Once you download the Yonomi app either for iOS or Android, you’ll need to create an account. Yonomi then makes things incredibly straight forward by immediately attempting to detect any devices on your Wi-Fi network to which it can connect. Just follow the prompts to finish connecting any accounts or devices. Then add your address for geofencing. If for some reason, not all your accounts or devices were automatically detected you can add them manually.
First, tap on the hamburger menu in the top left corner.
Tap “Accounts & Hubs.”
