Backup / Sync

So far, I'm loving this app - but before I get too far and lose data, I want to understand how backup and sync options work with multiple devices / multiple rooms.

Initially, I thought iCloud sync would make sense, but on reflection perhaps not, since it would require me to log in with my personal iCloud account on iPads and iPhones in my house that weren't "mine", giving easy access to my other personal data.

So is there some other way to sync multiple iOS devices?

Beyond this, how does back up work? Is the backup from each iOS device tagged in some way so if I need to restore (say, from Dropbox), it "picks" the right backup? If it simply picks the most recent backup, this could be a problem if I last backed up my Family Room iPad, and then choose to restore my Home Theater iPad config, and it auto selects the Family Room config because it was the most recent.

I emailed the configs from both iPads, but they are titled identically, so this will get confusing pretty quick. In essence, what's the best way to manage backup of multiple devices safely, and is their an alternative to syncing that doesn't require the use of my personal iCloud account.

Also, is there a way to copy room configs from one device to another

I guess I'm trying to understand best practices here so I don't paint myself in a corner with building rooms on multiple devices...

Great app!!!

In general, we've used the terms in the app to apply to the best practice for a given service. So for Backup and Restore, we only use those terms with Dropbox (or iTunes File Sharing). For Synchronization, we only use that term with iCloud. A given "home" would have one configuration and that configuration is typically tied to a specific Dropbox. Any iOS device with a different configuration you would link to a different Dropbox.

so then I do need to be careful in where I build and back up from - if I work on the home theater config on one ipad, and later makes change on the family room config on another ipad, I am forever unable to get all rooms up to date since they've diverged...sounds like I'm safer building from one master device, backing that up, and then restoring down to the other devices, if Im reading you right...

im sure its not a priority now, but some where down the road a little more robust backup/restore or even roomie powered sync option, with per room configs, might provide more flexibility and a safer data foundation. As it is, I already started a scenario just like I've described, so it's seems I will need to redo a second room from the primary config and reload to the second ipad....

It sounds like you're saying you want to use someone else's iPad to edit your config. That could cause the confusion you're talking about yes. In general a good solution as long as you can ensure that your usage will be on your devices is to turn on both iCloud Sync (immediate sync between all your devices) and Dropbox Backup/Restore which then allows anyone else with their own devices to Restore the configuration from Dropbox when updated by you.

The next step we're planning in this area is Dropbox Sync. So at that point we'll automatically upload/download changes for both iCloud and Dropbox. It sounds like for your purposes, that's really what you would want.

I have one iTunes account that my family shares (three people and 6 IOS devices). But we have separate iCloud accounts and separate Dropbox accounts. So, should all our devices use iTunes backup in order that all of them are in sync?

Well, I was intending to have two or thee iPads in the house each dedicated to a room, plus put the configs on our iPhones for a quick access - iCloud won't work of course because you can't share your personal log on with other family members.

 

In any scenario where multiple iCloud accounts are involved and you don't want to use the same iCloud account on each device, you would want to use Dropbox Backup. Remember you can establish a Dropbox account for anything including "My Home" so you don't need to use a specific person's Dropbox for that.

+1 on needing to keep roomie in sync as to state (not just configuration) on multiple iOS devices each signed into different iCloud accounts. How do I accomplish that? Thanks.

State such as the Current Activity is synchronized via iCloud Synchronization right now via Activity Memory introduced in 1.6.

So all iOS devices need to be logged into the same iCloud account for activity to be synchronized across them? l am looking for activity memory across iOS devices signed into different iCloud accounts ( via Dropbox or some other mechanism perhaps ?). Thanks.