Every Apartment needs this Upgrade! (WhatsApp/Telegram Notifications)

You can get the parts for this project here (affiliate links):
Aliexpress:

In this project I will be solving a problem that I had for a while. Since I love listening to music I always miss the doorbell. That is a big problem for me because there is always a postman at the door trying to deliver the components for the next project. So in this video I will show you how to add an ESP8266 to an intercom so that it can send WhatsApp/Telegram notifications to a phone. This way I and maybe you will never miss the doorbell again ;-) Let's get started!

Websites which were shown/used in the video:

Thanks to Altium for sponsoring this video.

0:00 My Doorbell Problem
1:30 Intro
2:09 Plan Overview
2:58 Intercom Investigation
4:46 uC WhatsApp Notifications
6:54 uC Telegram Notifications
7:36 Adding the uC to the Intercom
9:31 Verdict

[BrianLough]

Thanks for the shout-out! I'm really glad people are still finding the telegram library useful, I still think it's the easiest way to do push notifications on an esp device!

[seanthiar]

That was the reinvention of the tire. Had the same problem - the solution was a simple system for under 20€ from Reichelt with a sensor next to the bell that sends a wireless signal when it 'hears' sound and a receiver with a second bell or a light that flashes when the bell rings. No significant delay (maybe a few milliseconds) and you don't need an external service (a big plus). Something like that is sold for years for people that are deaf or need hearing aids or have a loud environment and works for every bell.
Ritto, the company that built your house phone, has relays in their catalogue to switch external non Ritto products when the bell rings and offers additional wireless remote bells or remote flashing lights. Other companies even offer a high power relay (8KW) that you can integrate in a fuse box to flash all lights when someone rings the bell. It is used when all people in a household are deaf.

[SilentlyPrickable]

5:22 The problem with the notification delay is due to Android's standby services (Doze Mode, to be more specific) since like A8, so you need to define "priority: high" parameter (look into dev documentation for HomeAssistant), then it bypasses it and notifications are pushed instantly.

[JohnDoe-nzwq]

As a landlord myself, I would strongly recommend using an optocoupler. These intercom systems are not as stable as you would think. The connected ground and the y capacitor in your smps are some troublemaker.

[pesterenan]

So cool to see old tech being "modernized" with the help of a little microcontroller :D

[ericjohnson]

A lot of apartments around me in the US have really analog systems with terminals by TekTone. They have a dedicated wire for the "warble" tone when the doorbell is pressed. So I put a current-transformer around that and use it as an input in ESPHome, which works reliably. And I figured out what terminals to connect to trigger the door strike and connected a relay to them. It works really well and doesn't even require soldering since all the connections are at the screw-terminals.

[randycarter]

I would have used an optocoupler. That way the ground of my system won't be connected to the ground outside of the apartment. At any time someone can change the wiring and blow things up. Also reduces the possibility of anything I'm doing creating a shock hazard for others.

[RedDryBones]

Really cool & useful system, . yet what I find most impressive is how he has cable cover/duct on a wall that has significant texture. Long ago I gave up on using any cable ducts on textured walls because they never last a month before loosing grip.

[HochFrequenzFreak]

Did this also to my doorbell. I also connected a relay to the door opener, so the postman can come up to my apartment while I am moving to the door :) I used nodered for the Telegram message receive handling to open the door.

[zrxav]

Something cool you might add to the system you’ve already built is controlling the buttons to open up the door or answering the intercom from your smartphone without having to walk to your intercom

[_sev]

I've done pretty much exactly the same thing about a year ago. I just used a shelly to send a notification to my phone using MQTT and home assistant. It can also be used to controll the lights which would be quite helpful to a deaf person lol.

[evilmonkeywithissues]

I am definitely going to be making some modifications to my front door now. I can never hear when people knock when I'm in my room tinkering, but I usually have a video running on my phone, so push notifications are the perfect solution for me.

[Alintja]

Awesome project, I pretty much did the same thing last year to the exact same intercom system. Take a look at pushover, I used that instead of telegram to add a custom button to the notification, which can immediately open the door as well.
Super handy when you forgot the key or someone arrived earlier than you btw

[ohnejayla]

Thanks so much.
I wanted to tackle the same system a year ago without reverse engineering the whole circuit board. (I've got the 4 button version without the phone handle)
Was about to use ldr and a relay to trigger incomming bells and opening the door but decided against it as it would probably end up pretty unreliable.
This makes it a lot easier. I'll probably use an optocoupler and a relay for opening to not interfere with the board but finally some guiding light without interfering with that complicated bus protocol.
As said: Thanks! Got new motivation :)

[ChessIsJustAGame]

A light that flashes in your work space. A hard of hearing relative of my wife had a system that flashes rapidly if phone rings (old school home phone) and flashes a slower signal if the door bell is rung. Both elderly passed away more than a decade ago. It was part of a commercial security system that is long gone, but great idea.

[sschueller]

That looks like a standard PCB edge connector. You could also have used one of those and avoided soldering to the board directly.

[testman]

You could have used a supercap to provide power for the peeks. This would have enabled the whole thing to fit inside the original enclosure... Also you could have used bluetooth LE notifications so that your phone sound only if you are at home 👍

[RestoreTechnique]

Cool project! I was thinking you could of gotten a long range wireless doorbell, wired the button into the intercom system so that when you press the intercom button it triggers the receiver, which you could have sitting on your desk. You could even add flashing lights to the receiver (some already come with this feature) so it's not just an audio chime alerting you. You obviously aren't notified when not at home though.

[Mr.Engine]

Although this kind of projects might sound boring, it's my favorite (after the super crazy ones) because it solves those annoying little problems that end up being completely frustrating.

[mikemason]

I once took a look inside the intercom in my apartment to try to do something similar and was shocked to find that the one I have ran on 230VAC, just at a screw terminal, that I can’t turn off myself.

Needless to say, I put that project on the backburner and thought of alternative ways of detecting a ringing intercom. I do know some smartphones have a built in assistive listening feature that in theory would notify a user of a doorbell sound, but I’m guessing that’s only effective if the phone is close enough to hear it clearly