Add an abstraction layer to hardware devices feature request

[a4refillpad]

This one is a little difficult to explain. Currently, if you need to replace a device e.g. replacing a failed motion sensor or upgrading to another brand, you may find yourself spending a substantial amount of time reworking rules and apps to switch over.

Until i discovered that you don't need to do this if you have two meshed hubs as you simply change the device here on the linked hub.

My feature request is, could we have a similar abstraction layer for locally installed devices that are not meshed? I think this will also make backup recoveries potentially a lot easier if we're not explicitly tying things to devices.

Just my two cents on a potential qos improvement.

[bertabcd1234]

This is the intent of the Settings > Swap Apps Device feature.

[aaiyar]

@a4refillpad

you may find yourself spending a substantial amount of time reworking rules and apps to switch over.

Or you can use "Swap Apps Device" under Settings:

[rocketwiz]

Guys - Quick related question on swap apps. I've been meaning to delete some sensors and pair them fresh as they got connected to a router further away than I would like. I assume this works for virtual devices? Ie swap out the original sensor for a virtual one and then swap back the real devicc once its been reinstalled.

[jameslslate]

Yep.

[rocketwiz]

Thanks!

[pfmiller]

The replace option is nice if you can use it. Really wish there was some solution for child devices though, since that's pretty much all of my devices. Even something that only worked for officially supported devices like Kasa and LIFX would be an improvement.

[a4refillpad]

@pfmiller

Really wish there was some solution for child devices though, since that's pretty much all of my devices.

If you use two hubs meshed together you should be able to use the method I described.

[pfmiller]

Only one hub in my setup. I've just been sticking with setting up virtual devices to use in apps instead of the devices themselves, but you can't use the virtual devices for some functions like color staging of light bulbs or power usage stats for switches.

[a4refillpad]

This is why i suggested the feature request, but people here seem to be happy with the swap apps setting instead.