So I just got my Hubitat about 20 minutes ago, and I was very excited to set it up. I have some awesome automations in mind.
Unfortunately, it looks like every HA device I have purchased isn't compatible. Is there a work around for this and some really basic instructions?
My devices are Aqara (camera, hub, sensors), SwitchBot (hub, lights, motion sensors), Schlage (lock), and no brand name chain blind control.
Yes... at least for the aqara stuff and likely others.
This one is harder. There probably aren't any written instructions, but there is help from members of this and other communities.
If you're committed to keeping all the hardware you've already invested in, your best bet is likely to set up a HomeAssistant server (runs on almost any old PC including a Raspberry Pi). Almost everything WiFi can connect to that, including anything paired to your aqara hub.
Once that is up and running, installing the HA device bridge app on your Hubitat will "share" almost all of your HomeAssistant devices with Hubitat where you can use them for automations or anything you want.
The alternative is to start over with natively supported devices.
I was afraid of that, but thank you so much for your help! (I'm almost 100% sure that HA is way out of my current league.)
It's honestly not too bad. There are some pre configured installation images that are a huge help and it autodetects many wifi devices.
If you're even just a bit interested, it's worth a shot. And you'll find that most of the folks with "advanced" Home automation setups almost always use another platform in addition to Hubitat. HomeAssistant is one of the most popular and brings a lot of capabilities to the table.
I've got mine running on a Pi 3B just so i can take advantage of its ability to act as a HomeKit Controller. It's the only way i can get fast and local feedback from my Ecobee.
Welcome to the Hubitat forums!
Which model? The Zwave ones are technically possible to join to the hub. But because of mixed experiences Hubitat removed the Zwave model from the compatibility list. There is a driver for these locks.
These do work, but you have to be very careful as to your mix of devices. Aqara are picky about the routers they work with, and about working with particular devices. There is a thread about this that may be helpful. Xiaomi & Aqara Devices - Pairing & Keeping them connected
There are various community based drivers for most of these devices, I would use the search with the model numbers to find which have drivers.
I am not as familiar with these, but there are built-in drivers for Generic Zigbee Shade that might possibly work. (Assuming these are Zigbee, you didn't say). There are also community drivers that could possibly work, you might try searching for these too if the built-in driver doesn't work.
The documentation is helpful as is their Youtube channel I linked below. Here is the general documentation link. https://docs.hubitat.com/index.php?title=Documentation
You probably specifically should look at the section for how to install community driver code. https://docs.hubitat.com/index.php?title=How_to_Install_Custom_Drivers
If you need to install community based drivers, this Hubitat video from their Youtube channel outlines this process. There are tons of other terrific videos here too, you should watch a few of these to get familiar with things.
Many of us here have Schlage locks that work fine with Hubitat. I've had mine (BE469 Z-Wave) on Hubitat for going on 3 years now with zero issues. When I first moved over to Hubitat I made sure the lock was the last thing I added after I had fully established my Z-Wave mesh. As long as you have a solid Z-Wave mesh you may be happily surprised by how well your Schlage lock works on Hubitat.
@user905 Start by giving us the make/model of your devices. Just because they're not on the compatibility list doesn't mean they aren't compatible. We'll help you get things set up. When you set up your hub immediately upgrade to the latest platform and update your z-wave stack.
During pairing of z-wave devices, if you get a failed pairing stop what you are doing. Power down the device. Go to your z-wave details page and check for a ghost (it will have nothing in the routing column), remove abs attempt to re pair. Also before pairing, factory reset all your devices.
Ack!
Hello, I also just received my Hubitat last night and found out none of my HA devices are compatible, I really feel like I made a huge mistake buying this hub.
I am heavily invested in Alexa, My devices are:
Ring Alarm
Ring cameras
Ring sensors v2
Nest Thermostat
Wiz light bulbs
Tp Link Kasa Light switched
Amazon smart plugs
Tp link smart plugs
purchasing Aqara hubs and sensors soon
I have only been able to add Kasa smart switches to my hub, which are the only options on my dashboard.
The reason why I originally decided to buy Hubitat was to have a dashboard and run Alexa routines , access my cameras, and control thermostat, and switches, ... as of right now all I can do is turn on/off switches.
I'm hoping someone can help me and guide me in the right direction, if not I think I might return this hub.
Maybe its my fault thinking I could do all these things with Hubitat with my devices.
Ring sensors will directly connect to HE
Wiz and Kasa have integrations for HE (can be installed from Hubitat Package Manager)
Tp Link smart plugs do to... (Hubitat Package Manager)
Use Sonoff instead of aqara. You don't need a seperate hub for Aqara stuff, just use ikea repeaters.
Hubitat is not a fan of cloud based devices. Integrations can be done but it's general philosophy is local control only. Most of your stuff is not locally controlled. Some wifi stuff has local integration on HE (Lifx, Leaf, Shelly) that are native, and some wifi integrations have been done to the cloud as well but those are not native. To see what is compatible with hubitat, look at the hubitat compatibility list here.
https://docs.hubitat.com/index.php?title=List_of_Compatible_Devices
For the Ring gear you could look at:
Wiz lights might work with:
Aquara - some people can make work and others have issues, recommend reading some of the posts before proceeding.
The Amazon plugs should able to use the Amazon Echo Skill app and some virtual devices to enable control. (Don't actually need an Alexa device just an account.)
You don't really run Alexa routines on Hubitat. I guess you could do some virtual device and use that in Alexa routines, but Hubitat is much more powerful than Alexa it has more things to trigger from and potentially control. Also, in my opinion Hubitat is easier to use because you can use any computer and not a tiny screen.
Any particular reason why? The hub is definitely not needed with Hubitat. The sensors are hit and miss, I have a few but I certainly would not outfit a whole home with them. They are cheap for a reason.
I believe most if not all these can be joined with Hubitat.
I am not very familiar with these. But I believe that some of these have community based integrations or apps.
I don't mean to Minimize Hubitat or any hub, but that is a good part of what a hub does. But most people would introduce some automation into that so maybe your switches come on at a certain time, with motion, a door sensor, or similar and not just think of Hubitat being a fancy remote control. It could do that, but you would be very underutilizing it's abilities.
Most of us here started out on another ecosystem, maybe Wink, Alexa, or others. We found those systems lacking and we ended up here. Many times it was simple things like "why can't I make this light dim at different levels at different times of the day" Or artificial limitations like "you can't turn on this brand lightbulb with this different brand button".
A hub like Hubitat can tie many things together. It is great at doing so if the devices are compatible. Often times things that aren't compatible use a proprietary or non-standard protocols and they are prevented by their manufacturer from talking to other ecosystems. There is no reason for my garage door to be in a locked ecosystem, but it is. The garage opener company does not offer any lighting, any motion sensors, a thermostat, or much of anything else. But what if I want my porch lights to go on when I open the garage door? I ended up purchasing a different device that does work within Hubitat, and now I have control of things under my terms and I can tie the door to any automation I wish to.
You may want to describe more of your wants, needs, and goals with this project. If you just want to shout commands to Alexa, Hubitat isn't probably the right thing for you. However if you want to start building a home automation system, then you are probably in the right place. I think we would be glad to listen to you and help you make a decision.
thank you for the quick response, i did see Ring sensors do have integrations but I would like the Ring Alarm Hub to be able to integrate to be able to Arm and Disarm from the habitat dashboard, i will need to look further into the Wiz integration. The reason i was thinking of getting Aqara is because it plays nice with Apple homekit, but i will look into Sonoff.
That would use the ring unofficial integration available in the Hubitat Package Manager
You can use home bridge go expose all devices connected to Hubitat to home bridge
Hey @thebearmay i looked into that post for the Ring integration but the guy who created it says that he no longer has Ring and will not be updating it and it doesn't seem to safe or stable, I will look into the Wiz code you shared.
Asper the Aqara I read the same thing, that's my concern, not sure if I will have issues as well, for the amazon plug I don't see a way to add it , not even through the amazon echo skill.
@rlithgow1 but like i was saying to the other gentleman, the person who wrote the script says he left Ring and is no longer supporting it, not sure how secure the integration is. or do you know of anyone who is currently using it with no issues?
@rlithgow1 i was actually looking into that right now, this is all new to me.
would I need HE for homebridge? any advantages in keeping it?
The Aqara hub doesn't integrate with Hubitat. Most Hubitat users who need to use HomeKit use Hubitat-compatible zigbee/z-wave devices and then use HomeBridge (or HOOBS) to export them to HomeKit.
The Ring integration has the same status as any other integration whose developer has moved on. Someone else from the community (@morse.caleb) is maintaining it. While I don't use that integration, perusing that thread should indicate how many people still use it and if there are any issues with its use.
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