I use the Hubitat app on my phone while out in the back yard to control chicken coop automation, pool components, outdoor lights, etc. I have great WiFi strength throughout the yard. Good enough to have a video call on a laptop. However, when I have the App open and am on a dashboard it automatically switches back and forth from local to cloud dashboards constantly. It puts up a little window saying it will switch in 3 seconds. between the time lost with the window, maybe hitting the cancel button, the loading of the new dashboard, etc. It is nearly unusable! Anytime I have hit "cancel" when it says it is switching it he buttons still work, but in a few seconds another window appears that it is switching again.
It is very frustrating. Any ideas why this is happening? I had some really tense moments when working on the pool pump recently and not being able to turn it off in a timely manner... Bad things nearly happened.
I'd rather avoid having a separate dashboard to use for when I am away from the home, and a local only enabled dashboard here -- that seems a workaround, but dumb as the whole point of being able to access the same dash remotely is negated...Then we have double the number of Dashboards.
Thins is not functional. Please help!
Are you using the Android or iOS app, version? Does the same issue occur if you access the dashboard with the phone's browser?
Thanks for your feedback. That is likely because your mobile device bounces between access points. Modifying how the app handles network changes may negatively impact the geofence, but I have passed on your feedback to our engineers for further research. Can you try accessing the dashboard in a browser (not from within the mobile app) to see if that offers a better experience.
Getting the same at home, only 1 WiFi network in use, no mobile signal in my house either.
Did it stop for you in the end?
Mines been fine until yesterday when I added apps and a few Virual devices
Not sure if that is related.
I see this issue was raised a year ago. I have just started with Hubitat and this happens constantly at home making the app almost useless. Is there any chance of this being sorted out?
Unfortunately nobody from Hubitat seems interested in this. While the C8 itself seems to work well, the app is not up to standard. Constantly switching between local and cloud dashboards make it impossible to use. Not only does it switch but it doesn't just switch to the same dashboard it goes back to the dashboard list each time. Once the dashboard has been selected again it is switching between cloud and local yet again.
Also it seems to want me to see a message all the time (a notification). When I close this it goes back to the dashboard list again.
Is it beyond Hubitat to get this sorted out?
You're not going to like me pointing this out, but this is largely a you problem. As discussed above, this is generally related to your device jumping between/dropping off of access points and to your cellular network.
I have yet to have that happen on any device (apple or android). As @thebearmay something is up with your wifi connection dropping off. The app senses that and switches to cloud through your cellular connection. You have to solve your AP problem. I recommend using a laptop on wifi and wireshark to see if the break is on your phone or at the ap...
I don't have this problem but I like to access the hub from the browser on my phone anyway when I'm at home. Seems to kick off faster, etc. I put a bookmark on my phone.
Thanks for the answers over the last day or so - I appreciate that this seems to be an issue with my WiFi - however this does not affect me at all in any other app that I use. If only the Hubitat app switched silently between the cloud and local dashboards without popping up a window telling me it is switching and if it just stayed on the same dashboard it wouldn't be an issue.
I think I will try using the browser as suggested and forget the app when I am at home.
I would encourage you to persist in cataloguing your experience and working through various solutions to better understand what is happening and what will solve your issue, but can also understand choosing to seek out a quick and easy solution, we've all been there for various problems.
I'd also suggest setting up a separate topic to try and bring a fresh perspective on your issue, rather than muddying the waters with an old thread that may hold some similarities with your symptoms...
I don’t agree that this is only a WiFi access point issue because all the other phone apps work fine. It is easy to be on a video call and walk to this location (for me an auxiliary building on my property) and have a seamless video call. No dropping or connectivity issues, still strong WiFi signal.
Hubitat could make the app less sensitive what it perceives as the better of the two connections (phone data vs. WiFi) and have it stick with WiFi if it is present and “sufficient”. OR the app could offer a setting that allows some flexibility such as a toggle that says always use wifi when present, or “don’t switch” service when in a dashboard.
Or, as other people said, the switch could be done without a disrupting pop up message and without kicking the user back to the dashboard list. There is a lot to be asked for here that would help address this.
Hubitat app doesn't change how it connects based on signal strength. If it detects wifi it uses wifi and stays on wifi until wifi isn't detected anymore and only then switches to cloud on cellular. Once wifi is re-established it will re connect to it. It's not a sensitivity issue. In the case of video calls, apps like teams and what not have a good amount of buffering they do whereas the hubitat doesn't do any sort of buffering. So with the buffering if there is an interruption, you are less likely to notice it.
