Are you new to home automation or Hubitat or coming from a different platform such as SmartThings, Vera, or Wink? This may help!

Just throwing this out there. It may or may not be a help and I'm sure many others will contribute to this thread. Here are a few things to start you off.

Z-wave Devices:

1: You do not need Wink/ST/Vera etc. to exclude your existing z-wave devices. Hubitat can do the exclusion for you. (Make sure you turn off your old hub first!) In most cases this is sufficient before pairing. Sometimes though you may need to factory reset the device. Non Plus z-wave devices may have to be included/excluded near the hub as they won't pair or exclude through a repeating node. In this instance you may need an extra long cable to move your hub closer to exclude your old device and then re include them. Non plus edge devices that are battery powered can be brought to the hub to be excluded and paired. Please read this very well done How To: How to Build a Solid Z-Wave Mesh | Hubitat Documentation

2: Before pairing make sure that your z-wave stack is up to date. Settings>>Z-Wave Details. At the top will be a button that says Z-Wave Firmware Update. Click it. If it's not there you've already been updated. This is separate from the platform update (Which you should also do)

3: One thing you need to be careful of, is if you have a failed Z-Wave pairing, STOP! Check your settings>>z-wave details page. If a ghost was created (you will see nothing in the routing column), it needs to be removed first. If you don't remove it you will start having problems with your mesh including pairing new devices. After removing the ghost, factory reset the device and attempt to pair again. Rinse and repeat. This is one of the biggest keys to having a healthy mesh.

4: Some of your things may be z-wave and not z-wave plus. This may mean some of your switches won't report it's status properly. To address this Hubitat Elevation has a built in app called Z-wave Poller. This will poll the device at set intervals to check it's status. The reason this happened was that Lutron held the patent on pushing status and until that patent expired no one else could use it. So when it expired it became part of Z-Wave plus and all z-wave plus devices report their status'. Another note about z-wave (non plus) is that they are 300 series chips and their max speed is 40kbps while z-wave plus (500/700/800) is 100kbs. So depending on your layout, mains based non plus devices can cause a bottleneck in your mesh though battery ones should not as they are considered edge devices and therefor do not repeat within the mesh.

5: Z-wave locks (especially Schlage) should be paired within 3 feet of the hub. This is because when pairing they go into a low power whisper mode for security. Older Schlage 300 series locks like the fe599 may have problems pairing with the C7/C8,

6: While the new Z-Wave Plus V2 firmware requires running less Z-Wave repair than older versions, if you move devices around, it is good to run an individual repair once the device is placed in its permanent location. Likewise for the hub itself, if you move the hub in a new location, you can run a network wide repair to rebuild the routing tables. Individual node repair is more effective than network wide repair if the nodes are moved around.

7: In a lot of cases you will see your devices want to pair with Security enabled. This can be good or bad in some circumstances. Older devices that only can pair in S0 should most definitely be paired as no security. S0 is extremely chatty and can overwhelm a z-wave mesh. The rule of thumb overall is to pair all devices without any security EXCEPT for Locks and Garage related items. If you have a device that won't pair with no security, you can obtain a z-wave stick and pair it with your Hubitat as a secondary controller and pair the device through the stick with no security. (You then remove the stick)

Note: 2 Problematic devices are the Zooz 4-in-1 and the Zooz zen-25 double plug. The 4-in-1 sensor needs to be paired to the C7/C8 hub with no security as it will crusg a mesh. This needs to be done with a z-wave stick paired to hubitat as a secondary controller. Then zen-25 has a power reporting issue and overwhelms meshes. Power reporting needs to be turned off.

Zigbee Stuff

1: All zigbee devices will have to be factory reset before pairing with Hubitat.

2: Ge Link, Hue, Cree bulbs etc are ZLL bulbs. They should be kept on a separate hub mesh than zigbee devices such as sensors or what have you because ZLL make very bad repeaters. The exception to this are Sengled bulbs (they do not repeat) or Zigbee 3.0 bulbs. The solution in general is to move these ZLL bulbs to a Hue bridge or another Hubitat with just those on that hubs mesh. Hubitat can still control them :slight_smile:
Please read this well done How To: How to Build a Solid Zigbee Mesh - Hubitat Documentation

3: Zigbee runs on the same frequency as Wifi and therefor is subject to wifi interference. It's best practice to keep zigbee and wifi away from eachother as far as possible. Every zigbee hub needs to be on it's on frequency or devices could start dropping off the mesh. Follow the below diagram as a rule of thumb. IE. Wifi on 1 or 6 and Zigbee on 20

Note: During pairing some find it easier to do standard zigee/z-wave pairing instead of by manufacturer or device type.

Lutron Caseta.

1: In order to integrate your Lutron Caseta devices, you will need the Pro hub 2. (Lutron Part num L-BDGPRO2-WH). The regular Lutron hub won't work as Hubitat uses Telnet protocol to communicate with Lutron. This is lightning fast!
See here: Lutron Integrator - Hubitat Documentation

Apple HomeKit Hubitat can integrate with Apple Homekit. You simply expose to homekit devices from hubitat. For Hubitat to control Homekit devices, you would use virtual switches. Setting up Homekit is easy. HomeKit Integration | Hubitat Documentation

WebCore: WebCore is now available as part of the Hubitat Platform. This will allow ST users who have spent a lot of time building pistons to move them over to Hubitat easily.

TCP/IP Static IP: If for any reason the hub cannot get to the internet after setting a static ip on it, change the DNS to 1.1.1.1 and you should be in business.

If you cannot get to the hub itself after setting a static ip, press the reset button on the bottom of the hub for 7 seconds. (It is the only round hole out of all the square ones. Use a toothpick or paperclicp). This will ONLY reset the network settings back to defaults (DHCP).

It is recommended that you set a DHCP reservation in your router for the hub.

Shutting down the hub: When Shutting down the hub, it is best practice to do it from the hubs interface menu. Shutting down by disconnecting power is not recommended as it can lead to database corruption in the hub and a restore from backup could be necessary.

Backing up: Any time you are making changes to your hub it is a good idea to backup. This way if you make a mistake, a restore is just a few clicks away. Local backups are done around 2:am by default but timing may be changed or a manual backup may be initiated and downloaded to your pc. Cloud backups are available with the Hubitat Protection Plan.

Read the tutorials and watch the videos and ASK LOTS OF QUESTIONS

https://docs.hubitat.com/index.php?title=Documentation

Install Hubitat Package Manager.
This is a great way to install community supported drivers and apps without having to always deal with code. See here [RELEASE] Hubitat Package Manager (HPM) -- HubitatCommunity

Note: Hubitat Package Manager is a community initiative that aims at helping users to get started with custom apps and custom drivers.

While Hubitat Elevation doesn't require any programing skills, custom apps and drivers that are created and supported by the Hubitat Community, add value by enabling integrations and additional features that have not been tested by Hubitat engineers.

**Voice Assistant integrations: Google and Echo are supported for voice control via built in apps. It is recommended that you set a reserved IP in your router's DHCP settings for these devices. If these assistants have devices (such as wifi based devices) attached to them that cannot be connected directly connected to hubitat, do not fear! Chances are they can be controlled indirectly by hubitat. The process is simple. 1st create a virtual switch on Hubitat for the device on google/echo you want to control. (IE Kitchen Light). Expose this virtual switch(s) to google/echo via the hubitat integration. Run discovery on google/echo so the assistant is aware of the switch. Then create a routine on your assistant to do something when it sees that switch on or off. So the flow is: Hubitat Rule turns virtual switch on>>Assistant sees that virtual switch is on>>Assistant does routine based on the status of the switch it sees on.. So if you have a Fan connected to your google/echo, the hubitat virtual switch can turn it on or off.

An issue that may come up after voice assistant integrations is that you may have a device turn on/off or rule fire without you asking for it at some strange random times. When setting up Alexa you want to go in and disable HUNCHES. These are enabled on Alexa by default and can cause erratic behavior with the assistant.

POE: Hubitat doesn't not have POE (Power Over Ethernet) built in but you may use a POE splitter for either the c5/c7/c8. Be aware though there has been problems using these adapters powered by a Unifi switch causing z-wave on the C8 to be unstable. (C5/C7 is unaffected). If you are using a Unifi POE switch, please use the supplied power adapter.

Questions: Ask lots of questions!!!!!! The community is here to help and is very welcoming. You will also find a lot of interaction from Hubitat staff here as well. They are a fantastic resource.

Hubitat Support: For warranty, orders, returns, etc. visit support.hubitat.com.

Welcome!!

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Also for new users, the Documentation might be helpful. It is located at the top of this page, or click Documentation - Hubitat Documentation

Their Youtube channel has lots of good examples of how to get started, using apps, and more. Well worth the watch. https://www.youtube.com/c/Hubitat/videos

This getting started video answers a lot of questions.

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Once the devices have been added, and the user is ready to create some rules, the best approach is to start slowly with preloaded Basic Rules app.

There is nothing basic about this app, it can accommodate many different use cases. It is a good introduction to Hubitat's web interface and the app provides easy to follow logic. It starts with an "event" (trigger) then builds the rule gradually (E.G. when this happens, I'd like to automate this device, then this other device).

Check out this video for more details:

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Wow! Nice summary!

I have only one comment to add - from my experience the wireless networks (especially Z-Wave) need some time to "settle down". Both protocols attempt to build an efficient network by routing through other devices (typically, line powered devices). It may take a day or more for the network to "settle down". Try to be patient. I know it's hard.

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That's pretty much covered in the how to build a z-wave/zigbee mesh articles... My big thing with this post is to try not to overwhelm... But that is a good call..

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nice write-up! i am looking into migrating into HE from ST and was psyched up reading your write-up until i realized i may have problems with my CREE bulbs which where the first ones i added to my ST.

looks like you are suggesting to exclude them(Zigbee) first then include them in HE?

Any z-device paired to another hub will have to be excluded (zwave devices) or factory reset (zigbee devices) before pairing it to a new hub.

I would recommend leaving the Cree bulbs on ST.

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i 've read this and was pumped to read i may not need to exclude z-wave device and only zigbee devices. Knowing very well that doing such isn't really good practice. I may have to just leave those Cree bulbs alone as suggested but if im lucky and they are paired well and good. i may have to just add z-wave switch to control them so i can still use them and not throw them away.

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Any z-wave devices you move will have to be excluded or reset. Normally exclusion is fine. What you've highlighted is simply saying turn off your old hub, let hubitat to the exclusion and then include on hubitat. Sorry if I didn't make that clear. Another thing about the cree bulbs and their ilk are that they are ZLL 1.2. They don't play well on the same mesh as ZHA devices (such as sensors and whatnot). They make bad repeaters/messengers. It's typically recommended that you put them on their own mesh using a hue bridge or another hubitat. The exception to this is zigbee 3.0 bulbs or Sengled bulbs. Sengled bulbs do not repeat.

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sorry, but to clarify, with my ST hub off and HE powered on, it'll will discover z-wave, zigbee devices and HE gives me the option to have detected devices EXCLUDED first? again my apologies as i am really taking this migration slow and not overwhelm myself and get too frustrated and just burn all what i have invested time and effort one because i couldn't figure it out.

i am just trying to educate myself as much as i can as it has been 6 years since i've configured my ST hub. my sincere thanks for your patience.

I find that 2 hubs on tend to cause interference. (This may be anecdotal and not scientific). Any and all z-wave devices connected to a controller (hub) must be excluded (the device itself) in order to pair to another controller. You can go into hubitat start the exclusion for the device, You do not need the old hub to exclude. Any controller can tell a device to exclude. They need to be excluded before they can be included on the new controller (Hubitat).

Zigbee devices in your case will have to be factory reset before pairing with Hubitat.. Again, I recommend turning off ST just to be safe)

I also recommend looking at the how to build a solid z-wave and Zigbee links in that thread. And honestly make it easier on yourself, don't pair by brand/model just use the generic zigbee and z-wave buttons. Make sure your z-wave firmware is up to date (seperate from the platform update).

This is why we're all here, to help eachother. We welcome all questions.

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ahhh, looks like these (exclude/factory reset) are "menu/command items" that i choose when i start to setup HE.

i may figured out the Zigbee devices. they are all bulbs and I can live without them or just add a z-wave switch to control them.

What i now realize and is a bigger headache (possibly i hope) are my Schlage BE469ZP. i do not see them on the HE device compatibility list ; and my GOLINEAR GARAGE OPENER and i use RBOY apps with them on ST.

only thing i need i think is AUTOLOCK functionality for the Schlage door locks and AUTOCLOSE on the GOLINEAR GARAGE OPENER.

im reading quite a lot of threads but i did not seem to find anything that says these devices outright work with HT. thank you again.

did you mean Linear or GoControl?, can you post a picture of it?

The lock may or may not work correctly (it will include just fine), but depends on lots of factors outside of Hubitat's control.

I have 3 of those locks. You'll be fine as long as they're firmware 7.10 and above. You want to factory reset those locks then pair them within 2 feet of the hub. The reason is because of the whisper mode it uses to exchange encryption. Oh, don't pair anything else with encryption, just locks and garage door openers...

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@rlithgow1 was describing voice assistants, not TTS.

There are built in apps for Google Home and Alexa.

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i just checked mine and both are 0.10.8

as i am dependent on @Rboy apps for my doors and garage door(gocontrol) and still hoping he will deliver compatible apps with ST, would i be able to continue using ST to control my doors and garage doors and HE for the webcore pistons that i use that just control motion sensors and switches?

Rboy's app no longer works right now on ST. You can connect all your locks to HE and use built in Lock Manager, gocontrol garage door opener should be able to be paired to HE with the community driver.

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There’s also a built-in driver got this device.

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I hit the Jackpot! Thanks for the tips and tricks. Very helpful. I appreciate it!

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