Can you guide me with high-level advice on how to best do my home assistant consolidation?
I want to remove my Alexa devices and use apple for voice commands only.
So I have 4 HomePod Mini, 2 old big HomePod as Stereo and one Apple TV, latest version with around 20 lights, mostly HUE (incl. bridge) and some Zigbee, and 5 dimmers and light switches. This should all be controlled by my C7 with the Hue and Apple integration apps and the Zigbee I can do native, but I also have a hub. The flat is not too big, around 80-90 qm.
I want to rebuild everything from scratch by building new rooms and groups. Is it better to make all in HUE, for example, and then migrate this, or should I switch off the HUE bridge and connect all direct? Are there any best practices?
What is your setup like now? Do you have any devices that are connected only to Alexa and then "integrated" into Hubitat with some workaround like virtual switches? Or do you have all of your devices paired to Hubitat, then exposed to Alexa via the Amazon Echo Skill integration? In that last case, there isn't much you should need to do--Alexa isn't doing anything for you besides voice control. If you have any of the former, you'll need to figure out some workaround. It may be possible to connect the device directly to Hubitat, or you may need to replace the device or figure out some other workaround. It's hard to say more about that much without knowing more details about your setup.
Or maybe you're a brand new Hubitat user? In that case, check that your devices will actually work with Hubitat: List of Compatible Devices | Hubitat Documentation (but keep in mind that community code can get you more than you'll find on the official list, assuming you don't mind that). Searching the forum for your particular device may yield some results if you're not sure.
For Siri/HomeKit integration, the built-in HomeKit integration app can effectively replace Alexa for voice control -- if the devices you want are supported by it. They are similar in nature: devices are exposed from Hubitat to HomeKit, just like they are from Hubitat to Alexa, and not the other way around (at least not without some workarounds). However, note that there are more restrictions--notably, locks, garage doors, and custom virtual drivers will not work due to certification requirements. See: HomeKit Integration | Hubitat Documentation for more details. If this does not work for you but you still want HomeKit integration, some users run HomeBridge (a third-party app with a couple options for Hubitat integration) on their own hardware and integrate the two that way.
For Hue, I strongly suggest keeping the Hue Bridge. For one, it can integrate directly with Alexa or Siri, so you don't need to put Hubitat in the middle; you can just also add the Bridge/devices to Hubitat. Perhaps you've already done that. There are many reasons I prefer this, but the biggest is that pairing Zigbee bulbs directly to Hubitat can be problematic in that many are bad repeaters and will mess up your mesh. (There are also some Hue-only features I like, but your preferences may vary.)
At the moment, all is up and running somehow. I just installed C7 to get a feel for how it works. Now after some tests, I want to clean everything up. So I want to switch off all Alexas first and then set up the rest. The question is how I operate this best. Reset all devices or work on the ones there and streamline groups, for example? Should I rebuild build groups in HUE or C7?
I got rid of all my Echos. I set up Homekit first to make sure it would work. Then in the Alexa app I disconnected the HE skill. Got rid of the Alexa skill in HE. Never had any issues at any point.
Keep your Zigbee bulbs in the Hue hub if they are not Sengled brand. Bulbs are repeaters and dreadful ones at that. Best to keep them isolated from your Hubitat mesh. Use the Hue integration to bring the Hue hub into Hubitat.
