Can smart things go local if they wanted to? From their end

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You do realize that there’s zero value for them in doing this, right?

The reason SmartThings branded WiFi products were so cheap is because the end-user’s usage pattern is the data that Samsung wants.

Samsung’s getting out of the hardware business but not the SmartThings platform is also revealing. It’s the cloud data that they’re monetizing.

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Apple HomeKit requires all local connectivity. It works very well, actually... :wink:

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I understand...

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Apple still gets a ton of data out of it though.

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Well, of all of the really Big companies, I trust Apple with respect to user data privacy much more than Amazon, Samsung, or Google... :wink:

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The thing is Apple charges such a big fee, the cheaper devices aren’t HomeKit compatible. I was looking to do led strips for my deck, wifi was like $80, HomeKit was like $400

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Why not use Zigbee LED strips? All local direct to the Hubitat hub.

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Same, if HomeKit was affordable and had everything, I’d abandon all other platforms

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I been looking into it. They’re still 3x the $ of wifi ones

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Also, how do I “disable” the companies cloud and only use HomeKit local? Delete the app after I connect it to HomeKit?

Thank you

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To me this feels like saying..."If I have to choose between dying by falling out of an airplane, or getting run over by a car, or drowning, I think I like drowning the best."

:wink:

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It’s more like choosing between a car crash and a airplane crash, imo

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Devices that are homekit certified I believe use Thread protocol (someone please correct me if I'm wrong). Homekit automatically chooses this if it's available. It can connect with other wifi devices but usually through the devices cloud app. Now they will be adding Matter to their setup and if that happens, any matter based hub theoretically could use the device directly. As to when it's all gonna happen, who knows. Next year or 10 years from now maybe.

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Thread support is very new to HomeKit. Again, all Apple HomeKit certified devices are REQUIRED to work locally per the specification. My Ecobee Thermostats, for example, work fine with HomeKit over my LAN. However, Hubitat is forced to use the Ecobee Cloud connection.

HomeBridge is obviously one way to work around this requirement to allow non-HomeKit certified devices to be added to HomeKit.

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Also, how do I “disable” the companies cloud and only use HomeKit local? Delete the app after I connect it to HomeKit?
@ogiewon
Thank you

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Not sure that you really can, to be honest. You might need to block the traffic on your home network firewall...but who knows what might break when you do that?

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Check out meross. They offer lower priced devices that work with homekit but not with hubitat though (sort of… I have seen a developer post an app but I could not get it to work for me)

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I am not sure just how much data Apple really has access to via HomeKit... :thinking:

Based on the following, not too much at all.

https://medium.com/comsystoreply/privacy-by-design-bbfa236b3c1c

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Quite possibly, with the lightify cloud shutting down in Aug 2021, the Sylvania Flex strips should get cheaper. If you don't want to wait, you could get cheap strips from Asia and use the H801 wifi controller, after flashing it. It works great on HE.

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Yes, my comment was a broader comment, not Homekit specific, about which I know almost nothing. (Just ask my wife, I know almost nothing about pretty much everything.) :wink:

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