7 posts were split to a new topic: Alternatives to using ST presence
Im a bit late getting my hub going due to a flakey Schlage Touch Screen Deadbolt lock. ST support finally responded on some of the issues I've been reporting and uncovered that this particular lock was flooding the Z-Wave network with bogus messages. Had to spend time last night replacing and reprogramming it.
I saw that in my research. I use neither so I'm not too concerned.
About 2 months ago I migrated to a SmartThings v3 hub after a Z-Wave failure on my v2 hub. I took the time to replace all of my Gen1 Jasco Z-Wave (200 series chipset) switches and dimmers with Z-Wave plus devices. I also replaced some problematic devices as well. I intend to replace any other devices that have issues during this migration as well.
I wrote an advanced DTH for the Z-Wave repeater for SmartThings which includes diagnostics. I'm looking forward to porting it to Hubitat in the coming days. I have 47 of these things so its critical these work flawlessly.
I'm certainly willing to entertain any volunteers for the endeavor! 
Your advise is sound. I actually have a sizeable pool of spare devices right now, thanks to holiday sales, so I'm currently working on test pairings with the HE hub. I'm also running trials ofg pairing them with ST then unpairing, and pairing with HE, to get an idea of how each device will respond, and which ones need a battery pull or full reset. Its very time consuming, but will save a big headache in the end.
Great advice. I was planning to do just that! Thanks.
Thanks all for the welcome. I look forward to getting the system up and running over the coming weeks!
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A question that I forgot to ask earlier. What are folks using for a GUI? I interact with the ST UI more than I would probably like to. I miss the ability to group devices by room. It makes it much simpler to manager.
I know I can build Dashboards, but thats a ton of work with 400 devices! How are others managing large mnumbers of devices?
Dashboard. Either HE or SharpTools.
The answer depends on your Design. For you, Home Automation means a specific something. You have 400 devices so you probably expect a lot of automation to just take care of itself. Door or Motion causes light(s). Humidity causes fan(s). Water level causes water refil in the Pool, etc.
However, many people design Home Automation around activities they or the family are already doing. Turn on a switch, push a button, tap a wall mounted tablet, etc. And have those actions do more than happened in their "dumb house".
I'm in the first group.. my family has never been exposed to the man-behind-the-curtain of either ST or Hubitat. We have buttons stuck to the headboards of our beds to control the lighting and fans within. There's only one person that even knows where the Hub is located.. me, and I use a browser, as intended. Yes, I have created Dashboards, but don't use them much, thus choosing a more customizable one such as SharpTools or HousePanel exceeds my time vs interest calculation.
Therefore, for me, there's nothing to miss. I hated SmartThings Mobile App because it exposed all the admin functions to every user. Hubitat distinctly differentiates Admin (the browser interface) and User (Dashboard), and that's a big important feature, to me.
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If you have v5.3 of SmartTiles you can get that working on HE. I edited the code to be an exception dashboard that shows me doors open, lights on, locks unlocked, etc since that is usually what I care most about.
I really want a local-only solution. I've been using ActionTiles for about a year as the interface in which most people in the house interact with StartThings. Myself I use the SmartThings app daily. It's a vital tool for managing such a large system. I'm struggling with a viable replacement that doesn't require a ton of work to get started.
The built-in Dashboard would be an otherwise decent choice, if the it were were customizable. I'd be perfectly happy to even design my own tile templates. As it stands, it's too rigid and inflexible right now. Sharptools looks interesting but I'm on a "crusade" against using cloud services for vital parts of the system.
I hate the ST mobile app, but it's a necessary evil for such a large system. Whether I'm turning off devices that failed to respond to automation, manually turning on lights just because, or checking some of the advanced telemetry I collect from custom DTH's for UPS's, Raspberry PI's, Windows servers, even Iris Smart Plugs Z-Wave radios. Those are all DTH's that have a UI that is not supported in HE, which I need to find a solution for. Having customizable tiles in Dashboard would be a huge help.
I'm considering this. I may also enable the MakerAPI and just create my own at some point too.
Don't get me wrong, I am really enjoying working with Hubitat. I've already moved over 50+ devices which were cloud-connected as well as my Hue lighting. From an automation perspective, I'll be able to achieve everything I'm doing now plus a lot more. From a user-interaction perspective, I'm struggling to achieve a reasonable WAF.
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I would like to know how you customize this? I looked at the HE Dashboard but it seems very limited.
One of my biggest issues is the lack of the power attribute on switch tiles. I've got over 50 SmartPlugs total and use the power usage readings now and then to confirm things are working properly. I now have to define 2x tiles for those devices.
I'll second that.
You can layer tiles on top of tiles. So those are image tiles with switch tiles stacked on top. Then changed the switch tile template to be transparent when on and opaque when off.
How do you get image tiles? Do you have to create them with specific dimensions?
You add image tiles like any other tile, except there's no need to pick a device, just the image template. Then you paste in the URL of your image. The tricky part is finding (or modifying and rehosting) an image that fits the size of the tile you want. Until we get the ability to choose fill/stretch type options, the image gets resized every time the tile size changes. It's also a PITA to layer the tiles, you have to create them in the right order since there's no way to "send to back"....the newer tile always goes on top. So lots of planning and/or rework, but still doable.
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Thanks for the tip. Quite useful
Quick update... I've hit the halfway point with 205 of 408 devices migrated off of ST onto HE. I've focused exclusively on Zigbee devices at this point except Iris plugs and for 3 GE in-wall devices for testing. Most devices have paired without any issue. The exception is that some of my oldest Iris contact sensors put up a good fight but everything else has been fairly easy.
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My Monoprice in-wall relay was a Dragonball Z style fight.
I was so frustrated trying to get that thing to be excluded properly...
Two very confused little children as to why I was flashing the light so rapidly and getting so frustrated... Not HE's fault by any means.
I've got to ask... but how on EARTH did you get to 400 devices?
I thought I was a little out of control with 120+ lights, and probably another 50 other devices around the place... but I can't really imagine how I could do the same again without buying a Mansion first 
-- Jules
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It all depends on house size. He can own a building full of apartments 
It’s taken over 4 years to get to this point, but it’s not that hard. For example, I’ve got sensors on every door and window, including interior doors. I have 52 SmartPlugs with about 32 being used for Christmas lights right now. Add in cameras, Hue, and others, 400 isn’t such a reach.
I’m at 399 right now with about 26 remaining on ST.
Can I ask if you see speed difference between ST and HE? 400 devices, you are my hero.
