Do I need to reset all devices first, to get started with Hubitat Elevation?

[user3805]

Thank you in advance for any help.

Before purchasing, I’m trying to find out if I’ll need to reset all my devices to get them into Hubitat first. My gut tells me no, but the few resources I’ve found online seem to suggest so.

With some hundred existing devices already in Alexa and many of those already in HomeKit — and with routines/automations already existing in each — this would be too disruptive to reset everything and essentially start from scratch… which is why my gut says that I’m misunderstanding the setup process.

I’d be moving over one device (a Yale lock) from SmartThings. If that needs to be reset then I can manage. It’s everything else (including Aqara, Sengled,SmartLife etc.) that gives me pause.

[rlithgow1]

You will need to exclude z-wave devices (and in some cases factory reset). You will need to reset all zigbee devices. Have a look at this thread... It should help with some of the gotchas

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

[Eric.C.Miller]

It largely depends on the devices and the nature of their supporting integration.
Zigbee devices require a reset in order to re-pair to a new hub.
Z-Wave devices require an exclude in order to re-pair to a new hub (and, in the event of failure, they may need to be reset).
Cloud integrations likely do not as the cloud (or alternate hub) serves as an aggregation point.
My only example of this (since I avoid cloud integrations) is my Lutron Caseta devices - when I moved them to a new hub, all I had to do was move the two Lutron Hubs and all 120-or so devices came along (were recreated) - none of them had to be reset because they were still talking to the same Lutron hub.

[bobbyD]

@user3805

I’d be moving over one device (a Yale lock) from SmartThings. If that needs to be reset then I can manage. It’s everything else (including Aqara, Sengled,SmartLife etc.) that gives me pause.

As others mentioned, it is rather hard to assess if you need to reset devices already connected to Alexa and Homekit, as it depends on how they are connected. If they are connected via a SmartThings hub, and they are Zigbee or Z-Wave, then yes. Everything must be reset in Alexa. Homekit devices may not need to be reset, unless you'd like to use the rules engine that Hubitat Elevation provides (assuming that those devices are compatible with Hubitat Elevation).

Last but not least, I strongly recommend to plan your migration from SmartThings and not break down the mesh networks you have built in SmartThings. Bringing only a device for testing will result in a disappointing experience that could be hard to recover from. Instead, gather information for every smart device you own, what protocol each device is using, and most importantly what are the goals of your future elevated environment.

Once the transition plan has been formulated, only then start building strong mesh networks using the following guides:

For Z-Wave devices check this out: How to Build a Solid Z-Wave Mesh | Hubitat Documentation

For Zigbee devices start with this guide: How to Build a Solid Zigbee Mesh | Hubitat Documentation

[jtp10181]

@bobbyD

Last but not least, I strongly recommend to plan your migration from SmartThings and not break down the mesh networks you have built in SmartThings. Bringing only a device for testing will result in a disappointing experience that could be hard to recover from.

Everything @bobbyD said and just wanted to point out, plan a day and migrate all the like devices (zwave vs zigbee) together so you have a complete mesh.

I would also suggest that you rebuild your automations in Hubitat and move them out of Alexa especially, so they run locally and faster.

[user3805]

This was a huge help, so thank you.

I only have one Z-Wave device — the door lock.

It looks like the setup process is too onerous for me at this time so I’m going to hold off. The plan is to sell this house in the next year or two (the markets are affecting that timeline) so Hubitat may make more sense when I move and have to/get to start from scratch again.

In the meantime, I do have Home Assistant running well enough on a Raspberry Pi and that’s done a decent job. I just think I’m the long run Hubitat is more suited to me… just not yet.

So thank you again. Not the answer I hoped for. It the one I needed.

Happy New Year!

[user3805]

Thanks!

This will be my approach… but not yet. I’m going to push this back until I can hopefully move in the next year or two and it makes more sense to start from scratch.

I definitely want to rely less on Alexa and, like many, right now I’m running a hodgepodge between it and HomeKit. Only my z-Wave lock remains on SmartThings. Thanks to Home Assistant, all but the lock are in HomeKit. HA is just a bit much for me (and I’m not a fan of a Nabu Casa subscription)

Rebuilding everything from scratch isn’t possible right now. When I’m able to make that clean start, this will be path.

Thanks again, and Happy New Year!