Hubitat connected to PoE Capable Switch

[sdjernes]

In the article here: https://docs.hubitat.com/index.php?title=Registration_and_setup

The directions say not to plug the Hubitat into a PoE switch. All I have is managed PoE switches. They are 802.3AF/AT so they will only provide power is the endpoint asks for power.

Can I hook this up or do I need to turn off PoE?

[bertabcd1234]

I think that warning is just geared towards "dumb" PoE sources, and perhaps they just don't want to have to explain the difference; standard PoE (802.3af/at and whatever else there may be) ones will negotiate power with the receiving device. That's the only official word I've seen on it, and it doesn't say that much, but a community member reports that they heard from Support that this is, indeed, the case:

POE Protection or Utilization

I heard from Hubitat technical support today. As was suggested by others the real problem is ethernet devices which do not properly test the POE requirement. The really nice thing here is that technical support does respond to questions and the community is a valuable resource. Here is a portion of the response I received. "This is still a problem for current versions of Hubitat Elevation. Some devices are "smart" enough not to send power to non-compatible devices, however we do not have a l…

It should still be noted that the hub doesn't actually support PoE, so you'd still need some adapter to make that work if your goal is to actually power the hub (I don't think yours is, but just mentioning since I'm sure someone else will find this by search). I have seen some mention that staff have seen some hub failures from that:

PoE for Hubitat?

Keep in mind that POE has been associated with hub power failures. I'm not saying that it will die the minute it's plugged in, but there's a strong correlation there. I use a power bank with pass through charging as a UPS, but is also useful for roaming around with the hub. The two are duct taped together. There probably are cheaper power banks, I wanted one that could last for a while.

So, might not be a good idea to do that. (Which is pretty much the only way you can.) But it looks like just connecting it to such a port should be OK, as long as it's a standard/negotiating setup.

[Robertgmcneill]

by default unless your devices are POE you should always disable POE on the port. I had a lightning strike at a clients and every POE device was taken out

[sdjernes]

No I do not need to power the Hubitat with PoE. I will just plug it's adapter into one of the outlets on my PDU which is connected to the UPS.

This thing won't even be noticed considering all the other power hungry devices I have.

[snell]

Some people make use of the POE by putting a POE to USB adapter (of some form) and then a USB "UPS" (one of the batteries that supplies power while charging also), or just a POE to micro-USB and using it to power the Hubitat directly. I actually have the later since my switch is on a UPS.

If my network loses power I have bigger problems than just my home automation not working.

[marktheknife]

@Robertgmcneill

I had a lightning strike at a clients and every POE device was taken out

If a surge from a lightning strike spread through the Ethernet wiring, why would it matter if PoE was disabled on a given port?

[Robertgmcneill]

I think it used a circuit to the wires that supply the power. It took out the power supply for the poe and all the poe devices. normal switch devices survived

[dadarkgtprince]

if it's passive PoE then it shouldn't be used, but 802af is fine. i'm using https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QPRVM51 to turn a PoE port into power for multiple hubs and have had 0 issues

[doogles]

FWIW, my Hubitats are both plugged up to Cisco Catalyst switches that can provide 15W POE. Obviously, no POE is negotiated as you point out. No issues, here.