Why would I need to make an exception for hubitat? I've got at least 7 more .local devices on my LAN that all work fine with Windows mDNS. The hosts file is just a kludge that finds an IP from a domain name if all else fails.
Fair enough - It wasnt obvious if you had something decent or a PoS from your ISP.
Have you tried ipconfig /flushdns on your pc just to make sure it isnt windows DNS caching causing issues? Then follow it with a ping hubitat.local.
yeah .. I tried it > ipconfig /flushdns .. nope .. work help / workie ..
I am pretty sure it a windows thing .. or router thing .. or a HUB thing, but can not figure it out.
Its a mystery ..
And I am one of those guys with too much time on his hands and do not like mysteries!
( Kinda why I like home automation LOL )
And while yes adding to the file works .. 192.168.50.126 Hubitat.local
This does not solve the mystery.. its a patch
Because obviously there's something not working properly and it's the quickest fix. Adding to your hosts file is faster than using DNS because Windows uses the hosts file first before attempting to resolve via other means.
It seems like you've tried many exceptions to make Hubitat.local work for you and none of them have worked, so why not try the one thing that is sure to work?? (The hosts file)
Actually you are 100% right, I only have one Windows PC (Win 11 driving my CNC Router) and I had though it worked on it, turns out, no it doesnt (I had the IP address bookmarked).
So I fired up a couple of Windows VM's on my Mac and it doesnt work in Windows 7 or Windows 10 VM's either.
But macOS and Linux both work perfectly:
Solution: Dont use Windows 
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mDNS uses udp/5353 (and tcp/5353.)
Enterprise / Corporate PCs can have this disabled so you may want to check if your Windows Firewall has those ports blocked.
Mine works with Windows. Must be specific to your machine or your router?
I even did a ping test like @dJOS shows, and mine passed. Again, Win10.
Doesn't work on my lan on either Windows or Android using hubitat.local (verified in settings that is what the name should be)
I thought it was due to the firewalla settings that has its own local domain for each device using .lan. However, my other devices (octopi, NAS, etc) work. It does work if I use the .lan names set by firewalla.
Images below are from Android 14 (Tab s9 Ultra). So, not just a windows issue.
All of my bookmarks use the IP address. But, it would be nice if the settings in the hub actually worked for the .local names.
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It's something specific to your setup. I have 4 hubs all uniquely named and retrievable via their .local name; works on Windows, Linux, iOS, iPadOS, and Android as long as I'm on the LAN.
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Yes, has no effect.
Do you have WINS configured on your home network? I personally dont, but im wondering if this has something to do with Windows clients being unable to resolve some .local names to IP addresses.
Don't remember ever setting it up, just out of the box Windows... one of the devices has gone from Win7->Win8->Win10->Win11
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WINS is used for NetBIOS name resolution. This should not have anything to do with mDNS name resolution, IIRC... 
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I agree, Im just grasping at straws here...
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I would agree, except the fact that literally EVERY other .local addressed device works on all of my devices, windows or android. It is ONLY hubitat.local that doesn't work.
Same
For me, it is both Windows AND Android where Hubitat.local fails to resolve. This is also regardless of which browser I use. (Tried Firefox, Chrome, and Vivaldi)
Also, mDNS is enabled on Firewalla for my Network.
Would be nice to know what exactly isn't working that prevents it from working. However, at this point, is more of a learning thing for me. My .lan addresses all work as well as using the direct IP.
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Don't see where you state if you are doing this via WiFi or ethernet so my apologies if this was already covered, but there was an issue that surfaced in 2021 with some of the Windows WiFi drivers where they would fail on a multicast packet and needed to be restarted to make mDNS work again.
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Mine is cable based .. no wifi ..
mDNS is enabled on Firewall for my computer
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kills that theory... 
