I hope that any answers will educate me a bit on how things work. My basic question is can multiple hubs, including HE, control LIFX bulbs? I understand that LIFX is wifi and somehow the hub integration with LIFX sends an API to control the light, maybe locally through my network. I also understand that the LIFX bulbs are not paired with a hub like Zigbee devices. So, I conclude that I should be able to set up LIFX automations in HE while retaining existing automations in Abode. Yes or No? Thanks
Larry
Yes
Correct
Yes
Anytime
I am going to disagree with @bcopeland. LIFX devices don't push device updates to the "hub", be it Hubitat or Abode. Instead the hub has to poll each bulb on some schedule to keep its state current. I think with Hubitat the smallest length of time is 5 minutes.
So in theory, controlling the bulb from Abode could leave it in state that is incompatible with a Hubitat automation because Hubitat hasn't updated the bulb's state yet.
I had this issue when mixing-and-matching Hubitat with the LIFX app. My solution has been to delete the app from my phone and control the bulb solely through Hubitat.
I think I get that, but what wrinkle does Alexa put on that? Although I have the App on my Android, I never use it. I always voice control my lights or rely on Abode automations. I was hoping to just write some new automations in HE.
Larry
The bottom line becomes that it is theoretically possible - but you might end up with some unexpected bulb states if automations from different sources run in quick succession (without polling first).
One possible mitigation would be to always call poll/refresh in your HE automations before running an action
If you use Alexa via Hubitat, no wrinkle at all. If you use Alexa through Abode (or LIFX), then everything I wrote still applies.
More and more questions..sorry. How do I know what Alexa is using? Every device in my house is linked to Alexa. When I click on a bulb in the Alexa app, for example, it is listed twice, one says connected via Abode, the other says connected via LIFX. All LIFX bulbs are listed twice, Hue bulbs are not.
Larry
So if you're using the lifx bulb connected directly to HE through the integration app, AND using the app connected to alexa to control bulbs, delete the alexa connection to lifx and expose the bulb using the alexa skill to alexa. That way alexa is using HE to control the bulb and both alexa and HE will be able to see it's status purposely.
As @rlithgow1 said, this is not a good idea. I have chosen to route all my Alexa-controlled devices to Alexa via Hubitat. Because I want Hubitat to be aware of every change made by Alexa because Hubitat is key to all my home automation; not doing so can lead to changes in device state that are unknown to Hubitat and therefore unexpected failures in automation outcomes.
There are some exceptions to this - for example, the Caseta Pro bridge "pushes" all state changes to Hubitat via a persistent telnet bridge. So for that integration, it doesn't matter as much.
Got it, that makes sense and will be on my to do list. Thanks
Larry
Thanks again for the help. Today I finally finished deleting LIFX bulbs from Abode and Alexa through Abode, now using the Hubitat skill and Hubitat. One bulb was a beast to discover, requiring a couple of resets...never a sure thing with LIFX. Two bulbs were not working right but helpful threads pointed me to Legacy drivers which work as intended. I paired a Hue motion sensor with my porch light and it works perfectly. Sorry I seem to need to ask for help on each new adventure, but I am delighted with the helpfulness of the community.
Larry