Wink is just not getting enough attention by their own company and I am fed up with their whatever it is that is going on. Was debating hard between SmartThings and Hubitat and finally came to the conclusion that Hubitat is the future. Fortunately, I am decently tech savvy but I got lazy through the easy and relied on my Wink hub which is just few tap/click away from adding devices. Moved into a new house and had to leave all my Caseta switches when old house was sold unfortunately. I am thinking to start over fresh again. I currently only have 4 ecobees configured into 4 different zones, myQ garage door opener, and Schlage Connect for front door and back door. I am looking for suggestion for some custom apps for each one of these current devices that I have if there are any and also what should be something next for me to get? Thank everyone in advance!!
For the Schlage locks, I'd recommend using the built-in app Lock Code Manager. I'd also recommend that you have a few z-wave+ range extenders around your house. It will make your z-wave devices, but especially Schlage locks, work much better with Hubitat. There are numerous threads on community.hubitat.com where @waynespringer79, myself and others have commented on the dramatic difference range extenders have made to our z-wave locks with Hubitat.
Any recommendations for the z-wave extenders? I don't have to use Caseta. Unfortunately it Casetas are quite expensive, any recommendations for a good smart switch and dimmers? Thank everyone!
Welcome! I am going thru similar process you are, trying to switch over from 2 Wink hub 2s. Finding it somewhat challenging. Say goodbye to the nice Wink color wheel for lights. This was most disappointing for me. Anyway, check out DIY Smarthome guy on YouTube. Excellent videos for Hubitat. Including Schlage locks. Good luck! Know I'm going to need it!
I came from Wink as well. Things work much differently in Hubitat than in Wink. For example, with Wink you didn't have to pick a driver, there was no dashboard to build, you couldn't install user apps, and the "robots" are very crude compared to Hubitat's Rule Machine. I think it is normal to feel a bit disoriented at first when making such a radical change, I know I did.
There are lots of ways to handle things in Hubitat, which is one of the hard parts. I didn't initially use Lock Code Manager, for example. I simply excluded the locks from Wink, paired them with Hubitat, and they worked. I couldn't manage the codes in Hubitat until I deleted and re-added the codes, so eventually I did that and added Lock Code Manager at that time.
Same for other things like motion activated lighting. You could do that through Motion Lighting (built in app), using Rule Machine, or via a user added app someone wrote (I have seen at least a couple user apps for this).
My advice is to try things one way, and if it doesn't work or doesn't make sense try a different app. Go slow, and don't try to do too much at a time. I have had Hubitat since early April, and it probably took a good week of work to have a grasp on how to add devices, make a dashboard, add user apps/drivers and a few other rudimentary things. It took maybe close to a month to really know my way around things and be comfortable with how most everything works. I am just now diving into deeper automations and trying to learn and understand Rule Machine.
Of course you can always post on here and someone will help. You will love Hubitat compared to how Wink worked.
I rely on Leviton Outlets, Dimmers, and Switches as Z-Wave repeaters. If you like simple Decora style devices they're great. I have one in almost every room of my house. Devices like locks and motion sensors are rock solid on my mesh. They also install fine in outside enclosures to run Holiday lights and my pool light.
If I use Leviton products and they act as repeaters, would I still need extenders?
This just came to my mind, but how does Hubitat handle multiple users? We currently have 6 people in our house and how would the away and home mode work with that? Thanks again!!
I believe I've read on here that people using Leviton mains powered devices do have similar positive results as those of us using the Aeotecs......you will just need to check and make sure those devices support "beaming" that seems to be the main need.
In the portal.hubtat.com click on the hub you are linking, you will have each user create their own account
and then link their accounts to the hub you want to control with their home/away/etc.
Each powered device will repeat, as you spread them around your property you're extending the range of your z-wave mesh. The nice thing about Z-Wave is you can pair anywhere in range of the mesh. You don't have to put them in range of the hub, which is important when installing wired switches and plugs.
The topics of presence and modes is an entirely different topic. There are many ways to manage them both. I'm probably not the guy to advise on either. I don't use an away mode.
This is true, however the zwave signal in the C-5 hubs is significantly weaker compared to that of most platforms they are migrating from, with securely paired devices (locks/garage doors) MANY users have numerous issues when trying to pair these devices no matter how many "repeaters" they have. As those "typical" repeaters are repeating the weaker signal and is only really noticeable on those devices I mentioned above as numerous dropped communication issues occur.
The devices recommended to @b00st4ddicted not only repeat the signal but they also AMPLIFY the signal thereby eliminating the dropped communication issues, and AMPLIFYING your overall zwave mesh signal and range
You guys are all awesome for the detailed replies. I forgot to mention that I have Ring Alarm and Ring Doorbell Pro. Are these native for Hubitat? If not, it's not a big deal, Ring app is pretty well made and I am ok with using it, but how about the door contact sensor from Ring Alarm? Can these be integrated into Hubitat? Thanks!
I don't use home/away modes either. This is the one big problem yet to be solved in the home automation space. If you rely on phone presence, there are lots of things that can and do go wrong. Other solutions are lacking.
You have to be willing to have your phone GPS on all the time, which kills batteries and if you have to put up with Google (and others?) tracking you all the time. I work in a building that is pretty well shielded, and my phone will go dead in about an hour if I left GPS on all the time.
With phone WiFi, most Android devices shut off the wireless after a time to conserve battery. Once the Wifi is off, it thinks you are gone. I believe the iPhones do this too?
There hasn't been a low cost commercially available bluetooth or RFID tag system that integrates with home automation hubs or at least not one I have been able to find. This seems like it would be a no-brainer to build, there are low cost tags available.
Z-Wave hates being unhooked from the network, and won't automatically reconnect.
There are a couple Zigbee presence sensors (Iris and Smartthings?) that are not readily available now if they ever were very common.
There was (is?) whole home presence trackers (was it Happy Bubbles or something like that?) but it was something like $800 per floor of your home, which for most of us is a no-go. I don't know if it ever integrated with any hubs either.
None of this takes into account how you would handle vehicle presence, which is another related issue.
The Hubitat app works OK for presence, with the limitations listed above. I used a combined presence app that like the name implies, takes GPS and WiFi and "adds them up" to try and deduce if someone is home.
Great explanation of why home/away modes are not a good idea!! I tried geofencing and reply on phone several different times and none of those times are accurate at all! The combined presence app, is that the actual name of the app?
