Multiple HE Hubs And Home Assistant

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There are reasons other than a huge home. I run Z2M on a ConBee2 for Aqara devices and for its wide ranging ability to support very new and not so mainstream devices. Extreamly stable. "Flakey" is not my experience with Zigbee at all.

I run a second controller on HA with ZHA becuase of a few devices that are stable and work so much better in ZHA than they do in Z2M. Six of them are not compatible with Hubitat at all, and one isn't stable on my Hubitat hub.

The remainder are joined to Hubitat directly because they work fine there, and I have no reason to move them off Hubitat, just to have to bring them back into Hubitat where I do 90% of my automation.

I keep the channels relatively evenly spaced, but honestly I didn't put a lot of effort into the choices. Just use what works well. Experimentation may be necessary. Some claim that you cannot have Zigbee radios too physically close to each other. This is not true. I have a few of them just inches away from the other.

Main Hubitat [CH13]
Hue bridge [CH20]
ConBee 2 on HA [CH15]
Nortek HUSBZB-1 [CH25]

It's not always the case that an integration isn't available from the community on Hubitat, but sometimes it just works better on HA, is more stable, or I prefer the way it was built and its features on HA, versus HE. Choice is good.

Is use the following integrations on HA that I either cannot get on HE, or prefer the HA version.

August - I think there's an HE community version, but the HA version is very stable.

Flo by Moen - I use both HE and HA versions. There's a flow rate measurement that wasn't available on the HE version. Maybe it's there now, but I never bothered to switch the automation becuase it works well as is.

Govee - The latest HA version for local control is very stable and responsive. The HE version doesn't work for my particular light string.

Hyundai/Kia Connect - The feature set on the HA version is huge, the code is mature and it gets regluar updates. The HE version is much newer, doesn't support as many vehicles and features, and isn't maintained to the same level.

Z2M - For the reasons mentioned above, this is a very valuable asset. There was some development of Z2M on HE, but the HA version is very mature and feature rich.

MQTT to Switchbot - There's offical support on HA to connect Switchbot bluetooth devices, but there's a community method using an ESP32 D1Mini. I have two of these boards in my house. It lets you bridge multiple Switchbot Bluetooth devices to WiFi and send their output (or command bots) via MQTT. In HA, it just works so easily once you have the boards programmed and it's super stable. No range issues or drop-offs that some people complain about with the official supported Switchbot integration. I have 5 of their all-in-one motion/light/contact/button devices, and one of their bots. Super stable, and pretty responsive for bluetooth.

Nest Protect - Not available on HE and the latest HA version is much easier to use and more stable than the Homebridge plug-in I was using before.

Oral-B - Not available on HE. Lets me track the use of our toothbrush. Getting the boy to brush his teeth regularly is still a challenge. This lets me know if he did it and for how long.

Sense - Not available on HE

Xiaomi Miot Auto - Not available on HE. Connects my Qingping AQM Pro to HA and HE.

Yolink - I have this connected to both HE and HA. The HA version uses a different method to connect. I like having both for a backup since this is cloud controlled. Currently the HE version has a minor issue. The HA version is solid.

ZHA Zigbee - For the reasons mentioned above, this is a valuable assest for a few of my devices that won't connect to HE, or are not stabel on HE.

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My zigbee mesh on Hubitat has been solid. Zero issues. Also, I have the Aqara M2 hub sitting about 10 inches from it. No issues with either. Of course they are different channels.

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43

Yeah, I agree. The Zigbee on Hubitat is solid. Aqara and Mijia devices are not in my experience, and I know I'm not alone in that. You went with the Aqara hub for Aqara devices. Nothing wrong with that, just a different approach. I did that very early on, but had to use HomeKit to bridge things at the time. It worked, but wasn't ideal. HomeKit also didn't expose all the device features. In fact, sometime I get more exposed from a Z2M connected Aqara device, than I could from an Aqara hub.

Since I setup my Z2M with Aqara and Mijia devices 3 years ago, it's been super stable and Z2M handles other devices that are either unstable on Hubitat, or won't join at all. No reason for me to change something that is working perfectly and has been for serveral years.

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I actually bought the Aqara hub a long time before I got HE. It was my first venture into home automation. I bought it, a smart plug, and a humidity sensor to run my sick father's humidifier. Then I kinda got hooked. Lol. I then bought the Hubitat later and that is my main controller. I basically only use the Aqara hub because I have it. If Aqara is stable using Z2M then I would have no need for the Aqara hub.

I am like you if it wasn't for some additional integrations I wouldn't change anything. What I have works but the old saying "I know there is more out there".

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Yeah, I know I am on of the outliers on this one. I have the same opinion of Zigbee (for many of the same reasons) than many fans of Zigbee have of Z-wave. When I did have a lot of Zigbee stuff. it was always unstable, flakey and unreliable, no matter how many repeaters I had. Z-wave has been very stable for me for several years. I do have some zigbee (6 devices) left, and have a plan to elimnate them within the next few months (theres a box of stuff in the closet waiting for the clearance sale, zigbee bulbs, hue motion sensors , sonoffmotion and temperature sensors) .

To be honest I had not thought much about the other uses for multiple Zigbee meshes, but I defenitly have seen some interesting ideas I hadnt considered.

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So you are using Matter to connect the Aqara M2 hub to Hubitat? If that's working and you're not missing anything, there's really no need to change.

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47

:point_up: This, 100%

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Not knowing what Zigbee bulbs, there's potential that this was the culprit. Zigbee bulbs (depending on which ones) will sometime try to repeat and they're not often that good at it. Can potentially create a very unstable Zigbee mesh for other devices. I have Zigbee bulbs all over the house, but they are all Hue and all on the Hue bridge. I have 3 outdoor Hue motion sensors, but they're also on the Hue bridge. That has always been so stable, that I've never even considered changing it. In fact, I sold my old Hue bridge with my last house and bought a new one for our current home.

You're right about Z-Wave. I do have the opposite experience from those that say they have had nothing but stable experiences. I do think that Hubitat has done a good job of stablizing it, and while I have not had any Z-Wave stability issues for a long time, I do still have occassional slow or missed communications on my Inovelli fan/light switches and my Yale locks. Not to say that they don't work, but they're not as stable, or as fast as my many Zigbee devices.

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I have a Aqara G3 hub and 1 motion sensor both connected with matter, and have had no problems (other than the motion sensor has a voracious appetite for batteries).

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Which motion sensor is that? Curious, as I have many of the original Aqara and Mijia motion sensors, and one Aqara P1 motion sensor. All have exceptionally good battery life. 2 years on average for the original Aqara and Mijia motion sensors, and I've never changed the batteries on the Aqara P1 that I bought in April of 2022. That one gets a fair bit of activity in the garage and it's cold out there. Its batteries are still at 61%.

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Cree (those are long gone to the lanfill), replaced by Sylvania, replaced by Sengled (both those are in that box) replaced by Innr Zigbee 3.0 (which has minor issues on the C8) to be potentially replaced y Nanoleaf Matter.

I know my Zwave vs Zigbee experience is somewhat opposite of most others. I will say in my early days with Zave it was also wonky but has matured well, especially with the C8. My Yale Lock is probably my weakest device . I wish they would release the long rumored Zwave 700 module (might have been released, but seems to be somewhat of a unicorn). I am actually considering replacing that lock with one that has a key (for reduncdancy , I havent been locked out yet, but dont want to be either). I thought I saw they had one with matter I might consider. The majority of My Zwave is ZooZ, Ring and Inovelli Bulbs . I had three of the Nanoleaf thread over matter bulbs that were shaky at first, but have been solid for close to a year now. I bought four more a few weeks ago not realizing they were matter over Wifi. Those don't seem to be nearly as good. I only have one in use currently, and it seems to go non responsive at least once a day. The others were like that initially for a few months, but after several firmware updates in early 2024 they became much more stable.

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The P1. Only lasted about 8 months. It was in out master bedroom (also a pretty high traffice area). Eventually it was moved to the master Closet. Its been dead for several months. Its not actually tied to anything at the moment, but it been dead for about a month. It will eventually find itself in the clearance box. I have batteries coming for it today. ill pop a new one in and get it back in use until it replace it with a zooz.

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I have one Cree (not in use). It tried to repeat and sucked at it. The Sylvania were nightmare bulbs. High pitched ringing (even when off) and they tried to repeat, but sucked at it. Sengled don't repeat. Never had too many problems with the two that I had, as long as they were relatively close to hub, otherwise I did have problems. I never found a repeater they would join, and they were specialized bulbs that I don't use anymore. I have never tried Innr bulbs, but I've heard good things about their plugs as Zigbee repeaters.

Mine are old YRD256 models. They're not going to get new modules. I don't really care that they're slow. They always work and I've invested too much into them want to replace them. The new lock features you can get now, with Matter, Apple HomeKey, fingerprint, etc. are all very cool, but I cannot justify them. In the end, I'm the one that would care about that stuff. My wife and son only care that their passcode works. I've never worried about the lack of a keyway in them. They do have the emergency 9v battery points on the bottom, and I can also just open the garage with my phone and use the other door lock to get in. Only place I do have one with a keyway is on our tenant suite. Needed to ensure they we would never be restricted from entering that space in a emergency.

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Odd. Maybe you received a faulty unit. Those were always intended to last for a very long time, hence the double 2450s in it.

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Im pretty sure thats what this one is. I am not super motivated todo it. Just a nagging thought in the back of my mind about being locked out with no key. Right now Once the battry gets around 40% I replace them . If I did do that, the exsisting log wouldlikely get moved to wither the garage or back patio door, somewhere. Yea, for the cost, too much to just throw away. All in all its not something that bothers me a whole lot.

What this? I never noticed that, I need to look for that . hummmm

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Yes, I have the M2 hub connected via matter and it works pretty well. Some devices such as buttons and locks don't come into HE via matter but to me right now that is no big deal. Leak sensors show up as contact sensors but you can always work around things like that. I am sure that will all be addressed in the future.

I was looking at HA for different integrations like Homekit more than I was for the actual zigbee capability but it is always nice as stated above to have options.

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I have a total of 8 Innr bulbs in my mesh and I have no issues with them. Not all have picked up child devices but a few have. The most I have seen on the map is three compared 7,8,9 child devices picked up by my Linptech Sensors and ThirdReality plugs. The ThirdReality bulbs also work well on the mesh and do the same. Pick up a couple child devices. I also use Sengled bulbs that do not repeat. I have had zero issues out of any devices that show on the map as linked to a bulb.

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Same as mine. Flaked out once too often and I phased them out. Down to one, the Sinope propane tank monitor, which is reliable. Changing over to Z-Wave LR now where I can.

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These experiences is just proof that one protocol doesn't work for everyone and in my opinion not better than others. Environment, usage, etc can all play a part in it. The good thing is we all have options for what will work for each of us. Like I said zigbee has been exceptional for me. Also, the six z wave smoke detectors have been as well.

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