Hello I'm new here, currently running Smartthings (ST) but quite fed up with the unreliability and very poor support so today my C7 hub arrived and first impressions ... well not good at all,
Hub itself is nice small little box but the mobile app is to say the least not good . Its chunky , not in any way intuitive, think a rewrite might help there, at the moment I could be the shortest term owner of a C7 hub as I am already considering selling it.
The main reason I wanted to try Hubitat was the local processing and the ability to backup the config. So not tried the backup yet but I'm sure that will work.. what i would like to find out is .. with Hub Link and Send Hub links apps which I have installed and seem to work well , i'd like to know if I can achieve this by getting ST to look after sensors etc and Hubitat to take care of the actions.
So question is when a sensor such as a motion sensor in ST detects motion , using "Send hub" is that state passed to Hubitat via the cloud or locally via the LAN. If its via LAN then happy days. if not then anyone want to buy a slightly used C7 ?
There are multiple ways to "pretty up" the dashboards, and in turn the phone app. In addition, there are ways to just make the stock stuff look better by adjusting column widths/heights, colors, and icons. If you are interested, I can link some of these, or you can search for them on these forums.
What are you trying to back up? Do you have many devices or automations on your hub yet?
I have never used hub linking, so I cannot answer that. But why would you not put your sensors on Hubitat too? That way it is all on the same hub and all local no matter what?
I know lots of people do link hubs, but in my opinion there isn't much need for it. There could be a edge case here or there where you have a cloud device in Smartthings that doesn't integrate well with Hubitat, but those things are few and far between, and the gap is getting smaller all the time.
I would also add, you should give Hubitat more than a days chance. It took you a long while to get your Smartthings where you wanted it, so maybe give Hubitat a week or 10 days and then see what you think?
All very valid points thankyou .. I think I was been a little tongue in cheek but dont want to do all the work to move all the devices when the mobile app is so chunky as I rely on that a lot, I'll give it a week or two and see.
I think ST messed up your direction into the Hubitat Universe.
Foremost is the use of the mobile app anytime at all on the first day.. it's just not used until you have completed the Administration side.. which is all browser based, local. The mobile app does dashboards and presence and notification.. all things required inside an automation. In other words, Hubitat has an Admin 'side' and a User 'side' and the two have different needs and presentations. The Mobile app is part of the User 'side'.
Yes, somewhat. Link to Hub/HubLink were created specifically to ease the migration from ST to Hubitat. You could leave your devices on ST and get the Automations running on Hubitat then move devices after. However, Link to Hub/HubLink do not support all device attributes and at some point that will become apparent. For me it was a Garage Door Opener. The 'tilt sensor' portion worked fine, but the entire 'switch' that opens and closes the door was missing. I was able to work around it by creating a Virtual Device, but the point is, Link to Hub/HubLink is great as a transition tool.
I'd have to agree with Neon you should give it more time. Is HE perfect no, far from it. Better than ST 1000 fold.
When you say mobile app is "chunky" are you talking about the dashboard interface?
I thought that too until I found smartly. I switched to HE the next day, and never looked back! Here are two quick examples of what you can do, to help ease your mind. IMHO they are not "chunky" at all, rather slim Check out the Show off You Dashboard thread for more awesome examples (old post, long read, but good pix)
Try looking at Smartly for the dashboards. That is one easy way to customize things. Tons of options, and the developers are quite responsive to requests.
Lastly, once you really get Hubitat set up, you won't be using dashboards or the apps that much. I rarely use the app, and I have just got used to the way it looks. It functions quite well in actual use, so in some ways I don't see the point of making it pretty if I am not really going to use it.
@andy.newton - my C7 arrives tomorrow so I'm in the same boat as you, and looking forward to hearing how things go for you. I'd appreciate if you'll post back here (or in a new thread if you prefer) on how it's going, what you're running into, learning, etc.
FYI There are some known pairing issues w/the new C7 hub that I've been reading about here that you may run into if you do try to move things over to your C7. The stuff I've seen so far is related to pairing light switches w/the C7, Innovelli and GE were specifically mentioned. Hubitat are aware of the issue and working on it.
One of the best things about HE; is the community supports the staff, so much IMO that it makes HE a much 'bigger', and 'better' 'ecosystem', then ST will ever be able to reproduce with $
Do you mind if I ask why you use the mobile app so often?
I realize that everyone has different approaches to a "smart home," but I've always focused my effort on the automation aspect of it. To me, if I have to whip out my phone to toggle a switch, there's an opportunity to a) automate that behavior or b) put a physical switch where it's more convenient (I love picos).
When I was on ST (which was a while ago), the frequent outages made that goal impossible due to all of the outages. My WAF was dangerously low because of that so any mention of pulling out her phone to do anything probably would have ended my home automation adventures. I have to admit that I never actually thought I'd see WAF as high as it is these days and she actually sounds surprised when something doesn't work.
That is not to say that Hubitat alone was able to get me there... it's not perfect. The forums are a great resource and there are more than a few individuals that make this a treasure trove of information and additional functionality. I can pretty confidently say that my home is where it is today due to their knowledge (and I don't even ask that many questions! Most of the time, the answers are already there if you search).
It's almost depressing these days because I don't have that much to do in terms of maintaining the system. I got about half a day of "excitement" out of it when I got my second hub and moved all of my upstairs devices to it (mostly just to eliminate unnecessary hops and shave a few more milliseconds from my automations).
Sooo... I guess I'm saying, don't let the mobile app turn you away from a big improvement over ST. I don't even have it installed or have any dashboards that include manual control (I don't even have Hubitat Dashboards installed).
You went to one extreme with total automation, which I think is the point of all this.
I get so annoyed when I go to the Home Automation forum (note the name) on Reddit, and people are continually asking about some glorified remote control WiFi doodad that they could literally do with a $5 light timer or some similar cheap RF device.
Why not take the extra small step and find a way to automate it, then you don't have to have your phone strapped to your person, and guests can enjoy your house without downloading an app. The house just does it's thing, and you don't have to even think about it. It is rare to touch a light switch for me nowadays, in fact when I go to other people's houses I stand there like a dummy (sometimes waving my arms) and wait for the lights to go on until I realize they never will.
This isn't anything against the OP, or anyone on this forum in general, it is just kind of a pet peeve of mine. I think many people miss the point of a smart home sometimes.
Thanks for the replies. I can see the community is strong which is always good to know when starting off. My current ST environment as around 50 devices with integration of Hive, Nest, Blink and quite a few brands of sensors including the Ikea Trafida smart plug and bulbs. Most work well and because the ST app is fully featured I can do most in there. I do have actiontiles with two tablets running android and fully browser to display in house dashboards. Looking at Smartly it does look like i will be able to achieve a better level of dashboards and maybe tweak the app enough to work. But the task of moving all devices etc seems a little daunting so a little at a time I think. I dont think I will bring across Hive or Nest (other than to use IFTTT) as they work very well on their own and I never use via ST. Will update when I progressed my setup but thank you all for taking the time to provide feedback. I'm off out to enjoy the sun whilst we can. Many thanks Andy
Neon, you know I love you (not in that way ), so I pick on you because I know you won't take it personally (nor do I in return).
As much as that peeves you, the opposite peeves me. I'm tried of hearing (reading) people here tell others that they should "automate, not control". No one here (or else where) gets to dictate what occurs in someone else's house, or how someone else should use their habitat.
50% of our home is "fully automated". Places like bathrooms/basement where light is ALWAYS needed, as well as outdoor lighting, and locks (when they decide to work). However the rest of our home we prefer to CHOOSE when things are on or not.
Furthermore, if you look at the first dash I posted above, it is mostly informational. With a quick look I can see if any outdoor lighting is on, what the current temps/humidity is, weather forecast, and the traffic. Yes it has a few lighting and fan controls, but we use it a LOT more for "data" than "control"
Don't get me wrong, I have also walked into someone else's bathroom, and stood in the dark too. I just think this group needs a bit more understanding that some of us don't want every light in the house to come on with each foot step, and dashboards are for more than pure 'control'
I feel that "Home Automation" is a poor term for what I am trying to accomplish. I think "Home Convenience" is probably more accurate. I automate the things that can be automated like my thermostat and make it easier to turn on/off lights if our schedule doesn't fit a programmable schedule. I use automations, voice assistants, dashboards, and remotes based on what fits my needs. I have noticed some try to go fully automated; others fully voice assistant; others fully dashboard or remotes. I am somewhere near right in middle.
Sorry all, I didn't mean to make it seem like my approach was the "right" approach. I'm also not FULLY automated (yet ). I just didn't want to OP to give up because the mobile app was not to his liking.
My philosophy has always been to match the automation to my family's behaviors (and not make them change). That's why my node red flows are... God... a big big spagettified mess. I gave up trying to make them look pretty long ago. For things that just can't be automated, I have physical controls as well, but asking them to pull their phone out to do something just doesn't seem like it's ever easier than pressing a button. My twin 6 yr olds don't have phones, so even bigger hurdle there.
I dunno... I guess hearing that someone was ready to give up due to the mobile app triggered me, haha. I bet (not speaking for them) if you asked the the hubitat staff of their opinion, they'd agree, shrug, and state that their time was better spent on other things Hubitat related. I would agree 1000%.
Nor did I want my rant above to be directed to any one person or any particular method. I probably shouldn't have posted everything I said, but this is a passionate subject for me.
I apologize to OP for hijacking this thread.
No offense taken. I will gladly respect your and other peoples opinions.
Now that concept I can get behind 100%. You are using the data you have like you say not for control, but for information.
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