Verge reports on Google stopping ability of users to access their settings after 2022. Apparently the router will continue to "function" though.. and owners will be given a 40% discount on a new Nest WiFi (whose expiration date has yet to be determined).
I get that onHub is older.. but like the Sonos debacle, if it works for your setup why should you be forced to change ($$$$)?
Once again when using cloud based devices or services it is a good idea is to not rely on them for your core home automation setup.
I get the point you're making, but I don't see this issue as cloud-specific.
All technology moves on at pace these days, and all manufacturers drop support/updates/parts for older devices (or versions if it's software). The devices might (or might not) continue to work to a greater or lesser extent, but basically you're on your own then.
I don't really see that any technology you can buy (including Hubitat) is really any different. It's the same for everything, from washing machines upwards.
At least in this case Google are giving a monetary incentive to upgrade.
The more I use the cloud, the more I hate it. I was locked out of my Box account recently for 2.5 days, because they had a problem with my 2FA on their end. One of my Emporia energy monitors lost its wifi connection for a few days for some unknown reason, and now there's a gap in my data. I bought my wife a new HP printer and it took two hours to set it up, because it had to phone home before it would finish setup, and something was wrong on their end when it tried to do so (and the attempts to sell me extra services as I went through setup was ridiculous).
Bottom line: Our society is now far too dependent on the cloud. We're stuck with it for many things, but I think it's largely a way for companies to carry out planned obsolescence and force subscription models on us. When making future purchases, I'm going with local control whenever possible.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not particularly pro-cloud (the examples from @Madcodger echo my own experiences). But this is about planned obsolescence, not cloud vs local. If Hubitat decides to drop the Elevation and go a completely different route, you'll have an increasingly redundant paperweight. Here's hoping it doesn't happen
I think it's both... if I buy a WiFi system and it works fine for my needs why should I be forced to upgrade? I mean if the hardware gives out sure.. but I should be able to use it as long as I want - because that's what I paid for. This obsolescence is artificial, made by the company not by me, and driven by profit...
I am not suggesting that some devices are not useful of course, just that they should be incorporated with some measure of caution and with a plan "b"...
For my clients it's very easy for me to recommend Ring/Alexa and Nest products.. simple to install, relatively no support issues (for me), and a great customer experience up front.. easy money. In a few years? who knows..
Yeah, thanks to a large public outcry they walked back their plan to deprecate the older stuff - some of my speakers had been purchased from Sonos just after the "expiration" so I only got like 3 years of use. The point is the large amount of money I spent could have been worthless thanks to Sonos Inc only after a few years of ownership.. devices that should last for 20+ years. Why shouldn't other devices be the same? I have both legacy and the new system up and running. My original Sonos is running in our basement on a "guest" VLAN.
IMO this isn't about the cloud but really google's lack of commitment to most things it gets into. Look at all the great products that eventually died when google bought them. Also if some functionality breaks in an update it would be a very rare instance to get it fixed.
So I'm never touching any more google stuff (other than phones) unless there is absolutely no other alternative (which fortunately there always is).
If google ever bought HE (heaven forbid) that would be my cue to move over to Home Assistant!
The Wink folks might want a word with you about that!!
edit: Maybe also the OSRAM, Smart Things, Sonos, IFTTT, Flume people as well
Keep in mind it's not just about being discontinued - also it's about changing the terms of service... deprecating the new api etc etc..
Note: I certainly understand that a company needs revenue to support their stuff - maybe they should NOT have their devices rely on a critical cloud component that they have to support on the backend ad infinitum.
I certainly agree with this point, and I would like to add to it.
Even though I am a (proud) Canadian, I take the threat from China very seriously. It's insidious, it's pervasive, and it's real. I hope I'm not being paranoid about this, but, every product that "calls home" to a server in China is an AUTOMATIC NO for me, and every smarthome installation that I do.
Whenever I install anything, I make sure that I read reviews, and if I see that the device "calls home", I will not, under any circumstances, install that product. I don't care how good it is, or how functional it is, I just won't do it. Furthermore, in my router, I specifically block certain ip's. In addition, if I'm suspicious, I turn off internet access when I'm setting up a product to see if it surreptitiously "calls home".
I know that some people have called this attitude xenophobic and anti-asian, but I am careful to maintain a balanced and sensible approach. There is no need for a computer databank in China to have a record of things that I do. I don't want it, and will do what I can to ensure that it doesn't happen.
The problem with that article is right at the top:
If you don’t pay up every month, Tesla might side with the bank to help them repossess your car.
If you don't keep you with your payments, then the bank owns the car, not you.
As for onHub: Google isn't bricking the devices (like SmartThings did to the v1 hubs), but they are taking away the only admin interface. The devices will still work until you need to change any setting... and then you can't. That's rather rotten.
Personally, I'd be worried about any device with only a cloud or vendor-app controlled interface. My Ecobee thermostats have that, but they can still be controlled at the device.
Wondering why you think if Hubitat drops the Elevation we would have a redundant paperweight? The only issue I can think of is that when a device craps out, maybe the hub wouldn't support the replacement. If I never had to buy another device, my hub(s) would continue to work just fine regardless of whether Hubitat was still around. Maybe there is something I hadn't thought of?
Actually what I said was "an increasingly redundant paperweight". Sure on HEDeadDay+1 it would work absolutely fine, just as before. But moving forward, to HEDeadDay+n, any software bugs found would not be fixed, any new protocols/devices would probably not be supported. Its likely that the HE Community would stop writing/supporting Apps for a non-supported hub. If your HE breaks its unlikely you'll be able to replace it.
Over time, it would increasingly not be worth persisting with...and in the end it would be a paperweight
If your setup is "complete" in terms of the kinds of devices you want automated then the only issues I see are hardware failures. You can increase the system lifetime by having spares on hand including an additional registered hub. It all depends on how important the system is and how long you want to keep things running.
The only gotchas are the online services and devices like Alexa etc.. api's & security change so that might become an issue. The extra good news is thanks to the ability to write custom drivers and apps a lot of things can continue to evolve or be developed.
Another helpful thing in my experience is to have a separate server running a centralized rules controller like Node-RED (or others). This allows for additional systems to be incorporated as necessary while the rules/automations can remain fairly constant and are easily adapted.
