Hello group, I am very new to Hubitat (bought the device yesterday). I have a contact sensor and kasa switches connected, created dashboards, etc. I am trying to connect my garage door controller. Mine is based out of a kit I bought from amazon made by Aubric (amazon product id is B07QG7RGFW. Simple amazon search should bring up this product. amazonDOTcom/dp/B07QG7RGFW). I have a SmartLife app on my phone and it works fine. I wanted to control this with my Hubitat. A simple Google search took me to Tuya, beta software, developer account, etc. So I want to check here first. Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Joseph
Unless you're really invested in that system it might be better/easier to get a Shelly 1 and go with built-in drivers and local control.
And welcome to the community!
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Since you are new to Hubitat, you might not be aware that the primary selling feature of Hubitat is that it is designed to work with local control. That is it does not need to be connected to the Internet to function. It does need Internet access to update firmware, but it can function without routine access.
For this very reason, Hubitat is not designed to function with other devices that require Internet access such as devices requiring Cloud apps. In some cases, due to the popularity of devices such as Amazon Alexa, or Google Chromecast and Google Home Assistant, Ecobee thermostats, and certain Kasa smart switches aand various others, either the staff or the community have developed ways of connecting these devices to Hubitat.
Tuya recently became a member of the Zigbee Alliance (now Connectivity Standards Alliance) and has started to develop technology based on the Zigbee 3.0 standards. Such devices will work with Hubitat without the SmartLife app and Internet access. Devices based on WiFi rather than Zigbee still require the app.
In many cases, no Hubitat support is available because the device manufacturer considers the API to be proprietary. Without access to a published API, developers are unable to integrate those devices with Hubitat.
Some Tuya devices can be flashed with the Tasmota firmware to convert them from WiFi to Zigbee, but this is a rather technical process that can render your device nonfunctional if the process fails.
Thus, whenever possible, chose devices that work with the standard Zigbee or Z-wave protocols and are on either the list of Hubitat supported devices or the list of community supported devices.
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Welcome to the community. Agree with virtually everything that has been suggested so far. However, as a longtime user and builder of Tasmota devices, on a technical note, I have to state that flashing with Tasmota does NOT convert WiFi devices to Zigbee.
The reason this distinction is important is that Hubitat can natively connect to devices that utilize the standard Zigbee protocols (Hubitat as you probably know has both Zigbee and Z-wave radios built in on the newer hubs) such that it will still work locally WITHOUT WiFi and internet. However, WiFi devices flashed with Tasmota, while totally locally controlled by Hubitat (thru community apps and/or drivers) with no internet cloud needed, still need to be connected to the LAN via an active WiFi access point. Tasmotized devices CANNOT be directly connected to Hubitat (like Zigbee or Z-wave) as Hubitat does not have a WiFi transceiver built in.
This has some practical implications: if your power goes out, with devices flashed with Tasmota, your hub, flashed devices and network switches and your access point needs to be on a UPS in order to keep working. With Zigbee (assuming that the device is battery operated), only the controlled device and your hub needs to be on a UPS to keep operational. There are other practical implications, including but not limited to: with Zigbee you need a good Zigbee mesh (same is true with Z-wave of course), and with WiFi flashed Tasmota devices, you need a strong Wifi signal or mesh.
Anyway, welcome again. This community is an incredible resource and I have learned at least 100X more here than anywhere else with regards to getting familiar with HE (and at least 1000X more than I have been able to contribute with my limited knowledge, LOL). Have fun.
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I would use either those inexpensive MHCOZY modules for Zigbee, or a Zooz Zen17 for Z-wave. While you can make the Wifi stuff work local, it is just easier and more straightforward to start with Zigbee or Z-wave. And they aren't any more expensive than the Wifi stuff.
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Thanks everyone for your quick responses!!
I am a bit lazy to replace the hardware at this time. I might still do this later.
One more question - the current garage door opener integrates with IFTTT. Any thoughts about integrating IFTTT and Hubitat?
Regards,
Joseph
I have done that before, and it works. But you are relying on a cloud service, and lag can be quite annoying. I finally deleted IFTTT after they changed their model to the more restrictive (3?) automations and just moved to doing everything local.
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Got it. Thank you!!
Zooz Zen-16 relay, Ecolink Tilt sensor (and optioninally depending on your garage door opener, a Security 2.0 to dry contact switch). This will give you full control of up to 3 garage doors. (You will need a ecolink tilt sensor for each garage door) It will run in parallel with your existing system and leave your safety devices intact.
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Thanks for the correction of my misinformation. I have not flashed any devices using Tasmota. I was thinking that since WiFI and Zigbee operate within the same frequency band that it might be possible to convert protocols. Apparently, that is not possible. Sorry, that I misspoke. Thanks for the intervention.
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No problem at all. I just wanted to clarify since Hubitat of course does not have WiFi and so the use of Tasmota devices has some practical implications in how they need to be integrated with Hubitat.
At any rate, despite the excellent drivers and work provided by @garyjmilne with Tasmota, due to the fact that many new WiFi devices no longer use the Tasmota flashable ESP12 chips, I am gradually moving away from Tasmota and only use @garyjmilne’s drivers to maintain my pre-existing Tasmota device integration with Hubitat (you can pretty easily transplant chips on these devices if you are so inclined to continue to flash Tasmota onto these newer devices but that is a whole other thread).
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Non sequitur. Presumably, HE is connected via Ethernet, and that Ethernet is bridged to the WiFi network. HE doesn't need to talk WiFi, it needs to talk IP, which it does.
Hi @mikes ,
Exactly. . . but . . . not exactly a non sequitur as my point was that the difference with Tasmota compared to Zigbee or Z-wave is that you need to have an active WiFi access point on a UPS (if the power goes out) in order to maintain communications between the hub and a Tasmota device (assuming it is also powered during an outtage, which is probably not the case), whereas with Zigbee or Z-wave the communication is direct to hub. Not to argue semantics regarding the definition of non sequitur but I was actually trying to address the fact that Tasmotizing a device did not convert it from WiFi to Zigbee (although they both can share similar frequencies).
Anyway, the OP was actually about smart garage openers so I apologize if this got off topic.
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I have found myself moving the other direction TBH. I find the Zigbee mesh less reliable than I would like and definitely more difficult to troubleshoot. It's good in theory but in practice waiting for hours\days for the Zigbee mesh to maybe heal itself isn't a strong positive. With WiFi I get better coverage, better diagnostic tools and I never have to wonder how the packets are getting from the device to the hub because its always point to point.
Zigbee has it's place for it's long battery life and compact size but when it comes to powered devices I have been opting for Tasmota. I love having the backdoor control of the device through the Web UI, something that is totally lost in Zigbee.
One last point is that in your scenario, if you wanted fault tolerance you would already require a UPS on your HE Hub and possibly a separate UPS on your internet router. If you are adding a WiFi access point you could simply share an existing UPS so the net difference is just the WiFi access point, which quite likely exists as an option within your internet router. As an aside, if I have a choice of WiFi and Ethernet in a device I go ethernet every time.
But we all have our own experiences which shape our preferences. I tried to go all Zigbee, even to the point of buying an XBee and replacing 6 zigbee plugs with a recommended model after mesh problem. But it's still not rock solid and I find it quite frustrating when things only work 98% of the time.
Still, good luck with your decision.
P.S. There is a WiFi dongle for HE.
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Agree it’s not a non-sequiter at all.
Zigbee devices talk directly to the hub, as @moh pointed out. Wifi devices, like tuya, which can be flashed to an open-source firmware (ie tasmota) and so can be integrated with Hubitat, do not talk directly to the hub. That distinction might matter in some situations. Such as,
Assuming one is referring to battery powered devices, not light switches, which wont work when the power is out regardless of the wireless protocol they use.
On the other hand, this detail, while true. doesn’t change any of the above discussion points:
That dongle allows the hub to connect to your LAN via WiFi instead of its built-in Ethernet port. But it does not enable direct communication with WiFi-based end devices.
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@marktheknife, I could not have said it better myself. . .wait, I did say it myself (but perhaps not better, LOL)!
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If i was going to run HA devices on WiFi I would setup a separate wireless network (accesspoints/routers) just for that purpose. Definitely its own SSID and VLAN. Fighting with 2.4GHz vs 5GHz, etc. Our streaming devices, tablets, phones and PCs just have different requirements than WiFi HA. So setting up a separate network almost sounds like Zigbee... 
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Hi @garyjmilne, I would be all in with you (and I do use your fantastic Tasmota drivers for all my existing devices and I thank you for that!) except for new devices. I agree 100% with you that I have had much less trouble with my Tasmota devices as I have a very strong WiFi mesh compared to Zigbee (I just haven’t built out the Zigbee mesh as robustly).
Perhaps this is better discussed in a separate thread (and the moderators can move it to its own thread if they think it would be more appropriate), but . . .
My main issue right now is with so many newer devices that have gotten away from the ESP12 chips. Whereas I have a moderate amount of experience flashing (that didn’t quite come out right, LOL) onto UL and CE listed devices, and have done chip transplants exchanging the newer non-Tasmotable WB3S chips for ESP12 and unused TYWE3S I had, I question whether it is worth the hassle any more to perform a chip swap (voiding any warranties as well as the UL certification) while risking a potential non-working device should something go wrong with the swap. Although I suppose that there is only a minuscule (perhaps infinitesimal) chance that should a fire occur for any reason, that an investigator might see that a device has been altered, it may be a psychological or philosophical no go for some people. The main reason for me is just the hassle of converting a newly purchased device, but to each his/her own of course.
I do understand that someone has come out with:
“ a new Tasmota replacement for BK7231T (WB2S, WB3S, etc) first release! MQTT and Home Assistant support, no need to recompile, just use UART to USB converter to flash! Use Hotspot to configure your WiFi connection, and use pins configurator to setup device template for your specific device!”
repository is here:https://github.com/openshwprojects/OpenBK7231T
However, no experience with this and of course, no Hubitat integation app for this for now.
If this is possible, then I suppose that perhaps someone will be able to (hopefully!) develop a way to flash Tasmota onto the newer chips being used in the Tuya type devices.
Again, your Tasmota drivers which have “cleaned up” the previous T4HE iteration by Markus are fantastic, and I use them and I would much prefer to stay with Tasmotized devices in my use case using your drivers, its just that the various manufacturers are making it more of a hassle to do so with their choice to swap the ESP12 chips for the non-Tasmotizable ones. It really is a shame.
As you are probably much more attuned to developments in this area than I, I hope you can keep us all informed of any progress in this area. Again, thanks for all your fantastic work (its keeping half my devices alive!).
I would agree that it is not worth the hassle and won't be doing it. There are some options for bulb's and plugs that are pre-flashed with Tasmota plus some devices like the Sonoff S31 where you can still flash without even soldering anything.
I hope that if this chip takes on significant market-share that Theo might adapt Tasmota for that platform also.
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Good point, not applicable in your use case. My guess is that integrating a 2.4GHz WiFi transmitter in the same body as your Zigbee transmitter just has too many potential interference problems that would compromise the system stability.
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