Decided to make this thread here for discussion rather than a direct question to the devs as I get the impression they're not ready to discuss it at this time.
There is an increasing number of outliers or not-quite-standard-zigbee in other brands, quite popular brands (eg Aqara, some Tradfri), which cannot be connected directly to Hubitat or not reliably so. They have their own hubs, but there is no app for connecting to those hubs via Hubitat either.
Unlike HomeAssistant, there is no mechanism for adding our own radio dongles to the HE hub to expand compatibility.
What I worry about is that just as Hubitat is getting onto the lips of the youtubers and reviewers, it's also getting the "X" in the works-with checks. I hope this doesn't see it toppled back into a minority interest system.
What do other users feel may be in the works or under consideration? Devs of course are welcome to go definitive on this
@Inge_Jones I think they'll continue as they are for the foreseeable future with minor hardware upgrades (maybe additional zigbee radio, 800 series z-wave and external antenna option). Beyond that the current IoT industry is lackluster. Look at Matter. No one "really" is implementing it or being slow to. No standards have been set. Each big company (amazon, apple, google) will set their own interoperability standards to maximize the users to play in their garden and not others. Outside of that I think it will be status quo. I'd like to see thread added which would allow communications with anything designed for homekit.
I think the easiest would be for brands to open up their APIs so integrations can be created. I wouldn't mind buying an Aqara hub if there was any chance I could control its devices through Hubitat. I just don't want seperate parallel systems going on. That is where Matter was supposed to help... or was that more at device level?
Not gonna happen while $$$ is at stake...Only reason a lot of these companies open up some cloud API so ifttt and the like can use them is so they can collect data... Data=money.. Local control=no money. Recently Hubitat had talks with TUYA in order to officially support their stuff. Meeting didn't go well. They only wanted to open their cloud API so they could collect data. Hubitat said nope to both.
Yes, that's where it is supposed to help, but... we'll see. I certainly hope that the emergence of an IP-based standard application layer protocol for devices to standardize a local api around makes life easier for all parties to control devices. My hope is essentially that most hubs will be useable like the Hue Bridge is now with their local control.
Well I see what you're saying, but at the same time Aqara have missed out on a lot of my money, as I really like their devices and would have bought plenty - as well as their hub - if they'd worked with Hubitat
Aqara's issue is more around chipset preference I believe. We may see more compatibility with their devices with a zigbee / thread? revision down the track with HE I think
Doesn't surprise me at all. I've never trusted Tuya stuff, and am amazed that so many techtubers have lavished so much praise on the Smart Life platform lock in.
I'd rather not buy another hub...lol (said as I just ordered another C7). I already have HE, Lutron, and Hue. That said I just wish the aqara stuff followed proper zigbee protocol. That would solve everything. But they like that semi walled garden as well. Pretty much everything available in Aqara is available in Sonoff and Sonoff works so much better.
Support third reality, they are true zigbee and their product line is growing. Unfortunately they still don't have all the sensors, like aqara and tuya.
Did you know that our engineers are mind readers? They knew that you'll ask for the Third Reality support, so the next release will add support for the following Third Reality devices:
Door sensor (3RDS17BZ)
Smart Plug (3RSP019BZ)
Motion sensor (3RMS16BZ)
Temp Humidity Sensor
Smart Blind (3RSB015BZ)
The new update is currently in beta. If you'd like to test the new drivers, before the public release, it is not too late to enroll your hub in the beta program. Check this thread for more details:
That's great news about Third Reality -- I just have a couple 3R things now, but they have proven to be impressively dependable devices out in my detached garage -- between distance to hub and seasonal weather extremes, that's my smart device proving ground
I'm glad their product line is slowly expanding -- they make solid stuff at reasonable prices.
Whereas Tuya once did their own thing exclusively, they now support Zigbee 3,0 certification on many devices, including their hub. While Zigbee 3.0 devices are backward compatible with Hubitat, even the C7 hub is still based on Zigbee HA 1.2. I have a Moes (Tuya based) Zigbee 3,0 vibration sensor that works well with Hubitat. It is connected directly with Hubitat and does not use the Smart Life cloud connection.
Although I have quite a few older Zigbee 1.2 devices in my system, any new device will be Zigbee 3.0. I have no qualms about purchasing a Tuya based Zigbee 3.0 device. I would not purchase a Tuya WiFi device.
I suspect an integration could be developed between the Tuya Zigbee 3.0 hub and Hubitat just like there is an integration between the Smartthings hub and Hubitat. If I wanted to add a second hub, it would be another Hubitat. I have an old Smartthings hub that is no longer being used.
Test with what you have, when you have time and provide feedback if you run into troubles. We appreciate all the help we get, however small, to ensure that the public release gives users a better experience, and a more stable update.
And buy me stuff to test. @Sebastien, I'm still waiting for those contact sensors you owe me.
They are getting some of mine now...I have two C7 hubs, second has several Ikea Tradfri repeaters (plugs) and seven Aqara contact sensors on it for the last 12 days. Been completely solid, no drops/disconnects. Just a small test so far, but so far seems to be a reliable option for Aqara in my environment. I particularly like their small footprint/long life (reported) contact sensors. High WAF and fewer battery changes makes me happy. Others have reported here that the Aqara/Tradfri repeater combo works for them as well.
I did try with a handful of Aqara temp/hum sensors on my SmartThings hub so there wasn't any other Zigbee device interfering but they did not stay connected on that either. Maybe it's cos I didn't have any Tradfri plugs lol. Oh well there are enough other devices to use.
