Just got my Hubitat.
Powered it up and am now trying to make heads and tails of migrating from WINK to this.
Docs seem to be written by developers, not writers.
Need simple instructions to talk my way through converting all my nodes from the WINK screen to this.
So far am OVERWHELMED by the learning curve.
There SEEM to be several apps? Hos does a dashboard translate to WINK?
I am technically minded but this ... I haven't a clue.
Just yesterday I added a Leviton switch to the Leviton app and it was EASY.
Help!
Welcome to the community.
I would start by watching as many of the how-tos on the Hubitat Youtube channel. Skip the webcasts until you have some understanding of the basics. Without an understanding of what devices you have, it is hard advise you on step by steps but for Zwave or Zigbee devices it will be a process of excluding a device on Wink (you will likely need the manual for your devices for directions on putting them into exclude and include modes) and including them in Hubitat.
https://docs.hubitat.com/index.php?title=Discover_Zigbee_and_Z-Wave_Devices
When building out your devices I would read up on building a Zwave mesh There is acorresponding one for Zigbee.
I would go slowly and ask specific questions as you get stuck. I will guess you built up your Wink system over several years. Moving to another system over a short time will not be the easiest but we are here to help.
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Welcome @gadgetitis.
The transition from Wink to Hubitat can seem overwhelming. But stay calm, it can happen - I transitioned about 6 months ago. And once its done, you'll wonder why you ever used Wink!
Without specifics, I can only give you the advice that @SmartHomePrimer gave me when I transitioned - spend time at doc.hubitat.com.
It would let the community help you better if you could post a detailed listing of your Wink-connected devices.
I did that in my first post (from March 2019):
And the advice from folks who were complete strangers at the time was terrific. I'm sure your experience will be similar.
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Where is a Youtube video that explains WINK Migration?
I watched 2 or 3 and they all assume you know this product from the ground up.
My items include:
- a half dozen Bali shades
- 20 or more Leviton switches
- 6 Philips hue LED strips
- Nest (already dead)
- 6 Hampton Bay fans with Zigbee controllers
- Genius Quirk power strips
- 2 WINK relays
With WINK I have 1 app. Simple. Here there are like a dozen ones. Why?
I have used Exclusion mode with my Wink hub and cannot remove my items!
Seems like they are holding me / us hostage???
I have removed 2 or 3 and (even) rebooted the phone and they're still there.
You are not going to replicate Wink. Wink was very prescribed and easy but limited to the devices it new about.
For your Lutron devices, have a read through this document Join and Reset Instructions - Hubitat Documentation
Even though you may feel the Youtube is beyond understanding for a new user, I would carry on. You will gradually begin to catch on to what is going on.
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There is only one Hubitat mobile app. The other "apps" you are referring to are apps written in Groovy that let your Hubitat perform various automations.
The app serves a different function from Wink's mobile app. In Wink, the app was essential for inclusion/exclusion of devices, to configure automation, and control devices. In Hubitat, the app is used for geofencing, notification, and to control devices (via Dashboards). Device inclusion/exclusion and automation configuration is done by connecting to the hub with a web browser.
This is strange. My approach to adding devices to Hubitat was:
Starting with line-powered devices and their proximity to Hubitat, I would exclude a single device from Wink, add it to Hubitat, and then repeat the process with the next device.
There is no official video specifically geared for Wink migration. However, some people have found this video very useful:
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Exclusion mode will unpair a device but it doesnât actually remove the entry in Wink. If the exclude was successful you will no longer be able to control it from Wink.
Just pair the device with Hubitat and continue.
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Definitely not my experience. But, then again, I moved from Wink to Hubitat when Wink's servers were more reliable - so perhaps changes in device population were accurately reflected in the app.
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He starts talking about WINK then goes off to Google Home.
This product NEEDS a simple button you press that then migrates all your devices FROM WINK to Hubitat.
This whole thing is FAR TOO complicated for consumer end users ... I've been a software developer for decades and everyone I know considers me a geek but this is WAY over the top.
KISS - keep it simple stupid.
You need a PhD to understand all this and I do not have the time.
You won't find that on any current hub. Maybee years from now but not today.
There are thousands of Hubitat users who have migrated from other systems but I understand your frustrations. If you aren't willing to take the time to learn and migrate, you are likely a candidate for Control4.
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Buyer beware. My house if for sale and the new owner can figure it out.
The only items that require an app are the Philips Hue LEDs.
Just hope it'll sell before WINK servers stop.
Anyone know if / when that is forecast to happen?
I hear your frustration. I used Wink from 2014 through April 2019. Thatâs when I migrated to Hubitat.
At this price point for Home Automation there are 4 options - ranking them here from easier to use to more complex:
- Wink (aka Macintosh) - easiest to use, but prone to outages due to cloud reliance and limited in capability for automation (Robots are great, but limited in capability). The simplicity is in exchange for power and flexibility for the end user.
- Smart Things (aka Windows) - a bit more complex than Wink, and you get more power from the community created drivers that allow you to use smart home devices that arenât âofficiallyâ supported. Also prone to outages due to cloud reliance.
- Hubitat (aka Linux with a GUI) - much more powerful. Initial learning curve when coming from Wink as capabilities have a very different naming convention (apps = capabilities/features such as an Alexa integration where you have control over which devices you allow Alexa to see). Local processing so no reliance on Cloud. The creators came from the SmartThings community so there is a lot of shared terminology.
- HomeAssistant (aka Unix) - arguably most powerful, but also most complex. Local processing. You assemble everything from the hardware you run on to the install and maintenance of all software.
All of us Wink refugees have all been where you are - frustrated and flustered trying to make sense of things when moving from Wink to Hubitat. Would it be great if there was an easy button migration tool? Without question - but Hubitat is still a small startup that is growing every day. Someday there may be such a tool, but it doesnât exist just yet and unfortunately wonât for a while due to the bandwidth constraints of the team. The best advice I can give is to try to forget how Wink works (robots, shortcuts, etc) and slowly learn bit by bit about Hubitat and how this ecosystem works - in a brief period of time it will click and youâll be able to migrate swiftly.
If I were in your shoes I would either accept that there is going to be a big learning curve initially (I promise it gets better), and let us (community) help you step by step (we want you to be here and want you to be successful). Or, it might be worth looking at other options like Smart Things that might suit your needs better. Hopefully you stick it out and let us help you. Itâs best to start slow given how much different the Hubitat world is from Wink. Once you get past this initial learning curve, your home will become more automated, more efficient, and you may see great benefits from Hubitat. I hope you stick it out with us. Iâm sorry for the frustration up front.
(Iâm not a Hubitat employee, just a guy who was where you are back in April, and Iâm very glad I went through the learning process to stick with Hubitat)
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No one knows. Lots and lots of speculation here: https://www.reddit.com/r/winkhub/
Sorry this didnât work out for you. Please let your buyer know about the Hubitat forum. We would love to help them out.
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I can appreciate the desirability of that; unfortunately, Wink is a closed and completely proprietary architecture, so the likelihood of that occurring is marginal.
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Amen to that! Migrated about the same time as you did, and am so glad I did it.
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I moved my exterior lights to Hubitat last year but they still show in Wink. Excluding them didnât remove the devices from the Wink app. I havenât bothered to manually remove them because I never use the app.
I would recommend the following:
- Delete the device from the Wink App
- Perform a general exclusion on the Hubitat Elevation hub for the device.
- If thereâs a separate procedure to factory reset the device (check here), then do that too.
- Join the device to Hubitatâs Z-Wave network.
Go slow. Adding too many devices in too short a period of time is going to be nothing short of a migraine. The mesh and hub need time to update tables and the database.
Good reading that Wink never explained to its users.
https://docs.hubitat.com/index.php?title=How_to_Build_a_Solid_Z-Wave_Mesh
https://docs.hubitat.com/index.php?title=How_to_Build_a_Solid_Zigbee_Mesh
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I'm curious and this is not a slight against the OP. Why Wink to Hubitat? Who are these people recommending the switch from Wink to Hubitat?
If my understanding is correct, Wink catered to a a specific subset of people - those that wanted things to "just work" and didn't have the time nor patience to tinker around with electronics, but are savvy enough to want to automate their house. ST is very much also geared to such people.
Like someone above posted, I don't think Hubitat in its current form is the right product for you. You'd be better suited with ST, their entire business model is catered around the mainstream.
I'm sure there are people that made the switch from Wink to Hubitat, but I'm 100% sure that they spent a lot of time here on the forums and elsewhere figuring out their way around the system. With Wink and ST, all you do is download an app, and you're good to go. Download Hubitat's app and you get.. an empty dashboard page and a map.
If you read the Amazon reviews for Hubitat, this seems to be a common complaint amongst Wink/ST/Iris refugees. I didn't quite understand what these people were talking about until I really thought about it - not everyone wants to mess around forums or read through wiki pages, optimize their mesh, make sure they have repeaters in ideal locations, avoid certain zigbee bulbs etc. etc. to make their lights go on and off automatically.
The OP has a Hubitat hub and was trying to migrate without any sucess. As pointed out in another post in this thread Wink can be compared to a MAC. Push button - things happen. No one is trying to convert this person.
As far as anyone can tell the Wink platform is beyond life support (it has been reported by Wink employees that they haven't been paid for weeks). Wink isn't likely to survive. I wouldn't want to send anyone there even if it was an existing Wink user.
Moving to ST isn't likely to be any better for the OP. It requires the same exclude/include etc that the OP doen't want to try.
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The thing is, Wink was almost too easy. It walked you through everything, and did all the background work for you. No other hub works like that, so we (former Wink user here) did not see the steps it took to make this all work. We did not have user apps or user drivers, ways to make a dashboard, and many other things you can do with Hubitat. Other hub users had to do more of the work like Hubitat, so they are used to the names, procedures, and order of operations to make these devices work.
The terminology on Hubitat was one of the things I struggled with at first. I got used to it eventually. Hubitat is more complex and you will have to spend some time re-learning how to do things. The reward is worth the wait.
The one thing I haven't seen is anyone asking you where you are stuck? People here are willing to help if you can describe where you getting lost.
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