HE and device compatability. What has your experience been?

#1

Apologies for the slightly off topic post but I’m wondering if HE is going to work for me and would like to hear how others have fared.

I setup a new HE hub a couple of days ago. I added 5 devices and started migrating my pistons from ST to HE. Unfortunately, I ran into problems right out of the gate. I added an IKEA RGBW bulb but cannot successfully change the color of the bulb either through Alexa or the Hubitat iOS app. I also added an Osram RGBW bulb but cannot set the level using Alexa. If I remove the bulbs from HE and add them back to ST, everything works as expected.

My initial thoughts are HE is going to be a non-starter for me. Is my experience unique? How has it gone for those of you who made the switch. I have 70 devices and 40+ pistons and don’t want to head down a road that’s going to lead nowhere. TIA for sharing your experience.

#2

You will notice some variability of commands when converting pistons. For example, set level vs set volume for certain speakers. In terms of set level for bulbs, I can’t really comment on the Alexa piece, my assumption is that is it being exposed to Alexa as a switch instead of a bulb.

In terms of the HE app, I’ve never been a fan of using for device control. I prefer to setup my own dashboard which can be used within the app. However, on Android, if you long press the bulb device, it opens the bulb device with more options, mine has a slider for level control.

Screenshot_20220823-101822_Hubitat
Screenshot_20220823-101822_Hubitat.jpg1080×2316 195 KB

#3

It is good when seeing what a device can do, to first use the device commands

You can see them

HE console -> devices -> select your device

then you can try different commands to see what the driver can do.

Then you can understand if the device is limited or if an application you are using does not issue the commands.