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expiredEragorn | Staff posted Nov 26, 2024 05:50 PM
expiredEragorn | Staff posted Nov 26, 2024 05:50 PM

The Smartest House Home Automation Sale: Z-Box Hub $79.95, Zooz Double Switch

& More + Free Shipping on $69+

$20

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The Smartest House
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Top Comments

Daaave
126 Posts
26 Reputation
If you are having stability issues on HA then it's prob user error. Even my hubitat setup was rock solid for years until it outgrew the hardware. I've been running home assistant for over a year and it's response is almost always instant. Stability isnt an issue either.

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Nov 26, 2024 07:30 PM
837 Posts
Joined Nov 2008
WoolfyNov 26, 2024 07:30 PM
837 Posts
Love the zooz product for smartthings. It a sucks that I bought 5 door sensors last week , but still needed 8 more , so perfect timing. Thanks
1
Nov 26, 2024 07:49 PM
376 Posts
Joined Sep 2004

This comment has been rated as unhelpful by Slickdeals users.

Nov 26, 2024 08:15 PM
525 Posts
Joined Jan 2006
funzieNov 26, 2024 08:15 PM
525 Posts
Quote from tumengio :
Maybe the Z-box hub is better, but I've tried Smartthings, Home Assistant and Hubitat at this point and they've all had serious stability or responsiveness issues. The only Zwave stuff I still have is a couple Zooz Zen34 remotes, and I'll likely replace those with Lutron.
Can you define the serious stability issue? A lot of it depends on the health of your mesh network, so no matter how many controllers you try it will still be the same. At the same time the Z-Wave controller and firmware has had issues with the 800 model, causing slow responses. I had that happening for a while and upgraded to the fixed firmware and everything worked flawlessly after that. USB sticks as well as Hubitat had issues with it. Again, not an issue with the hub, but with what Silicon Lab puts in their firmware.
Nov 26, 2024 08:54 PM
195 Posts
Joined Jul 2018
The1hangingchadNov 26, 2024 08:54 PM
195 Posts
Quote from funzie :
Can you define the serious stability issue? A lot of it depends on the health of your mesh network, so no matter how many controllers you try it will still be the same. At the same time the Z-Wave controller and firmware has had issues with the 800 model, causing slow responses. I had that happening for a while and upgraded to the fixed firmware and everything worked flawlessly after that. USB sticks as well as Hubitat had issues with it. Again, not an issue with the hub, but with what Silicon Lab puts in their firmware.
Agreed. I have been a Smartthings user for six years now. I know it's not the best out there, but for a more "out of the box" approach, it works incredibly well. You just need to know it's limitations and stay within those. I have over 100 z-wave devices that work flawlessly. I have been buying more and more Zooz over the past two years.
Nov 26, 2024 09:27 PM
126 Posts
Joined Mar 2015
DaaaveNov 26, 2024 09:27 PM
126 Posts

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank Daaave

Quote from tumengio :
Maybe the Z-box hub is better, but I've tried Smartthings, Home Assistant and Hubitat at this point and they've all had serious stability or responsiveness issues. The only Zwave stuff I still have is a couple Zooz Zen34 remotes, and I'll likely replace those with Lutron.
If you are having stability issues on HA then it's prob user error. Even my hubitat setup was rock solid for years until it outgrew the hardware. I've been running home assistant for over a year and it's response is almost always instant. Stability isnt an issue either.
1
2
Nov 26, 2024 09:40 PM
9,219 Posts
Joined Feb 2007
trzaNov 26, 2024 09:40 PM
9,219 Posts
Quote from tumengio :
Maybe the Z-box hub is better, but I've tried Smartthings, Home Assistant and Hubitat at this point and they've all had serious stability or responsiveness issues. The only Zwave stuff I still have is a couple Zooz Zen34 remotes, and I'll likely replace those with Lutron.
How long ago were you using HA? It's been rapidly improving for many years.
Nov 26, 2024 10:34 PM
823 Posts
Joined Mar 2009
VladStarNov 26, 2024 10:34 PM
823 Posts
Quote from trza :
How long ago were you using HA? It's been rapidly improving for many years.
+1. Moved from Smartthings to HA 3+ years ago, no regrets. Once in a while you may face some breaking change, but normally with options to resolve. Orherwise most of the the problems are related to end devices, not to the HA.

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Nov 26, 2024 10:44 PM
376 Posts
Joined Sep 2004
tumengioNov 26, 2024 10:44 PM
376 Posts
Quote from Daaave :
If you are having stability issues on HA then it's prob user error. Even my hubitat setup was rock solid for years until it outgrew the hardware. I've been running home assistant for over a year and its response is almost always instant. Stability isnt an issue either.
I'll happily concede user error, I just no longer enjoy having to know or understand the limitations of Z-Wave. There's no arguing that if Z-Wave works well for you, Zooz stuff is really, really, cheap, it just hasn't worked out for me.
Nov 26, 2024 11:14 PM
770 Posts
Joined Jun 2022
DillDozerNov 26, 2024 11:14 PM
770 Posts
Quote from tumengio :
Maybe the Z-box hub is better, but I've tried Smartthings, Home Assistant and Hubitat at this point and they've all had serious stability or responsiveness issues. The only Zwave stuff I still have is a couple Zooz Zen34 remotes, and I'll likely replace those with Lutron.
Absolute nonsense. Zwave works great in home assistant. Wifi is jank (mostly just low quality devices, even sonoff is trash) and lots of people have ZigBee issues. But zwave is reliable and fast.

I've been using HA with aeotec stick for 6 yrs.
Last edited by DillDozer November 26, 2024 at 03:18 PM.
Nov 26, 2024 11:23 PM
75 Posts
Joined Dec 2021
kun.a1Nov 26, 2024 11:23 PM
75 Posts
Quote from tumengio :
Maybe the Z-box hub is better, but I've tried Smartthings, Home Assistant and Hubitat at this point and they've all had serious stability or responsiveness issues. The only Zwave stuff I still have is a couple Zooz Zen34 remotes, and I'll likely replace those with Lutron.
My SmartThings hub gen 2 from years ago has been working flawlessly with a mix for 20-30 zwave and zigbee devices. Probably my most reliable smart home product.
Nov 26, 2024 11:30 PM
16,445 Posts
Joined Nov 2006
psycttoNov 26, 2024 11:30 PM
16,445 Posts
Quote from tumengio :
Maybe the Z-box hub is better, but I've tried Smartthings, Home Assistant and Hubitat at this point and they've all had serious stability or responsiveness issues. The only Zwave stuff I still have is a couple Zooz Zen34 remotes, and I'll likely replace those with Lutron.
Agree with others here… the stability issues are on your devices, not the hub. Especially if you've had issues with SmartThings. I have lots of issues with them removing backend functionality, which is why I went to HA, but the hub was rock solid and its connection to devices is unmatched… ST loves to slam devices to keep them alive and talking, it works, but it's brute force AF 😉
Hubitat I only had issues when I got to the limit of what the hub could do, device and complex display wise… then it ran into memory issues and needed resets.
HA I only run into issues with big updates, they love breaking shit… but since they combined all the zwave lower level stuff into HA fully, I haven't had those issues, it's been really solid. My HA issues stem from the HAOS running in a VirtualBox on my Ubuntu server, when it's happy, it's great. When Ubuntu decides to break VirtualBox, it's a nightmare 😂. But that's 100% my setup, not HA.
Pro
Nov 26, 2024 11:42 PM
2,283 Posts
Joined May 2010
artcab
Pro
Nov 26, 2024 11:42 PM
2,283 Posts
I have a Z-Wave USB dongle on my HA box, and no Z-Wave devices connected. Any killer Z-Wave devices worth considering? The rest of my setup is Aqara Zigbee devices, Lutron Casetas, TP-Link WiFi switches, etc. Nothing in the Z-Wave family though. TIA!
Pro
Nov 27, 2024 12:30 AM
38,523 Posts
Joined Nov 2006
bonkman
Pro
Nov 27, 2024 12:30 AM
38,523 Posts
Quote from artcab :
I have a Z-Wave USB dongle on my HA box, and no Z-Wave devices connected. Any killer Z-Wave devices worth considering? The rest of my setup is Aqara Zigbee devices, Lutron Casetas, TP-Link WiFi switches, etc. Nothing in the Z-Wave family though. TIA!
Zwave is just a wireless protocol. It's not like it enables magic devices. Pretty much all smart home devices can be found in each protocol, so use what you have. That said, zwave and zigbee are far superior than most wifi devices for most home automation tasks because that's what they're specifically made for. Each camp has its own fans but things work best when you have more of the same since they're mesh networks. More nodes = more stability.

I vouch for zooz products, though, so if you get some fun ideas for HA, this is a good time to stock up on widgets
Nov 27, 2024 12:31 AM
131 Posts
Joined Mar 2011
soundbytegfxNov 27, 2024 12:31 AM
131 Posts
Quote from artcab :
I have a Z-Wave USB dongle on my HA box, and no Z-Wave devices connected. Any killer Z-Wave devices worth considering? The rest of my setup is Aqara Zigbee devices, Lutron Casetas, TP-Link WiFi switches, etc. Nothing in the Z-Wave family though. TIA!
Zooz are my favorite. Third reality has some decent outlets and buttons that I like

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Nov 27, 2024 02:39 AM
21 Posts
Joined Aug 2010
jonathan123Nov 27, 2024 02:39 AM
21 Posts
I have about 65 zigbee and 40 zwave devices. Then another, idk, 60 ish WiFi devices. As I type this I realize it sounds ridiculous haha.
It pains me to say, but I've found the best luck with WiFi devices. I have a beefy network with multiple APs, and IoT on its own network.
Z-Wave I have a few Inovelli switches that just constantly drop from the network. I can sometimes ping them back to life, other times I have to manually power cycle them.
Zigbee is a similar deal, but has been better after I got some good wired repeaters (Ikea!). I moved my WiFi channels specifically to avoid interference with zigbee (they overlap slightly), but still I have devices that just disappear. I added an Aqara temp sensor (battery powered) the other day, it dropped about an hour later. I pushed the button on it, back on, an hour later off again.
For that project I ended up just wiring a temp sensor to a sonoff basic and it's been working well (nice thing here is with ESPHome my automation is running on device).

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