Leaving Home Assistant, not worth the headaches!

Well, I can’t deal with this software anymore, when I first started with it. I was super impressed. But over the past few releases the software seems to be going backwards. I am now a 91.4 and this is simply not reliable at this point (none of my TP-Links switches show reliably, nor does my ecobee’s at this point), some times my items are there sometimes their not. Whereas a month ago all of my integrations and automation were solid and did not fail. Now nothing works. Back to Samsung Smartthings for me. I hope the home assistant developers can get this moving back in a positive direction in the future.

Sincerely
Jeremy

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Well they actually are. They are making things better faster and more stable. Unfortunately that also means that some integrations might break for a few weeks (like the tado component was when 0.90 came). We musn’t forget that this isn’t proprietary software but open source (unlike smartthings) which means that the community builds the package and they mostly do it in their free time (unlike staff working on smartthings).

Home Assistant also has a fast update pace. You could skip releases (but that is not recommended). If you are looking for something more stable I can recommend you to try OpenHAB. Come back to Home Assistant once it is past the 1.0 version I guess.

What I mean to say is it is sad to see you go, because really this software is one of a kind with the amount of work that is done in such little time.

I would also like to point out that Home Assistant is currently undergoing many transformations (like the new app, new integrations, new way of using components etc.) don’t ask me the details because I have not much knowledge about it. But I am guessing that the change isn’t done to annoy people, but to actually make HA better.

To me this project is still in beta and I have to admit that this is the kind of project that will stay in beta forever. If you are not having fun with solving these kind of problems then OpenHAB would most certainly better suit your needs.

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You might want to go back to the stable release and just not upgrade, there is no need unless you want something new.

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Can I recommend that we don’t reply to threads like these.

This is the OPs first post on the forum. He/She isn’t looking for help or they would have asked for assistance. IMO this is a rant and should be ignored.

I see these devolve into hundreds of replies with users going back and forth (and usually without the OPs participation) only for it to die. As users of this forum lets put that effort into answering posts where other users are directly and constructively asking for help.

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Please, if you decide to respond to this thread keep it civil.

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First post?

Your very first, and last, contribution to the community is … a farewell letter?

Your profile indicates you joined April 8th but you state you’ve used Home Assistant for several releases. On a positive note, I guess you didn’t need much assistance from the community to get Home Assistant up and running. That’s a compliment to your skills and the project’s overall quality.

Good bye and good luck with SmartThings.

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Maybe people have discovered this forum is a great place to troll because 2/3rds of replies posted, especially to newer people, are condescending, you-shouldn’t-be-a-newbie, you’re-not-in-our-group types that easily spiral into dozens-long toxic threads?

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and that’s sad isn’t it (as these forums were nor designed for that sort of “collaboration”)?
if it’s true, people who maintain it or “live” here and form a core of this community should probably do a reality check to make sure they are heading the right direction (but that may be easier said than done).

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I’ve never seen that. What I have seen is people telling newcomers to read the docs, and asking if they’ve read about breaking changes before upgrading and complaining that suddenly something doesn’t work after blindly pressing “upgrade”. And to be honest, I think that’s perfectly fair.

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@Tinkerer. probably best to close these sort of threads down as they serve little purpose.

As long as people keep them civil, it’s always worthwhile to understand why people are unhappy.

The OP was polite - unhappy, but polite. Sure, they could have tried asking for help before they left, but not everybody does. Maybe they’ll come back and provide some feedback, and if we close the thread they may decide not to.

Now it’s on everybody else to keep the tone up - which so far has been mixed :man_shrugging:

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Hi. Sometimes it is a little frustrating but if you don’t stop trying I will succeed.
I also had a lot of issues with the tp link. They worked a lot better when I did not install them by UI but in the configuration.yaml. Maybe you give that a try

I think there is something to be gained by understanding the reasons people might dash off a negative post like this.

I guarantee you, for every person who takes the time to write, there are 99 more who just leave in disgust without saying anything.

Ignoring, closing or deleting the threads does not make the problem go away. Nor do dismissive and condescending replies which disparage the user who had the negative experience. Whether you see it or not, there is an undercurrent of elitism and hostility toward newbies here which tarnishes an otherwise fantastic project.

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I’m sorry but what do you expect when people are criticizing something they don’t contribute to? People treat home assistant as a 1st party paid software. It’s not. This is a community driven package with people providing free development. There will be 10 times more bugs than any first party software. If a ‘newbie’ isn’t willing to deal with that, then they should move to a paid software. Plain and simple. Maybe in a year or so they can come back and try again.

And before you say “But we should strive to make it better for everybody”. You’ve only been here 3 months, you’ve only seen the changes that have occurred in the last 3 months. Over the past 3 years the software has made huge leaps in simplicity and the ‘breaking changes’ are getting less severe. You can expect the same leaps over the next 3 years. These changes will occur with or without the bitching. So why not remove the bitching and provide only constructive criticism or solutions to the problems?

OP decided to create a thread saying “I’m leaving because x, y, and z don’t work.” Any normal person who is willing to deal with issues would have created a thread trying to fix the problem instead of running away while pointing fingers.

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Of course, you’re right. I don’t want to sound like I’m condoning complaining!

My only point was that we can learn from these outbursts, rather than dismiss them. Having worked in a number of customer service fields, I always try to (politely) tell someone when I’ve had a bad experience and plan to go elsewhere. It’s really doing them a favor. Whether they choose to listen and learn from my experience or not is their problem.

Yes, I’ve only been here three months. I’m trying to learn, and maybe some day I’ll be able to contribute. I see some great stuff, and everyone’s been very helpful whenever I’ve asked.

But it’s been slow going. I often hit roadblocks where things aren’t documented well or everyone seems to assume I should have been born knowing everything they’ve learned over the past three (or however many) years. I get that everyone’s busy improving the product, but a product that only an elite few can figure out how to use isn’t the goal.

I understand that it’s a difficult balance to strike. You want to keep moving forward on development, but still be welcoming to newcomers. Overall it looks to me like things are going pretty well. But there’s still value in looking back and remembering what it’s like to be a newbie from time to time.

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I expect that concept to be explained to them, not that the user be attacked. Back when I was a lurker here I just assumed it was because home automation attracted the less socially-inclined, but now I see there are a lot of kind users, they just aren’t often the more prolific posters.

Relatedly, I’d just like to mention how often I see the “volunteer” card played like it’s some kind of immunity. Being a volunteer might excuse some things, like lack of polish, or missed delivery dates, or breaking changes, but it doesn’t excuse you from realities like “berating users isn’t how you foster a thriving community around your project”.

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What concept is OP requesting to be explained? He is complaining and leaving without asking for help. It seems like your gripes are aimed outside this thread, which is a whole different issue.

My comments are purely directed towards the monthly “Home assistant is too hard, I give up, breaking changes are bad posts”. It’s draining. These posts would be more palatable if the users didn’t take the “woe is me” approach. Everyone here has had issues with this software and ran into road blocks, I chose to solve my issues by supporting others which helped me learn. That type of approach helps the community and helps yourself. How are you doing this? By complaining?

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??? You were replying to CaptTom’s post, who was seconding my post. If you remember, CaptTom said

Whether you see it or not, there is an undercurrent of elitism and hostility toward newbies here which tarnishes an otherwise fantastic project.

Ps. Is the troll winning?

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Are we really arguing forum semantics now? You don’t think:

(emphasis CaptTom’s)

Is a little odd in a vacuum?

Ps. I won’t be replying anymore in this thread. I think it’s devolved far enough. No hard feelings though if I see you on another post.

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There’s a little community where a few neighbors got together to convert an unused patch of land into a children’s park. A great deal of effort was invested to transform nothing into something. They charge no entrance fee and welcome all volunteers to help run and improve the park. Most people enjoy the community spirit and contribute whatever they can, small or large, to keep the park running.

  • Sometimes the swing set is unavailable because it’s being painted, repaired, or expanded.
  • The slide didn’t survive its first winter and had to be completely rebuilt.
  • The signage, explaining the park’s rules, isn’t always kept up to date.
  • The solar-electric lighting doesn’t always last the entire night.

For the people who had rolled up their sleeves, to turn nothing into something, these were just additions to their to-do list. They’ll eventually get done and it’s all part of their labor of love.

One new neighbor pitched in to improve the lighting. Another took time to paint new signs. Yet another, a civil engineer, loved the simple task of building an elegant new slide. It became the park’s centerpiece and loved by children of all ages.

Not all neighbors were equally pleased with the park’s problems. They didn’t appreciate being inconvenienced, especially the time the swing set was closed for painting. They exclaimed “Why wasn’t it done at night?”

They grumbled the park wasn’t like the one over in Anytown. Anytown’s property taxes were substantially higher, and they charged an entrance fee, and they made few improvements, but at least their swing set was always available and the slide never collapsed.

The people who had worked hard for many years suggested that the park could be almost anything you wanted it to be but it required a personal contribution of time and effort. Displeased neighbors scoffed at the idea. “I’ve never used a hammer in my life! I wouldn’t know which end to use!” To which they were suggested to pick up a broom and sweep the walkways or to supervise the children. The suggestion was met with equal disdain.

  • “Who has time for that? I have a real job.”
  • “I sweep my own walkway and that’s enough for me, thank you very much.”
  • “Why don’t you charge an admission fee and hire people to run your little park?”

Given that the park’s very existence was due to the collective efforts of volunteers, there wasn’t much the unhappy neighbors could offer except complaints. For all those who couldn’t paint, saw, sweep, mow, or even just supervise the kids playing in the park, they were recommended to use Anytown’s park.

This suggestion only upset them even more. Now they felt they were being driven away. The volunteers were accused of being hammer-swinging exclusionists. They insisted their complaints were equally valuable contributions. It takes mental effort to devise complaints. All the volunteers should heed their complaints otherwise tens, hundreds, even thousands of neighbors would leave the park. Perhaps the problem is that the volunteers lacked the mental capacity to understand their complaints.

Meanwhile, in Anytown, park officials were carefully monitoring the situation at the community-run park. They were impressed with its facilities and concerned by the migration of their park users to the community park. Each patron they lost was a potential new volunteer for improving the community park and making it an even greater attraction.

They were even more concerned by the influx of new users to their park who seemed to be hard to please and complained endlessly.

  • “Why is the entrance fee so high?”
  • “Why are there so few improvements?”
  • “This slide sucks. Have you seen the other one? Wow! Now that’s a slide!”
  • “You call this a lawn? The grass is greener in the other park!”
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