Thx for the feedback. This gives me confidence.
Sorry for being this old post into love again. I’m planing to use the fibaro Walli devices. I have read on many sites that it is not possible to update the firmware of those devices without the Home Center as fibaro will not give you the firmware. From the post above I would read that this is not true but want to be sure before creating a architecture without the home center and purely rely on the home assistant.
Regarding Fibaro’s devices, these can only be updated via a Fibaro controller.
However, most other brands can be updated via HA.
Fibaro wants to profile itself as a unique company and it is unfortunately so unique that they don’t care what the users think and say.
That’s one of the reasons why I shut down my Fibaro HC3 and invested completely in Home Assistant, it’s a choice I haven’t regretted.
The Fibaro devices that I have updated with my old HC3 were some RGBW devices and some Smart Implant, but I didn’t notice any difference in function or performance after the update so it is not certain that all updates are needed.
2 Likes
Ok, so it was a misunderstanding of the text 
May I ask what kind of devices you are using, if not from fibaro?
The reason I’m asking, I’m looking for a vendor who offers switches (light and roller shutter) and power outlets, because some of my switches/outlets are within one frame and if I use different vendors they will not fit together. And fibaro was the only one who has this combination available. But I’m full open, is I still searching
BR
Florian
We probably use home automation in different ways. For example, I have many Fibaro wall plugs but only three built-in Fibaro relay switches (in the garage).
Then I have two greenhouses with automation for lighting, irrigation, fans and heating.
There I use a mix of Fibaro, Aeon and Qubino devices and for sensors I use ESP32 and ESPHome.
For automatic lighting in the garage and indoors, I use Aqara motion sensors (ZigBee) to control the lighting and Aqara sensors to control the indoor climate.
But if you like Fibaro Walli and think it suits you, you should go for it. Fibaro devices don’t stop working just because you can’t update them, but that’s my personal opinion.
Thanks for that. Much appreciated.
I would love to go with wall plugs as well, but there is not enough space in the wall 
And as long as it is visible my wife need to accept it as well 
Yes it can be problematic, but my wife has accepted that function takes precedence over aesthetics.
1 Like
Good day
I came across your article. I have HC2 and out of nowhere it stopped working. They recommended replacing the CMOS battery. I changed here, but still fibaro HC2 does not want to start and even connect to the network even after restarting.
Could you please give me some instructions on how to switch from HC2 to your solution? What exactly to do and change on the HC2 motherboard or use something completely different or…?
Thank you for your response. I’m not very technically proficient in repairing electronics, but I’m still sad that everything in my house stopped working.
And I would like to try to switch from HC2 to your solution according to the instructions.
Hi Juro
Please see my answer on Fibaro forum
Related: Any chance an existing zwave network can be migrated from Fibaro HC2 to Home Assistant? I have over 50 zwave devices in my HC2 network and I don’t have easy physical access to all of them.
Ideas:
- could the HC2 zwave controller board be moved into ZwaveJS somehow?
- could I transfer the HC2 zwave network by adding a “secondary” controller, and then moving that controller to ZwaveJS?
Hi, I’m sorry, I don’t know if such a migration is possible.
Migration from HC2 to HC3 is possible, but I have never seen if this can be done for exaple for an Aeon Z-wave stick.
When I upgraded from HC2 to HC3, I reinstalled everything because I did not trust Fibaro’s migration.
1 Like
Hello. I have been using Fibaro for a few years. I always found the interface complicated to configure and install the devices. Plus in Argentina, where I live, they are expensive. What would be the best way to migrate? I have devices installed on blinds and lights. What brands of new devices do you recommend? Thank you so much.
Hi Trancos2002
Welcome to try a real home automation system that has lots of features that in Fibaro you could only dream of.
The only method to migrate from Fibaro is to exclude the devices from Fibaro and then include them again to your new controller. The alternative is to do a factory reset of each device before including them again.
You can easily use all your old Z-wave devices, but your controller must be equipped with a USB Z-wave stick (e.g. Aeon Z-stick).
If you want to connect new and cheaper devices, ZigBee is a great choice. Get a USB ZigBee stick (e.g. Sonoff) and you can connect HUE devices, IKEA and lots of other cheap devices and sensors. For example, I have many Aqara sensors in each room.
To get started, I recommend watching YouTube, there are lots of videos on how to install and get started with Home Assistant.
1 Like
Thanks. I installed Home Assistant in my Synology NAS. I also need a USB Z Wave stick to be able to use my Fibaro devices (and the new ones I buy)? It’s compatible with my NAS?
Or would it be better to start from scratch with a Home Assistant Green for example?
I myself have no experience with an installation on Synology NAS, but I know that many people run Home Assistant on this NAS and then advantageously installed with Docker.
And yes, a USB stick for Z-wave will work on your NAS. The connection is made in HA so your NAS will accept this. There are many brands to choose from, but the most common are probably Sonoff and Aeon.
Sorry, Sonoff is ZigBee!
There are many good videos on YouTube showing how to install Z-wave in HA so I recommend you really study these, it will save you some trouble.
Below are two example links but there is plenty to watch and learn from.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=home+assistant+synology
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=home+assistant+synology+z-wave
1 Like
Great idea Roy - thanks a lot for the inspiration and all the details you shared! 
I went on the same road trip, despite I skipped one major step. Swapping a solid metal case for a plastic case did not seem like a good idea to me. The Fibaro box offers enough space to fit in the SSD on top of the mainboard and I am very happy with this solution.
1 Like
Finally I already have an Aeon Z-stick 7 and a Sonoff Zigbee USB installed. How do I stop using Fibaro’s HomeCenter Lite and switch all devices to the new ones? Is there a post or video where someone explains the steps to follow? My idea is of course to permanently remove HC Lite from the system. Thank you so much!
@Trancos2002
There is no quick fix to convert from Fibaro to HA, so you have to re-enter all devices.
You can do what I did by excluding a device in Fibaro and then including it in HA. When that automation works, you do the same with the next device, and so on.
Then you have your old system running while building your new HA and you don’t have to shut down your home automation.
If you do not exclude the devices in Fibaro, you can do that procedure in the HA, or you can do a manual factory reset of a device.
If you use Trigger-ID in your automations, you do On and Off in the same automation. Without Trigger-ID you have to create an On and an Off automation.
Read more here…
https://www.home-assistant.io/docs/automation/trigger/#trigger-id
If you have any problems, there are plenty of videos on YouTube to learn from.
Good luck!
EDIT…
And here’s a good place to start with HomeAssistant…
1 Like
Thanks a lot. And it is possible to leave Fibaro Home Center Lite connected and configured as is and add the new devices using Aeon Z-stick 7 and a Sonoff Zigbee USB???
@Trancos2002
Yes, there is no problem with having two systems running at the same time.
The only thing to keep in mind is that when moving a unit from HCL to HA, you should first exclude them in your HCL.
You can also exclude it in HA, but it will remain in your HCL and be considered a missing unit.
Either way, you must exclude the units or do a manual factory reset of them, otherwise you will not be able to add them (include them) in your new HA system.
1 Like