I am running HASS OS on a Pi 4 B and my next goal is to get rid of all cloud stuff.
So I want to replace my Philips Hue bridge with a zigbee stick. What’s my best option to do so?
I’ve read about the Conbee II. Is this the best choice?
Will I be able to use all features of my Hue devices? Updates probably won’t work. But features like setting the behaviour of bulbs after a power loss would be nice to have.
What about other networks? Thread is here and Matter is coming as well. Are there any sticks or other hardware that support it? Is z-wave still a thing? Didn’t need it up until now but not sure if it would be necessary in the future. Are there any z-wave only sticks or only this outdated zigbee + z-wave combo stick?
Just wanting to make sure you realize that Hass communicates directly to the Hue bridge over you LAN. There is no cloud connection required. In fact, the Philips Hue App on your mobile phone communicates directly to the Hue bridge, assuming the phone and bridge are both connected to your home network.
You can even disable all Hue cloud functionality, if desired. Personally, I would not move my Hue lighting to be directly connected to Hass. The Hue integration works very well, and I appreciate the fact that the Hue bridge allows for multiple systems to be integrated at the same time. The Hue bridge also provides firmware updates to the bulbs, and allows for the configuration of the Power Loss/Restore behavior of the bulb. It is nice knowing that a small power blip in the middle of the night will not turn on all of the lights.
In the Hue App on your mobile phone, go to Settings. At the very top, disable the “Out of home control” feature.
You can also browse to https://account.meethue.com, and log in with your Hue account (if you’ve created one.) From there, you’ll see tabs across the top of the page for Account, Bridge, and Apps. Under Apps, you will see what Cloud Network integrations may be connected to you hub. You can remove those you no longer desire.
Yeah, I found it thanks!
Another reason why I would like to use a zigbee stick though is the delay I get when looking for state changes of motion sensors in HA. I’ve read that the delay is virtually 0 when using a stick.
Additionally the Hue bridge occasionally looses the connection to some non hue products I use, like Ikea Tradfri and Osram Smart Plug+.
Oh, I definitely would recommend pairing any motion and contact sensors directly to HomeAssistant. I use a Conbee2 and ZHA with a few Lowes Iris v2 sensors. I only use the Hue bridge for the bulbs.