zigbee devices?

[wkearney99]

Now that Philips has made it clear how poorly they're going to support 3rd party devices, it makes me want to look into alternatives. 
 
What, if any, alternatives exist for a hub with zigbee?
 
That and are there any zigbee outlets, in-line or plug-in devices?  Ones known to have worked with the Hue stuff before Philips' dick moves?

 

[ano]

I can't speak for Philips, but most hubs support Zigbee. Wink, SmartThings, Smartenit, etc. 
 
I like this company for Zigbee products:  http://smartenit.com/shop/zigbee/zigbee-home-automation/
 
I have about 15 GE Zigbee lightbulbs all controlled directly from my Omni Pro II.  (They only dim, no colors) but for $12 each they7 are a bargin. 
 
But DO keep in mind, Zigbee has several profiles: Home Automation which is the one I use, Energy, and Light Link that controls colored bulbs.  They aren't interchangeable with each other.  Philips might use Light Link but i'm not sure. The Cree and GE bulbs use the HA profile, as does the Omni.

 

[jkmonroe]

all of the Philips Living Whites work with the Hue bridge.  im pretty sure ive read the Osram plugs do as well, but you need to verify that (and im not sure they're available in the US).
 
GE released quite a few zigbee devices like outlets and switches, but im not sure of their compatibility.
 
Centralite also uses zigbee, so perhaps there is something in that product line that could do what you're looking for.
 
im in the same boat as you right now, but i havent had enough time to do more serious research.  on a good note, Hue reversed their decision and is releasing firmware this week that rolls back the changes they made.

 

[wkearney99]

 Hue reversed their decision and is releasing firmware this week that rolls back the changes they made.

 
NO!  This is not entirely correct.  Apparently they're still not including any 3rd party bulbs that previously worked, at least NOT in the Homekit portion of the hub's firmware.  This is still a sham.  Those bulbs worked just fine, both with Hue and Homekit apps. 
 
This dovetails into my inquiry regarding other hubs.  It's rather tragic some asshat at Philips has gone down this road.  They'd have been able to remain the go-to choice for a zigbee-light hub interface.  Now, with their clearly devious weaseling, they're not worth trusting long-term.

 

[jkmonroe]

do you have a source for that?  right from the horses mouth, unless im missing something between the lines ...
 
http://www.developers.meethue.com/content/friends-hue-program-update
 
the update should be out today.
 
i didnt think there were two firmware versions, but maybe im wrong on that one.  i only have the 1.0 bridge.
 
i found the information.  i didn't realize that this was a thing, but that doesn't surprise me.

 

[Neurorad]

Why not RA2 lamp dimmers?

 

[wkearney99]

Why not RA2 lamp dimmers?

 
Variety, support within other hub/software environments... and last but certainly not least, price.  
 
Especially if I'm looking at configuring spare devices for seasonal lighting and such.  For the price of one RA2 unit I'm likely getting three of just about anything else.  I'd consider Caseta, but that's very nearly worse than just going with a whole other brand/protocol.  
 
Of course, Lutron could pull their heads out of their asses and own up to Caseta being just rebadged RA2 gear, but breath holding, I am not.
 
This is not just for my own use here at the house.  I've got a few other locations that have no automation at all, yet.

 

[ano]

NO!  This is not entirely correct.  Apparently they're still not including any 3rd party bulbs that previously worked, at least NOT in the Homekit portion of the hub's firmware.  This is still a sham.  Those bulbs worked just fine, both with Hue and Homekit apps. 
 
This dovetails into my inquiry regarding other hubs.  It's rather tragic some asshat at Philips has gone down this road.  They'd have been able to remain the go-to choice for a zigbee-light hub interface.  Now, with their clearly devious weaseling, they're not worth trusting long-term.

“We recently upgraded the software for Philips Hue to ensure the best seamless connected lighting experience for our customers. This change was made in good faith. However, we under estimated the impact this would have on a small number of customers who use lights from other brands which could not be controlled by the Philips Hue software. In view of the sentiment expressed by our customers, we have decided to reverse the software upgrade so that lights from other brands continue to work as they did before with the Philips Hue system.”

 

[wkearney99]

I don't have the link at the moment, but I've read elsewhere that they've not carried forward previous support for devices on the Homekit part of the firmware.  It's not a complete back-track to previous functionality.

 

[ano]

They have a very valid concern that third-party lights don't always work will with their hub.  They launched a “Hue Partnership” program, but the problem was there still lots of bulbs not working correctly, so they tried to block these bulbs before the backlash started, and then they reversed direction.
 
The Homekit problem was different, according to them:
http://www2.meethue.com/en-us/update
 
Is this true?  Who knows and maybe Apple had as much about stopping this as Philips did.  It certainly true that Apple doesn't follow the Light Link standard and a company is not required to follow the standard. This is more an Apple problem than a Philips problem, and will get worked out over time.  I could say the same thing about Control4 that it makes me mad that they don't follow the Zigbee HA standard, so I guess it must be all Leviton's fault that i can't use Control4 Zigbee devices with my Omni controller. NOPE like with Philips that isn't true at all.  NOTHING is going to be compatible with Homekit and Control4 unless these companies allow it and it is them that decided not to open up, not the other way around.

 

[jkmonroe]

i just gave in and got new lights to replace my 3rd party bulbs.  cost me a whopping $190 (i was actually surprised at how many Links i had).
 
i mean, all things considered, the current pricing of the 3rd party bulbs and the Hue White is identical, so it's a non-issue moving forward.
 
for those of us that already have installs, just go out and replace them.  we've all blown more than that on things that sit unused in a box somewhere.  
 
:horse:

 

[pete_c]

Had a look this morning at the Almond + and how it has evolved some from 2014.  It does play well with Z-Wave and Zigbee. 
 
Works with Almond
 
Not wanting to beat a dead horse (or flogging a dead horse or beating a dead dog) relating to that whole Christmas lighting stuff here do keep the old X10 outdoor / indoor modules in a box with the Christmas decorations and today prefer to just spend the time decorating and using old technology that works fine for me.