# Newbie advice **URL:** \ **Category:** Questions & Help\ **Created:** [October 10, 2025, 3:37am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/newbie-advice/143962 "2025-10-10T03:37:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Robert\_Lewis](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/robert_lewis/32/121246_2.png) [@Robert\_Lewis](https://community.homey.app/u/Robert_Lewis)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2025, 3:37am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/newbie-advice/143962/1 "2025-10-10T03:37:26Z")
I am new to Homey and looking to purchase my first Homey Hub. I noticed that there is the Homey Pro and the Homey Pro Mini. I have recently upgraded my home. I did have just smart Bulbs (still got them) but now added Smart Wall switches. In the future thinking of other devices to be added. So, the number of devices is getting up there. What product do you recommend. Will the Homey Mini do what I need? There is nothing really taxing going on, so no outrageous automations. I look forward to your thoughts and comments ---
**Author:** ![dsdevries](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/dsdevries/32/80220_2.png) [@dsdevries](https://community.homey.app/u/dsdevries)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2025, 8:52am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/newbie-advice/143962/2 "2025-10-10T08:52:24Z")
For me, the power and ease of use of the Homey Pro lies in its ability to seamlessly connect to all smart devices including Matter, Thread, Zigbee, Z-wave, BLE, 433mhz and Wifi. With Homey Pro, I hardly need to think about whether a device will work or not. I have several Zigbee, z-wave and even some 433mhz devices. And I recently ordered some Switchbot CO2 air monitors which have BLE. They all just integrate without needing dongles or separate bridges. This is the main reason I chose Homey Pro over Home Assistant and I don’t really see the value of the Homey Pro Mini tbh. If you are only interested in connecting zigbee, matter or thread devices, then the mini would be a good option. But as of now, there aren’t so many matter or thread devices out there. Most of the useful devices are still either zigbee or z-wave. So in real life, you will find yourself stuck with using zigbee devices, or buying the Homey Bridge on top of it. ---
**Author:** ![Russell\_Mulcahy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/russell_mulcahy/32/120839_2.png) [@Russell\_Mulcahy](https://community.homey.app/u/Russell_Mulcahy)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2025, 9:45am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/newbie-advice/143962/3 "2025-10-10T09:45:30Z")
Weeeeell…… It’s certainly true that you need the Full Fat Homey if you want to add devices other than zigbee/matter/thread. For me though, I really didn’t need to do that and have just moved over onto a Homey Mini. I use Hue lights etc, Tapo plugs, Tado X for heating, Aqara (all sorts), Switchbot, and sundry bits and bobs - 70+ devices in all. Most of these via the various branded hubs. It’s all heavily automated and is using about 50% of the storage and 70% of the memory. Works great. I have always stuck to pretty mainstream brands and don’t mind having the Hubs where needed (I had them already), so my device choices haven’t really been limited by the mini. More seriously devoted home automation experts will, of course, want to use a wider range of devices, and want the Fat Pro. That also has extra storage, which I assume you might need if you want to install a lot of apps and device brands (I think Homey say about 20 for the Mini, I currently have 13 at 50% storage). Others may have other advice, but mine would be: - Check whether your current or likely near/mid-term devices will work with the Mini, with or without additional hubs. - Work out whether any additional kit is more than the significant price difference between Fat and Mini - if so, maybe go Fat. - If not, go Mini. You can add a Homey Bridge later if you ever _do_ need the extra radios. As you can see, it depends a lot on which exact kit you have already and whether you want to go deep into apps etc. I’m sure folk in this forum will offer good advice, if you want to share details. Cheers ---
**Author:** ![dsdevries](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/dsdevries/32/80220_2.png) [@dsdevries](https://community.homey.app/u/dsdevries)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2025, 9:56am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/newbie-advice/143962/4 "2025-10-10T09:56:00Z")
That is indeed another thing to consider. Many devices communicate via matter only through their own hubs. So if you have those hubs already, and you are fine with them, you will be able to integrate those devices into Homey Pro Mini. However, if you don’t want all of those hubs, and you want Homey Pro to replace all of the hubs and really be the center of your smart home, You really need the full Home Pro. Remember that each of those hubs, cost money too and also consume a substantial amount of power. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Kawa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/peter_kawa/32/173848_2.png) [@Peter\_Kawa](https://community.homey.app/u/Peter_Kawa)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2025, 11:49am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/newbie-advice/143962/5 "2025-10-10T11:49:23Z")
> [@Russell\_Mulcahy](#): > > If not, go Mini. You can add a Homey Bridge later if you ever _do_ need the extra radios. One big downside: the bridge is _ **wifi only** _; Now the latest Homey **finally** has an onboard ethernet connector, the extra radios will have communicate over wifi FFS! Could work fine, could be a nightmare. The Mini has half the amount of RAM (an “economic” 1GB), compared to the Pro 2023. As some (or most) of us have discovered, this quickly limits the number of apps you can run \> This is not applicable for app-less Matter devices ---
**Author:** ![Russell\_Mulcahy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/russell_mulcahy/32/120839_2.png) [@Russell\_Mulcahy](https://community.homey.app/u/Russell_Mulcahy)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2025, 12:47pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/newbie-advice/143962/6 "2025-10-10T12:47:12Z")
Hi On the Wifi: I think the Fat Pro is also Wifi, unless you buy a dongle? Which you can, of course. My Mini is via Ethernet to the router, but many of the devices are Wifi. I’ve never run the Mini to the router over Wifi but I’m not sure how much of a problem that would be for the relatively low traffic it needs. Do we know what % people have had nightmares with the bridge (or a Fat Pro on Wifi)? I’ve had to give much more attention to zigbee than Wifi coverage for the devices that I have (older house with apparently radio-opaque brick internal walls). Also, of course, that’s only an issue if you actually _need_ the bridge radios (I don’t, but Robert might, depending on his devices). On the RAM: My own experience is that I’m nowhere near using it all (see above) and have no more apps to add right now. Of course, if you have a need (or desire) for many apps it’s best to get the insurance of the extra RAM. I’m assuming that any need for a load more apps than mine would either be driven by a much bigger diversity of device brands, or wanting a lot more “automation support” type apps for power user automations? Of the latter, I only have “Countdown” and the official Homeyscript app. From Robert’s original post, it doesn’t sound like he has a lot of different device brands, nor want to make seriously nerdy automations, but that might not be true. All moot if his current lights and switches need the Fat Pro radios that the Mini doesn’t have. Cheers ---
**Author:** ![Robert\_Lewis](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/robert_lewis/32/121246_2.png) [@Robert\_Lewis](https://community.homey.app/u/Robert_Lewis)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2025, 10:36pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/newbie-advice/143962/7 "2025-10-10T22:36:45Z")
Thanks. To confirm, bulbs/globes all one type. Switches all one type. All currently connected to SmartLife. I live in Australia so the list of available smart brands is limited. But not looking at a lot of apps. So what is the primary function of the ram? ---
**Author:** ![Robert\_Lewis](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/robert_lewis/32/121246_2.png) [@Robert\_Lewis](https://community.homey.app/u/Robert_Lewis)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2025, 11:27pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/newbie-advice/143962/8 "2025-10-10T23:27:06Z")
So if I buy a Pro Mini and Gateway the. I should be covered? Since my current setup is not hat complicated ---
**Author:** ![Russell\_Mulcahy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/russell_mulcahy/32/120839_2.png) [@Russell\_Mulcahy](https://community.homey.app/u/Russell_Mulcahy)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2025, 7:27am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/newbie-advice/143962/9 "2025-10-11T07:27:15Z")
It doesn’t sound to me like the RAM size will be an issue. However, I’m not familiar with Smart Life. You’ll need to know that it works well with Homey (Mini or not) and whether the radios in the Mini are appropriate. A quick google suggests that Smart Life is actually by Tuya, and there _are_ some community Tuya apps in the Homey library, but I don’t know any more about the requirements or the reliability of those. Hopefully, someone else in the forum has experience of that and can advise you. Cheers ---
**Author:** ![Russell\_Mulcahy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/russell_mulcahy/32/120839_2.png) [@Russell\_Mulcahy](https://community.homey.app/u/Russell_Mulcahy)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2025, 7:32am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/newbie-advice/143962/10 "2025-10-11T07:32:29Z")
By chance, I just spotted this, which isn’t too promising, but there might be other opinions : [Homey bridge tuya support?](https://community.homey.app/t/homey-bridge-tuya-support/143352) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Kawa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/peter_kawa/32/173848_2.png) [@Peter\_Kawa](https://community.homey.app/u/Peter_Kawa)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2025, 11:37am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/newbie-advice/143962/11 "2025-10-11T11:37:28Z")
Tuya Cloud is the only working app for Homey Pro series, Russel The bridge as Pro Mini extension is something completely different from the bridge as Homey Cloud extension. Homey Cloud (often wrongly called Homey Bridge) can’t run Tuya apps (yet). The ‘official’ Tuya app runs, but it doesn’t allow new users \> so useless. ---
**Author:** ![Dijker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dijker](https://community.homey.app/u/Dijker)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2025, 11:38am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/newbie-advice/143962/12 "2025-10-11T11:38:39Z")
> [@Russell\_Mulcahy](#): > > It doesn’t sound to me like the RAM size will be an issue. more than 40 years of experience in computers with Memory and Storage, if you think “it will never be used” , Never will be Soon, and often before you wanted to replace a system… It you can upgrade buy what is economical and upgrade later for less. If you can’t upgrade memory/storage buy the biggest you can afford now even if extra RAM cost relative more now. ---
**Author:** ![Russell\_Mulcahy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/russell_mulcahy/32/120839_2.png) [@Russell\_Mulcahy](https://community.homey.app/u/Russell_Mulcahy)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2025, 2:01pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/newbie-advice/143962/13 "2025-10-11T14:01:02Z")
[This is a slight off-topic and philosophical reply, so @Robert_Lewis , feel free to ignore it!] Hi, Dijker I think it’s more nuanced than just “If you can’t upgrade memory/storage buy the biggest you can afford now”. Otherwise, for example, my technically limited sister-in-law’s recent (and imaginary) work bonus means I should recommend that she buy a fully stacked Mac Mini Pro over a base Mac Mini for her email and simple spreadsheets. You might, rightly, say that I’m being ridiculous, because the expected use, the pace of technology change and the expected lifetime of the Mac means she is unlikely to ever use that much memory. You could also say, rightly, that she might have better uses for the money she spent on the upgrade. I think it’s really a complicated bet based on likely usage, relative cost, lifetime of the device and what else you want to spend the money on while you don’t use the maxed memory. In my case for example, I bought a Homey Mini, as: - I have a limited need for apps. I have masses of memory headroom now, and everything works fine. It seems unlikely that I’ll suddenly need double the memory in the next year or two at least. - Pace of improvements in Home Automation have meant that I have replaced kit on a fairly regular basis. I expect that will continue! - I don’t expect to be using the same hub in 3 yrs but, if I do, a 3 year write-off of the lower price and an upgrade then is a good bet (almost certainly with other improvements and better features for the price). Mileage will obviously vary greatly for different people. For myself, I’m willing to bet you 3 Euro that whenever I replace the Hub it’s for reasons other than running out of memory. Also, I have 47 years in the industry, which means I must be right 😉 Cheers ---
**Author:** ![Robert\_Lewis](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/robert_lewis/32/121246_2.png) [@Robert\_Lewis](https://community.homey.app/u/Robert_Lewis)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2025, 12:43am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/newbie-advice/143962/14 "2025-10-12T00:43:08Z")
So going to go with the Pro and not the mini. I really apprecate all the assistance and comments I have a Two Storey home with really solid thick walls etc. Is there a benefit to adding and additonal Bridge upstairs? ---
**Author:** ![Dijker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dijker](https://community.homey.app/u/Dijker)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2025, 9:06am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/newbie-advice/143962/15 "2025-10-12T09:06:28Z")
> [@Robert\_Lewis](#): > > Is there a benefit to adding and additonal Bridge upstairs For Infrared, Bluetooth and RF433 signals, Yes it could. But for others you also could improve the signal mess with mains powered Z-wave or Zigbee devices. The the Homey bridge doesn’t have real benefit then. ---
**Author:** ![Sunil\_Desai](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/sunil_desai/32/121017_2.png) [@Sunil\_Desai](https://community.homey.app/u/Sunil_Desai)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 6:14am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/newbie-advice/143962/16 "2025-10-13T06:14:06Z")
Homey Pro is more expensive compared to Homey Pro Moni + Homey Hub. The combo provides same connectivity protocols as Homey Pro. I got the two piece version ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Kawa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/peter_kawa/32/173848_2.png) [@Peter\_Kawa](https://community.homey.app/u/Peter_Kawa)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 1:22pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/newbie-advice/143962/17 "2025-10-13T13:22:21Z")
> [@Sunil\_Desai](#): > > The combo provides same connectivity protocols as Homey Pro Almost, you forget one, imho one major, downside: Pro 2023 has all protocols are onboard; But with the Combo, z-wave/IR/Ble/433MHz need to communicate over _ **wifi** _… (the Bridge lacks a ethernet connector). This could work fine, but it also could be a nerve wrecking experience.