Hello Homey,
I am a fan of Homey and I have owned the 2019 Pro version for some years now. All is working great with it. The recent releases, e.g. the energy metering device and the software support for it only available in the newer Homey versions make me to consider upgrading. However, it is not all that simple for me.
Here are the things which are important for me to have after the upgrade, based on what I am using now and what improvements I would like to have:
Straight migration from 2019 to 202x, so that all devices (and flows using them) are migrated without the need to add any of them to the new Homey. I use, in order of priorities:
Z-wave devices from Fibaro and Aeotec (security sensor, power plugs, alarm sirens, buttons)
433 MHz Somfy sun screens
Several Wifi based communication devices based on custom apps.
Zigbee devices, primarily bulbs
Focus on reliable offline mode. Ethernet cable preferred over wifi, but wifi could be a secondary protocol as a failover.
I use Heimdall app for security and I rely on voice communication about the status - arming, disarming, user presence. Homey 2019 has a built in speaker, which makes the solution most reliable. I need a solution for voice communication from Heimdall for a newer Homey, which should NOT use wifi or ethernet, and with very low power draw. Ideal would be a Homey with a speaker built in, same like in 2019. Alternatively, a Homey with audio output cable.
You are right. I will update my post. I use the âSunway Window Coveringsâ app, and I could swear it was showing the 8xx Mhz in the tooltip when hovering on the supported devices, the last time I checked - now it shows 433 MHz. I connect directly from homey to the devices, without any additional hubs. The âSomfy RTSâ app shows 433 Mhz, which is the correct frequency.
No clue what âreliable offline modeâ should be. Pull the plug would be very reliable.
Thatâs the default mode when connected to ethernet.
Do order an ethernet dongle along with a Pro2023
Speakers and stuff I know use (W)LAN, Bluetooth or cable.
AFAIK thereâs no Bluetooth speaker interface
I also never read about any (USB breakout) audio cable option.
Is there an official documentation about how to migrate, with a list of what does and doesnât work? The links you provided are to forum posts, with issue reports all over.
Apart from the migration, the audio support seems to be a problem. How can it be that the philosophy of Homey is to always work offline, while at the same time getting voice communication from Homey (as part of a security system setup with Heimdall app) requires WIFI connection to external devices, which require separate power supply and operational WIFI network at minimum?
The problem with official documentation by Athom: very often all things which can go wrong arenât mentioned.
The exact reason I linked to the post of @Dijker , for you to be prepared what actually could go wrong, reported by real Homey users.
I shared exactly one link to a very clear post by @Dijker , you appear to not (have) read the complete post:
They mean âoffline, without interaction whatsoeverâ.
(Marketing persons tend to leave out all âconsâ and small disclaimers, but you shouldnât be shocked by this news?)
Like, when you have a house full of zigbee/bluetooth/z-wave/433MHz motion sensors, which turn on z-wave/zigbee lights through Homey, itâll work perfectly fine offline.
Thatâs how you should look at âHomey always works offlineâ
Homey is a nice gadget, a toy which can work very well when you configure everything right.
When you seriously think to use it as security centerâŚ
I really wouldnât recommend to use it for (life) critical appliances. Itâs just too flaky.
My support ends here. Enjoy your Homey 2023 if you decide to purchase one.
Just my to centsâŚ
Iâve âmigratedâ dozens of times between versions and different systems, starting with Vera maybe 15 years agoâŚ
Iâve been thru Vera, Fibaro, Homey 2019, SmartThings, Homey 2023, Homeseer, IKEA, HueâŚ
Iâve never been able to do any migration that actually worked except restoring a backup on an identical system.
From my point of view this is due to the huge variety of âstandardsâ, lacking quality of drivers, constant fiddling by suppliers, lack of firmware updates, bugs and quirksâŚ
So since the last few years I do gradual moves, shifting to new systems as they appear and prove themselves. Currently my new main system is Homey 2023, but I still have things on Homeseer and SmartThings. Iâve realized that the only way to use IKEA stuff in a problem free way is to use their gateway as a Matter bridge. I kept my Homey 2019 for quite long in parallel because at the start Homey 2023 was simply to buggy to trust with running some more critical stuff.
