Switching away from Fibaro (lost 2 years :) )

[Guest lochnesz]

But do it on the Indigo forum

It should maybe be on "FORUM FIBARO Forum Index » FIBARO INTERNATIONAL » Other topics", but definitely on the Fibaro forum. Keep in mind that Fibaro is more than the controllers. This thread also covers compatibility between Fibaro endpoints and another Z-wave controller. The good news about this is that Fibaro endpoints are compatible with Indigo.

Also, from my point of view, I can't be a member on every Z-wave forum, but I would still like to know if anyone has something to share about other Z-wave products. I had no clue about Indigo before I read this, so I appreciate the thread.

People who don't want this information have the freedom to simply not read the thread - it is as simple as that.

[Guest bozman]

shapa how is your experiance now with indigo?

After your post on this which I'm appreciate your sharing with us, how is things now?

[budda 5]

The Indigo6 mobile app support seems a bit lacking according to the reviews at

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Such as:

"Their home automation software for the Mac is…. ok. Nothing special, certainly nothing great compared to the Windows home automation software, and only SLIGHTLY better than the open source stuff out there… for now. I’m exclusively Mac BTW,. They haven’t updated this iOS app in FOUR YEARS. It’s not the right size for the iPhone 5+ screens, and at the MINIMUM they could have added geolocation to the app that would work with their desktop software. I have to buy another service and do fairly complicated programming to know if I’m home or not? I can write an app that has geolocation features, and is the right size for the newer screens in literally under two hours. To right an app that works with their software it probably wouldn’t take more than 5 days at most since it’s just a layer on top of their web server software. I rarely write reviews, but I will never upgrade my software with this company again. This was state of the art four years ago. Every new home automation device you see that comes out is much, much more up to date, even considering all of the scripting and and advanced features Indigo has. If you’re downloading this app you obviously already have paid for Indigo. Stop the cycle until they actually do something that really innovates."

[Guest bozman]

budda thanks for the feedback, do you have another suggestion?

[budda 5]

budda thanks for the feedback, do you have another suggestion?

I couldn't find one, they are all lacking in some way it seems.

OpenHAB looks nice, but lacks full zwave network management for add/remove devices etc.

On the plus side the Indigo Touch 2.0 is top priority to release due to ios 8. So it's coming... (Hopefully faster than from Poland)

[OnnoH 1]

I switched over to Indigo and indeed the outlook of Indigo Touch leaves somewhat to be desired, but it gets the job done.

Support is by far superior to Fibaro, because of a smaller team and, more important, a steady base.

As budda states: The app should be top of mind.

[fergalmccarthy 5]

I'm a long time Indigo user and my control pages are now far better that I have some nicer icons, let me know if you need them to make yours look better

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[Guest lochnesz]

fergalmccarthy, I am planning on switching from fibaro to indigo, and would appreciate your icons

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[TimJWatts 4]

To be fair, this is a bit "apples" and "oranges".

Indigo assumes you happen to have a Mac lying around, powered 24/7 and able to stay there. So a server or a small desktop of some sort.

Seeing as most Mac users I know have the laptop form, basing HA software on MacOSX seems odd.

The Fibaro is a self contained box.

So I do think claiming one is an alternative for the other is a bit dodgy. Indigo is no good to me for a start (no Mac)

[UrSv 6]

So I do think claiming one is an alternative for the other is a bit dodgy. Indigo is no good to me for a start (no Mac)

Same for me. The idea of buying a Mac Mini to run my home automation is wrong in so many ways. A self-contained box which is updated in a controlled manner is the only way for me, be it Fibaro or any other. I even tried the RaZberry but realized within a few days that would not be a usubale system so I switched to Fibaro after reading around here and other places and have been happy ever since. I love the web interface and the apps.

[TimJWatts 4]

It wouldn't be so bad if they packaged an HA solution as a virtual appliance - eg a VMWare blob. It's not so efficient, but it would make it easy to deploy it on top of a suitable existing server no matter what OS it was running (as long as VMWare can host itself on said server). And VMWare Player is free (for non commercial use).

I'm glad you mentioned the RaZberry - I was considering this.

So far, irritations aside, Fibaro Lite seems to have the makings of a reasonable low end system. What it lacks in the core is compensated for with the API.

I kinda like the idea that the core will manage to run simple programs all the time - and the API means I can hack data out of it to run through a larger system for better processing (eg graphing). If the larger system goes offline, the basics still run.

[fergalmccarthy 5]

To me there is no comparison. Most Indigo users , like myself run a Mac mini. What that gives you is so much more than a HC2 for similar investment. Mine is also a Plex Media server, distributed to 2 TV's, recording of my IP camera and filtering of images with Sighthound. A full OS gives you so many more scripting languages, mind you the HC2 could do the same if it wasn't locked down. I have my Somfy RTS transmitter connected to Mac and Blind control without the need for an additional HW. Also have an RFXTRXE so you can far more device support.

Not sure how you can think the investment in a Mac Mini is not worth it. The only benefit that the HC2 has over Indigo, is that it will heat your house if your heating fails with the amount of heat that comes off the box.

[ Added: 2014-11-22, 18:43 ]

So I do think claiming one is an alternative for the other is a bit dodgy. Indigo is no good to me for a start (no Mac)

Same for me. The idea of buying a Mac Mini to run my home automation is wrong in so many ways. A self-contained box which is updated in a controlled manner is the only way for me, be it Fibaro or any other. I even tried the RaZberry but realized within a few days that would not be a usubale system so I switched to Fibaro after reading around here and other places and have been happy ever since. I love the web interface and the apps.

What controlled way is this ? Are you talking about how seamlessly the transition from V3 to V4 is going ? I honestly cannot believe you are using that as an argument point and trying to say that Fibaro is updated in a structured way. So a box that can do one thing, and cannot leverage the USB ports or do anything else is better than a multifunctional box ? Seriously.

[Guest David R]

I find it quite strange that most active forum users are the ones that say they hate Fibaro and dont use them but hang out and post all day on the Fibaro forum?

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[TimJWatts 4]

I find it quite strange that most active forum users are the ones that say they hate Fibaro and dont use them but hang out and post all day on the Fibaro forum?

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LoL

Having tried the "competition" Fibaro seems pretty reasonable and that's from someone who's had it for 2 days (though I run IT systems so am rather used to getting a new device and hacking on it in short order)

I do have a couple of problems, but they are not show stoppers.

[fergalmccarthy 5]

I don't hate fibaro at all, made a large investment in hardware, but what so many forget is that this is a fibaro forum, not a HC2 forum

[Guest David R]

I have some issues but im on v4 beta. Im yet to see a home automation system that doesn't have little bugs and issues...control4...niko....lutron....Elan etc.

[UrSv 6]

What controlled way is this ? Are you talking about how seamlessly the transition from V3 to V4 is going ? I honestly cannot believe you are using that as an argument point and trying to say that Fibaro is updated in a structured way. So a box that can do one thing, and cannot leverage the USB ports or do anything else is better than a multifunctional box ? Seriously.

I think it is safe to say that our views on this differ significantly

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/emoticons/default_smile.png" alt=":)" srcset="https://forum.fibaro.com/uploads/emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> The multifunction argument for Mac Mini can probably be important for some but then it's not really mainstream home automation IMHO and to be honest I cannot see how that could be a commercial platform for installers and professional installations. It's just sounds like toys to me. Sure it is a great platform for the nerdy tinkerer but I for one would not call it a reliable platform if it is open to the end user the way the Mac Mini and Indigo is. And in my particular case, but most likely completely irrelevant for most other people, I would never trust ANYTHING in my home to a company like Apple let alone buy any of their products.

In my opinion the transition from 3.x to 4.x has not happened yet as the 4.x software has not been released yet. The day when it IS released I can perhaps comment on it better, right now I'm using a Beta release. So far the road towards a 4.x release has been a bumpy but steadily progressing ride. This also IMHO.

Like I've said before I'm new to this since buying my RazBerry a year ago (which was replaced by a HC2 a week later). During this time I can't recall having a single shop stopper for using my system. Sure, some stuff has been less than rock solid stable and sometimes not even close especially using Betas where it obviously should be expected.

I do see people here having problems with which I fully sympathize but it seems a large part of these do not really understand exactly what they are doing (and I'm one of them but I realize that I don't understand) and are upset that the system doesn't do what they want. In this case I don't mean the advertised functionality which obviously sometimes is using present tense in it's most generous sense. Some people complain all the time that the system doesn't do this or that where there is no obligation that the system should. If a device is not supported then that is obviously a bummer but something shared with all other platforms and nothing that one can "demand" or sometimes even expect. One can obviously wish that all devices will be supported but is unlikely they ever will be.

Not in respons to your post but in general:

I just can't believe how many experts there are here that know EXACTLY how Fibaro should run their business, development schedules, testing procedures, releases and all other parts of the company. I obviously have an opinion (after all they are like b*tt holes, everybody has one) but since I have absolutely no insight whatsoever into the activities, economics, personnel, marketing strategies, bugs, external obstacles or other stuff that Fibaro is having to spend their time on I really can't find myself in a position to scold at them for not doing it the way I want. It's none of my business and if I don't like then fine. It's their choice and business and if I make requests or wishes I can't really expect that any of them will be granted. I also try to make sure that my contribution here doesn't waste time for FIBARO as that for sure will not speed up releases making sure they spend lot's of time on things that do not move things forward even the slightest.

[fergalmccarthy 5]

David not saying Indigo/all the others do not have issues, however there are glaring issues with the HC2 that V4 will not fix. There is still a major issue with the USB recovery key, having to send the whole unit, at your own expense, to Poland to have it recovered is ridiculous. The pace of development is far too slow for a company the size of Fibaro and with the aspirations that they have, i don't think anyone can argue with that. V4 only introduces the option of plugins, that puts the HC2 years behind other systems. Needing additional HW such as Pi to attach external hardware when there are perfectly good usb ports on the system is just insane to me. I think that not utilising they underlying Linux OS is a major mistake.

[Guest David R]

My only issue is that I think they could expand block scenes to be a lot more functional to say if this.. then that..or if the time is between..etc.. rather than needing LUA. Apart from nothing out there better for the price.

[fergalmccarthy 5]

I think it is safe to say that our views on this differ significantly

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/emoticons/default_smile.png" alt=":)" srcset="https://forum.fibaro.com/uploads/emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> The multifunction argument for Mac Mini can probably be important for some but then it's not really mainstream home automation IMHO and to be honest I cannot see how that could be a commercial platform for installers and professional installations. It's just sounds like toys to me. Sure it is a great platform for the nerdy tinkerer but I for one would not call it a reliable platform if it is open to the end user the way the Mac Mini and Indigo is. And in my particular case, but most likely completely irrelevant for most other people, I would never trust ANYTHING in my home to a company like Apple let alone buy any of their products.

Not sure what your history with Apple is, but I can only say I've never had a moments trouble with the 3 mac minis and 2 mac book pro's i've had. Apple software is some of the most stable and yes there have been some issue of late mostly iOS, but nothing that has caused any issues for me.

I'm also not sure what you are looking for from a HA system, but I would imagine anyone that is buying HC2 is doing so because they are not millionaires and cannot afford a system like Control 4 or the higher end systems. I work in IT so for me, the tinkering is most of the fun, getting it working, and being confident in the reliability, which has never been the case with the HC2. I've not used HC2 long enough, as my experiences with V3 with dead nodes and V4 betas has not been good. I invested a lot of money in almost all Fibaro hardware, bought into the "firmware upgrades" for the devices. I've yet to come across anyone where there device firmware has actually been upgraded. How is this controlled/handled , how do you know there is new firmware for your devices, its a bit silly to be honest how this is handled.