Is Fibaro Still Alive?

[Girts 0]

I contacted Fibaro support back in May after my initial community post about an issue:

They initially responded with some suggestions, including a script to fix what they identified as an RGBW controller issue, but unfortunately, the solution didn’t work. After that, communication from their side just stopped, leaving me with a non-functioning system. I’ve tried reaching out multiple times without success, and now I’m stuck with a system that doesn’t work.

 

Is Fibaro/Nice still a functioning company?

 

 

I’ve noticed on Trustpilot that many customers are complaining about non-existent support. 

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Is Fibaro/Nice still a functional company, or is their support no longer reliable?

 

[Sankotronic 2,249]

Hi @Girts ,

 

I have read all those complaints and I do not get them seriously, at least most of them. As I mentioned, Fibaro gateways run user made scenes and virtual devices and Fibaro is not obligated to give support for those. From my experience, most of the problems I have with my HC2 are still caused by my own coding. In all these years (since 2015) I needed Fibaro support only once and it was related to the HC2 firmware update after which I had lots of ghost icons that needed removal. They helped me quickly and swiftly with that.

 

I had two times problem with most of the z-wave devices lost configuration after either new firmware update or after power loss or even after just regular reboot. But since I was making backups regularly, restoring last backup always solved that BIG problem.

 

What Fibaro is really lacking is better support for users that develop scenes, virtual devices and now QuickApps for HC3. This causes that users need to guess what is the best approach to make software for their gateways and it is then easy to fail and make software that is making more harm to the system that actually does what it suppose to do.

[Girts 0]

I completely understand that user-created scenes and virtual devices can introduce complexity, and I agree that Fibaro isn’t obligated to support custom coding issues. But this is not my case. Fibaro confirmed that there is an issue with RGBW:
 

Quote

This is a scene that removes unwanted associations with RGBW, and this is the reason for the incorrect behavior of these devices.

 

My main concern is that my issues have persisted even after implementing the solutions provided by Fibaro support, and the lack of follow-up from them has left me stranded. I’ve tried everything within my control, but the system remains unreliable. Given the investment I’ve made in this ecosystem, it’s frustrating to feel like I’m on my own, especially when I’m dealing with fundamental system problems rather than custom code issues.

 

I fully agree that better support for user-developed content would be beneficial, but right now, I’m just looking for the system to function as expected out of the box.

[Sankotronic 2,249]

Hi @Girts ,

 

yet again you are giving generic information on your problems. As I have HC2 for long time and I'm happy with it and its performance, despite some little problems that happens now and then, then I'm having trouble understanding your complaints. Most probably Fibaro support had same problem?

 

I do not believe you that you dealt with custom solutions properly. Are those solutions made by you, or you used solutions from other users?

When you say:

1 hour ago, Girts said:

I’ve tried everything within my control, but the system remains unreliable.

what do you mean? What did you actually do to solve problems, and what that problems are? let me give you some direction and what information is important for others to be able to help you:

 

1) What software version is installed on your HC2?

2) What scenes and how many scene do you have installed? Are these mostly block scenes or there are also LUA scenes?

3) How many virtual devices do you have installed and how many of them have code in the "main loop" part?

4) How many z-wave devices are included in your system? Are there any devices made by other manufacturers, preferably Aeotec or some Chinese ones? There are some devices from Aeotec and China that are known to make problems with z-wave network making system unstable. Please check this thread for more information:

5) Do you have at least some basic understanding of wireless networks, in this case of z-wave network and what can influence this network not to function properly as expected?

6) Do you have z-wave sniffer and use it to find out which of the devices is making trouble? Please see this topic for more information:

 

To conclude, we cannot held Fibaro responsible for all our free playing with our systems, placing z-wave devices far away from HC2 without thinking on making it reachable at least through one mains powered device, for buying cheap unreliable z-wave devices and for all our free playing with LUA code or even block scenes. Can you even imagine what they are facing with all those complaints without any useful information from the lazy users still expecting to get help?

 

So, invest a little time of yours and try to explain your problem if you can. If you can't then I'm sorry. maybe it is time to invest some of your free time to try to better understand Fibaro system, z-wave network and programming in LUA, but if you get there, then you will probably not have to explain to us why your HC2 is unstable since you will get it yourself. That is how I get there, by reading, learning and then solving any problems that arouse from using Fibaro solution

 

NOTE - have you noticed that I just expanded your understanding of user created scenes and VDs now to z-wave network problems which you apparently forget that can exist  

[Girts 0]

I appreciate the detailed questions, but as I mentioned earlier, I’m just an end user, not an expert or installer.

 

When people have issues with their computer or car, they typically bring it to a professional to get it fixed—they don’t dive into the manuals themselves. That’s where I’m at with my Fibaro system. I’ve encountered issues that are beyond my expertise, and I turned to Fibaro support for help, but unfortunately, they went silent.

 

What I’m really looking for is a paid support service—professional people who can log into my system, diagnose the issues, and fix them. If you know of any services or experts who can offer this kind of support, I’d really appreciate the recommendation.

[Sankotronic 2,249]

11 hours ago, Girts said:

I appreciate the detailed questions, but as I mentioned earlier, I’m just an end user, not an expert or installer.

 

Hi @Girts ,

 

I do understand your point. Where is then installer who was installing your system? Or did you do it yourself?

I still do not understand why is so difficult to answer at least first four questions? These are not questions for experts anyway, just users who know their system. Just like windows PC owners to know what version of windows is installed and what applications they use.

 

[Girts 0]

The company that originally handled the installation and configuration is no longer in business, and the people involved have moved on to other things (I’m not naming them to respect their privacy). There are some local installers who can manage basic tasks like adding or removing devices, but they’ve admitted they don’t have the expertise to debug Fibaro HC. As a result, I’ve reached out to the manufacturer for remote assistance or for recommendations on a company that truly knows how to work with Fibaro. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find one so far, so as a last resort, I’m turning to the community for help in finding someone who is truly knowledgeable about Fibaro. I’ve spent a lot of time on this, and it’s led me to feel that Fibaro is no longer a functioning company and has abandoned its clients. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
 

Regarding the specifics:

1. I have a HC2 running version 4.630. I also have backups from previous versions, dating back to 2018.

2. There are about 35 scenes, most of which are LUA scenes that control specific lights based on the time of day and the amount of ambient light. For example, at night, the LEDs in the bathroom are dimmed to an orange hue, while during the day, they are bright. Additionally, the lights are set to fade in and fade out when switched on or off. All lights are managed with Alexa and physical switches. 

3. The setup includes various devices, most are Fibaro-based and fairly standard, except for a virtual device managing Komfovent ventilation. Specifically, I have 2 wall plugs, 6 RGBWs, 12 dimmers, 2 switches, and 5 motion sensors, all from Fibaro. There is also an energy meter from Aeotec and a Heatit Z-water controller that manages 6 Uponor heads for floor heating (seems one section is not working).

I believe this covers everything, but I might have overlooked something. I'm making an effort to keep everything up to date.
 

Attached are examples of smart light scripts and Ventilation virtual device.

I can also share my full email conversation with Fibaro support until the point where they stopped responding...
 

I have been facing multiple issues with my Fibaro Home Center 2 system. Some of them appeared sooner, some later. Some were tolerated, but at this point there are so many, including critical ones, that it's not possible to tolerate it anymore. We're living in a ghost house, which does random things at random times.

The problems are as follows:

1. Lights Automatically Turning On: Sometimes when I switch off all lights, the bar lights switch on again automatically. I cannot switch them off. This might be related to load and small LED bulbs, but these lights worked correctly before the power loss.

2. Heated Floor Management: The heated floor management in one room is not working as expected. Works in all others. The controls do not respond, and the room is not heated - will be a problem in autumn.

3. Unintended Ventilation Activation: The ventilation system automatically turns on at sunset, even though there is no scene configured to do this.

4. Incorrect Lighting Control via Motion Sensors: The kitchen motion sensor unexpectedly triggers the hallway lights, even though this is not configured in any scene.

5. Master On/Off Switch Malfunction: The Master On/Off switch no longer functions as it should.

6. Issues with Physical Light Switches: In the bedroom, the physical light switch successfully turns on the lights but does not switch them off. This issue is also present in other areas where physical switches do not work properly, especially RGBW.

7. Random Activation of Scenes: The kitchen sensor randomly switches on different lights. I suspect it triggers the "Movie" scene without any input.

8. Unresponsive Physical Switches for RGBW Controllers: Several physical switches for the RGBW controllers do not react when toggled. However, they can still be controlled through the Fibaro panel.

 

Considering the complexity and the number of issues, I require technical support that can diagnose and resolve these problems remotely. I would also appreciate advice on whether upgrading to Home Center 3 might offer a more stable solution, or I should be looking into other solutions, like Homey?

 

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