[OBSOLETE] FAQ: Migrating to an Aeotec Hub (21 Oct 21 Guide from Aeotec)

Wiki FAQ
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Aeotec has published a guide on how to migrate from a Smartthings Hub to an Aeotec hub, with different instructions based on the ST hub model number. Note in particular the zigbee channel guidelines, which are for compatibility with older ZHA Devices.

@jkp @Automated_House @HalD

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Thanks for sharing @JDRoberts, this section was particularly good to know:

If you have either a SmartThings V2 or V3 hub, you can easily migrate all your devices using SmartThings migration tool. This tool is not exposed publically, but you can contact SmartThings support to get your hub migrated over.

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Why would someone with a v2 or v3 SmartThings hub buy an Aeotec hub? That migration makes no sense.

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The Aeotec hub defaults to Zigbee channel 25 and their support article says:

  1. Select one of these channels: 14, 15, 19, 20, or 24 .
  • We recommend Channel 24 .

That is a bad recommendation to make. This seems to have been written by someone with no Zigbee interference experience.

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I can think of some scenarios, although the most common would be that the old hub failed and then the article won’t help.

Also note that the article also covers the hub equivalents that were retired this year, the ADT and the Nvidia shield, so that part was definitely relevant.

As far as the others, I can think of a few possibilities, although admittedly it may not happen often.

  1. they’re going to give the old one to someone else and they want the newest one for themselves

  2. they’re concerned about EOL for the V2 and they found a good deal on the Aeotec and decided to go ahead. So future proofing.

  3. they write a blog

  4. they’re adding a second hub to their location and decided they want the new one to be the main one with their current end devices

  5. they are moving out and they are leaving behind the old hub and a few of the devices but are taking some of the devices with them to a new place with the new hub. Think roommate moving out.

Like I said, I know none of these are very common, but they could happen. Choice is good. :wink:

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I have to respectfully disagree. The recommendation has nothing to do with interference. It has to do with the fact that the Aeotec hub is defaulted to zigbee channel 25, but that is a Zigbee ZLL/3.0 channel and many of the older ZHA devices don’t support it. So when you go to add the older device to a new hub the hub can find the end device but the end device cannot hear the hub. this is one of the main reasons people have reported that some of their old Zigbee devices don’t work with the new hub.

So I would consider this a very good recommendation, but it is one that is specific to migration, not to QOS.

I think the person who wrote this knew quite a bit about Zigbee, if they knew enough to know that older devices might work on channel 24 but not channel 25.

Submitted with respect.

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This is why I consider it. I have a hub that’s six years old. I know it won’t last forever, so do I keep what works well now until it fails? Or do I chance the migration to a new hub and chance the issues that might bring? I’d rather try to migrate before the hub dies, but I’m just not sure what the magic number is as far as that.

And thanks for the info! One of the things that’s been concerning me is the lack of anything that really talked about the migration tool in a solid way (aside from mentions of it on here).

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