Why do Homeseer users still use Vera?

I have a question for @zedrally and @kigmatzomat. Why are you still looking around here being on HS. Do you still use Vera? If so why? I’ am asking because Vera’s direction is pretty clear by now and I’ am orienting on possible other platforms (not saying I will move but just like to know if a platform exist that I can use for the stuff I do).

Hi Ranneman,

I originally split your topic because your question, while well founded, it is off-topic.
Please, let’s keep things tidy by creating a new topic or a new private conversation with the two parties.

Thank you, for your understanding.

Why do I use Homeseer and stay on this forum?
You could also ask the opposite question on the HS forum…

I simply stated that HS had better a better Exclusion/Factory Reset process.
However for the record.
I have 2 production Vera’s, a Vera Lite on UI5 (never missed a beat in the years since it was commissioned) and a Edge which has gone through the numerous upgrades over the years, some with tears and some not.
I also have 1 test Vera and 1 Homeseer unit that I built from a RasPi. plus a HS windows version on an old laptop. Add to this HASS and other Z-Wave HUB free ware and it gives me a balance outlook when testing new devices prior to committing to selling them, it also gives me an idea where this micro ecosystem is heading. (I don’t confine myself to Z-Wave, WiF and RF433 features highly in the IOT).
What I have learnt so far is that Homeseer has better Maintenance functions so it’s used for exclusion-factory reset purposes, it’s also better in a commercial environment and reaction times are faster, there is little if no lag (for the present). HASS shows a lot of promise but it isn’t user friendly, while Vera is perfect for newbies’s, after all one has to start somewhere and I always recommend Vera for this.

I noticed that kingzomat has replied but his reply been deleted.

kigmatzomat kigmatzomat Atom Evangelist
September 6
He’s not lying. HS has an inclusion/exclusion process that is far faster, more reliable, works at more range…its so nice. It even tells you what is happening as it happens. Useful for battery powered devices that go to sleep halfway through pairing. The second time around you know to activate it part way through pairing.

this post was not deleted. The thread was split so it remained in the original thread.

@zedrally, Thanks for clarifying. I like Vera and it runs pretty well but I do recognize some of the problems users mention from time to time. For me Vera runs pretty stable.I have a fairly simple setup (Sonos, Honeywell Evohome (EU), MiLight, Alexa (I prefer Google as it speaks Dutch), RFXTRX (for my Somfy and Brel motors), Samsung TV, Smart Meter (Dutch development), Ping sensor and Imperihome (the old Pro version) and quite some switches, power plugs and sensors from different brands. Looking to alternatives Homeseer comes pretty close to what I’ am looking for but seems not to offer support for the Honeywell Evohome (EU) thermostat.

I would love to start using zigbee as it becomes more popular and prices are dropping (Ikea), I don’t see Vera heading into that direction yet (apart from the Hue bridge which I might give a try)

Well, I really liked Vera once upon a time. My UI5 Vera3 was rock solid and gave me no trouble. I could, and did, evangelize the platform. It could do pretty much everything Homeseer did at a fraction of the cost.

That’s not really true anymore. Their Zee is pretty price competitive with a VPlus and much cheaper than a VSecure, despite having better hardware than either. And even if HS3 was just as laggy as Vera, their hardware is basically 5x more powerful with 2x-4x more Ram, using a newer, higher performance technology. A quad core 1.2Ghz cpu could easily juggle luup, logging, plug-in load and the linux OS with no trouble. But that’s not what’s in a vera.

And, to be honest, the HS3 software is better. There are many things vera needs plugins that Homeseer just does. Counters, timers, virtual devices, scenes with if/or/else/and triggers, a gui for zwave commands that actually works, the list is pretty long.

My veraplus went from great to a constant source of frustration. My wife got mad about how things were so unreliable. I bought a homeseer unit that is way overpowered but will last me for years and years. (I was used to needing so many plugins on Verz that I got a SelPro)

So why am I still here? When I upgraded to a VeraPlus I gave my old vera3 to a friend. Now I kind of feel a little bad about that, but not too bad because he blocked it from the internet so it runs a 3yro firmware that still works.

If Ezlo hadn’t bought the company, I would only lurk occasionally to help people with random lua or pleg questions and their eventual need to migrate elsewhere.

But they did, so I stick around in the hope of pushing for better days. I am a grump, but if you check my posts during the firmware freeze, I was actually telling people to calm down and wait because bugs are hard to fix when you have painted yourself in a corner. And the lure of new features is always sexier than rock solid stability.

I think competition is good and generally raises all boats. The more local controllers are out there, the more alternatives to the panopticon clouds of Samsung/Google/Amazon/Apple. Even if I stay on Homeseer, I will ultimately benefit from Vera producing quality devices as Homeseer will need to improve in response.

And as for the Atom…well it isn’t for me. But I have thought about it and it could have a use as a cheap on ramp to home automation.

This assumes it actually does have local processing in the final firmware, of course, as otherwise people should go with smartthings and get the ecosystem advantages of a large cloud with a big company behind it.

But if it does process locally and the mobile app can control it over wifi without the internet, I see a lot of potential customers who only need a dozen zwave gadgets, some simple timers, remote control, and notifications if something looks weird. $30 is about right for “buy a zwave lock and get a free Atom” promotions.

My friend running my old vera3 only has like 7 zwave devices. He’s a good candidate. Well, other than being a paranoid former cyber security specialist. He likes the fact the vera has an ethernet port.

Your arguments make sense. What started me thinking was the eZLO development. Right now I see a risk of limited backward compatibility in the new firmware and developers are forced to upgrade whatever they have. Quite some good developers left on the migration from UI5 to UI7 as they were not really informed and involved on the changes needed. I just hope this doesn’t happen again. And as you rightfully mention it is still not really clear what cloud dependency there will be for the new platform.

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