Migrating Between Ecosystems
When Migration Makes Sense
Switching ecosystems is a major undertaking, and it should not be done lightly. But sometimes it is the right move. Maybe your current platform is being discontinued (as happened with Wink and Iris). Maybe you have outgrown a basic platform and need more advanced automation. Maybe you are consolidating from multiple platforms into one. Or maybe your platform has shifted in a direction you disagree with, like adding subscription fees for features that used to be free.
Before committing to a migration, honestly assess the pain. How many devices do you have? How many automations? How many household members will need to relearn things? A migration from a simple setup with 10 devices and a few automations is an afternoon project. Migrating a mature system with 80 devices and 50 automations could take weeks of evenings.
Planning Your Migration
A successful migration starts with documentation. Before you change anything, create a complete inventory of your current setup:
- Device inventory: List every device with its name, location, protocol (WiFi, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth), manufacturer, and model. Note which devices are protocol-locked to your current platform (some devices only work with specific hubs).
- Automation inventory: Document every automation, including its trigger, conditions, and actions. Screenshots are faster than writing them out. You will recreate these on the new platform.
- Integration inventory: List every third-party service your smart home connects to: voice assistants, IFTTT, music services, calendar integrations, and any cloud-to-cloud connections.
- User inventory: Note which family members have access, what devices they primarily use, and which voice assistant they rely on. Their experience during and after migration matters.
The Parallel Running Strategy
The biggest mistake people make during migration is trying to do it all at once by ripping out the old system and setting up the new one from scratch over a weekend. This almost always results in a period where nothing works, frustrated family members, and shortcuts taken under time pressure.
Instead, run both systems in parallel. Set up your new platform alongside the existing one. Migrate devices one room at a time, starting with the least critical room. Keep the old system running for everything not yet migrated. This approach has several advantages: you always have a working system, you can take your time getting the new setup right, and you can compare the old and new behavior side by side.
A typical parallel migration for a 50-device home might look like this:
- Week 1: Set up the new hub or platform. Migrate one room (like a guest bedroom) with a few devices. Build the automations for that room on the new platform.
- Week 2-3: Migrate common areas one at a time: living room, kitchen, hallway. Rebuild automations as you go. Have family members test and provide feedback.
- Week 4: Migrate remaining rooms. Update voice assistant integrations. Test all automations.
- Week 5: Run both systems for a full week with everything on the new platform. Fix any issues that surface. Decommission the old system only after you are confident.
Handling Protocol-Specific Migration Challenges
WiFi devices are the easiest to migrate because they connect directly to your network and are usually controlled through their own cloud service. Most WiFi devices work with multiple platforms. You typically just add the device to your new platform using its existing cloud account. The device does not need to be reset or re-paired.
Zigbee devices can only be paired to one hub at a time. To move a Zigbee device to a new hub, you need to factory reset it (which unpairs it from the old hub) and then pair it to the new one. The good news is that Zigbee is a standard protocol, so most Zigbee devices work with most Zigbee hubs. The exception is devices that use proprietary Zigbee profiles, like some older Hue bulbs that only work with the Hue bridge.
Z-Wave devices must be formally excluded from the old hub before being included in the new one. Z-Wave has a specific exclusion process that tells the device to forget its current hub. If you skip this step and try to factory reset instead, you may end up with ghost nodes in your old hub's Z-Wave network that cause problems until they are cleaned up.
Matter devices make migration significantly easier. Matter supports multi-admin, meaning a device can be paired to multiple platforms simultaneously. You can add a Matter device to your new platform without removing it from the old one, then remove it from the old platform when you are ready. This is one of the strongest arguments for buying Matter-compatible devices going forward.
Recreating Your Automations
Automations rarely translate one-to-one between platforms because each platform has different capabilities, different terminology, and different ways of structuring logic. Rather than trying to replicate your old automations exactly, use the migration as an opportunity to improve them.
Start by migrating only the automations you actually use and value. Most people have accumulated automations they created months ago that they have since disabled or that never worked well. Skip those. Focus on the automations your household depends on daily.
Build each automation on the new platform from scratch based on its intended behavior, not its old implementation. Your new platform may offer a simpler or more elegant way to achieve the same result. It may also support additional conditions or actions that make the automation more reliable.
Communicating with Your Household
The most overlooked aspect of migration is communication with the people who live with you. A smart home is a shared system, and changes affect everyone. Warn household members before you start migrating. Explain what will change and what will stay the same. If voice commands will change (different wake word, different command phrasing), practice the new commands together.
During migration, expect some frustration. Things that used to work will temporarily not work. Have patience with family members who preferred the old way, and be open to feedback about the new setup. The goal is a system that works for everyone, not just the person who set it up.