“After several years of struggling with Vera controller, I decided to upgrade to Fibaro HC3. in comparison to Vera, it is much better in every parameter - reliability, responsiveness, user interface and more. I highly recommend this controller and although it's not cheap, I think it worth the money.”
“Having been a long time user of the HC2 I decided to upgrade to the new HC3 based on its new features and assuming that HC2 would no longer get updates. The migration process for devices worked OK but you have to re create all of your scenes. The zigbee and BLE radios are not enabled yet but I knew that was the case. I can't seem to get Alexa to work, this worked reasonably well on the HC3. The new case is much smaller and plastic, it doesn't feel like £500 worth of product. The interface is OK and it is nice and fast. I just hope the updates roll out a bit faster than they did on HC2”
“In general the user interface and setup process went very well, I cannot fault it. My issue was around advertised functionality versus reality.
HC3 is said to have inbuilt Zigbee functionality, which is currently incorrect, also, the RF 433, although in the hardware, is not supported by the current OS.
There are other issues as well in relation to the iOS application and the integration with Phillips Hue, which even though is shown on the application as being supported, they are not. You can use Alexa or similar to change the status, but not the app.
Apart from that, I love it. With the latest OS update they introduced temperature charts, which I love.
Having migrated from a Vera edge I can see it is a much better platform, just disappointed that 433Mhz doesn’t come out of the box.”
“I cut my home automation teeth with a Vera unit, moved to Indigo software because it gave me more flexibility and control.
then I took delivery of my shiny new home centre 3, and wow so far this unit is good, it's stable, intuitive and very fast, a pleasure to use!
so in summary, after a week or so setting up stuff I'm a very happy bunny, ok price could best be described as 'considered' if I'd known what I know now when I started, I feel sure I would have opted for one of these years ago (ok home centre 2 at the time) it would have saved workarounds, frustration and of course the cost of two units which simply not as good as this one.
I very rarely write reviews but feel this unit deserves one”
“I’m upgrading from a Home Center 2 and the new hardware is certainly more powerful, quicker and uses more up to date Zwave with far better range. However at time of writing you are an early adopter, there is still lots for Fibaro to do improve the software. I prefer the new interface. The quick apps concept works really well, Under the hood there are options to seriously expand its capabilities, such as ZigBee built in. However at the moment, its great for standard ZWave devices and normal functionality, but if your needs are even slightly more challenging, be prepared to put more work in. A HC3 is a device that should last for years, and I have bet on it becoming increasingly useful as Fibaro and the community around the HC3 expands its capabilities and ease of use.”
“This is a major upgrade, and a lot has changed not just the hardware. It looks sleek and more modern appliance. The guts have been changed considerably (See specifications), but some features, ZigBee network for instance are not yet enabled. Some working devices in HC2 no longer work correctly, The Interface is a major change but for the better, IMHO. QuickApps is a move sideways, somethings better some a step back, but once again it has a lot of hope,
I have suggested that this is a beta product at this time and not gold standard which it should be for the money.
It seems to have lost capacity to talk to a a Home Center Lite
I have fully migrated my own HC2 to HC3 (Greenfield install not migration provided).
Read all you can on https://forum.fibaro.com as there is some very good advice and pointers here.
Overall, I feel I made a good decission and Fibaro have been very responsive to my many support emails on the new HC3.”
“I was newbie at Smart Home system, and first I have bought Zipato Zipattile 2 Z-wave controller, but I was struggle to configure it. Product support, community is dead.
After this bad experience, I have pre-order from Vesternet Fibaro Home Center 3... And that's one of the best my choice!
This devices have so nice and easy UI, when you turn on the device it's very easy to configure it. Absolutely perfect controller which I recommend to buy for everyone who would like to have smart home system based on Z-wave.”
