I've just learned this lesson. I'd like local control of lights (rather than going through slow vendor phone app which uses an internet API as common point with the hub). Works well for remote control but slow and cumbersome for when at home.
Trying to gain access to the ZigBee network or hub is probably not worth the effort, compared to using a more open stack in the first place.
Back in the great AWS outage of last December, there were people who literally couldn't turn their lights on. Things like that make me want to tear every network cable out of my walls. I thought the point of all this technology was to put me in control, not sacrifice it to some computing proto-monopoly.
Did these people run "always on" sockets in their houses? Any time I have an issue, I flip the physical switch off and then on and lo and behold the lights turn on.
Good to know, thanks. I didn't know much about ZigBee so did some reading - seemed it's used for things like smart locks so I was pessimistic about it being very accessible.
Glad I mentioned it here, I now have a steer in the right direction - thanks.
Just as a tip: They are all affordable, but don’t get the cheapest stick. The more powerful the stick, the more devices it can support before it starts crapping out. There are recommendations online on which chips you want.
Trying to gain access to the ZigBee network or hub is probably not worth the effort, compared to using a more open stack in the first place.