Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Smart Home
  3. News

Hubitat swoops in to save Lowe’s Iris smart home devices from extinction

Clayton Moore
By

Smart home devices apparently don’t have the lasting attraction of hammers and nails. On Sunday, March 31, Lowe’s announced that its Iris-branded smart home devices were becoming defunct and the company pulled the plug on the platform. But one clever manufacturer seems to have saved the day. Hubitat announced that it would continue to support the devices, which include contact sensors, motion sensors, plug-in outlet, key fobs, and other connective gizmos through its recently released Hubitat Elevation home automation hub.

Late adopters were able to connect their Iris devices if they were using second or third-generation Iris devices but Lowe’s first-gen device users were going to be out of luck. That is, until Hubitat started tinkering with the devices and the back end of the Hubitat Elevation software. In a release, the company says that after just two weeks, it had developed a working prototype and even showed a proof of concept in a YouTube video.

Recommended Videos

It was a bold move and one that should attract the hundreds of inquiries Hubitat has received from Iris users with first-generation devices. The engineering team at the company has already integrated the home automation platform and included the fix in a new software release last week.

Related

“We are doing the impossible, supporting Iris Version 1 Zigbee sensors on a platform that doesn’t require the cloud or an internet connection to work,” Patrick Stuart, vice president of Product and Business Development said in a statement. “We have an experienced yet scrappy team that just doesn’t take no for an answer.”

Hubitat released the next generation of the Hubitat Elevation home automation hub the first week of February, so it’s a fairly new device in the smart home market. Part of the hub’s attraction is in its wide range of compatibility with Zigbee and Z-Wave radio-enabled devices. The device is also compatible with digital assistants including Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, as well as standard smart home protocols including Zigbee, Z-Wave, Lutron, LAN, and cloud-connected smart home devices. While Hubitat isn’t the best-known smart home platform out there, the company recently launched a national advertising campaign to explain to potential customers how the Hubitat Elevation works.

As a mea culpa from Lowe’s, first-gen Iris device owners were offered prepaid Visas for their sensors. Those who hung onto them can now use their apology cash to buy Hubitat Elevation. The company has even offered a carrot for their newly acquired Iris customers, putting the $150 device on their website for a cool $100, with free shipping included.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Clayton Moore
Clayton Moore
Contributor
Clayton Moore’s interest in technology is deeply rooted in the work of writers like Warren Ellis, Cory Doctorow and Neal…
During spring cleaning, don’t forget smart home security
A physical lock placed on a keyboard to represent a locked keyboard.

With warmer weather sweeping across the nation, folks around the country are using spring as a time to clean their homes and declutter all the junk they’ve accumulated during the dark, dreary winter months. And while organizing your home is a great way to ring in the spring, consider taking a few minutes to perform a bit of smart home spring cleaning, too.

From upgrading your gadgets and changing your passwords to enabling two-factor authentication and performing software updates, here are a few ways to expand your spring cleaning chores to your smart home.

Read more
What is Google Home?
Image of Google Home, 16:9 scale

Google Home is at the heart of Google’s smart home ecosystem. From video doorbells and security cameras to smart thermostats and smart speakers, Google Home gives you the versatility needed to control everything in your house. There’s a lot of nuance to the system, but getting started is simple -- just download the Google Home app to your smartphone, sync a compatible device, and you’re ready to start optimizing your daily routines.

Here's a closer look at everything you need to know about Google Home.
What is Google Nest, and how does it work with Google Home?

Read more
Apple might launch a HomePod smart display in 2024
Apple HomePod 2023 in a home office.

Apple just launched the revised HomePod earlier this year, but rumors are already swirling about the company’s next big smart home launch. And if the speculation is true, we could be seeing a radically new type of HomePod hit the market in early 2024.

The rumors come from industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. According to Kuo, the upcoming HomePod will feature a seven-inch touchscreen panel and would be designed to allow easier integration with other products in the Apple lineup. In other words, it sounds like a smart display -- which isn’t revolutionary, but it would be the first smart display produced by Apple.

Read more