There are ways to access Alexa from HA without any subscriptions.
Alexa Devices a native HA integration.
a. It brings you Alexa devices into HA. You can use this to send voice notifications on your speakers
b. It imports any Alexa routines you have built in the Alex app. And you can use them as Scenes in HA automations
Matter Hub, an a community created app. It can turn most devices residing in HA into Matter devices that can be imported in SmartThings, Alexa, Google, etc. Then you can use voice commands to operate those devices. The nice thing is you only need to expose the devices you want exposed to Alexa.
SmartThings has been my way to avoid dealing with all the Home Assistant (HA) complexity.
First of all, I really like the idea of having a single hub with all the radios (even though Samsung never activated Bluetooth). Now Iโm trying to find the right hardware, and itโs surprisingly difficult. Thereโs no single USB stick or box that provides everything I currently have. I could sell my Z-Wave devices and mostly switch to Zigbee, though.
But do I actually need Thread in HA, or can I just rely on the Thread network from Apple Home?
Iโd also prefer to keep the setup compact.
Would an RPi 3 + ConBee II cover my needs, or do I have to go with something like the oddly shaped Home Assistant Connect ZBT?
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Another concern is local communication and Matter support. I donโt really want to introduce yet another app. Iโm quite happy with my Google Home display and would like most features to be available there. But it seems like the HA integration isnโt great โ it requires a subscription or some other workarounds.
HA made a huge improvement with matter support, supporting matter 1.6
And bridge your zigbee (or zwave) devices to google is simple with the โHome Assistant Matter Hub Add-onโ from RiDDiX
You donโt need a separate Thread network in Home Assistant, because you can simply sync the security keys through the iOS app and use your existing Apple Home devices as the physical routers.
For hardware you need RPi 4 or 5 with 2GB RAM at least and preferably a m.2 or ssd device instead of SD.
For zigbee you want zigbee2mqtt, that supports your conbee II (with limitations):
Yes, SmartThings is simpler and probably more family friendly than HA.
But SmartThings keeps getting worse:
They killed off Groove. Thankfully developers like you wrote new Edge Drivers.
They killed Smart Apps,
The last 2 hubs released donโt have z-wave radios, so it appears z-wave doesnโt have a future.
They never supported Bluetooth,
I keep bumping into the 300 device limit.
The last few firmware updates have cause multiple battery powered Zigbee devices to report offline multiple times a day,
And the last straw was them wanting to charge for system the keeps getting worse.
Some things in HA are actually very easy. An example is when you plug in a Bluetooth dongle a list of Bluetooth devices you own will pop up and each device can be added with a single click.
But transferring nearly 300 devices and their related automations takes time, lots of time. I am retired so I have time and this has turned into a hobby.
I am using Zooz, 800 series, Long range dongle. It was on sale for less that $20 a couple weeks ago. This is a major upgrade over SmartThings 500 series radios. The range is much better. I was able to pair everything in place.
I am using a Sonoff, MG21, Zigbee 3.0 dongle. I bought it new on e-bay last week for $20 plus shipping. It just arrived today. I am using Zigbee2MQTT. So far paring is going well.
For Matter over Thread I will probably use my SmartThings Station as my TBR, but that could change.
To get away from HA for the moment, the questions that remain for me are:
It is looking like the line between a free tier and an individual subscription is being drawn around the use of non-commercial API Access apps. Issues arising from that are:
Is there any leeway for limited usage to evaluate apps without triggering a subscription?
Have I actually missed the point in asking the previous question? Do users logging in to API Access apps need a subscription or is it just the owners of the apps?
API Access apps have been encouraged for use in place of 24-hour PATs even for first-party app use, whereas the intended target of subscription seems to be third-party services. Whatโs the deal there?
An alternative to API Access apps for first-party use has always been Webhook and Lambda SmartApps. However the latest developer documentation has seen them go from being one of the best documented areas of SmartThings to oblivion. It is hard to take that as a good sign. Are we to pretend they never existed? [See also โฆ]
What is the future of PATs given only the sheer inconvenience of updating them manually everyday is an obstacle to their deprecated use in third-party apps, which is clearly intended to be the remit of API Access? It is trivially easy to create renewable OAuth tokens for use in application development so all that is really left is their use with โuserโ endpoints and the AWA and CLI could easily take that over, especially if they allowed for arbitrary API calls. [See also โฆ]
I still feel that the idea of individual subscriptions is incompatible with real world SmartThings usage where the use of multiple accounts by the same individual can be highly desirable. For example, if you have multiple Locations that you want to link individually to third-party services you are best served using multiple accounts with access to one Location each. As a second example, if you are developing an API Access app how do you usefully test the โloginโ without having multiple accounts?
I know I mentioned most of that only three weeks ago, but it seems much longer.
In response to this change I am now actively recommending against buying samsung devices for all my family and friends. I was in process of buying samsung A/C. Not anymore. No more samsung devices until you get better. I hope more people will do this in response.
When discussing hardware needed by people interested in setting up Home Assistant, most posts donโt mention one of the easiest solutions for getting started, maybe because of the cost involved or region availability. For me, a person who did not have any interest in spending time to go through all the convolutions of getting Home Assistant up and running (downloading, installing, and configuring OS images and such), the $269.00 I spent was well worth the money spent. I also wanted a system future Home Assistant enhancements would not outgrow. The solution for me was an already pre-built Home Assistant mini pc from Pulcro.io โ TK Node Mini PC - Home Assistant preinstalled, AMDยฎ Ryzen R2514 (4C/8T), 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage. An additional option is the $309.00 Pulcro TK Node Mini PC - Home Assistant preinstalled, i3 1215U (6C/8T), 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage. These are offered in the U.S. by Amazon. Iโm not sure of their availability in other regions. Details of the units can be found at:
Once the unit I bought was delivered, all I had to do was connect to it the Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 I configured for Matter Thread and the Home Assistant Connect ZWA-2 for Z-Wave, and turn the unit on. Home Assistant came up ready to use. Notifications informed me of available over the air updates of newer versions of software that had come preinstalled. I hit the update buttons, and in short time I had a current Home Assistant system running. Simple. Then, of course, I had to learn about automations, integrations, apps, and such, which is the Home Assistant learning curve which has gotten much easier with recent Home Assistant version updates. I run both Home Assistant and SmartThings systems.
Home Assistant Pre-built Device Info From Amazon:
Assembled in the USA. Built and quality checked with a 2 year US-Based Limited Warranty for dependable long-term support.
๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ข๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ โ Ready to power your smart home locally with fast, reliable automation and no mandatory cloud dependence. A truly powerful smart home hub.
๐๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐ข๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป โ Built for reliable 24/7 performance.
๐๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ โ Available with AMD R2314 (efficient 4-core), AMD R2514 (8-thread multitasking), or Intel Core i3-1215U (hybrid 6-core performance) to match your workload.
๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐๐ & ๐จ๐ฝ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ง๐ ๐ก๐ฉ๐ ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ โ Dual SO-DIMM slots support up to 64GB RAM. Dual NVMe SSD slots support up to 4TB total storage. Select installed memory and storage based on your needs.
T๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ โ Drive up to three 4K displays via HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB-C with Intel UHD or AMD Radeon graphics.
๐๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐๐ถ๐น๐ ๐๐ป โ Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth, and high-density I/O for clean deployments in desks, cabinets, or lab environments.
๐๐ฒ๐ฝ๐น๐ผ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ โ Includes US Power Adapter, 3ft Ethernet Cable, VESA Mounting Kit, and User Manual. Compact 5" x 5" x 1.7" footprint for flexible placement.
If only Samsung had the resources and knowledge to develop a fully local smart home protocol that works over wifi and Thread that also works with all of the other major smart home platforms. oh waitโฆ
And this is a years old joke, which a former ST engineer highlighted to me. And I am not using ST for years, for anything else than the few Samsung appliances.
And came here recently to tell @JDRoberts, that I have seen a Samsung Dryer with Braille marking on the power and start button, but the whole control was so unintuitive with a display and a rotary selector (and capacitive touch on all the buttons) that I donโt know how a person with reduced vision could use it at all. But Samsung has tried itโฆ
100%, I used to be a Samsung fanboy. All my appliances are Samsung: fridge, dishwasher, stove/oven, microwave, hood, washer, dryer. TVs, phone, watch, earbudsโI was even considering the glasses and the Find tags, etc.
Well, Samsung just drew a line, and Iโm staying on this side of it. I donโt use their app at all, so itโll be easy: Iโll block all communication from my devices (except phone and watch) via firewall rules. They already sell our data, and now they want to charge us just to connect to our own devices. How about we charge them for the data they take from us? I have no problem blocking everything I can, and I will never buy Samsung again.
I specifically chose Samsung for the API so I could integrate everything into my own setup. For some devices I even upgraded to versions that explicitly supported this. When they need replacing, Iโm going straight to LG.
The only way to make Samsung understand is to hit them where it hurts: money. Some bean counter in a back room thought, โLetโs just start charging for it. Make it $5โtheyโll pay, itโs hardly anything.โ Just like all the other subscriptions: $5 here, $5 there, and it adds up fast, especially when everything already costs more and more. Well, they wonโt have my business anymore.
We all need to stop supporting companies that do this. Maybe then theyโll get the message and stop this nonsense. Charge commercial integrations? Fine. But why charge the people who already bought the hardware? Thereโs no way the traffic I generate costs them even $1, and on top of that they mine and resell our data. They make money off us even when we use the API. Iโm done with Samsung.
Iโm still not entirely sure who is being charged. Somehow the idea got into my head that it was any user using a non-commercial API Access app and that idea hung around. However I am now wondering what it is doing there as it only makes real sense to charge those who own the apps.
I canโt, off the top of my head, think of any individual developers operating API Access apps as third-party services so it probably doesnโt make an awful lot of difference to the numbers either way.
Based on the information released do far, I am just not seeing ยฃ4.99 a month in value for myself in a subscription (I am assuming a one to one exchange rate). Itโs not an unreasonable figure in itself but itโs just not an entry level which to me would be at most ยฃ1.99 a month. And I mean ยฃ1.99 inclusive of taxes.
However Iโd still be seeing a lot of premium resource usage in the free tier.
It looks like this is the end of the line for Samsung Appliances, or any product that uses Smart Things.
Samsung is changing the deal for my appliances after I bought them! I selected Samsung Appliances in part because they would integrate with my Smart Home. Now I have to pay a monthly fee, just to keep using those appliances??? This is outrageous
Understand - I donโt want to use the Smart Things cloud API - I would great prefer local control with e.g. Matter or Zigbee or Z-wave. But Samsung forces me to use the Smart Thinks Cloud API. Presumably because Samsung want to collect and sell my usage data. Now I have to pay, to send Samsung the data, Samsung want to collect about me for their sales and marketing benefit?
Smart Things Cloud API is a benefit to Samsung, not a benefit for appliance customers, it is not reasonable to charge customers for this. Samsung is seemingly the only brand that charges a monthly fee to integrate with Smart Homes!
โAs a founding member of the OCF, over several years we have contributed much to deliver a standardized IoT solution to the market,โ said Hyogun Lee, head of R&D, Visual Display Business, Samsung Electronics. โWe anticipate that the OCF Universal Cloud Interface can resolve the current IoT market fragmentation and thus build the unified IoT ecosystem.โ
