Android 2.0 Discussion

Apps & Clients Android
#176

Hi Smartthings users and staff,

I have not written code for about 30 years so forgive an old idiot if you must, but I don’t understand why this new app is even more complicated and, TO ME, less user friendly. I use my hub as just an alarm system and generally I am happy with it. 10 motion sensors and 2 smoke alarms and a siren. As of now I think my few problems are the result of an antiquated router. The new one is on the way and i hope that fixes the few problems I have with the system. But still I see some serious flaws in the entire system and I point them out in order to try and help. I also see how with other devices and setups that are not as simple as my setup that what i envision might be naive. Again forgive an old clueless moron if need be. Also, if you have time explain how I am wrong or clueless please do. Maybe I am not too old to learn. 50.

The previous app was better for my use and I have reverted back to 1.76 on my android phones and will do so on the iphone if I can find an old version to download.

So 1ST point… why does Smartthings not provide the old versions for those who are not happy with the New versions? Are they somewhere in the support area that I cannot find? Maybe you could offer them without support option for those who choose to use them.

2nd Point… while this forum is a technological marvel it is not that user friendly either. KISS seems appropriate for the app and this forum.

As for the app. I see this kind of setup.

  1. Devices - the place where you install and setup devices and of course some of this may need to take place on the web app.
  2. Scenarios - here is where you set up all your different scenarios. Home, Away, Party, Whatever and you have individual control over every device you choose to add to the scenario and those controls are specific to that scenario only . Some devices are on some are off and those that are on you get to choose how they function in That Particular Scenario ONLY. Of course you are limited by the device.
  3. Devices Monitor(Things) - Here you see the activity of Devices.

Smart apps should be configurable and specific within device controls WITHIN specific scenarios.

I see no reason (please enlighten me) as to why we need Routines and Modes. For me I see no difference. If I can create a scenario where I choose the devices that are involved and the actions that are the result of some sort of input then all these extra menus are not needed.

I envision this. Add scenario. Make a name for the scenario. Examples, Away, Home, Party Mode, Night, Pets Out, etc. Choose devices that are included in scenario. Choose actions for every device in that scenario. When it time to change a scenario… change the scenario.

None of this “I’m back or goodnight or other stuff”. These are limited to “away” and “home” settings. Just choose your scenario. Make scenarios voice activated if you can.

Right now I cannot see how what I would like to do is simple or actually possible. However, I have everything working but with limited capabilities because I am using Smartalarm and as far as I can tell I am limited by the “interior” / “exterior” function for my sensors and the limitations of “away” and “home” The new capabilities that replace SmartAlarm do not in my view provide the functionality I need.

The point is simple tree programming and flow charting has been lost. Give me a shout if you need more help or advice with vision but for programming or even how to use the app, don’t bother, I am clearly baffled. However I did just update to Windows 10 (spyware eliminated) with not too much problem and I keep 3 ios devices and 2 android devices running fine so maybe I am not a total idiot. ; - P

2 Likes
#177

has anyone had a problem with the presence sensor on a samsung s6? since going to this phone smartthings never knows when I leave. it was this way with the last version of the software too.

#178

Like you 50 is kicking me and I haven’t done any coding in 30 years. Pretty sure run: dos : run goto 10 won’t be very useful any more. I’m right there with you, especially on point #2.
I’ve been occasionally lurking around this forum for over a year. I was debating between Wink and ST last year and jumped on the wink deal when it was first released. After that fiasco I had no interest in another cloud based hub.

When I saw ST V2 was going to have local control I jumped on the bandwagon and preordered it last month, actually joined the forum.

I like the local control of my Securifi Almond+ , but it doesn’t have any integration with anything else. I wanted to have IFTTT, Echo ,Harmony,Wemo all work together. I’m tired of needing 6 apps.

That was the only good thing about Wink. When it was actually working I could control my Honeywell thermostats, old TCP connect lights everything with the one app. I just couldn’t deal was the 5-10 -30 second cloud delay and hub constantly losing connection to the cloud. Forgetting devices and needing to be reset. Nonexistent customer service.

Trying to fumble through this forum and figure out exactly how to set up my hub when it comes is getting scary. All these posts about having to edit IDE and write custom code to turn on/off lights when I unlock the door has me wondering if I made another mistake ordering the V2.
If it is as simple as it was to set up IFTTT to control my Wemo light switches with Echo I’m going to be fine. Otherwise I think the wife is going to kill me.

Nowhere in the product description did it hint at having to compose or edit any code for the hub to work. All it says is that there are 1000s of customizable apps. I didn’t think that meant actually having to write custom code.

#179

To be honest, Most of your post left me saying wtf are you talking about. But like you my wife wants the ST to work just like she envisioned and so far I cannot do that. Luckily for me it works “well enough” to keep me off the st list. I am hanging in there and hoping that intellect will win in the end.

#180

Ya , I know it’s late and I was rambling.

1 Like
#181

I can code, but I don’t want to. (I’m dependent on text-to-speech and it’s next to impossible to do groovy with that software. Even cut-and-paste is difficult.)

Consequently, I use almost no custom code with SmartThings. I do use a custom device type for the smartenIT toggle switch, but that’s only because there isn’t a standard device type for it. I do use a lot of virtual switches, but those are one of the easiest things to set up in the IDE.

There are two Third-party rules engines which are worth looking at. They make everything a lot easier.

If you look in the community created smart apps section of the forum you’ll find discussion of them there.

https://community.smartthings.com/c/projects-stories/created-smart-apps

One is a free product from a community member, @joec . I think he has limited sign-ups. I haven’t tried that one.

The other is a $10 iOS app sold through the I tunes store. Called smartrules. I really like it. Written by community member @obycode . Not perfect, but for me, adds a missing piece to smartthings which I find very useful. There’s a free demo version you can download that let you set up just one rule, so you can try it and see if you like it.

http://smartrulesapp.com

I agree that smartthings is a long way from plug-and-play. So it depends a lot on what your personal needs and preferences are.

BTW, the following topic cover the basic cut and paste use of custom code. It may still be more work than you want to do, but it’s not that bad:

1 Like
#182

No worries, you may be rambling but you know more about this stuff than me. Maybe I have a couple years on you and clearly your knowledge has left me in the dust. Cheers.

#184

Thanks for the compliment, it’s been a lot of trial and error with different systems. Started about 3-4 years ago with a couple of schlage touchscreen locks after a tenant came back a month after he moved out with 4 more keys he had given out to his friends. Been adding sensors and searching for a hub/system that works ever since LOL $50 here $100 there for a couple years and you have a lot of impressive toys when it all works.

2 Likes
#186

Impacts of testing out 2.0 version: I have two devices (one phone, one tablet) still running v1.7 of the SmartThings app. If I upgrade one of them to v2.0, will it impact the v1.7 app? In particular, installing v2.0 will force the install of the new Smart Home Monitor smartapp, right? And would it disable other smartapps? I’d like to test drive v2.0, but not if it’s going to mess up the v1.7 setup.

#187

No… I have had both on different devices without issue.

2 Likes
#188

Although not the case* with the current mobile App version 2 and version 1.7.6, at any point in time the underlying API/server functions that the App uses to query and control your SmartThings is likely to have certain functions deprecated and then removed. Unfortunately in SaaS cloud based products, the front & back-ends are related and thus the option of indefinitely deferring upgrades is not feasible.

*Even though version 2.0.0 and version 1.7.6 are both generally compatible (so far), we already know that though your old Installed “Dashboard Solution SmartApps” will continue to exist if you upgrade, those implied SmartApps are no longer offered anywhere in version 2 for additional instance installation. Disappointing.

#189

After reading this, I went ahead and upgraded one of my devices. Not entirely true on the impacts – if you use the v2.0 app and define Rooms with devices, those changes will be reflected back in the v1.7 app as new groupings. The Smart Home Monitor app also gets automatically reflected back into the v1.7 app.

#190

My first impression of the dimmer controls are that they are ridiculously bad.

I have LED lights on several ZWave dimmers and like them below 10%, these little circle controls are close to impossible to use.

Also: now that things are in list form, they are even harder to navigate to. Have use guys tried using this as an app? What about better scene controls? I’d like to be able to set scenes easily, but it remains the best way is to write code and attach it to a virtual button. Kind of ridiculous at this point.

What about android widgets to toggle lights? The hello home widget is a good start, but I can’t set dimmers low enough and I can just put a button for a light toggle.

1 Like
#191

#WARNING #StupidRookyQuestion

I see all these posts, thread,complaints about Android 2.0 , yet I can’t find it. Google Play has 1.76 released on 9/3 and 1mobile market ( for sideloading on Kindle) has 1.75 released 7-28 . Am I just missing something somewhere ? Granted I can’t actually do anything until the new hub arrives ,but I would like to be able to at least know where to download the app. Was the APK posted somewhere for direct download and I just haven’t stumbled across it yet ?

#192

the playStore already has the 2.0 version since a few days ago, if u cant see it maybe your account is from a country wher it wasnt realesed?

#193

Well not unless it wasn’t released in the US. I just checked again and it shows 1.76 release date 9-3-15. So I thought maybe the version number was wrong

#194

What is your Android OS version?

#195

4.1 on tablet , 4.4 on phones, but was actually looking on Google play website, not through the phone app.

#196

Here you go

#197

Anyone else not getting ANY push notifications? I’m not sure if it was the update that did it or not, but I don’t get any notifications on Android or iOS. Maybe something in the architecture of the app changed and I need to select an option somewhere?

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