LOL, the hammer approach levied towards presence updates…
It’s not that bad… 52,092 over a 48 hour period equals only 1,085 requests per hour. 18 per minute doesn’t seem excessive, does it? Every 3 seconds? I guess my android presence will be really accurate.
1 Like
Yup, should be able to locate yourself in the crapper now…
1 Like
In the Android Location settings, are you set to Power Saving or High Accuracy?
High Accuracy. Wasn’t a problem before in the old app.
I use maps a lot so battery savings isn’t really an option.
My android was never accurate while on High accuracy mode. It only ever worked properly on battery saver mode. I’m going to try High accuracy now for 2.0. I’ll report back on battery too.
EDIT - OK high accuracy mode still does’t work for me in V2.0. Also I discovered that if you set off the SHM alarm accidentally (because presence failed) and run a routine I’m back and/or SHM disarm it does not silence the siren. That needs to be updated. I just moved back to battery saver mode, the instant I did that I suddenly became present.
Why release the software that is constantly crashing when moving around the UI (sorting devices in room) etc… ? This is must be flooding their server with all the crash reports from everyone.
1 Like
@April - My hopes for 2.0 were way too high so I can’t say I am too happy with what we got. I get the impression there was not enough QA or there was a deliberate decision to release without fixing issues due to time constraints… Either way, below are my comments in hopes they can be considered for fixes/changes/etc
My phone is a Galaxy S6 Edge running Android 5.1.1
-
Please get rid of the ENORMOUS spyglass header. Even if you have intentions for it, it is way too big (>1/3 of my screen!). It forces me to scroll to find rooms… and this is a step backwards from the previous app where most or all would fit on one screen,
-
Please make font smaller, and/or bring rows closer together as once again you are forcing me to scroll to find the room I want. Every second, every scroll, every touch, it takes me to get to what I need to control defeats the benefit of having this system. I might as well walk over to the switch… it takes less. (As a side note, I just tested the app on my Galaxy Tab S tablet and each row is about 1 inch in height… so I cannot escape scrolling on my tablet’s massive screen either!!! argh!!!)
-
I have a few rooms that are rather “folders”. A good example are sensors that are part of my alarm system - I don’t necessarily want them spread in all the rooms because it would be a nightmare to get an overview of what is going off. Another example is presence ‘sensors’ (actually our Android phones) but they have never been reliable so I do not use them in anything. Last, I have grouped outside weather, and the 2 EcoBee3 thermostats in a “Climate Control ‘room’” as I do not want those listed as being in the common areas they are in. In other words, not all devices need to be put in a room, but you may still want to group them according to whatever your logic is.
-
The half circle dimmer is just plain terrible. The device page moves when you try to slide the dimmer in a half circle… and I really don’t like to touch it into the right spot. PLEASE revert this to a horizontal slider, with a % number for the OCDs of the world.
-
I just installed brand new Leviton in wall light dimmer and fan controller for the guest bedroom today (post upgrades). Adding the new devices was a breeze however:
a) you are not given the option to edit the icon during device creation, but rather you need to complete and go back in to edit the icon. Once you edit the icon (PLEASE expand the icon packs!!), it keeps reverting back to the default socket icon for both devices.
b) The new (?) Leviton fan controller was great to find but… the controller supports only 3 levels so why is the slider still 0 - 100%? -
Icons on the left of the devices are too small and/or not proportional with the exaggeratedly large text on the right.
-
Sorting stuff in rooms CRASHES the application. Did anyone QA the application?
-
I love the “Smart Lighting” smartapp. I am replacing all of my “Big Switch” with this one given I read it will not be supported with Hub V2 (on order). At first I did not get I could keep adding rules so I ended up with 2 “Smart Lighting” listed. Either you disable this (if there are issues with having >1) or please allow to change the name so you can tell which one is which. I would not mind having several so I can logically divide my lighting rules (by action, by time, by sensor, by house area - or whatever).
-
Family - I have my phones listed here along with the 2 EcoBee3 thermostats. I assume those show up there as they have motion sensors in them and can be leveraged for presence detecting. I also have 6 additional temp/presence sensors that push data to the EcoBee3 thermostats so that I can take advantage of those sensors for HA stuff too. These additional sensors would be listed in rooms.
-
Lights & Switches - I really never got what this is for… it gets so crowded it is impossible to find what you want. That is why I group things together in rooms (or other logical category). I have > 60 devices - and growing - so I really need a way to keep things more compact, sorted, grouped, etc otherwise it is time consuming to ‘work it’.
-
Finding smartapps in your listing in the app is hard… search never seems to help so I have to search the web for what I need and hunt it down in the app, template listings, or github.
-
User administration - We still can’t control who can edit the ST setup and who can just use it. I was really hoping to see this in 2.0
-
The text is so big that some of my labels are cut off before I can tell what the device actually is. In my master bedroom I have:
Master Bedroom Fan
Master Bedroom Li…
Master Bedroom Fl…
I give my devices full descriptive names including location as it helps with Alexa and SmartTiles. Plus, I can’t have multiple devices with the same name. -
The “Smart Light Timer” app doesn’t actually do what it says it does. Looks like description/title is for a different app.
-
In my Amazon Echo app the “Uninstall” option is not the big ugly red button but rather the same as adding something (line with green circle plus on the right). UX inconsistency…
-
In the “Smart Lighting” app, when you select sunrise & sunset control, the option to set an offset of sunrise actually says ‘sunset’ again.
-
No tablet version ??? WHY??? I want to have a cheap tablet in various areas of the house that display status and allow control. Using the phone app in portrait mode on a nice large screen tablet is just lame. PLEASE fix this!
-
No web based GUI (a la SmartTiles)? I love that SmartTiles can go full screen and that you can create multiple dashboards (well before whatever happened recently) so you can essentially lock down the tablet to just be the home interface (no other app can be used). This way the tablet is always where it should be and you can get something with less horsepower/features as it is just an interface to your home and nothing else.
Overall, usability of this application is far from where it c/should be but it seems to be going in the right direction. I just hope we can see some bursts of rapid development cycles to address the many issues so we do not have to wait ages to be out of ‘beta quality’. BTW, I am not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings… I am just being frank.
6 Likes
Please give http://SmartTiles.click a try.
New version is under development, more details pending.
1 Like
I currently have an open incident that I’m actively working on with ST regarding the crashing in this scenario, as well as crashing while doing anything in the Room view (rooms, smartapps, etc) for more than a few minutes.
1 Like
Hi @tgauchat - I actually use Alex Malikov’s SmartTiles but I froze it at 5.4.2 which is the last one that was available on GitHub. I configured multiple dashboards so I don’t want to give this up. The dashboards have some issues (stuff turns on but not off, or they do not update) but I love them and wish ST would see the beauty in Alex Malikov’s solution. Is there a newer version I am unaware of?
1 Like
SmartTiles is going through a major architecture overhaul, but basic functionality will hopefully be the same or better. Also want to be sure to natively support multiple custom dashboards.
No time frame yet, as the changes will need thorough testing and iterative development.
Stay tuned. Donations to @625alex are always welcome to help acknowledge and encourage the effort, of course.
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.
- Devices - the place where you install and setup devices and of course some of this may need to take place on the web app.
- 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.
- 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
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.
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.
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.
Ya , I know it’s late and I was rambling.
1 Like
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.
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
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.
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