Brand new to ST-waiting on my HUB-Help me to NOT screw it up :) (Kasa TPLink and Tuya devices)

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Hello all! Quarantine has given me a new hobby…spending money on Home Automation! Wife is not happy. Seriously though I have started the HA journey and quickly realized I most likely will need a HUB to do some stuff and am waiting on my ST hub to arrive, together with WebCore it would appear you can do just about anything you want. Right now I have 1 smart wall switch, 12 smart bulbs and couple smart plugs. everything is from Kasa TP-Link except for 3 bulbs which are from Tuya (candelabra, color changing ones) none of that may be relevant but thought I would add it. I control everything right now through Google smart speakers/ my Android phone or the app that came with the item.

HERE IS MY QUESTION- when the HUB gets here and I set it all up should I / do I need to (physically) remove all the bulbs, reset them all, unplug reset the plugs and just reset the wall switch then re- install / set them up in ST 1 at a time to forgo any issues during initial set up or is that overkill and ST will see it all and set it up with no issues? TIA.

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Sounds exciting! Which model hub are you getting? :sunglasses:

The hub only establishes direct connections with zigbee and Z wave devices. Everything else is a cloud to cloud integration, so you probably won’t have to reset your existing devices. It works the same way you integrate things with Google – – you will sign into your KASA account from within your smartthings app and grant permission for the integration.

I’m not sure the Tuya bulbs are going to integrate, though.

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You don’t need to wait for the hub to connect the Kasa devices to the SmartThings app. As @JDRoberts pointed out, they are cloud-to-cloud integrations.

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Here is the one I am getting, I assume it is the newest one? Samsung GP-U999SJVLGDA 3rd Generation. Sounds good on the bulbs, THANKS. The other bulbs are actually DOGAIN which I think are the same as Tuya, maybe not. They can be controlled by the Smart Life app or Google so I should be Ok as far as voice operating them, I can now anyway or I can use the Smart Life app. Whole purpose of getting the ST hub is so I can ultimately control everything from a central point. Since I just started if I need to switch out just those bulbs then I’m OK!

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You don’t actually need the hub for devices like your Kasa TP Link or other WiFi/Cloud devices. See this first post for an explanation of when you need a hub and what you can do without a hub.

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Thank you , I did know that one. I decided to get the hub because I have larger plans using switches, sensors, etc. I think having the hub with make my life easier in the long run.

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