Why give us something that is of value to them
When you purchase one of their GDO’s the included remotes, wall button, and keypads all come pre-programmed, otherwise the returns would kill them, as most people would just expect it to work. But if you add new remotes or replace a GDO, and keep old accessories it is not very intuitive to program them with out looking at the manual. You would expect a wall button to just work the first time you press it, but it requires multi-presses. It is the new fridge filter or coffee pod with built in chips, all about money.
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Great question!
The simple answer is actually a Net Result of Lost Value
The long answer…
There is a segment of the Smart Home Customers (aka SmartThings, Google Home, Apple HomeKit, Hubitat, etc.) that will simply NEVER use MyQ’s Proprietary App and limited number of devices (cameras, etc.) Just look at the number of users here that have gone to Meross and other solutions. Which by/the/way is an interesting dynamic in MyQ’s supposed "we’re concerned about safety and reliability" BS: instead of working out an approved method of integration, they’re motivating users to seek other non-approved methods/devices, potentially decreasing safety and reliability. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
They are attempting to be yet-another Smart Home Platform, rather than simply a Garage Door Opener & Device Manufacturer. That’s certainly NOT what I, and others, “hired” them for: We wanted/needed a Garage Door Opener. We already have chosen our Smart Home Platform.
In them not providing an approved pathway (i.e. MyQ Approved) to integration with other Smart Home Platforms, (like the way many, many, many other companies do), they are alienating (and irritating) their otherwise happy customers to seek and recommend other options.
I build homes in Southwest Michigan. I’ve used Chamberlain/LiftMaster in every home we built since 1996. Chamberlain’s Decision has caused me to seek other options. I found that Genie offers BOTH a FREE Proprietary App AND Integration with SmartThings and other platforms. They have a Retrofit Kit for older non-smart Openers, as well as built-in integration with new Openers.
Net Results:
- Chamberlain would have never received the money from me for their Proprietary MyQ Apps/Devices in the first place (so no value “added” there).
- Chamberlain will NOT receive the “value” of a long-term customer’s continued purchasing and countless referrals. Definitely no “added” value there; in fact Net Result of LOST VALUE in sales.
- While I’m just “one guy” and purchase a limited number of door openers each year, I’ve already discussed this issue with our long-term Garage Door Installer, which installs thousands of door openers every year. Guess what? As it turns out, I’m “that tech guy” that HE turns to for input/advice. I’ve already told him no more Chamberlain for us and to start recommending Genie to other customers going forward. Net Result of MORE loss in value & sales (aka “ripple effect”).
The Bean Counters and Decision Makers at Chamberlain have run their numbers and obviously feel they are going to take the Smart Home Market by storm, increasing revenues. Perhaps they could have gotten me and others to pay $30 per year for seamless integration with SmartThings and captured some of that additional revenue. But instead, they are taking away from one source of their revenues (i.e. I and others won’t buy new Garage Door Openers from Chamberlain) in their effort to strong-arm customers and build out their MyQ Customer Base.
Soon I will edit the Original Post to include a recommendation and link to Genie, in hopes that anyone seeking a New Garage Door Opener OR Retrofit Option understands that Genie offers choice, while Chamberlain does not.
In Chamberlain’s “My Way or The Highway” approach, I’ll be taking The Highway, thanks 
Wow… that WAS a long answer 
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Here’s my “based on absolutely no data, just a guess” thought about what’s happening with Chamberlain’s quite abrupt cutoff of third party integrations at a time when most companies are looking to expand integrations, if only through Matter…
Someone somewhere filed a lawsuit against Chamberlain’s parent company. Hopefully just for damage to a car or inconvenience from a non opening door, not injury to a person.
That someone was using a third party integration, probably by hotwiring the wall button (thereby removing some UL 325 safety features).
Chamberlain doesn’t have an option to prevent this.
(GEnie does: their Aladdin Connect retrofit involves replacing the entire existing wall button with a new device, which has the safety features built in.
https://www.geniecompany.com/aladdin-connect-by-genie )
So…
(Again, this is pure guesswork on my part, but I think it fits what we’re seeing.)
Chamberlain has quietly settled the suit (they do this for other kinds of malfunction loss suits) and their lawyers have told them they have a huge potential liability here if they don’t change the current situation.
They have several choices, including coming up with their own version of Genie’s retrofit wall button, but because garage doors can kill people, it’s going to take time to develop and certify any new offering, whether it’s hardware or software.
But for now, they’re just going to proactively tell people not to use third party solutions. And try to make it difficult to do so.
I don’t doubt that their stated public reason, excessive cloud traffic, is part of the issue but if that were the only issue I think they would have handled it differently, including a paid subscription option.
The way they’ve handled this feels more like some kind of safety/liability issue.
But I could be completely wrong, of course.
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Certainly could be the basis, or part of the basis, for their decision.
But even that can backfire:
- Questions to Chamberlain…
- Question: Are you aware of these other Major Smart Home Platforms?
- Answer: Yes
- Question: Are you aware that Users chose to work around your system so that they could have integration with their existing platform?
- Answer: Yes. We were notified by our users directly to our CEO and linked to this and other posts.
- Question: Could you have integrated your MyQ Devices with the other platforms as a Service and held more control and made it easier for Users to integrate, thus increasing Safety?
- Answer: Easily
- Question: Why didn’t you?
- Answer: Because we had Dreams of Grandeur in taking over the World of Smart Home Platforms.
- Question: How’d that work out for you?
- Answer: Not so well. We found out people actually stopped buying our products/devices.
I “get” that they wanted to limit “unauthorized” 3rd Party Access… makes total sense. Frankly, I would want to limit unauthorized access to my systems as well.
But not allowing “Authorized” Integrations does not make sense…
Until you factor in what they’re attempting to do with MyQ… create their own SmartHome Platform with Cameras, Door Locks, etc. Just browse the MyQ Website and you can see the direction of things.
But even then, I think their approach is backward-thinking…
Instead if they were to:
- Allow Authorized Integrations with all popular SmartHome Platforms
- THEN THEY WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE A PRETTY SLICK WAY OF REACHING OUT AND MARKETING MYQ TO THEIR USER BASE. i.e. Integrate MyQ with SmartThings as a Service. NOW they KNOW who’s using SmartThings w/MyQ. Now pop up an ad in MyQ or email from time/to/time and work on marketing to and convincing their Client Base that THEIR MyQ Platform is better, simpler, and more reliable.
- They “could” convert people who aren’t happy with, or frustrated by, the other SmartHome Platforms.
- In the meantime, they’d continue to sell more Garage Door Openers should their Dreams of Taking Over The Entire Smart Home Market fail miserably
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I agree with much of your post, but not this part:
Crossplatform Integration is definitely not easy for anyone, and SmartThings in particular doesn’t have a history of making it simple for their partners.
One obvious example is that the smartthings has a very close partnership with Aeotec, and Aeotec is in fact their hardware partner for hubs right now.
Z wave is an independent third-party platform and smartthings is on their board.
Yet, even so, there are Aeotec devices which are certified to the third-party zwave standard, such as the wallmote quad, which have less functionality with SmartThings than they do with most other non-Aeotec Z wave platforms. (Smartthings doesn’t support the swipe functionality, so a device, which is advertised as offering control of 16 different scenes, can only handle 8 when used with smartthings.)
There are multiple device manufacturers who previously put time and effort into creating custom DTHs so their customers could use their devices with smartthings who have now thrown up their hands and said they are not going to create edge Drivers for them. Because their devices are already certified to an independent third-party standard. They don’t want to take on the additional cost an effort of supporting a proprietary architecture on top of that.
I don’t think that’s an unreasonable business decision. But in any case, I definitely don’t think integration is “easy.“
JMHO, of course. 
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Thanks @JDRoberts
Although, my Aeotec/Z-Wave Devices are all integrated on a “Device” Level (drivers), as opposed to the “Linked Services” route, ala Honeywell Home Total Connect, TP-Link/Kasa Smart, Ring, eWeLink Smart Home, etc.
It is within that “Linked Services” route that I think does give the Parent Company more ease & control of the integrations.
But I could be wrong, as I often am
This might be one of those “agree to disagree areas in life” 
Thanks, that explains it.
The GDOs were installed by our builder as part of new home construction in 2018. I hadn’t started on any smart home functions until we moved in here. I specified Chamberlain/Liftmaster as I knew I wanted Wi-Fi connected GDOs. If I’d been able to do better research I might have gone with something else.
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I wish. 
It took almost 2 years before the Lutron fan control switch was available through the smartthings integration (which is linked services) even though it was already available through every other third-party integration that Lutron worked with including Google, Alexa, HomeKit, and ifttt.
SmartThings just has not historically been an easy integration partner. Too many unique requirements. 
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As long as we’re “wishing”… being that it took them 2 years, it’s at least been 2 years since that time… perhaps things have gotten better with SmartThings/Edge & Integrations etc since then? There sure have been a lot of nice improvements coming from SmartThings over the past year 
“Hope Springs Eternal” 
Cloud to cloud integration do not use Edge drivers
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Apparently not, judging from issues people have had in the last eight months with Meross and SwitchBot, both linked services. in both cases features that worked just fine with HomeKit and Ifttt did not work with smartthings.
My smartthings app still is confused between open and close on my SwitchBot curtain opener, but all of the other integrations, including Alexa and HomeKit, are not.
I reported this to SwitchBot at least five months ago, and they said it was an issue with smartthings, and they were looking into it, but it’s still not fixed. 
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Sorry I wasn’t more clear… I was just trying to make the larger point that SmartThings has changed a lot over the past several years, including the transition to Edge Drivers and the User Experience has certainly gotten better on my end 
In my opinion things have gotten Much better! I know everyone complained about the old App going away back in the day but the app is light years ahead of that now. I just wish ST support was better and they would actually fix things and not just let the tickets sit and hope one of the community members fix it. There is either a lack of knowledge or a lack of motivation in ST support!
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I am going to take the opposite stance and commend ST Support and their developers. They have made great strides with providing support and fixing issues and adding new features. Are they perfect… not yet but the recent support and development has been nice. So kudos to both teams!
- ability to share your hub with support
- hub replace
- hub backup to an extent
- support has surprised multiple users of late by resolving their issues
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I will admit to improvement. Especially recently with dev response.
The Service desk still has an INCREDIBLY LONG WAY to go. But you know what I do for a living and I won’t put up with a ‘less than adequate’ service desk.
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These notifications stopped with a MyQ iOS app update a few days after the previous app update when they started. Whew! Just figured I would close the loop…
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Yes please. I’m tired of paying for IFTTT
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myQ has stated users must pay to automate “their” garage doors. It’s unlikely Samsung will pays for anything since users can choose competing garage controllers that already work with SmartThings for free.
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Literally, the idea of charging for a device and then hitting you with a monthly fee to use said device is pretty deplorable. Just charge a fair price for the device and allow it to be integrated as the user would like. Seriously, they are alienating customers from ever purchasing their MyQ devices. Get a clue. SaaS isn’t the model so you can open your damn door.
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