I have a few of these Samsung Connect Home devices (ET-WV520). I don’t intend to use them for their WiFi as I already have an Eero system in place. Can I set it up without WiFi and just use it as a SmartThings hub?
I tried and the setup seems to make me want to set up a WiFi, but I’m hoping there’s a way to skip that process?
Hey there! @Zirdum
Welcome to the community!
These up with WiFi to be used as a Smartthings Hub.
I would recommend giving this troubleshooting article for Using your connect home as a Smartthings Hub.
You can locate the article here: https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00077158/
I hope this message finds you well!
^SamsungZell
You didn’t quite answer the specific question I’m asking. My question was can you use this device without the wifi that’s built in, and rather use my home wifi (so I’d only be using this as a hub)? Can it do this, or is that not an option?
Hey there! @Zirdum
Thanks for following up and providing that additional information.
SmartThings can only run some preconfigured automations locally it can run some scenes, known as SmartApps.
Locally-run SmartApps are stored on your SmartThings hub your hub will still run them without internet.
I was advising that you would still need to select set up wifi for the initial set up your device.
I hope this message finds you well!
^SamsungZell
You’re still not answering the OP’s question.
This model of hub can perform two functions:
One) it can act as a Wi-Fi mesh router, connecting directly to the Internet
Two) it can act as a home automation hub. It still needs an Internet connection because smartthings is mostly a cloud-based system, but it doesn’t have to itself be the Wi-Fi router.
You answered the question as though the OP was asking if the hub could be run without an Internet connection. But that is not the question being asked. The question being asked is if this specific model hub can run without having to be the Wi-Fi router for the home, but rather by connecting to a different Wi-Fi router.
The newest version of this device, the one that uses Plume, can probably do this, it depends on the specific model of the other router, but what you want to do is to put the smartthings device into “bridge mode.“ This tells it that it will not be the Wi-Fi router for the home, it’s just going to connect to an existing Wi-Fi network established by a different Wi-Fi router.
But I don’t know if the older model, the “connect home“ has that same option, which is why I haven’t responded in this thread before now.
This is how one connect home owner posted that they got it to work on Reddit:
This is how I have it setup:
Connect your old router first and set it up as usual. If it’s a dual band router then set the SSIDs same as what you want.
Connect the main Samsung Connect unit to one of the router’s ports and set it up as router mode. Set the SSID different than the one on 1)
Once everything is setup, set the type to bridge mode
Change SSID to 1)
But I honestly don’t know if that still works, there have been some firmware changes and a lot of app changes since that was posted a couple of years ago. And now most of the conversations are about the version with Plume.
Also note that the method given above is different than the official “bridge mode“ method
So… I understand the question, but I don’t know the answer. I think it might be possible to put the Samsung connect home into what is called “bridge mode“ which would avoid double NATing and allow the Connect home to just act as any Wi-Fi device connected to your other router. But thinking it’s possible and knowing it’s possible are not the same thing.
I’m going to tag @nathancu just in case he knows, but since this model has been discontinued and wasn’t that popular to begin with, I just don’t know how many people would have these details.
I read it the same way you do JD.
Blif I HAD to, put it in bridge mode and then just ignore the SSIDs of the ST hub.
It makes sense logically and the docs youbpresent say Bridge is a feature. That said I dont have firsthand experience with the WiFi hubs, I’ve avoided this particular device since it came out because theres a very good reason not to combine these things.
If Op is in Europe the Aeotec hubs have srarted showing up, and I strongly suspect we’ll see the North America WASHTub show up shortly… So I’d just wait…
@Zirdum on the older Connect Home Models there should be an option in the device settings (after you select the device and tap on the “3 dot” menu in the top right) to disable the WiFi.
It should be noted that I believe the router functionality is still technically enabled, but if you turn off the WiFi broadcast and put it into bridge mode it is not really playing any major roll in your network aside from just being a connected device at that point.
I have the same question as the original poster, I have the same router, Eero, just bought not 2 weeks ago and I am located in the United States. The post for how to set it up to bridge mode does not exist in the Samsung website anymore. Does anyone here have the info on how to do it? Clicking the clink takes you to a generic Samsung page with nothing in it. Thanks in advance!
What’s the model number of your smartthings hub?
Jumping in on your discussion as I have the same issue. My model number is ET-WV525KWEGUS for the 3 unit mesh system. Want to put a router in front of the mesh system due to intermittent internet outages. Cant find how to change to bridge mode or if I need to change modes.
Anyone had progress with this issue?
I am buying a new mesh system and want to take one of the Smartthings routers and covert into a Smarttings hub only… is this possible?
Thanks!
Technically, you can separate the Wi-Fi mesh router functions from the smartthings home automation hub functions by using the device in what is called “bridge mode.“ That’s when you have a different Wi-Fi network running and you just want the hub to connect to it.
But even though that’s technically possible, it can be hard to get it set up, support doesn’t always know how to help you with it, and at this point the smartthings home automation functions on that device are not as up-to-date as the ones on the standalone home automation hub.
So I guess my own feeling is that I agree that the best thing at this point is to get a new standalone hub, but it’s not because you can’t separate the two functions. It’s because even separated, the one with plume just isn’t as good at the home automation side now as the standalone hub is.
JD, you seem to answer / contribute a lot - so reaching out to you.
I have the ET-WV525 / ET-WV525KWEGUS…
Like it seems many others, I want to turn the Wifi off - like the wifi radio… no more broadcasting.
Once done, I would remove two of the three units - leaving only one - functioning as a Z-wave/zigbee hub.
Plant to replace the mesh wifi function with something better.
Any idea how to turn off the wifi broadcast for this model?
I’m sorry, I don’t know very much about that model and I don’t know if there’s anyway to turn off the Wi-Fi, although my guess would be not.
You should be able to put it into “bridge mode” so that it just connects to a different existing Wi-Fi network if that’s any help.
But you would need to get in touch with smartthings support to ask them how to do that, I don’t know what the current steps are. 
I recently bought a used one, disabled the Wi-Fi, I only use it as a Zigbee HUB, but recently, I tried to enable the Wi-Fi router again, I didn’t find out how to do it. I believe that just doing a reset and resetting it to zero. Can anyone tell me step by step?!