Dazed and confused former Iris user

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#1

I hoped to use ADT Tools 2 to make my new ADT SmartThings hub play nice with my devices I’m bringing over from Iris. After a couple of days of missteps, I finally was ready to download ADT Tools 2 and found the below instructions. That’s when it dawned on me that I’m totally dazed and confused. I thought it would be as simple as downloading an app on my phone. I have no idea how to link my IDE account or how to publish an app. . . I don’t even know what that means. :weary:

I appreciate the folks here who have tried to help but this is becoming too demanding. My wife will confirm that I have enough hobbies and this can’t become a new one.

I was hoping the ADT SmartThings hub would:

  1. Send a text and activate Utilitech siren if any ADT branded door, window, or motion sensor tripped (without paid monitoring).
  2. Send a text if my Utilitech water leak detector, First Alert smoke/CO detectors, or Iris motion sensors tripped.
  3. Allow me to control various plugs and switches.

Is this possible, or a least partially possible, without having to learn a new language and without paying for monitoring?

How do you get ADT Tools

You can get ADT Tools two ways.

You can link your Smartthings IDE Account to:

Owner: Mavrrick Name: ADT-Tools-2 Branch: master

Donwload the ADT Tools 2 Parent app and publish to your IDE account. Download the remaining child apps to your IDE.(You do not need to publish them) Download the ADT Tools Button device handler.

The child apps are, “ADT Alert Action”, “ADT Home-Life Alert Action”.

You can also go to [1] and install the parent app and the 2 child apps

#2

Frankly, if you’re having trouble working around the constraints with the ADT hub, just get a normal hub. Life will be much easier.

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#3

Here’s the FAQ for using custom code. It will explain the terminology and the general process. Reading that first usually then makes the author’s instructions seem much more clear. :wink:

As far as your specific requests, it just depends on the details. You should be able to do all of that without needing any custom code at all, but with the following caveats:

  1. Send a text and activate Utilitech siren if any ADT branded door, window, or motion sensor tripped (without paid monitoring).

You should be able to do that for any sensor, whether it’s an ADT dual logo branded sensor or not. But it will require that you have active access to the smartthings cloud at the time that the sensor is tripped.

If the Internet is out or the smartthings cloud is down, then the only thing you can do is have the dual logo sensor trigger the siren on the ADT panel.

  1. Send a text if my Utilitech water leak detector, First Alert smoke/CO detectors, or Iris motion sensors tripped.

It can do that, but again only if the smartthings cloud is actively connected. Basically all messaging is handled by the smartthings cloud (except for alerts to the ADT monitoring center if you are paying for that service).

  1. Allow me to control various plugs and switches.

It depends what you mean by “control” and the specific brand and model of the plugs and switches. You can certainly set up some home automation rules with any plug or switch that is compatible with smart things.

But again, a lot of that will have a cloud dependency. You won’t be able to control them by voice or with your smart phone unless you have an active connection to the smartthings cloud.

So I’m not quite sure what you’re asking here?

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#4

I would say if you want professional monitoring, then you need the ADT panel model hub.

If you don’t want professional monitoring, you’re really not getting any extra benefit from having the ADT model hub. That’s because one of the biggest benefits, the cellular communications, is only available if you have the paid ADT service.

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#5

Exactly. For a self monitored system the only tangible benefit I can see to the ADT hub is the ability to change alarm status without a cloud connection. I’m seeing a lot of former Iris customers convinced they need the ADT model due to the touted benefits, but I don’t think most of them realize that most of those benefits don’t apply in a self monitoring situation. I suppose the native entry/exit delays are nice too, but there are workarounds to that using any ST hub.

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#6

New app SHM has an entrance delay. For self monitoring, all the restrictions and complexity of the ADT hub (and questionable future) make it not worth the no-internet benefits. In the 3 years I’ve been using a regular hub and Smart Home Monitor, I can count on one hand the number of times the system hasn’t disarmed because of lack of internet. My $0.02.

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#7

While I generally agree, at the moment the ADT/SmartThings contact sensors and motion detectors are quite inexpensive, and the hub is steeply discounted. While this may mean the hub will soon be discontinued, the ST side of the hub seem to be equivalent to the non-ADT version, so it should continue to operate regardless. One would need to figure the costs involved based on their needs. Also, I f you might want professional monitoring for, say, a month, it seems like you can get it with this hub.

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#8

I like having the option of professional monitoring even if it’s only for a short period while on vacation. Also, the ADT hub was only 30 bucks more at $99, so it seemed like a logical choice. . . perhaps not. I’m not yet ready to give up on it but I don’t think ADT tools is the right fit for me. Thanks for your reply, prjct92eh2!

1 Like
#9

JDRoberts - Thanks for the FAQ! It really helps answer some of my questions, however, it also confirms my realization that custom code, etc. isn’t a good fit for me.

Clarifying questions:

I need Internet access for the ADT sensors to trigger a text because, without the paid service, I have no cellular backup?

I need cloud access for ANY sensor to trigger the Utilitech siren because that “magic” happens in the cloud, not locally?

An ADT sensor can trigger the siren built into the panel without cloud access because that part of the system works locally?

The plugs and switches to which I refer are ones that I’ve confirmed are SmartThings compatible. I guess I’m asking if the SmartThings hub in the ADT panel is as capable as a stand-alone SmartThings hub? Of course, with the cloud dependency limitations (like Iris had).

Is Smart Home Monitor what I would use to accomplish these things?

Thanks for your time?

#10

That’s what sold me! I bought a fancy ADT hub for a dollar less than what Lowe’s is refunding me for my Iris hub and I still have money left over for other “things”. :smiley:

1 Like
#11

[quote=“ramar, post:9, topic:154133, full:true”]
JDRoberts - Thanks for the FAQ! It really helps answer some of my questions, however, it also confirms my realization that custom code, etc. isn’t a good fit for me.

Clarifying questions:

I need Internet access for the ADT sensors to trigger a text because, without the paid service, I have no cellular backup?[/quote]

Yes.

I need cloud access for ANY sensor to trigger the Utilitech siren because that “magic” happens in the cloud, not locally?

It depends. If you are using a stock device type handler for the sensor and the Utilitech siren and you can set up the rule with the official “smart lighting” feature or the official “smart home monitor” feature, then the rule can run locally. That means that if the sensor triggers, the siren will sound. Note, however, that the phone app doesn’t work locally, so you may not have a way to turn the siren off again unless you have intentionally set up another local sensor or switch to allow you to turn it off.

An ADT sensor can trigger the siren built into the panel without cloud access because that part of the system works locally?

Yes. And you can also disarm that locally with the button on the panel or with the dual logo ADT key Farb.

The plugs and switches to which I refer are ones that I’ve confirmed are SmartThings compatible. I guess I’m asking if the SmartThings hub in the ADT panel is as capable as a stand-alone SmartThings hub? Of course, with the cloud dependency limitations (like Iris had).

The home automation side of it is exactly the same as any other standalone smartthings hub. Plus you get the added ADT features.

Is Smart Home Monitor what I would use to accomplish these things?

Generally, yes, although you may find the official smart lighting feature is also useful for some things. :sunglasses:

1 Like
#12

@ramar I too came over from Iris a little over a week ago getting the SmartThings ADT Starter Pack. I was in the same boat as you. I did not and still do not know anything about coding, programming or any of that stuff lol. I wanted to download ADT Tools 2 as well so i could do everything i could with Iris and more. I tried looking over all the instructions on these forums but was still lost. I got a lot of help from members with my questions but still was about to give up on ADT Tools 2 as i couldn’t figure out how to install it and go through all the steps. I came across this 10 min video just yesterday that fully explains and shows you on screen how to install webCoRE. I still dont really know what webCoRE is but it’s the same steps that you use to install ADT Tools 2. I installed webCoRE first then went back to watch it again and replaced webCoRE’s information with @Mavrrick58 (who created it) information and it should work for you. I had a few hiccups but wasn’t bad watching the step by step video. Here is the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=191&v=y_ElUwmmI6Y
and here is @Mavrrick58 post with the info you’d replaced the webCoRE information on his first post
[Released] ADT Tools 2 for Smartthings ADT alarm sytsems

If you have any problems or questions feel free to message me. I know the pain as i just went through it haha

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[Deprecated - DO NOT INSTALL] ADT Tools 2 for Smartthings ADT alarm sytsems
#13

@Fredderf - Thank you so much for your post! I learn better by following along with a video, step by step. I watched the video and it cleared up some of my confusion but I’m still not sure if I’ll try ADT tools 2. I might just keep it simple for now. Either way, I’m having surgery this morning so this will be on the back burner for a bit. Regards!

1 Like
#14

@ramar No Problem! The good thing is you don’t have to use ADT Tools once you get it installed if you chose not to. There’s a toggle button to turn the entire ADT Tools off right next to the App then all the settings will just be stock again. What i really wanted it for was to sound my Iris Utilitech Indoor Siren once the code is not entered in time upon entry or the motion detector picks up motion when it is armed as away. Does just that perfectly. An added bonus I am using with ADT Tools is auto arming when i leave and auto disarming when i get home based on cellphone location. Of course you can still do it manually through the phone app and ADT Hub as well. Heal up soon!

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