Anyone ever try the Dlink HA hub ?
ZIGBEE, Z-WAVE, WiFi…interesting
http://us.dlink.com/products/uncategorized/staples-connect-hub/
Anyone ever try the Dlink HA hub ?
ZIGBEE, Z-WAVE, WiFi…interesting
http://us.dlink.com/products/uncategorized/staples-connect-hub/
@JDRoberts mentions “Staples Connect” rather often… Do a Forum Search .?
TL;DR;… It works, but with rather limited set of devices, rules, and no extensibility. Perhaps more aimed at small offices rather than homes, 'cuz the gadget press ignores Staples Connect.
It’s solid and reliable. It works locally. But it only works with a few devices. And it lacks pretty much any feature that might impact its reliability. So no Geopresence, no custom code, no IFTTT, no voice control. Their primary market is small businesses, so if you just want to control lights and window coverings on a schedule, along with a doorlock and some sensors, it might be a good fit. But if they don’t currently have the devices you want to use, I wouldn’t assume they’ll ever add them.
If you look at their forums, the main complaints are that it doesn’t support enough different devices and features.
CNET did a good review:
One thing to note is that there have been a lot of rumors just this month that staples is basically winding down the project. They’re continuing to support existing customers but have removed the displays for most of the retail stores.
The software side of it is provided by zonoff, who also recently won the bid to do a similar project for ADT. Zonoff is being sued for patent infringement by I control (who also bid on ADT), and the whole thing is kind of messy right now. Staples may be waiting for that to get resolved.
I did but I didn’t find anything. I guess I was searching for “Dlink Hub” and “DCH-G021” neither worked.
@JDRoberts Thanks for your info. Way too limited for my taste.
My Dad just bought a Echo and he wants to control lights. I am reluctant to recommend ST because of how difficult it is to maintain. If he only does lights I can probably set it up for him remotely and it does work pretty well. I am also considering recommending Hue Bridge but I don’t know much about it so I need to do more research. Ideally he wants to replace light switches like you can with z-wave.
You can use echo very reliably to control smart bulbs without needing SmartThings at all. But you would need the Phillips hue bridge.
For now if you want to control switches you would need either Insteon or Wink or SmartThings. Or the switch has to have an IFTTT channel.
For example, both the Wemo wall switch and the Lutron Caseta switch have an IFTTT channel, so both can now be used with Echo via IFTTT.
https://ifttt.com/wemo_light_switch
Amazon will probably add more choices in the future as well.
I have been using the Staples Connect D-link hub for about two weeks. It is very responsive and has yet to miss a scheduled activity. Lutron support is nice. The app is easy to use. I put a pico remote in our cars and disable security/unlock door / turn on lights with the button.
On the down side, functionality is definitely limited. No adjusting motion sensor reset times, no timing modes or even the ability for an activity (routine) to change the mode. Door lock will not perform mode change or activity with a user code (apparently that is supported with a Yale lock). No geofencing but I’m fine with that. ST hasn’t worked that well with geofencing anyway. There are no energy monitoring devices so no “laundry is done” alert.
The only technical problem I am having is with my hue bulbs. Some aren’t responding to modes. They are trying to fix the issue now for me. On the other hand, hue never worked correctly for me in Smartthing either. I’m pretty happy with staples connect so far.