Frustrated by the state of things

Features that used to work but are currently broken

These create a very high frustration level, because they used to work and then just stopped working.

For example, for awhile you could no longer add a second user. This then bubbles out a bunch of different issues. This problem existed for at least six weeks before being fixed. I’m still not sure whether this is fixed or not.

Integration with third-party services breaks from time to time. Several broke a day or two ago, I’m not sure if they’re fixed yet.

Platform Instability

I have a routine that does nothing except at eight in the morning it changes the house from “asleep” status to “home” status. It failed to run at least four or five times in the last two weeks.

The impact of that depends on the other rules and schedules we have set up. Someone who has an alarm set up might find that the alarm goes off when the person walks in the kitchen for breakfast. At my house, we have motion sensors that turn on overhead lights at night, Sidewall night lights in the middle of the night, and nothing during the day. So when the mode doesn’t change, the Wrong lights come on.

I myself am quadriparetic, and have a touchless switch that is supposed to unlock my door from the inside. Last week I had to call my neighbor to come over on three different days just to open my front door because the SmartThings systems were erratic. (The door also randomly unlocked when we hadn’t done anything) it is possible for me to unlock the door manually by myself, but it takes about 10 minutes and is very tiring.

One night about ten days ago my housemate was watching a World Series game. He went in the kitchen and made some popcorn. He was walking back out of the kitchen carrying the popcorn when first the lights went out, and then the television randomly changed to a different channel. Not a good day at my house.

SmartThings support told us that “the platform had a few hiccups.”

When SmartThings works as intended it is my favorite home automation system, but it will run great for five or six weeks and then there will be a week (or three) like this.

How much of a problem that is for any one household just depends on what they’re trying to do with it.

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I’m not sure what you mean by this. If someone is not yet on the platform, how can they tell you what the problems are?

I can answer the second question though. If you replace all your house switches, there is zero chance of getting into a bind (other than being out of pocket for the cost of the switches). They use standard protocols (Z-Wave or Zigbee), and will work with any other hub that supports the protocol. They will also continue to work as normal “dumb” switches. As for the deadbolt, just get one with a key and/or touchpad option, like the Schlage BE368 or BE369.

Yeah, that is really puzzling as to why it’s been out of commission for so long. I don’t know if you realized, but for people who had a second user (or more) prior to the v2 launch (and that are still on a v1 hub… like me), it never stopped working.

These are fixed now. We are working on some communication around this soon.

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Thanks @JDRoberts and @Mr_Lucky. You guys answered what I was asking. My first comment was stating that I haven’t yet bought my hub and smart devices, so for people in my situation can someone (who is in fact running into the problems stated above) summarize what issues are occurring.

It sounds as though scheduling has been a big pain lately but manual operation is ok. As long as I can resolve the issue manually and I’m not stuck in a state (e.g. lights off) because the service is having a “hiccup” I’ll be fine.

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4 posts were split to a new topic: IFTTT and Mode Restriction

I’ll echo this statement. If you need us, as testers, to set up and execute any kind of scenarios, the active forums have a number of users who I am sure would step forward to assist. Let us know if we can do anything to help.

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I am going to add my perspective to this. I have been considering starting my own topic for a while, but didn’t want to just sound like I was complaining. So, let the complaining begin…

I came to Smartthings knowing that there was some issues, but figured things would get better as time went on. I got some devices specifically because they were mentioned as being compatible; I trusted that Smartthings would not be deceptive about the capabilities of their hub. I also got some devices that developers have written code for.

This was driven partially by the needs of my family. Without going into much details, some automated lighting, locks, Garage doors, etc, were needed. I also love tech and the thought of an automated home is enticing.

I have been using this hub for almost 6 months. I stopped adding devices because of the frustrations of keeping the existing devices working as expected. I have a V2 hub sitting in the box that I am hesitant to use because of the difficulty of migrating all of my devices and the fear that some things may not work. Not to mention that, as of right now, I can see no benefit to changing a setup that sort of works some times but not always.

I understand that this technology is on the bleeding edge, and I appreciate the difficulty of supporting all of the different types of devices. Hiccups and burps are expected. However, two things make me very uncomfortable. I can’t add users to my home and the failures of time based activities. These are basic functions and should be rock solid. They should be PRIORITIES to get repaired. After that, all devices that are listed as compatible should be repaired. Lastly, the app needs to be fixed to have the same capabilities as the old one and presence needs to become reliable. No more gimmicky security stuff that sends me a text message every hour (that I cannot disable by settings unless I go into the app and reset it) because a squirrel ran in front of the sensor.

TLDR: I am very unhappy with the state of Smartthings

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I admit that I am a reletively new user and have not had any problems with the platform. I came from trying to use more DIY type software running on a raspberry Pi. I think I tried every ‘free’ software solution out there and when the v2 hub came out, I decided to bite the bullet and dive in with ST. I can positively say that it has been a very pleasant experience. Everything for me, has just worked. I even developed some of my own code.

The down sides: I quickly learned about how folks were complaining about missing/incomplete features which was honestly a little troubling that a product was released incomplete. There are some, what I feel, common sense features also missing like the unfathomable uncustomizable dashboard. I get it, the Home Security stuff is there, but other than that, 80% of the screen is blank. What a waste. Documentation could be better (hello ThingShield!) However…

The upsides: There is a fantastic community. I have learned so much from everyone here and as I play, I hope to give back. The system is so much easier to use and configure in comparison to any other system I have tried… I have tried so many. The mostly open source nature of ST is amazing. I love being able to see the code, make changes to built in handlers and SmartApps. What other system allows you to do that to this level and simplicity? I have to give many props to the staff of ST and how they are interactive and regularly read the forums. Amazing. I have not seen anything like it.

So there are some good and bad but the good far out weighs the negative and I look forward to what ST comes up with in the future!

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When SmartThings works as designed, it is honestly amazing, even for a price point of ten times as much. If I were still in my hackaround tinkerer crawl under the desk and recable days, I’d be very happy with it. I still wouldn’t go running anything mission critical on it, but I’d be happy.

But now I’m just in plug and play consumer mode. Practical use cases, essential needs. And I have to pay somebody else to take the batteries out and reset the sensor. So the fit just isn’t right for now.

But I do hope that the two trajectories will combine and by next summer it will be the stable, reliable, versatile open standard, multiprotocol developer platform the community needs to create the awesome plug and play solutions people like me need. :sunglasses:

I mean, c’mon, where else can I ask if there’s a way to turn an accelerometer into a dog-friendly switch and not only have people I only met online not only get it, but take their own time to rig a test and see what sensitivity you need so a swat sets it off and a sneeze doesn’t? :sunglasses::dog: :bulb:

I really want to see SmartThings succeed. It’s just that the real world I live in requires a higher degree of reliability than ST delivers right now. Hence the frustration.

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I researched before buying my first home automation hub. Through all the cost-benefit analysis, I went with the first-generation, publically available product. I quickly got the v1 hub to work, and was able to integrate my Hue kit along with many third-party sensors. I wired my garage with a Z-Wave controller in a test of DIY affordability. There was an occasional issue and the v1 application on iOS took some time to understand the GUI. Overall, the SmartThings Support team was always available and the quality was perfect.
I recommended the product to colleagues who were using Wink. They often complained of processing lag time, of which I had none with SmartThings. I was excited about the next generation. I was also able to integrate more products of different kinds with the help of the developer forum (still fantastic!).
Then v2 came out.
While my application’s dashboard was still functional, I was able to work around some gaps to add users (I can still do that because my dashboard is intact from V1). I can also still use my garage door functionality. My colleague who started with V2 cannot do either of those things.
V2 was a clear step backward. The concept of MVP (e.g. Agile development) should be incremental improvements and steps forward. V2 hardly meets “minimally viable” and it should hardly be considered a sellable “product.” There are no discernable, practical improvements from V1.
Then the bugs started and continued.
Since migrating to V2, I’ve had consistent downtime when I previously had none. I’ve had all my ZigBee-based devices lose their connection to the hub (taking out the battery and reinserting after two minutes solved). I’ve had multiple GE Link Bulbs lose their connections multiple times, and it has gotten worse since the end of October. Nothing has changed on my end.
I’ve argued with tech-support about some logic gaps (e.g. the initial removal of ‘light power allowance’ that ultimately was added back). I’ve also had to argue about “light turn on” not sending the “setlevel” command. That was ultimately corrected with a program update, but not until after multiple weeks of correspondence and repeated instances of “IT’S NOT WORKING!”
I’ve now had delays in processing that were never there. I—luckily—have more app functionality because my dashboard remains useful and intact. Had I lost my dashboard or the ability to add family members to the account, I would’ve returned v2 over a month ago.
Here is what SmartThings needs to do:
• Take ownership. Recognize that selling the product as it is described, at best, constitutes deception. Offer discounts to current users who have placed their faith in all that was advertised.
• Communicate. Many of us who are in the developer community or on this board are prepared to tinker. We understand “stuff happens” and coding takes time; however, at this point we need constant updates.
• Invest in support. I used to get a quick email reply from SmartThings Support, now there are multiple day-long delays. Given all the issues, SmartThings needs to prioritize this for its legions of unsatisfied customers.
• Reconsider the Dashboard. Bring that back. The functionality that was there in v1, while not perfect is more of a minimally viable product than the current iteration.
• Delay future product releases until more testing can be done. There’s a difference between MVP and a functionally limited device with many issues.
I hope to stay with SmartThings; however, it is becoming less likely given the issues, lack of communication, and overall slow resolution. I want to be passionate about this product again, and I wrote this because I hope the issues can be fixed.

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I know Ben* has popped in the forums to apologize for these issues, but for the most part, support & the rest of the team has been fairly silent.
So, we are all floundering around trying to come up with workarounds and solutions in the dark. At the minimum, they should acknowledge what issues are their problem and which issues are local that could possibly be fixed by user intervention.
Thank you for your insightful input, at least the community is trying to get through these issues together.

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Rob who?

Do you mean @Ben?

It’s a vibrant community with lots of creative and talented folks. Rather than some apologies (and then silence) in the forums, it has to be a main page, newsletter, twitter – whatever – barrage of statuses from SmartThings leadership. I still enjoy the potential the platform has; however, my enjoyment has been significantly tempered and offset by numerous issues and bugs.

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Yeah, my fault. Haha. Maybe there’s a Rob that can help, too! :stuck_out_tongue:

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It’s not going to happen.

Samsung is crafting a precise marketing message… Anything else would be ill advised.

There are no substantial negative reviews of the product. Sales are trivial compared to the big picture, and the Community is an even smaller factor.

Despite the logic from our particular perspective, SmartThings has everything to lose by putting any more details out regarding the problems and resolution plans. It’s not something that tech companies do.

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Maybe they should consider the frustration on these forums as leading indicators. :smile:

Do you think that SmartThings is unaware of the problems and frustration? Their help desk receives hundreds of emails a day.

SmartThings wants to produce a quality product and platform, but they don’t want our advice on how to do it. Whether or not that is a good decision is moot. The company is in the hands of people who think they know better.

Your essay points are “correct” for the most part. But they are all obvious. And the MBAs who run SmartThings get paid far too much to agree with the “obvious”.

The new mobile App was produced under the direction of a high profile UX designer. Our suggestions can’t compete with that (even if we’re “right”).

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Another good example of mystery problem. My zxt-120 at my desk started working again today. No changes by me. Glad I didn’t waste my time trying to debug my issue. Just wait 4 days and the problem goes away…maybe…

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Of course the moment I mention it, it turns around and bites me in the face…

My rain barrel overflow sensor now gets triggered and sends me and my wife a text message every 5 seconds even though it’s definitely not raining. My wife is pissed because its distracting and she might miss “something important”.

My phone doesn’t have ST mobile app because it kills battery and eats data. I can’t walk my wife through changing the config on her phone.

I can’t change the associated smart app in the IDE. I can’t delete the device in the IDE because it’s associated with a smart app. I can’t delete the smart app because the IDE doesn’t let me.

I have ST mobile as a Chrome plugin on my desktop computer. It’s ST mobile v1. I can’t find the water sensor for the life of me. There’s no labels and I can’t “shake the device”. When I try to modify the smart app that sends text messages, the app crashes.

Grrr!

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