Get ready to make the switch!

I’m glad to see this finally starting. The new app has come a very long way. There’s even things I like better about the new app. I’d say it meets 95% of my needs now compared to Classic. Based on the FAQ, there are plans to post information on custom UI metadata for the new app, which is much needed and will bring me close to 100%. Anyway, thanks to ST staff for working on a true migration tool so that this doesn’t have to be done manually.

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Hey all - as you can see from above, we’re starting to ask SmartThings Classic users to migrate from the Classic app to the new SmartThings app. Here’s a little more detail on how switching from Classic to the new app will impact you.

First off, we want our most dedicated users on the community to know three key things:

  • There will be plenty of time to make this transition.
  • We will be timely and transparent about any changes and how they impact you.
  • We are listening! The community helped us plan for this transition and prioritize features in the new app - if you have questions or suggestions, we would like to hear them - please comment below.

Community users told us transparency and clear communication was important during app migration. This post is meant to help explain why app migration is happening and how it impacts you.

Why is SmartThings asking me to use the new app?

Put simply, the new app lets us give you a better experience. It is more stable, more flexible in handling a variety of device types and provides improved security and privacy. Overall, it provides a much better platform to build on as we add new features and functionality.

It also allows us to put all our resources into developing new features and debugging a single app. We maintain largely separate systems to run Classic and the new app. Consolidating to a single app lets us focus on making SmartThings even more awesome for our users.

When should I migrate?

We will let you know when it’s time through a banner at the top of your Classic app - not all users will migrate at the same time. Because development and testing of a few features is ongoing, we’re rolling out to some users later than others so that they have a great experience when they start using the new app. The complexity and features used in your setup will determine when you are asked to migrate, but rest assured that we will still make sure everyone has plenty of time to complete migration.

What’s changing?

Please see the App Migration FAQ page for the most up-to-date info on all changes - we will update this page with new information on features and troubleshooting suggestions as it becomes available.

Overall, a few major changes are happening:

  • Smart Home Monitor - Smart Home Monitor is changing from a Groovy SmartApp to an EndPoint app.
  • Lock Code Management - Lock Code Management is changing to a new SmartApp called Smart Lock Guest Access which is currently available in the US and will be expanded to other countries in the future.
  • Routines - Routines will become Scenes and Automations in the new app. The triggers for a Routine will be changed to Automations and the actions for the Routine will become a Scene.

Smart Home Monitor and Lock Code Management settings will be migrated to their new versions and Routines will be broken up into Scenes and Automations automatically when you begin app migration.

There are some features that we’ve had to change because of privacy, regulatory, or functional reasons. All of these are detailed in the FAQ page, but here are a few big ones to be aware of:

  • Community SmartApps - Installing community SmartApps used to be done through a combination of the IDE and the Classic app. Going forward, the steps completed in the Classic app can be done in the new SmartThings app.
  • Self-published DTHs - The new app still supports self-published DTHs, but we found that over 90% of the devices on the SmartThings platform can be run by less than 100 ST Approved DTHs and most would actually work better. We’ve already rebuilt the most popular DTHs, tested them in the new app, and made them execute locally where possible. We recommend you transition any self-published DTHs to ST Approved DTHs to get the best experience in the new app.
  • Custom Capabilities - Custom attributes are changing to custom capabilities in the new app. This means that if a device hasn’t had custom capabilities UI metadata created to match its attributes, they won’t display properly in the new app. We’ve already done this for the most popular devices (see info above on ST approved DTHs) and are finishing development on a way for you to create your own custom capabilities. Additional user front-ends that will help with this are under development and should be ready in the coming months, so we’d recommend waiting until that is released before beginning any work on custom capabilites yourself.
  • Smart Home Monitor in WebCore - Because of security and privacy concerns, we can’t support SHM state changes in webCORE pistons moving forward. We know this is important functionality though, so we’ve provided a workaround. Use a custom automation in the new app to change SHM state by using presence detection, location mode, or a virtual switch as a trigger and then reference that trigger in your webCORE piston to accomplish the same thing.

Where do I get more information?

The App Migration FAQ is the best place for the most up to date information on app migration. We will continue to update this page as we receive feedback from users and make changes to the app.

How do I get help?

Our support teams are ready to help with app migration if you run into any issues. We encourage you to look at the FAQ page first as most issues should be easily solved with that information, but if you’re still having trouble, you can get support through links in either app or by calling our customer support team at 1-800-SAMSUNG.

What happens if I don’t migrate?

You will need to migrate as the Classic app will eventually be deprecated. We will provide an exact date for that in the coming months to give you plenty of advance notice, but if you do not eventually migrate before that date, SmartThings Classic will no longer work and you may lose some of your settings or migration may be more difficult.

We will continue to post reminders and more information as migration gets going. Please watch this thread and the FAQ page for more information.

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Isn’t the security feature in the new app now called SmartThings Home Monitor? STHM rather than SHM? Or did you folks change the name again? :sunglasses:

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I am sure I missing something BUT, this is extremely confusing. Yes, I just received the email, however, I have been using the new app and Samsung account for ages. Is this campaign indicative that my Classic app would be deprecated? Should I expect a sunset banner to appear in my Classic app? Is this campaign targeting select users, or is a mass campaign and you don’t really know who is using the new app and who is not?

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Routines in the Classic app allow you to have the same variable, but with a different value, as both the trigger and the result in an automation. Hugely useful.

“if location.mode is Home and Michael arrives, change the location.mode to Guest”

‘If Switch 1 is on and it’s 6 pm, turn Switch 1 off.”

Last I checked, this was not possible in the new V3 app. Has this changed?

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Will Routines in the Classic be transitioned into Scenes and Automations using the “transition tool”?

Or once transitioned users will need to manually recreate any and all routines they have.

Oh and what about behaviors? Could you please give us an update, if there have been any changes?

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Correct. The endpoint smartapp that replaces SHM is called SmartThings Home Monitor. The key takeaway here is the they are two different apps. You’ll only want to have one running at a time or it can get annoying, especially if you have different triggers for each (I ran into this during beta and dogfooding). The migration process will migrate your settings to the endpoint version and uninstall the groovy version automatically, but if you start playing with the new app before using the migration tool, be aware that it’s possible to have both running at the same time.

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There’s a FAQ for that… :wink:

Note in particular the need to individually delete all SHM automations in the Classic app before deleting the app itself or they just keep running forever. You might want to add that to the migration instructions unless you’ve cleaned it up on the cloud side. :cloud_with_lightning:

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The campaign targets anyone who has shown activity of using the Classic app within the last year. If you’ve already moved over to the new app and don’t use Classic anymore, there’s nothing for you to do. I’d recommend just making sure that you don’t have any routines in use and have moved over to the versions of SmartThings Home Monitor and Smart Lock Guest access in the new app.

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Isn’t the ability to continually innovate and integrate new devices and features what makes ST so awesome? Unfortunately that “standard” models from ST are very basic, the custom controls is the juice.
What happened to “upcoming” ability of the new app to provide custom controls?

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Does this also mean that WebCoRE will not be able to have ‘view-only’ access to STHM states please (e.g. If STHM is Away then do X)?

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Custom automations in the new app allow you to use multiple conditions but there are some limitations on them to make sure users don’t inadvertently create infinite loops. The specific case you’re referring to can be accomplished using a scene to control the location mode and automation to activate the scene.

Ex:
“IF location.mode is home and Gene arrives, THEN start scene ‘guest’”
Scene ‘guest’ = change location.mode to Guest

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There’s absolutely ZERO way NewApp is ready for my move. I’ve been trying it.

Better than it used to be - but nowhere close.

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Going Away. I have already transitioned to Hubitat. I keep my SmartThings account and integration to support the TP-Link Integration (largely replaced by the new official integration) and the Samsung Multi-room Speaker integration (never will be available). When I get the banner, I will announce sunset on the integrations, unregister and unplug the SmartThings Hub, delete the apps from my phone. The GitHub repositories will remain with a clear not maintained statement.

For those saying the Hubitat app is not as good. Yes, out of the box; however, it is far better once you create your phone, tablet, or pc dashboards. It just takes some learning and some easy development (that can be fun).

My thanks to this community. This user community and the SmartThings staff have continually helped, encouraged, and been kind and I thank all. I hope both SmartThings and the community members the best going forward. Remember, he who dies with the most toys wins.

Dave Gutheinz

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Is there an approved DTH for a virtual device that is both a switch and a sensor? This is a popular method for integration with Alexa routines (not SmartThings routines). So that would be great to have an official version. :sunglasses:

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Blake I suggest you guys reach out and find out WHY we’ve been using classic rathern than a blanket - get ready to migrate.

Personally I need two things before I’ll even consider it close to ‘ready’

  1. WebCore can see cloud connected devices using the new APIs etc.
  2. Your new Nexia integration properly working (right now it doesn’t show my thermostat after connecting)
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Also, there is a SharpTools option for Hubitat which is pretty cool and I personally think is somewhat easier to setup. :sunglasses:

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It seems that Samsung Connect doesn’t desire my services as a user

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I’ve made the switch. This was my third attempt. Things aren’t fully working yet and I’m trying to find sustainable solutions for some old behaviors:

  • I had a bunch of alerts (just notifications) when certain doors or windows were opened for more than 5 minutes or if there was movement in the kids after 9pm. I can replicate this behaviors with automation, but I’ll have to have one per sensor in order to distinguish the notifications.
  • Changing the home mode based on a number of different conditions currently require multiple automations. Also, a bug that if you had the mode as a condition you can’t add it as an action. Doing it the other way around works.
  • No way to see if users are at home or not. Makes it hard to figure out why certain actions don’t run when people leave/arrive.
  • Why was the delay on SMH triggering the alarm removed? That by itself was my singular motivation to move to the new app.
  • Notifiy to arm/disarm on arrival/leave is kind of useless. My kids aren’t going to be able to distinguish that notification from the other 100 they get while getting back from school and I’m not going to spend a minute loading the app to disarm it in the car before arriving home.

Things are a lot better than before, I’m trying to be optimistic. If you’re phasing out smartapps, introduce JavaScript based advanced automations (with a functioning sharing/community feature) to cover the gap that’s so obviously there…

Thanks,
Alex

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Will Routines in the Classic be transitioned into Scenes and Automations using the “transition tool”?
Yes. The migration tool will break routines into component scenes and automations.

Oh and what about behaviors? Could you please give us an update, if there have been any changes?
The goal of limits and guardrails is basically to make sure that we don’t get a device or smartapp spamming the platform with events and degrading stability and performance. We try to set what look like reasonable limit levels based on the data we see on our end, but if you run into issue, please surface them in the community and we can look into changing things. We’re 100% behind supporting the community and our power users as much as we possibly can.

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