So what is it doing?
Making the platform a lot more flexible.
The internet gateway is nice, easy to add and was less than $30 to add. The power bolt deadbolt prevents any one using the pull string to break into the garage. I also have the side mount instead of the overhead style.
If your garage opener is newer then recommended the switch, if over 10 years I would recommend updating with a smarter garage opener.
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Has anyone had any issues with Home sensor stating youāre home without a Leave in between? Example, my wife and I were home, mobile presence stated we were home. Then my wife opened the app and trigger the Iām Home function again because of my wifeās phone. When I looked at the history it just had āArrived Homeā then āarrived Homeā.
Iām confused. It show that you were both home but your wifeās phone did what? And if it showed that you and your wife were home why did your wife trigger that you were home?
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Do you mean that after it auto ran the arrived home routine, when your wife clicked on the routine it showed it as being run again?
She didnāt trigger the routine manually. We were both already āHomeā and when she opened the app again, it triggered the routine āPerforming Iām Home because Wifeās Phone is presentāā¦but it was ALREADY present. Even in the activity log there is no āLeavingā
10:00 AM "Has arrived"
3:00 am (the next day) āHas arrivedā triggering the even again.
Yes, that is the device āWaking Upā and reporting its location. See it in the logs all the time. My concern is something like this will trigger a door unlock (if I used presence to unlock). I believe I have the āiām Homeā not to trigger if you are already in the Home mode.
Back in December, ST was listing you as away if it did not know you location (like when the phone dozed) and then when it checked in every 15 min or so it triggered āIām Homeā. They fixed that issue, and only changes to away if it knows you are away.
OK, so I am moving in this week and my project officially begins. Any recommendations for a not so expensive zigbee and z-wave repeater? I will need atleast 2 on each floor for proper coverage. Also once again if anyone has canadian pricing on any of these I would appreciate it.
There is a sale going on at Loweās for the iris plug in outlet. It repeats Zwave and zigbee.
But two, get one free.
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Itās timeās like these I really wish I lived in the US
Sorry dudeā¦ I tried 
thank you though, I have family in atlanta, checking if they are visiting any time soon. If they areā¦ well theyāre gonna be bringing me a lot of goodies 
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Will these work as zigbee repeaters?
If they do I can have one per room.
The GE links would work as repeaters but they are terrible for that purpose as they have a firmware bug (this is the reason they are not on the official āworks with SmartThingsā compatibility list) which causes them to lose touch with the network from time to time. This has nothing to do with SmartThings itās also why you will see discussions elsewhere from people who have a Hue bridge about the GEās showing up with a yellow ! So I cannot recommend them as repeaters.
Instead, you can use the similarly priced hue whites connected directly to the smart things hub or the Cree. Or the Osram lightify if you like being able to change the color temperature.
The only thing about using the Hues connected directly is that there is no way to reset them to factory specifications unless you also buy a separate device, the lutron connected bulb remote. It costs about $30 at Home Depot, but you only need one no matter how many bulbs you have. Even though itās a different brand then the Hues, it just happens to have the exact command you need to reset them after theyāve been connected to SmartThings, which the similar Phillips hue dimmer switch does not. Also, you need a different device handler if the Hues are connected directly. (Other brands of bulbs will not require this device if they use a āblankā method to factory reset the individual bulb. The Hues donāt use a blink method, which is why an additional device is required. But they are excellent bulbs, very well engineered, and now that the price is typically $15 US at Best Buy, certainly worth considering.)
Anyway, the main point is donāt count on the GE links as repeaters. But there are other bulbs that you can consider.
I agree that the iris smart plug is the simplest solution since it repeats both Zigbee and Z wave. Tell your Atlanta relatives to bring an extra suitcase. 
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I ordered six! Picking them up today.
Thanks, doesnāt look like my relatives will be visiting any time soon. Amazon has Hues Whites at CAD $14.99 right now so I might just end up getting those. Have the hues required resetting frequently? Any experience with them?
Weāve never had to reset any of the Hues at our house. Thatās a big contrast with the GE links even in the same room.
I didnāt like the first generation of the white only hue bulbs, called the Lux, although we do have two of them and use them. They only go to 600 lm and I like a brighter bulb in most rooms. The newer generation, called āhue whiteā costs less than the lux and goes to 800 lm and weāve been very happy with them. Weāre eventually planning to replace all the GE links we have with the hue whites. Weāre keeping the Hue Lux, which work just fine, but have moved them to places where the dimmer light is OK.
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Thanks for the feedback! It helps A LOT!!! Also any recommendations on z-wave devices? Any lightbulbs? I will most likely end up needing a few z-wave extenders since I am experimenting with a few no name Chinese z-wave window/door sensors and my house is quite large. Also after going through the forums Iāve seen comments on z-wave not being as reliable as zigbee when it comes to STās. Is this still an issue?
Zwave and Zigbee are both very reliable third party standards. SmartThings, historically, not so much, although they are working on improvements in that area.
There are a couple of Z wave lightbulbs, but they are A21s not A19s and so although the shape looks the same as a conventional lightbulb they tend to be much bigger. A zwave lightbulb can be helpful as a repeater to get signal down basement stairs, for example, but the aesthetics maybe off for other parts of the house.
As far as other devices, it just depends on the features you want for your own particular needs. Personally, for home automation I like better engineered devices (this is typically reflected in warranty length), but thatās just me.
The following thread has some detailed discussion you might find interesting:
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