Hi folks. So, I made it this far. I’m an oldie so cut me some slack - I’m trying to figure out what this Smartthing thing is and to understand the basic terminology so I can understand what you’re all talking about. I’d appreciate some steers on a few things if possible…
I have the ST app on my Android 13 phone. Using the app, I have searched for and found my Samsung Smart TV and can operate it via the phone. Reezult! Now I want to get serious and buy a smart switch and have it operate my outdoor lighting on a simple daily on/off schedule for a few hours when it gets dark until say 22.00 hrs and then to extend the functionality by marrying this with a smart motion detector so that the lights will also come on after 22.00 if it detects motion. All very normal and simple, so far, I’m guessing, BUT…
I am scratching my head about what items to purchase - finding the lists of what works are confusing because I lack the understanding of what a Hub is. Is it my app/phone combo? Is it some sort of box that comes with each specific wifi enabled branded goody? Most of the items in the “Supported Devices” list state “Hub required”. I also see that to use stuff that works on “Matter” I need a SmartThing hub that supports Matter.
Where do I get one? Do those things that don’t ask for a hub just plug and play?
I guess my basic questions are what the H… is a Hub? Where do I get one? and How much does one cost? Then maybe I can work out the rest.
There a currently 2 standalone hubs that you can purchase that work with SmartThings. There is the Aeotec (formerly SmartThings v3) hub and the SmartThings Station. The both work with ZigBee, Matter over Thread and Matter over WiFi devices. The Aeotec hub also works with Z-Wave devices. They are small, squarish boxes that connect to your router via WiFi. The Aeotec hub can also connect to your router with an Ethernet cable.
In your case you probably don’t need a hub. You could use WiFi switch that works with SmartThings via a cloud connect. In the US a Kasa or Tapo switch would work for what you want.
Thanks for this. Good info. So, a Hub is a physical thing and I probably won’t need one for what I’m doing. Perfect; I’ll look to try to do that. Many thanks indeed.
I am feeling more confident … but wait, you’ve also mentioned that I’d now need a WiFi switch which would work for me via another thing called a cloud connect? What are these and where do I find them and how much are they likely to cost?
Do you see my problem? So many terms for things I didn’t know existed or that it seems I’ll need in order to get things to work - but scant mention of these in video tutorials. When I’ve looked at Youtube clips of people hooking up their smart switches and smart bulbs etc via SmartThing, it just seems to work without any other boxes. Just the app.
Still a bit confused at this end but maybe making some progress, I think…
Any more clarification available to cover this wifi switch and the cloud connect requirement? Or maybe a good Youtube tutorial that shows them?
It is understandable. SmartThings is a smart home automation and control platform that really needs to be considered as its own thing.
Samsung bought it very early in its life and present it as an independent subsidiary. Unfortunately they have rather muddied the waters with the ‘SmartThings’ app. That used to be the ‘Samsung Connect’ app and it brought all Samsung’s appliance remote control apps together in one place. Unfortunately it then absorbed all the functionality of the SmartThings app and fused it together with all the Samsung stuff in a way that, in my opinion, has never been truly satisfactory and then took on the branding.
So what should be a Samsung app providing complementary third party access to SmartThings now effectively IS SmartThings in the eyes of the world, and there isn’t really a clean introductory way into SmartThings itself.
A number of ‘smart home’ devices, mains powered switches being a common example, use Wi-Fi for communication. That allows them to potentially be directly controlled by other devices on your home network. However remote control from outside of your home requires the internet so the devices initiate connections to servers provided by, or on behalf of, their manufacturers in the cloud. If third party platforms such as SmartThings want to control those devices they connect via those cloud servers. The connection is actually made via SmartThings own cloud servers so it is a ‘cloud to cloud’ connection.
A lot of low end home routers can only accommodate a limited number of Wi-Fi devices and also Wi-Fi isn’t great for battery powered devices, which many sensors (motion, contact, temperature, water etc) are. So alternative wireless technologies such as Zigbee get used instead. These aren’t internet based so they need a ‘hub’, or something similar, in the home to control them.
Ah! Eureka! I think you’ve sorted it all out for me. I see what you mean. I was misunderstanding
the term “wifi switch” and taking it as being some form of special switch that switched my wifi around for some reason. And I see now that “cloud connect” means connecting through the cloud to another cloud. Since I want to be able to switch my lights automatically while I and my phone are in another country, I think I’ll get a hub for future-proofing.
Meanwhile… I’ve found a really helpful video on Youtube which explains one reason why much confusion surrounds whether a hub is needed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwVlp9yI6k8 from 2.44 mins. Vendors have a lot to answer for, it seems.
Anyway, I digress. Many many thanks for clearing all this up for me.
