I currently own the 2nd gen SmartThings, a couple of IKEA LED drivers, remotes, motion sensors RGBW bulbs, and also a pair if Innr smart plugs. Since adding IKEA things to SmartThings is a hassle and requires “hacking” (i.e. setting up a developer account, adding a user developed device handler, putting the bulb literally on top of SmartThings, hoping it turns up, then sometimes it just won’t work at all), I was thinking to get a Hue Bridge to get a more reliable system. But then I noticed that SmartThings v3 was recently released, and I am wondering if anyone could tell me what would be the better option here? Has it gotten better with the third generation? Are the things now officially supported? Thanks!
Using custom code is not hacking. It’s an intended feature of the SmartThings platform. It’s programming. The two terms are not identical. Just sayin’…
A number of the IKEA models now have Official integrations with SmartThings. Nothing to do with hub V3, they also work with hub V2. However, the driver is not one of them, you still have to use custom code for that.
Of course it’s not hacking per se, that’s why I used the quotation marks. But it is however not an out of the box solution from a gigantic company as Samsung, instead it is a solution dependent on the knowledge of (usually) one hobby enthusiast doing the coding on his spare time. And the things weren’t found unless they were no more than a couple of centimeters apart from the hub, which is also not how I imagine it should work if it is officially supported? That’s what I was referring to.
As for the IKEA things, what do I need to do to ensure that SmartThings finds them without them physically touching? Do I need to update my SmartThings? Also, does it still have the limitation that I can only pair the driver either with the hub or the IKEA remote, but not both? I managed to get it working like that with my smart IKEA bulbs, but not the driver
AFAIK the Ikea Tradfri LED drivers are the only Tradfri devices that are difficult to pair and require extreme proximity to the hub. I have many Tradfri pocket sockets, a couple bulbs, and the 2 button remote, all of which paired quickly and easily. And I believe most Tradfri devices can be used with stock DTH’s now, so no custom code is required. I think you can either pair the driver to SmartThings or the remote, but not both. You can however pair both the driver and remote to SmartThings and then set up rules that allow button presses on the remote to control the driver (or any other connected devices).
I’m pretty sure I paired the drivers after i mounted them, 3-4 meters from the hub…
It all comes down to a strong Zigbee mesh/network, without any non-compatible Zigbee repeaters/routers in your mesh…
Another thing that could interfere with your mesh, is if you have Wi-Fi on 2.4 GHz…
