Iris User - Looking for info

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So everyone knows IRIS is dead at the end of next month. And i am trying to find a a replacement. I have 18 contact sensors currently in use and lots of home automation. I hear everyone talking about ADT SmartThings, but it requires all new sensors to be compatible. And when looking up the price on them, I see many stores have put the whole ADT SmartThings items on clearance. (Example BestBuy) So is ADT side going away and nobody knows yet? Would be pissed to invest in that have have it go belly up.

So if ADT side is here to stay, can I use everything from my Iris system (Minus the contacts and keypads) with the ADT version? (Smoke detectors, Glass break sensors, water leak, water shutoff, schlage smart locks, ect…) and have events set up like: If between sundown to sunup and front door is unlocked by user x or user y then turn on kitchen lights and turn alarm off.

Can I set all contacts to be away , and some that are not active during the stay? We have dogs that get let out in the middle of the night and do not want to disarm and rearm every time. So my back door I would like to exclude from the arming except when were away.

Also with the ADT version is it still 100% cloud based, in that if the cloud goes dark and cant connect that I am unable to disarm the alarm. Is nothing handled locally?

Any Iris users make the full move yet.

As much as people complained about Iris, the still seem to be the only provider that integrated everything. Sure wish SmartThings (Samsung) would have purchased iris and merged the two together. That would have been the best of both worlds.

Not sure where to go from here. Not going to pay $30+ a month plus the added cost of all the additional sensors i would need and still not have it all integrated together.

Very frustrated, and feel like I am scrambling to find a solution and there is nothing.

Thanks for reading and hope to find a solution.

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Click on the “afterIris” tag I just added to the topic title for your thread and you will be able to see the topics that other iris users have added to the forum. Quite a few discussions are underway. :sunglasses:

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As far as the devices that you currently have, we’ll need to know the model numbers in order to know how you might be able to use them with a potential smartthings system.

Also, how do you use your current iris system as far as use cases? Is it primarily for security? Home automation like control of lights? As a wellness check on an elderly relative? To add accessibility for someone with physical challenges? Or?

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The ADT version is the only model which is designed to continue to be operating as a security system even if both your power and Internet are out. It’s the only one that has cellular communications. It also has a battery back up good for several hours. (The V2 model had a limited battery back up, but it couldn’t do a lot with it, and that was removed for the V3 model.)

So my own personal opinion is that if you are looking for a low-cost DIY install professionally monitored security system, the ADT model is the only one among the smartthings hubs that I would consider a candidate. Other candidates in this category would include ring, Abode, and simplisafe.

(I don’t personally include nest because while they have excellent local smoke alarms, they will not use them to notify the professional monitoring center because they don’t have cellular communications. So like scout, they only have professional monitoring for “intrusion alerts,“ meaning contact and motion sensors. So they don’t make my list although they might work for someone else. But I only consider systems that also have fire monitoring.)

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Thanks for the quick reply, I can go through and find model numbers and such, it will just take some time. But as far as Iris currently goes, i use it as a daily self monitored alarm system. If a contact or glass break sensor is triggered the alarm goes off and calls me. same if it detects smoke or carbon or water, it goes off and calls me even if not armed. Then I have home automation setup with rules and events based upon time of day. I have it connect to alexa for voice control over many things also. (Lights, Temp, ect…) But with Iris I get to tie them together, so if alarm is triggered, i have all interior and exterior light turn on, and sound alarms inside and out. Or comming home i get to use my door lock keypad to unlock my home and turn lights on depending on time of day. That is just a few of the tings I have set up with my current system. I will take a look at the tag you made also.

Thanks.

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You can do everything that you described with the nonADT models, or with using the nonADT model devices with the ADT model hub. It’s just that there still that cloud dependency, so if you lose touch with the smartthings cloud, some rules will still work, but a lot of rules will not. For many people, that still acceptable for an inexpensive self monitoring system. For those who want a more rigorous security system, it’s not.

But you can get all the features from the home automation side and still have a baseline security system that works even without the Internet on the security side if you get the ADT panel model. So It just depends on what your own requirements are.

One of the most significant differences is that if you don’t have the ADT panel model, there is literally no way to arm or disarm the system unless you have contact with the smartthings cloud.

With the ADT model you can arm or disarm it either from the panel or with the key fob.

That doesn’t seem like a big deal until the day comes when the cloud is out, you are away from home, you arrive home, and all your sirens started going off. :scream:

Or there’s a big thunderstorm, your power goes out in the evening, you want to go to sleep and then you realize there’s no way to arm your security system.

But if you get the ADT model, you don’t have to replace all of your sensors. Only the ones that you want to use to Trigger those special security functions.

You can still use your non-ADT sensors and have vocal alerts or sirens go off or get push notifications if a door is left unlocked or have a leak sensor trigger a water valve or any of that stuff. As long as your system has a connection to the smartthings cloud.

You could also still use your non-ADT sensors for all your regular home automation rules like having lights come on when the door is opened after dark or whatever.

So think of the ADT security piece as an add on layer to the existing home automation system. You only have to use those devices for events that you want to have called the ADT monitoring center. Or that you want to have work when you don’t have access to the smartthings cloud.

See the following FAQ (the topic title is a clickable link)

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Can I set all contacts to be away , and some that are not active during the stay? We have dogs that get let out in the middle of the night and do not want to disarm and rearm every time. So my back door I would like to exclude from the arming except when were away.

The ADT panel has a “quick exit“ button when it is in “Stay” . If you press that, the system will not respond to sensors for 60 seconds. This is to give you time to let the dogs out or for one person to leave the house while another person is still sleeping. It doesn’t meet everyone’s needs, but it does work for some.

For the non-ADT logo sensors, you can have different rules for each individual one. But then you are back to a cloud dependency.

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OK so once quick thing all my Iris Contact Sensors for my doors and windows then would need to be all replaced my ADT ones correct? (I have 16 new in box pf the iris v2 contacts. along with ones I am using)

Also here is a list of the most important things I have. most have model numbers execept switches which I already know can be used on Smarthings along with others not listed.

Schlage Deadbolts - Touchscreen Deadbolt (BE469) (Z-Wave)
Utilitech Glass Break Sensors (GB-00Z-1) (Z-Wave)
Utilitech Indoor Siren (TSE07-1) (Z-Wave)
Utilitech Water Leak Detector (TST01-1) (Z-Wave)
Iris Smart Plug (3210-L)
LeakSmart Shut-Off Valve (8830000L) (Zigbee HA 1.2)
GE Dimmer Switch (Modle# unsure)(Z-Wave and/or Zigbee)
GE Fan Switch (Modle# unsure)(Z-Wave and/or Zigbee)
GE Light Switch (Modle# unsure)(Z-Wave and/or Zigbee)
First Alert Smoke & CO Detector (ZCOMBO) (Z-Wave)
Honeywell Color Touchscreen Thermostat (RTH9580 Wi-Fi) (Wi-Fi)

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Have you considered using the non ADT model or using the ADT model and not using the ADT services and instead using SmartApps or SHM to create your security setup if you aren’t using professional monitoring? That way you get to use all your existing devices and eat your cake too :slight_smile:

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Oooo tell me more! I thought there was no security without ADT (no delay entry exit or possible alarm shut off issues when no cloud connection.)

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Without ADT you can’t change the alarm status without connection to the cloud (arm, disarm, etc.). In the ~18 months I’ve been using SmartThings this has been an issue for me exactly once. Alarm was armed when I came home but the internet was out so I had no way to disarm.

Entry and exit delays are not built in to the non ADT hubs, but can be implemented via a community developed smartapp (SHM delay).

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You’re right that you need internet connectivity to use any of the non ADT solutions. But on a practical note you can add a UPS to your hub and modem/router and it works for many people who don’t have ADT options. That opens up more options for you like SHM or solution like Intruder Alert and SHM Delay have entry and exit delays and many more features. You can also use your existing IRIS Keypad to arm disarm SHM and manage your lock users. You can also look at ADT Tools to see how it can supplement your hub features.

There are lots of possibilities but there are compromises and some effort that needs to go into the solutions depending on how much you want to invest time/effort to create something custom.

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I have all my stuff on UPS already about 24+ hours on battery, so that is no issue. I don’t mind investing time getting this created as long as once its setup I don’t have to update and redo it (Unless its quick and easy) One thing I forgot to mention I would like to have the system call me if there is an issue like with google voice that i have.

Also i know the hub does not have any speaker, so I would like a way to have the system make an announcement when a door/window is opened. I prefer to avoid the ADT path so I can use what i already have.

I just had something come up so i will have to get back to creating the system. In the mean time it there any hardware that is recommended that I get (For like the door announcement and such). I also have a tablet that I can dedicate to the system if needed as I have heard people have done that also.

This is making me feel at ease that there are solutions and there are so many willing to help. Thanks to all for your help.

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For door announcements, by far the easiest way is just to use an Amazon Echo Dot. ( or multiple echo devices if you want more than one Device to do the announcement.)

Amazon echo has an official feature where when a sensor that it recognizes triggers, you can have the echo say any phrase that you want. Or play a sound file.

I’m not 100% sure if the dual logo ADT sensors will work for this, but with SmartThings, you have the ability to create a virtual sensor which you can use for this purpose. This is a very popular new feature. :sunglasses:

That will require that the Internet be working at the time of the announcement, but that’s true pretty much of pretty much any Voice solution.

If you have a strong technical background you might be able to cobble something else together that would play sounds off of a local laptop, but it would be way more complicated.

If you just want a chime, there are some local solutions that work in a way similar to a siren. See the how to article in the community – created wiki:

https://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=How_to_Set_Up_a_Door_Open_Chime/Siren

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Most of these setups when done correctly are once and done.

The only setup in ST that can place a call is ADT monitoring service. ST does not allow for calls but you can send text messages, push notifications on your ST mobile app and also voice announcements over speakers. However each of these are solution dependent. For example SHM requires an audio player to send voice messages. On the other hand Intruder Alert with Actions requires a Text to Speech (TTS) plater to announce messages.

An audio player would like a Bose or Sonos.
A TTS player would like a Sonos or if you own an Amazon Echo you can use the Echo Speaks integration to have it behave as a TTS player.

With a TTS player integrated in your setup you have lots of options to create your own Automations using CoRE or WebCoRE or a plethoras of apps which can use TTS to announce whatever you need.

The community here is just amazing and options virtually unlimited.

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“Echo speaks” has a lot of fancy features, But also has a very complex set up.

As of September 2018, as long as you live in the US or the UK, Amazon offers an official feature which let you have an echo device ( or more than one) say anything you want based on certain trigger conditions. So that’s usually way simpler than any other text to speech option. It can also play a custom sound file. See the link to the FAQ in my previous post. :sunglasses:

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