Is SmartThings ADT dead? (July 2019) (Lifeshield/Blue by ADT Acquisition and Support comments on EOL)

I think the thing that is getting lost is that for your worst case scenarios to occur all of smartthings or all of what is connected to the ADT Canopy platform would have to be turned off. Both of those would have far greater reach then simply the Smartthings ADT Panel. Again could it happen certainly, but not likely.

Not true. It requires only that SmartThings choose not to provide cloud services to that model hub, which they could do at any time. They could even do it down to the account level.

This is how they handle the Vodafone model in Europe, for example. If you cancel your Vodafone service, the hub stops receiving SmartThings cloud services.

I’m not saying they will do this (and again, it doesn’t feel like something ADT would do), I’m just saying they could, and they haven’t said they won’t.

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I wish we had a good way to help convey the likely hood of something speculative like this happening on these forums. I mean it scares people, and it just isn’t likely.

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In the Absence of an official statement one way or another, there’s absolutely no way to tell what the likelihood is.

The whole reason someone (not me) started this thread Was because ADT made two recent acquisitions of companies which appear to offer functionality similar to the smartthings/ADT panel, and because analysts writing about those acquisitions said that the smartthings model line had not met sales expectations last year. And because of the observed deep discounting of the ST devices and out of stocks at some retailers.

None of that is proof of anything, but it is three separate real world events that can be easily interpreted to say that the ST integration is not doing exactly what ADT wanted. But definitely, no way to project what that means for the future.

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I really hope this does not go south for all of the ADT panel adopters and all of the IRIS converts. Imagine getting burned twice in a row :frowning:

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Right now I am sitting on my Iris card pending a decision on replacement. I have Ring floodlight / spotlight cameras on the way due tomorrow. ADT door and window sensors are impossible to come by right now, everyone says back ordered until the end of this month…

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I think that the panel will still work for some time. ADT makes a lot of their money from the subscription side. My thinking is why would they cut of this revenue stream when it does not cost them much to keep it up and running. Also I believe SmartThings will keep the hub connected for a while so as to not make part of its consumer base made. If they cut off the hub I for one would move to another platform and never come back. I currently have the hub with sensors on every door and window plus multiple water sensors and one each of the smoke and CO2 detector. I know the hardware may no longer be available soon so when the prices dropped I bought some of each to keep for if and when one of my sensors goes bad. If I was just now looking at the system I would probably not buy into it but I have had my system since the beginning and it works great especially thanks to ADT Tools 2. This is just my 2 cents and is not based on any information from Samsung or ADT.

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Okay, with the knowledge of the ability to run the system locally, I have gone ahead and picked up the ADT security kit, hub, a couple of door / window sensors, and a motion sensor.

Since I will be doing local / self monitoring, I am going to go ahead for the mean time using my 2nd generation Iris contact sensors, and probably slowly migrate to the ADT Smartthings sensors as they become available and are on sale… This will allow me to fully cover / protect my home via a mix of Ring and Smartthings and get alerts once my boundaries are breeched. Looking into using Alexa as a listener for breaking glass and smoke / CO alerts for when I am not home…

I’m not going to lie, I am leery, beyond words about coming over to Smartthings because I suspect in the long run they are going to walk away from the platform. However if I can keep going until Arcus SmartHome gets going and can reuse my Iris hardware again.

Hopefully Samsung / ADT don’t shoot me in the foot, but I am only exposing my little toe at this time. It’ll hurt if they do, but won’t be fatal.

You can’t do self-monitoring with notifications locally because all SmartThings notifications require the SmartThings cloud. The SmartThings app also requires the SmartThings cloud.

If you are paying for ADT monitoring, then it has a cellular module that can contact the ADT monitoring center. But you can’t use the cellular module for anything else.

Selfmonitoring if the cloud is not available

Here’s what “runs locally” If you have the smartthings/ADT model hub and you are not paying for the ADT service and you have already set up all of the devices and rules that you want while the cloud was available . (“Runs locally“ in this context has a very specific meaning. It is what will run if the Internet is out and/or the smartthings cloud is unavailable. )

  1. You can arm/disarm The security features from the panel or by using the dual logo keyfob. You cannot use the app or anything else for this purpose. You cannot change the location.mode locally in any manner.

  2. If one of your dual logo sensors is triggered, it will send a message directly to the panel. But the only ADT feature that can do is to sound the internal siren in the panel and change the panel display. It cannot send you a push notification to your phone. It cannot generate a phone call to anyone else. It cannot send a text.

You can use that same sensor as the trigger for a home automation rule that you previously created through the cloud, such as turning on some lights or sounding a different siren but only using the official smartlighting feature and some bits of the official SHM. No routines, no custom automations, and no custom code of any kind including the ADT Tools smartapp.

  1. if one of your other sensors or switches activates, as long as it is eligible to run locally (which among other things means it is not using any custom code) and you have previously set up automation‘s which are eligible to run locally, then those automations can run. But again, no phone notifications, no use of the app, no mode changes.

Self Monitoring if the ST cloud is available

So without the cloud, self monitoring on the systems is limited to locally operating devices. No notifications, no use of the app. :disappointed_relieved:

Assuming the cloud is operating, then you get lots of additional features. Including phone notifications.

SmartThings is a cloud-based platform

There’s no way around it at the present time. Smartthings, including the ADT model, is a cloud-based platform. It’s not just that you can’t get phone notifications without the cloud. You can’t change the location mode without the cloud. You can’t set up new rules without the cloud. You can’t add new devices without the cloud. You can’t run any custom code without the cloud.

There are lots of low-cost DIY security systems which do offer local operations. Smartthings is not one of them.

There are several low-cost DIY home automation systems which do offer local operations. Smartthings is not one of them.

If you need local operations, you should be looking at other candidates, such as Hubitat, homeseer, Indigo, Homekit and Vera for home automation. For security, each system is a little different as far as which features run locally and which don’t, so you just have to look into them individually. But there are definitely choices.

Every system has pluses and minuses, so it’s always about finding the one that best matches what you need.

But I’m concerned that you’re describing your choice as being based on locally operating selfmonitoring, because that just isn’t a good match for any smartthings system, including the ADT model.

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I should be clear, I am concerned about the ADT function going away, not the Smartthings, basically if the ST cloud is available, I will get the service I want / need. And yes I know ST cloud does go down periodically, so did the Iris cloud service…

I don’t necessarily worry about Smartthings going away, just the ADT integration. However a keypad was critical for me, and with the potential of the original smartthings app going away, and the DTH compatibility meaning the Iris keypad won’t be usable, I wanted to be able to have the interface the ADT offers…

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Okay so here’s the scoop. I have it shown elsewhere, but I bit the bullet.

Amazon has the ADT Smartthings Home Automation Starter kit for $99.99 still, which is plenty cheap, lower than the regular ST home monitoring kit. And I found an ebayer that had the door and window sensors, enough for what I needed (I cleaned them out) for $10.00 each with free shipping.

So for a grand total of $258.24 (after tax) I took the gamble and dove into ADT Smartthings.

I also have a first line of defense, 2 Ring Spotlight Camera wired models, a Ring Video Doorbell 2, and a ring floodlight camera that cover all but 2 potential entry points of the house, as well as all my vehicles. I am moving a couple of my Iris OC821 outdoor cameras over to Spectral to maintain monitoring for my side yards and related windows. Spectral can trigger, and respond to IFTTT actions so we are good there…

My plan is to self monitor, I just need alerts to the phone, and the ability to trigger sirens / lights. While I wouldn’t be super happy if they stopped supporting ADT Smartthings. However failing that, I would still have the Ring / Spectral setup.

I will give it a while, partially for comfort reasons, and in no small part finances, before I start the project of rewiring the switches for the ceiling fan and light kit. I want them on separate switches so I can control each independently.

I think i personally am just not going to replace Iris for a while. Samsung isn’t showing any level of reliability in their communications as to what is going on with their ADT partnership, their dual-tracks with their app and lack of features in the new app that only exist in the old app are all reasons to not look at getting it before Iris gets turned off. I had stopped interacting with the system a long time ago because I have non-stop communications problems. My Radio Thermostat which is just 20ft from the hub is connected a grand total of like 5 minutes per day. I honestly have lost interest in spending my time fighting with these systems, none of these companies can get their acts together.

Not going to argue that. It really does seem like a half hearted effort is being put in by the companies fowarding these technologies.

I must admit though, I’ve had no issues when I reach out to Samsung’s official support contacts either via telephone or email, response isn’t super fast, but usually same day.

The dual track approach I think is due to the acquisition of Smartthings by Samsung.

For me this is a calculated decision based on the fairly low cost of entrance for me on the SmartThings side of things, however, I am prepared for this to be useless in say a year or so. Although I don’t expect it will, it is certainly possible. I will be MUCH angrier if Amazon kills off ring in the short run…

I’ve said it before, and I will say it again, there needs to be standardization and cross compatibility within the industry in order for each of the players to thrive, and for consumers to be in a more comfortable position. I don’t know as that is coming any time soon…

And make no mistake, there is no way I would have paid the full MSRP on any of the ST devices, particularly with any sort of cloud of uncertainty over it…

@BigHoss
Now I know who to bug about my set-up! I’ve have a ring pro up front. Yeah I think I’m going to keep my ADT panel I got a total of 19 of those win/door sensors so that will be enough for my application and a few left over to play with (as garage door and power outage sensors) 3 motion detectors and the home safety expansion pack and a few Samsung ST devices to start with.
Let’s hope our gamble pays off!

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@Reno.nv

I had to add the Ring devices via the new app, still not sure how to get anything other than motion detection out of them in ST…

I should mention since I’m self monitoring and I have an Multiple Amazon echo devices throughout my house I’m using them with Alexa guard as listeners for my existing smoke detectors. My entire house is electric some not worried about carbon monoxide too much except the garage and the fireplace. I will probably end up buying 2 of the safety expansion packs at some point in the future just not now.

To use the door and window sensors as garage door sensors use the large part on a small hinge hinged at the top so that when the door goes up the large part of the sensor and droops away and then attach the small part about the normal distance away from the large part just below it on the garage door. I have done this so far with 1st generation and 2nd generation Iris contact sensors and as soon as all of my ADT smart things sensors come in I will been doing it with those.

Just took a look at Amazon and it appears that all of the parts of the system are back in stock and sold by amazon. Could be a good sign to calm nerves

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I also noticed that the rock bottom pricing for the ADT-ST accessories went to normal prices again at Best Buy.

I’ve notice stock levels going back up as well…

I am also noticing that ADT is putting money / effort into even older platforms such as Alexa / Alexa guard integration with ADT Pulse, and if I could find the article again I’d post the link, but I did see an article saying they were planning on rolling up Alexa Guard monitoring support for the ADT SmartThings monitoring as well… That is awesome as it gets us a feature that wasn’t available before (glass breakage monitoring).

I gambled on my ADT ST system, and will likely go paid monitoring once the system is done with all I am planning, but it will be a while.

As long as they aren’t losing money on it, I would hope ADT / Samsung keep this partnership in play, it’s a good one with an awful lot to offer.

I am not saying ADT SmartThings, or for that matter, ANY DIY Home Security / Automation patlform is particularly business stable and likely to survive long run, the rumor mill is working overtime, and the vendors are absolutely incompetent with dealing with public perception issues.

There were a LOT of signs coming in at the exact wrong time with ADT ST in Jan / Feb, and it coincided with the Iris shutdown announcement.

#1. ADT Aquires Lifeshield, while not exact, it is a competing product of sorts with ADT ST.
#2. ADT SmartThings products were put on deep discount by many, but not all retailers which led to…
#3. Inventories of ADT Smartthings products plummeted to out of stock levels for a couple of weeks, and are just now returning to fuller inventory levels.
#4. Samsung / SmartThings and ADT made no announcements or public outreach to soothe potential customer fears. See my above comment about companies being incompetent about customer perception.

I’m not going to lie, there are still reasons I wish Iris had survived, but I am liking SmartThings too… I will be genuinely bent out of shape if ADT ST goes the way of Iris… I just don’t see it in the short term at least…

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It looks like Samsung has removed the Security section from their smart home area

The page is still available if you google it, but clicking the “see all security” brings you back to the main smart home page.

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Hmmm, its still there for me…

I was about to ask if there was an update after the last news a few months back, I’ve still been meaning to pick up a replacement for Iris…