Migration Project from Vera - Challenges

Dear all,

Just joined this community in anticipation of my purchase of Samsung Connect Home.

I have been using Vera Edge for 4 years and it had served me well. As Zwave devices are pricier and I intend to have a mix of zwave and zigbee devices. I intend to migrate from Vera Edge to SmartThings due to the latter’s support for zwave and zigbee.

Here are some challenges I foresee, appreciate any inputs:

Connect Home instead of SmartThings hub v3
My initial plan is to get a SmartThings hub v3, but it is not available in my country and I can’t possibly purchase it off Amazon as I understand there is regional lock imposed on the device. Is there any reason for me to avoid Connect Home?

1. Overhaul of Existing Zwave devices
My country has recently moved from UK frequency (868.4 Mhz) to Korea frequency (919.7 MHz , 921.7 MHz and 923.1 MHz). This means I will procure new zwave devices based on Korea frequency or replace it with zigbee. I have no idea where can I procure zwave devices based on Korea frequency, whereas UK ones can be easily gotten through Amazon UK or Vesternet.

2. Xiaomi (Mijia) Zigbee Devices
I am eyeing a few Zigbee devices from Xiaomi. From some of the posts here, it seems that there are some compatibility issues, like Xiaomi devices not responding to re-connect request from hub. Mi Connector is another alternative, but I will need to have a local server with Docker installed (additional cost and dependency). Is my concern valid?

3. Samsung Home Connect
I have no need for the Wifi mesh functionality provided by Connect Home as my router has better range and functions. I believe the wifi of Connect Home can be disabled, such that I am only using the Zigbee hub functionality. Let me know if my understanding is wrong.

Thank you!

What country are you in? That would help with recommendations.

Hey there, I’m from Singapore. Cheers!

Just to share what the z-wave devices I am using:

  • Vera Edge
  • Z-Wave TKB On/Off Switch Socket X 5
  • Belkin Wemo x 1
  • Neo Coolcam 2-gang wall switch x 1
  • z-wave siren

If I am to migrate to Connect Home, these devices (except for Belkin Wemo) currently on z-wave EU frequency will need to be replaced as the local Connect Home is on z-wave Korean frequency.

I intend to replace it with Xiaomi zigbee products, which can be purchased at a reasonable price in Singapore.

The concern is whether the Xiaomi device handler is stable enough for use.

For siren, I don’t see many zigbee sirens as compared to z-wave. Is there one which is recommended?

I don’t think the Xiaomi switch is fully functional with SmartThings. There is a thread for Xiaomi devices if you want to read more on their specific issues with SmartThings.