Moving from Nexia to SmartThings

Hi all - I’m considering moving from Nexia to SmartThings (for a variety of reasons). There’s some old posts in this forum but thought I’d see if things have changed recently. I have a ton of stuff handled by Nexia - most of it Z-Wave (~10 sensors, 2 garage door openers, Trane thermostat, Schlage door lock, ~15 lights, ceiling fan controller), a ton of Nexia automations and three IP cameras. Will SmartThings support all that stuff?
While I don’t mind some effort, I’d rather this move be as painless (and cheap :smile:) as possible. Would prefer to hear from some first-hand accounts of the move if possible! Thanks, Bob

First rule of home automation: “the model number matters.” That includes for the air conditioner and the lock.

The IP cameras are not supported by smartthings, it doesn’t really do any cameras well and it only does OK with Arlo or one of the Samsung Wi-Fi models which is branded SmartThings. There are some community built Workarounds, but none of them are easy.

Most of the switches should work, although migration isn’t painless because you have to individually exclude each device and then include it in the new network. And that can be a real pain with older devices because you have to get the hub physically close to the switch to include it. Another reason why the model number matters.

Also, you should be aware that Samsung just announced a few weeks ago that they are going to get out of supporting home automation hardware, so they are turning over manufacture and support, even for the hub, to partner companies. That’s going to be Aeotec for North America and Europe, but while the European models are going to be released in a few weeks, there is as yet no timeline for the US model. So right now it’s very hard to find a smartthings hub anywhere for the US.

Official announcement:

An Update Regarding our Hardware

So… some of your devices will work with a smartthings account. Some will not. We would need to know exact model numbers to see more.

All of your Z wave devices will have to be first individually excluded from your Nexia network and then included to your smartthings network. It’s easier to do this with Zwave plus devices then with older models, so again the model number matters. And all of your rules will have to be rebuilt from scratch, there’s no way to import Nexia automations.

So while it’s certainly doable for most of the Z wave devices, I don’t know very many people who would say it was “painless.“

The hardest stuff in your list are the thermo and the IP cameras - as @JDRoberts says, need exact model numbers please.

1 Like

Hey all - thanks for the responses! Yeah I was just wanting more of a general “does it make sense to do this?” kind of reply (which y’all supplied). I totally expected to un-enroll and re-enroll the Z-Wave devices - what I meant by painful was writing code :smile:. And I didn’t know about Samsung’s move - though I’d suspected it based on research on the ST hub - it seemed like it was EOL’d.
The cameras could be a show-stopper - we do use them regularly.
My problems with Nexia begin with the lack of new devices - it seems they’ve canned their entire R&D group and just living off what they supported from day one. I’d especially like Ring Doorbell support and better integration with Google Home (only lights can be linked to Nexia). So - if anyone has any suggestions where to go with all that I’d love to hear them.
Thanks, Bob

1 Like

Ring is supported, as are many of the cameras for both them and Arlo. Specific IP solutions need additional software that is community written but anything can be written, open API.
Nexia - you probably have it because of the Trane / American standard thermo, there is a builtin integration to get the 'wifi thermostat - but for some reason it only supports the 850XL. There are workarounds if you have the 950 or 1050
Google (Nest) Home is getting limited support starting January. You can already integrate with GH or Alexa for voice support.
Likely almost all of your Zwave stuff will come across
Get a v.3 hub or a new Works with SmartThings hub by Aeotec when they hit shelves. They’re the same device. They didn’t Eol it so much as release it to the partner channel.

Your setup doesn’t look remarkably different from mine, actually.

1 Like

I originally got into SmartThings after starting with Nexia (via buying a Lennar home). You’ll still need to supply some model numbers for the devices, but if the lock and Trane thermostat are z-wave (mine were), then those will work for sure. I suspect all the other z-wave devices will too. As Nathan and JD said, depending on the brand, the cameras probably won’t work unless they are Arlo or Nest (coming soon).

2 Likes

Trane Thermos aren’t by default Jimmy. They’re Wi-Fi based - you can ‘enable’ the Zwave connection feature with a Zwave hub. (Which also requires the Nexia subscription service) But because Nexia and Trane/American standard made a deal to host thermo control - it’s the ONLY place you can control the Trane thermo. To add insult to injury - Trane broke tradition (i guess this is the best word, because it’s not a requirement) and moved a lot of thier logic for controlling the fan speeds into the head unit itself. So if you change teh thermostat head out with an Ecobee or Nest, you lose a lot of the variable fan speed controls and some other features in the heat pumps. Ask me how I know… Had I known when I bought the HVAC I would have absolutely chosen another brand but you don’t exactly rip out a 15-20K HVAC just because of the head unit.

So with Nexia and thermos you have to work with it with the thermos locked inside Nexia. If you have the 850XL it can be done with the new ST Nexia integration. (I asked Nexia Dev why just the 850 - no good answer) Any of the other ones you have to hack around it… There’s a solution - but it’s messy and I don’t know how much longer it’s going to work as Nexia is about to to split the ‘thermo only’ clients out to an American Standard branded version of thier environment. I’ve been told it will look/feel/work like Nexia without the addons but I’m pretty sure it’s going to break my current thermo integration when they switch.

1 Like

Thanks again for the great comments! Ok, just for fun:

  • Two cameras are Schlage WCW100 (came with the Lennar Nexia setup when we bought the house) (IP)
  • One camera is a RC8061 Pan and Tilt Camera (IP)
  • The door lock is a Schlage Connect Camelot (Z-wave)
  • The thermostat is a Trane400B (came with the house) (Z-wave)
  • The garage door opener is GoControl/Linear GD00Z-4 Z-Wave Garage Door Opener (Z-wave)

I’d also like to get Google Home to recognize the thermostat and a ceiling fan controller (Honeywell Home UltraPro Z-Wave Plus Smart Fan Speed Control). Currently I can only get Google Home to recognize lights.

BTW all of this is run off of the Nexia gen1 hub connected to Nexia’s $9.95/mo service.
Cheers
Bob

BTW Nathan - is this the v.3 hub that you reference? Thanks.

Yep - that’s the Aeotec version - which will be the Go forward version from now on. It’s under the ‘WASH’ program we mentioned.

Now your list… Cameras are always problematic… That said…

  • Two cameras are Schlage WCW100 (came with the Lennar Nexia setup when we bought the house) (IP)

These may be problematic - I see a lot of people asking about them on the forum with no real answer. Can they talk to BlueIris perhaps because I know there’s a working BlueIris integration.

  • One camera is a RC8061 Pan and Tilt Camera (IP)

Same comment on this camera. I don’t see anything direct but again wonder about BlueIris…

  • The door lock is a Schlage Connect Camelot (Z-wave)

I have three of these - they’re fine. I HIGHLY recommend RBoy’s LUM to manage the codes. It’s an order of magnitude better than ST’s builtin code management (which works but…)

  • The thermostat is a Trane400B (came with the house) (Z-wave)

Thank GOD it’s the zwave one - the 400B - that one will work fine. I think it uses the default Zwave Thermostat DTH (Smartthings vocab for ‘driver’)

  • The garage door opener is GoControl/Linear GD00Z-4 Z-Wave Garage Door Opener (Z-wave)

I ahve two of these myself, they work natively but I also prefer RBoy’s DTH to the builtin - gives battery indication on the door sensors.

1 Like

But so far, only released with the European Z wave frequency.

We are still waiting on one released with the US frequency. and the zwave frequencies have to match your end devices exactly, so you can’t order one from England and use it with GE switches. :wink:

1 Like

I forgot they had multiple Trane models for Nexia. My house came with the XR524, which is z-wave only.

1 Like

Yep - the 850 and onward are all Wifi all the time. Oh Fun. A shame - I really like thier HVAC units otherwise.

I recently had a market research session with the Nexia / AS/ Trane dev team and absolutely lambasted them (politely, of course) for this exact fact. “If you’re going to have a device I MUST use with my system, you can’t also make it a walled garden - you need to make the garden accessible through API” The fact your system isn’t capable of handling the automation I need isn’t my problem.

It seemed to be the first time they’ve had that feedback but it also seemed like they actually paid attention. They got back to me on my question about why the 850 is supported on the new integration but the 950 and 1050 aren’t (even though they’re basically revs of the same device) with a ‘we’re looking into it - can we reach out with further questions’ At least it’s a start.

1 Like

Nexia is about to to split the ‘thermo only’ clients out to an American Standard branded version of thier environment. I’ve been told it will look/feel/work like Nexia without the addons but I’m pretty sure it’s going to break my current thermo integration when they switch.

I’ve recently been getting emails to this effect. I have an AS system with XL824 thermo that is on wifi and logged in to Nexia, with Nexia smartapp installed in smartthings for integration. Anyone with similar made the transition to the new American Standard app? The bolded text below is what worries me - if Nexia profile is “transferred”, how does that affect the thermo nexia login that has no option to login to a different portal?

Why are things changing?
We are simplifying your brand experience by matching the name of your American Standard thermostat and/or HVAC system to the name of your app. By downloading the American Standard Home app, all of our communications, updates, and new features will directly relate to your system.
Don’t worry! All of the same functionality is still available on the new app, and your profile will transfer over from Nexia.

If it’s just a new app front end that interfaces to nexia under the covers, I would hope that all functionality is maintained, but I have less than complete confidence with smart things lately. Trying to login to the nexia website also tries to get me to login to the new AS URL and migrate my profile.

HOLD UP! We’ve Got a New Site!

We noticed you logged into an old portal URL. We recently launched a new app and website for our American Standard HVAC users, and we want to make sure you are logging in to your new portal. Please bookmark asairhome.com and log in from that URL moving forward.

Oh! And if you haven’t downloaded the new app yet, search for “AS Air Home” in the App Store or Google Play Store to get it up and running.

Thanks!
—The American Standard® Home Team

It appears to be a new app with the Nexia infrastructure under the covers. I have started using the new app (about 2 weeks ago) You login to the new app using your old Nexia credentials and so far ST can still connect.

1 Like