Nothing but problems with new App (June 2021)

In all the many threads about this I have never seen one post from a ST person acknowledging the issues.

So I take that as a ‘we don’t care.’

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Or NDA and I want my job

Guaranteed there are many folks who also feel our pain behind the scenes but simply have to keep shtum

Probably why the forum becomes void of ST staff, they just don’t want to get caught up in questions they are not allowed to answer or can’t answer as decisions are made elsewhere in the company

No. I just think there’s nothing to report. I do not think the app issues are a priority for them.

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You absolutely might be right, personally I hope it is a mixture of inexperience and a time /personel constraint.

And I only think that because of this latest version, it really looks like a release schedule was imposed (cost) and near the end things quickly had to be tied in to work… I’m usually wrong but that is how it appears to me

Let’s be honest, it is not a best effort with as much time as you like is it… I hope !

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For those having issues:

  • What OS are you using Android/IOS?
  • What devices are causing problems?
  • Are you using custom drivers?
  • What hub and firmware version are you running?
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I’m sure everybody appreciates your concern, but you should be aware and confident of how your app performs on a range of devices and OS’s. Because you did lots of testing of the new app, tested on many devices, created focus groups, had real world punters try it out, so you stand by this “New big thing”. The app is so bad, I never bother to open it even.
It’s strange how Google and Amazon can create HA apps that are so fast, slick, a joy to use, then you have Samsung’s effort. It’s quite embarrassing actually.

What I don’t understand is how with the classic app it would load and it would have over 100 devices showing correctly, instantaneously, now THAT was a joy to use. The new app should be pulled and started over.

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See above.

I really don’t think this is a device-specific issue. It feels like more of a system or app level deal because it literally is an issue updating status for all devices whether it be at the Room view or device level view and regardless if using stock or custom handlers.

I can jump to a room view after opening the app (from background, not even a hard restart of the app) and it can take several minutes for the devices to show correct state.

Then drilling down, even once you get a device on it’s page to update (sometimes takes several minutes and countless pulldown refreshes), as soon as you turn on or off the status does not update again until you pulldown again. Often going back to the room view you now have an incorrect status for that device too.

There’s evidently some caching going on but it does not appear to be implemented appropriately.

Thanks

Edited to clarify iOS vs ST app versions.

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@jody.albritton
I tend to agree with others here - there seems to be something bigger at issue, but I am not an expert, so I will document my problems with the app:

  • Widgets only occasionally available on the iOS widget screen, sometimes the widget simply says “open Smarrthings”.
  • Multiple scenes run when one is selected from the widget.
  • Widget functionality is a step back from earlier versions - fewer widgets available and the app opens instead of just executing the scene (lag/delay and reduces the functionality of a widget).
  • Scenes get stuck in an endless loop - the check mark keeps disappearing and reappearing until the app is forced closed. Might only be when executed from the widget.
  • Devices are incredibly slow to update when the app is opened. Some times it takes multiple room changes or open-close of the app to get the right status. One additional thing I’ve noticed is that when I open the app and find a device with an incorrect state, then select that device to see its details, the app crashes.
  • Devices are incredibly slow to update when state is changed from the app. Frankly, everything is slow to update when state is changed from the app. For example, arming STHM via a scene, it takes a while for the STHM tile to update. Many times the app needs to be opened-closed to get the right status.
  • Often devices are inaccessible - change the state from their tile and the circle just spins. Some times it times out with a network error or device unavailable error.
  • Favorites, rooms, and devices continue to change order despite rearranging them multiple times.

I have a case opened for the widget running multiple scenes concern. I also opened a case for general usability. This is perhaps the most unusable app update I’ve experienced.

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@jody.albritton I’ve just opened up the new app after 3 weeks, every device apparently hasn’t been used since Wednesday, across two separate hubs. WebCoRE again saved the day and gave me confidence of what is actually happening, it’s going to be fun when you kill Groovy and with it WebCoRE :+1:

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The issues I’ve been having are exactly the same as all the others above, who are using this horrible new app. It’s been over a month and NOTHING has been fixed.

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Everyone has the same issues, all you need to do is look at the logs. The damn ap is terrible, and it has rendered the ST platform useless. I can’t depend on anything working. I would love to see the old ap come back at least you could work with it.

This one is terrible. FIX IT ST>

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What are “drivers” in the context of a mobile app/ecosystem?

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Is this being looked at?

App stability is important. Crash reports are being looked at and addressed. When self reporting app stability issues that do not result in a crash report, it helps to add as much detail as possible. Creating a support ticket with a detailed description of the problem is the best way to surface app stability issues that do not result in a crash report. When reporting issues on the community, adding these details will help others determine if they are having the same issues as well.

Please @jody.albritton just use the app. There are so many issues that you cannot rely on us for cases to fix them. Your team needs to just use it and see how bad it is.

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This update is effing horrible!! I lost everything that I had saved on there. Shopping lists, pictures, notes, my calendar, everything. The UI is horrible and no longer even close to user friendly. And that’s just the fridge!!! The mobile app is 100 times worse! This is horrible and I will never buy another Samsung product because of this.

I’m starting to feel like I’m crazy.

There has been so little activity expressing concern with the new iOS app on this forum and elsewhere. I’ve submitted my third support case for all of the issues and I’m getting the typical “reinstall the app” suggestions. But my instance of the app is literally not functional - I spend 3 minutes of watching a spinning circle, connection errors, opening and closing the app, just to turn on a light or a switch.

In contrast, there’s been hundreds of postings and discussion activity about the 200 device limit since the latest Android app update only a week or so ago.

Is it that only a few of us are experiencing issues with the iOS app? Or everyone has just given up and moved on? Or possibly something specific to my configuration that is causing problems?

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Given up I guess. We had a ST staff member ask for details in here then once we started to reply the response was basically a brush off. It just seems ST priorities lie elsewhere.

As you pointed-out, submitting the issue to the Support group is pointless. I just love uninstalling, reinstalling, then reordering my rooms and 300 devices each time just to find out it solved nothing.

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Install homebridge to port devices over to homekit. Then use the Home or Eve app to control devices from iOS :slight_smile:

I’m thinking I would just completely jump the platform to something more stable at that point, if I’m going to go through the trouble of a big change, but I need to read more on Homebridge.