I have an ADT Pulse system with various HA. I don’t want to pay ADT for monitoring at $75 per month any longer but I still want to use the HA. ADT tech support also told me that ADT is not continuing to have agreements with ST, Google, Alexa or Ring etc. as soon as there are updates, they will likely cease to be compatible.
I am looking at a ST gen 3 hub and would like to integrate my existing ZWave switches, outlets, thermostats, and door keypads.
Should this go seamlessly? Or it will it be challenging?
… And Could I potentially set up the ADT control panel as a slave device to ST?
First, you may already know this, but it’s really important to understand that’s smartthings is not UL certified as a security system and can’t be because it is largely a cloud-based system. If you have a sensor on a window and that window is opened, you can get a notification from smartthings: but only if your power is working, your Internet is working, and the smartthings cloud is available. That’s very different from a purpose built security system, even an inexpensive one like ring. So it’s possible that you already know that and you are only looking to replace a Home Automation features, but I did just want to mention that upfront.
Second, Samsung is getting out of the home automation hardware business and is going to start working with partners to build “works as a smartthings hub“ (WASH) Devices. For that reason, right now it’s very hard to find a smartthings hub to buy anywhere. This is a transition, and we are all waiting to see what’s going to be on the other side, but it is something that’s happening right now.
OK, that out-of-the-way, pretty much all of your Z wave devices should be able to work with a smartthings or WASH hub. There are a few types which might not, in particular multi button devices, but in general light switches and Zwave sensors should be fine. (Which is also true for any certified Z wave hub, that’s one of the advantages of Z wave.) The keypads might not work, though.
If you can list the specific brands and models, we can tell you if there are any that are likely to be problematic, but otherwise it’s basically just a matter of resetting the device to factory specifications and then adding it to the new hub.
As for this
And Could I potentially set up the ADT control panel as a slave device to ST?
The short answer is no. There is a longer answer where there might be a potentially limited partial integration, but it’s not going to work the way you want it to and it’s not likely to be worth the trouble.
Every Z wave device stores the ID of the hub that controls its network in the device itself. This is how it knows who to reconnect to if it loses power and then comes back, or even if you just change the batteries.
For that reason, you will have to reset each of your Z wave devices in order to clear the network ID of your ADT pulse system from the device. After that, it is ready to add to a new Z wave network. Fortunately, this is a simple process, it’s highly similar to what you do the first time when you add the device. It will probably take less than two minutes per device. But it is something you have to do individually for each one, that’s part of the security of the system.
