Staples Connect hub starting to not run activities. Figure I will replace. Will I be able to find hub that picks up most of the devices? Or should I start looking at full replacement? How should I approach the issue? Appreciate any help.
The Staples hub actually supports fewer devices then most of the competitors, so that part should be OK. Since it does have a Lutron antenna, the closest match will be the wink hub. SmartThings has a cloud to cloud Lutron integration, but that would require also buying the Lutron smartbridge and you wouldn’t be able to use the Picos with it.
If you aren’t using any Lutron devices, there are some other options to consider. It really comes down to the exact devices you have and how much stability you require, since the staples hub was always a leader in stability, while getting that stability by providing fewer features than some of the competitors, including SmartThings.
The following thread might be of interest (this is a clickable link):
3 Likes
As @JDRoberts said, it will come down to what you have and what is compatible.
You can check out the SmartHomeDB to see what your devices are compatible with (it’s fairly reliable).
1 Like
So what kind of stability are we talking about? I need my system to operate it’s activities and to report accurately. Also need a system that can startup itself after a power outage. Present Staples system won’t run activities reliably anymore. Still starts up without intervention after power outages.
What devices do you have?
Do you like to tinker a little, or are you a set and forget type?
1 Like
Different people have different requirements for stability. Personally, I’ve moved all of my critical home automation off of SmartThings because since November 2015 I have yet to go 10 days without the system requiring some kind of maintenance. Most of it is pretty simple: pull a battery and reset or Open the app to a rule and save it again. In my own case, that’s a problem, because I’m quadriparetic and I have to pay someone else to do both of those things. But many people do it without hardly even noticing that they had to do it.
There has been a major outage at least once a month for each of the last eight months except for January. Major meaning there was no workaround and nothing that the customer could except wait for support to fix it. Most of those were just a few hours, a couple went longer. You can look at the first bug reports page in the community – created wiki and see what kinds of things have come up.
http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=Bug:_First_Reports
You could also check the official status page, although typically things are only posted there which affect almost all customers:
My personal requirement is for an MFOP (maintenance free operating period) of at least six months and preferably 12. I have been able to get that from the Phillips hue bridge, Logitech Harmony hub, echo, the lutron SmartBridge, HomeKit, and several other systems. I don’t get that from SmartThings, which does a lot more, but not as reliably.
I continue to use SmartThings for convenience notifications, like a reminder that the guestroom window is open, the guest is away from the house, and rain is expected. SmartThings does that better than anything else I have, and if I don’t get the notification, it’s not a disaster.
So just comes down to your own needs. There are people who have SmartThings doing amazing stuff, and they’re willing to put in the time and energy it takes to keep it running.
2 Likes
3 motion sensors, 2 smoke/CO alarms, Honeywell thermostat, 1 installed light switch, 1 installed light dimmer, 2 appliance outlets, 1 water sensor, 2 cameras. I have software for the cameras and can see them outside the SC system also. I’m not an electronic tinkerer. Give me some chemical issue and I got it. Electronic, not so fast. Give me time.
I really need a system that can restart itself after a power outage. In the last 3 years my present system needed restarting only once - we were traveling so had neighbors come over and do it.
As long as all those are zigbee or z-wave you should be fine. The SmartThings hub has batteries for backup in case of a power outage.