Hi I have a smart things hubs with multi sensor and motion sensors from aeotec 6 in 1. I bought the ring security system as im new to this and noticed its redundant with regards to contact sensors and motion sensors. Is there an alarm hub i can buy thag will accomplish everything the ring alarm does since i already have motion and contact sensors in place?
Are you asking about something based on smartthings, because the biggest difference between smartThings and any UL listed security system, including ring, is that smartthings is not UL listed for security because among other things it’s very cloud dependent. It cannot send any notifications, not even to your own phone, unless the Internet is working and the smartthings cloud is available. There isn’t even a way to arm and disarm it without the Internet.
So many people in this community do have a separate security system and just use smartThings for home automation because, to be honest, the notification capability just isn’t sufficient for a primary security system.
That’s not just my opinion: the company says so themselves in their product usage guidelines:
https://www.smartthings.com/guidelines
Data accuracy and consistency from SmartThings sensors, including those provided by SmartThings directly, resold by SmartThings, or supported by SmartThings, is not guaranteed. Therefore, you should not rely on that data for any use that impacts health, safety, security, property or financial interests.
So while there is some redundancy, if you truly need a security system, the ring is a good choice and priced low enough that the redundancy is usually affordable.
None of the UL listed security systems will integrate with smartthings in a way that allows you to use the smartthings home automation sensors to trigger an alarm. Because of the issues raised in the product usage guidelines.
Even The dual logo ADT/SmartThings system (which appears to be in end-of-life stage, and so it’s very hard to find and cannot really be recommended anymore) didn’t use the regular smartThings sensors: it introduced its own sensors on a different frequency for the security options.
So it sounds like you’ve made all the right choices so far if you like smartthings for your home automation system. Getting a separate security system is really best practices at this point, and the ring system is a good budget choice.
BTW, you can use Alexa routines (not SmartThings routines) to get partial integration between the ring security system and smartthings. You could have a ring sensor trigger an event in SmartThings if you like. But of course that integration will be cloud dependent, so just depends on exactly what you want to do as to whether that meets your requirements.
Here is how I have done it. There is a newer version of Homebridge since this post.
Go to www.homebridge.io and search this forum for “Homebridge v2”.
This way you can use SmartThings and Ring devices in Apple HomeKit.
1 Like
I don’t understand how the Ring security system isn’t internet-dependent. It goes on about phone notifications, but last time I looked phone notifications (android anyway) depend on some google push service which is not running locally. And upon reading a bit, it seems it gets around this by adding cell-data backup if you also subscribe to their assisted monitoring, otherwise yes you’re still floundering if your internet goes down. Of course, you can do the same as you do with a SmartThings security setup and buy a zwave siren. I might as well stick with my ST setup, which also relies on zwave sirens for local-running intrusion alerting.
I can tell you that I have both SmartThings and Ring and the redundancy doesn’t bother me. Things you don’t get solely with ST
- 24/7 monitoring at a low cost/year
- Cellular backup
ThTs enough right there to make comfortable with Ring system with ST. I can Arm/Disarm Ring through Alexa as well as have it Arm/Disarm through Classic STHM.
I have Asishrs integration working flawlessly.
You can remove the non Ring Zwave motion sensors and contact sensors from ST and pair them with Ring if you want but they will not trigger an alarm.
2 Likes
If you pay the $10 monthly fee, the Ring Alarm system uses the cellular backup to notify the professional monitoring center if there is an alert.
You also get an email alert when the system switches to battery backup.
You don’t get any app notifications nor is the app usable if the power is out. But you can still arm/disarm the system from the panel.
So it’s not 100% cloud-independent for all features, but it provides enough features, in particular cellular notification of the professional monitoring center and 24 hour battery backup, to meet the
UL standard. (Many residential security systems in the US don’t have an app at all, so that’s not considered an essential component.)
And at $10/month with no contracts, it’s a highly competitive price.
SmartThings doesn’t have the cellular backup, so if the internet is out or the SmartThings cloud is unavailable, even if you have Noon professional monitoring (a third party add on) your system can’t alert at all.
Also…unlike most security systems, SmartThings can and does regularly push out updates that can take your system offline. There is no way to defer or deny these updates. Usually they are only expected to take the hub offline for a few minutes, but it can be much longer and of course sometimes the updates glitch for some customers or require that some individual devices be rebooted.
I’m not saying Ring is a perfect system, just that with monitoring it meets the minimum requirements for a US residential security system and SmartThings does not.
There are other good low cost candidates for US homes, including Abode, Simplisafe, Nest, and ADT Blue. They all have pluses and minuses. But Ring is consistently at the top of most rating lists for those looking for a very low cost security system that meets the minimums.
JD, are u sure about this?
When my system is in cellular backup, I still get notifications and I can arm and disarm the alarm from the app as long as my phone is using cellular or other WiFi that isn’t at my home.
I know it’s true if the power is out and the unit switches to battery: that just happened to us this week. Here’s the notification we got:
To be honest, I’m not sure what happens if the power is still OK but the Internet is out.
Got it,
Yep, that happens during a power outage but if it’s just internet outage then app and notification work as normal when it switches to cellular.
1 Like
Good to know! So if you have your ring base station and your Wi-Fi router on a UPS, you might still be able to have app control for Ring even with power and Internet out. But I don’t know that for sure.
In theory I think that would be true. With a UPS, the Ring base station would still think it’s on a constant AC supply and not switch to its internal battery BU. And with the cellular backup, you don’t even need the WiFi BU except for other devices.
It just seems like a waste to buy the ring security system when most things in the box are redundant if you have motion sensors and contact sensors already. But it sounds like the ADT security system isnt professionally monitored unless you have their sensors too.
To confirm, is anyone aware of a way to add a security hub to existing sensors and smart things hub and have professional monitoring?
appreciate how thorough this response was. i may purchase the ring alarm anyway, unless someone points out a better option.
1 Like
You can add professional monitoring to a standard smartthings system with Noonlight. But remember that it is completely dependent on the smartthings cloud. If the cloud is unavailable, your Internet is out, or your power is out, the monitoring center will not be notified.
So it’s a step up from just self monitoring, but it’s not comparable to a purpose built security system like ring or abode.
Also, at present it must be set up with the classic app although it can then be used in the new V3 app. And the classic app will be discontinued in a few months.
Some relevant discussions:
[OBSOLETE] Professional smart home monitoring for security and smoke alarms with Noonlight
As of this writing, the cost is $10/month, the same as ring, but with fewer features since there is no cellular backup.
Yeah but with SmartThings I have zwave sirens that can go off from a locally-running automation (smartapp) if the internet is down and a sensor is activated. I don’t see sirens in the Ring kit, except one inbuilt into the camera, but without cloud access, the camera will only go off in response to its own detectors as far as I am aware.
Ring works locally with the Dome zwave siren. You can add multiples if you like. 
What is the Ring Alarm Dome Siren?
.
The Ring Alarm Dome Siren is a secondary siren designed to help your Ring Alarm Base Station and to extend the sound of the Alarm alert to areas where people might otherwise have trouble hearing it.
1 Like
I bet it reads out the contents of my amazon shopping basket when anyone walks past too 
I still struggle with the idea of amazon smart devices ever since my Echo experience 
hi all I have a solution for fixing the ring external siren that is missing. I have got a roshni sounder with is usually 10 pound on ebay. Comes with 32 sounds and will work with anything from 9-36v dc. Now I have a smart things plug that I need to link to the ring alarm so when alarm state is triggered the smart plug turns on and fires up the sounder.
Anybody here able to help code this in for us all thank you
I do have a smart things hub. also a echo dot.
That’s not possible, unfortunately. 
Ring Alarm uses zwave. SmartThings brand devices are either zigbee or WiFi.
You could use potentially use Alexa routines as an intermediary, but you’d have to set up a routine for each sensor.
Also, some sirens will sound when power Is restored but others will not, so you’d have to test that.
So while it might be doable, it won’t be easy. And it won’t run locally if the Internet is out, it’s a cloud dependent solution.
It might be best to just check with ring support in the UK and see what siren options they recommend there for the security system.
Hi mate thank you for quick reply, when rin alarm trigger state you can get notified by email, so how can we get smart hub to trigger plug when email is received ?
Agreed its not easy but somebody must be able to code this for us
Any ideas to help.
P.S the Roshni sounder is activated as soon as it sees power, so as soon as the smart plug is activated the roshni sounds
Cheers