It has become clear that a SmartThings dongle (i.e one attached to a TV) cannot be a primary or secondary member of a hub group…
So what does a dongle do if connected to a network with a ST hub? act as a repeater / extender?
… and why can it not be poart of a hub group?
…so a bit more… I started with a dongle and then as I became more comfortable and interested in ST I bought a V3 Aeotec hub - with the goal of establishing a more stable hub group as noted above…
No worries I though… I shall use the replace hub function to move devices from the Dongle to the V3 Hub … no cannot do that with a dongle either!!!
What are my options now beyond manual transfer of devices?
Just do it. A dedicated hub is always better than a dongle attached to a TV, in my opinion.
As far as I understand it, unless you are using the TV as a SmartThings hub it does nothing.
I don’t know if there is a fundamental limitation, or if it is just an extension of Samsung having lost interest in old models of TV by the time their customers have opened the box. Using a TV (with or without a dongle) as a secondary hub in a group makes a lot of sense to me. Far more than using it as a primary or standalone does.
I don’t think there are any. You just have to decide which devices you want to move and do it manually. There isn’t a rush as long as both hubs are in the same Location, you’ll just be an extra bit cloud dependent for a while.
It just does what it did before hub groups were invented (which is quite recent).
It acts as a hub for those devices which are connected directly to it. And that’s it. It can’t join the same Zigbee network As any other hubs you might have, but you can still create automations for it.
As to how much value having a second independent hub provides you, that just varies from person to person.
For example, if you had set up a family theater in the basement with that television, it might be very difficult to get Zigbee signal in and out of that room. So you could use the TV as an independent hub there, and connect some sensors and smart plugs and light switches to it and automate that section of the house as its own area. It wouldn’t be on the same Zigbee network as the devices upstairs, but that wouldn’t really make any difference.
So while it’s not getting any of the advantages of being part of a hub group, it still serves a useful function.
The steps to start the Hub Replace process can also be found in the SmartThings Hub section of our support documentation here
Both hubs need to be added to the same Location in the app. If Hub Replace does not show then that hub does not support it and you would need to manually remove each device and add it directly to the other hub if that is the route you want to go.
This is the approach I tried - but it advised that was not possible for dongle hubs!
I get it that Samsung is trying to entice users in ST with appliances (TVs, fridges) … etc I fell for it…
… but not having functionalilty in the ST dongle to grow (i.e move up to a proper hub) once hooked is madness!
The dongle isn’t the hub. It’s simply a 2.4Ghz radio that enables the hub to support the Zigbee and Thread network stacks. You can still support Matter over Wi-Fi and Edge LAN devices without a dongle.
The hub is software on the TV or appliance. I suspect there is a difference in the operating systems that run on standalone hubs vs the TVs/appliances that might contribute to them not supporting hub groups. Or it could be they simply haven’t ported that functionality to the software only hub.
OK get the current nuance - the dongle is extending functionality (Zigbee, Thread) of the Hub on the TV…
… but my argument on Samsung’s disconnected marketing / technical approach still holds.
and I can hope there is potential for a solution to emerge …
In the meantime I see no advantage of having the Aeotec V3 hub in this location … unless someone can convince me it would be worth moving devices manually … I’m open!
Many thanks for the guidance … much appreciated.
From your last comment “you’ll just be an extra but cloud dependent for a while”
From this should I infer that routines and commands on
sorry… am learning 
Routines with devices spread over multiple hubs will be cloud based. If you move all of your devices over to the Aeotec hub, most routines will run locally.
It really depends on how many devices and routines you have in this location, but the migration can be done in one day in most situations.
Hi Everyone,
Thank you everyone for your comments. Believe me having access to a brain pool of talent is very much appreciated.
Working on the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” and the fact that I am in the very fortunate position of having a holiday apartment (Smart Home learning test bed) and a main house it probably makes sense to take the Aeotec V3 hub to the main home and start building some from there…
BUT…
Samsung for goodness sake wake up…
your ST strategy is fundamentally broken …
you have that bait with hubs in appliances (TVs, fridges etc) … but if they cannot grow with the user / system to fully blown hubs (as I have learned today there looks to be a difference) you will really really annoy people who will help you cross the marketing chasm to growth
Majority of ST users don’t have a hub at all and of those that do, it’s been stated that most have 15 or less devices. Samsung/ST doesn’t seem to be marketing to the hard core home automation users, but rather to the average TV/Appliance consumer who might add a few smart light bulbs and a few cameras (and perhaps a thermostat). For that market, a standalone hub offers no advantage over the TV/Appliance hub other than Z-Wave support, which has been dropped from the ST Station hub anyway (the most recently introduced hub). Also, the v3/Aeotec hub is over six years old now so, to me, it’s not surprising they aren’t looking to provide a migration path from new technology to old technology.
I feel like ST’s strategy is to try and stay ahead of the Echo/Alexa, Google, etc smart devices that can also double as a home automation hub and in the process provide another incentive to buy their TVs and appliances.
Both TRUE statements. I have three Samsung Televisions & am constantly annoyed by lack of support–although they are always “defaulting” to their own Samsung streaming service, LOL. Would I buy another Samsung TV? Probably time to try another brand…
It really is all about the money. That’s marketing…
Thank you. If a loyal owner of three Samsung TVs is thinking about not buying another TV then their marketing is not securing the financial l gains it seeks… I do hope someone from Samsung is reading these posts…
Their good customers will soon find ST hubs in a range of devices … and like me start playing with them …without clear guidance. Some joined up thinking and connecting dots is needed!
And yes if the Aeotec is history … and ST hubs in appliances is the way forward then the case is only stronger…