Hello all - I’ve read through a few threads detailing how to transfer a hub to a new homeowner. Others have done it by creating a new email, having support help move their ST account to that email, then handing over that email/pass to the new homeowner. These threads are a bit dated.
I’ve been emailing SmartThings support for a few days. The message is that this can’t be done and that I must factory reset:
At this moment there is only one option that I can suggest you is if you have to transfer ownership of the hub to a new user you have to remove the hub from your account so that the new user can connect it to his account.
Regards,
Navya
SmartThings Support Team
Any other ideas? I have many devices and routines - recreating them would be tough.
Doubtful you’re going to have much luck and pray that you don’t.l, otherwise you’re going to be stuck supporting your new homeowner forever.
Id take the statement from support saying it’s not possible back to your realtor and go from there…
1 Like
tgauchat
(ActionTiles.com co-founder Terry @ActionTiles; GitHub: @cosmicpuppy)
5
Genuine customers could lose / change their email accounts for many reasons - For example, they may register Hub with an ISP (x@comcast.net) and then switch to a different ISP. Or a work email and then change jobs.
Telephone support and tell them you’ve closed your email account and need to be transferred to new Samsung Account.
It’s unacceptable for them not to be able to edit a single Account owner authentication record.
There was a recent thread on this. If I was a buyer, I’d want to factory reset. There are too many possibilities of forgotten passwords, extra users, etc
Your best option is to reset the hub and build it back up under another email address. I’m rehabbing my old house and was going to reset the ST and set it back up under a different email address and just pass the info off to a new person. I have everything pulled out except a few door sensors and plugs and a cheap thermostat that works with ST. It’s tied to a smart lock that turns the a/c and a few lights on as contractors come and go. Still have cameras in and out of the house to monitor everything. Once it’s ready to sell, the only thing I was considering leaving was the ST hub, door sensors and thermostat. But honestly, it’s probably just going to be better to remove it all. I don’t want to play IT to someone else for free I don’t know. I’d rather give the hub and my extra equipment to a friend and get them on board with all this fancy stuff haha.
If the person buying already has a Samsung account (or simply want to use an existing email address) then they will need to reset it yet again so why go though all that.
Pretty sure support can change the e-mail address associated with your account. I’d set up a new e-mail address and have support move it to that e-mail address. Change the password on the smartthings account to something different for the new home owner and give to the new home owner. Give the username and password to the new e-mail address to the new home owner. They can then deal with it from there.
When ST started migrating accounts from an ST account to Samsung account… all that changed.
1 Like
tgauchat
(ActionTiles.com co-founder Terry @ActionTiles; GitHub: @cosmicpuppy)
11
It should make it easier (well - backseat engineering here). The link to the Samsung confederated credentials should be a simple pointer that could be updated to point to any other Samsung Account.
I am not sure if this could help but you could change your samsung account to use a generic email address you give away with the house and new owner modify credentials after.
So in short you don’t touch the smarttings side but the samsung account side.
Then they can add their personal emails as smartthings guest accounts and only use the generic one for admin purpose.
The only drawback is if, like me, you own other samsung products… But I believe this is feasible to move them to another samsung account after migrating your devices (phones tablets…).
I just started my smart home, and was thinking along the same lines, but my Samsung account has more than just devices on it. It also has personal information. I’m just not sure I can find all the personal information to remove it, if transferring the account to someone else. My current best idea is to have a non-Samsung tablet that sticks with the system, that can be on an account using an email for the physical address of the house. The tablet manages everything, but control can be shared to personal Samsung accounts. Can anyone think of any problems with that method?
On its surface, it sounds nice but in reality you’ll end up being product support for the buyer when they inevitably have issues.
If it were me, I would keep all the equipment at the old place but exclude / reset everything and then pull the hub off your account. THEN sell. Yes its a lot of work to reset everything, but I wouldnt want a call a year later asking why the stuff I setup isn’t working. Its just not worth yhe headache or in some jurisdiction, the liabilities.
The approach that @nathancu Describes is now the recommended approach from both the national realtors association and the FTC. Include the hardware, not the automations. This will require resetting the devices, which I know you had hoped to avoid, but it really is the simplest from a legal standpoint. You will need to do this before the house is shown to potential buyers so that you are delivering the house in the same condition as it was shown.
You can see this discussed in more detail in some of the other threads on selling a smart house.
I agree. You wouldn’t delete automation routines from a high end system like Control4/Savant/Crestron, and the time invested in building ST routines can exceed hundreds of hours.
This is a problem that ST will likely fix eventually; until then there are clunky workarounds. My buyers were very relieved I left the automations intact by switching the hub to a new email address, and the automation on display during the showings tipped them over the edge when considering similar properties in the same building.
Good point: the high end systems are a completely different category, and are professionally maintained. Their maintenance contracts already cover the provisions for transferring to other owners.
The suggestions about resetting aren’t mine: as I said, they come from both the federal trade commission and the national realtors association.
Many DIY system owners don’t understand that a showing is essentially an advertisement for the house and that the buyer is entitled to rely on what they see during the showing. With some very specific caveats. After all, the buyer may have chosen not to make an offer on a different house because of what what they saw when they visited yours. So the liabilities can be pretty high if things don’t work as they did when the house was shown.
Sure, the house with working automations might sell for more: but then you are taking on more liabilities and making sure that it continues to work in the same way for the new owners.
Not really. Realtors say that only a professionally installed system has any impact on the selling price of a house. If there is electrical equipment that the customer is going to have to remove to get back to “standard”, which is what most people want, you are actually going to lose money trying to sell it with a DIY solution installed. My realtor advised me to swap everything back to basic (“dumb”) stuff before listing the house. It makes no sense to sell the house with your HA tech in it. How do you even know what the new owners will want? What if you have smartbulbs but they don’t want to use lamps in the rooms you did? There is just no way to have the new owners use the same setup you have. And who’s going to teach them how to use it? I’m surprised your realtor told you to keep it. Did you tell them it was a DIY system and not professionally installed?
Unless it is specifically called out what is included and what is not. For example, blinds/curtains are hung on windows but they don’t come with the house. And you’re forgetting about furniture. Obviously we don’t always sell homes fully furnished even if there is furniture in the home when it is shown. And appliances are usually negotiated as included in the selling price, extra or not included at all. If you aren’t including your appliances with the house, it doesn’t mean you have to remove them before you show it.
Until you go for the final inspection, then anything is still up to negotiation. And the condition of the home at final inspection is what you are going to get. If a window broke between when you viewed the house and when you closed on it, guess what? You now own a house with a broken window. You can’t go back and get the seller to fix it after closing.
