Serial Number Invalid

General Discussion
1

Hello, I’ve just purchased a new SmartThings hub from Amazon Gen 3. This is the first hub I have purchased and I am new to SmartThings. I read all about the setup process being a breeze, but when I go to set this up, I get to the part in the app to add my new Hub, but when I scan the QR code or try to manually enter the serial number, I receive “Invalid Serial Number” response.

I’m located in the US and using iPhone 8 with latest iOS software. I’ve also tried on a google Pixel C with latest Android software.

Has anyone on the community run into this before?

2

Hi @ScubaChad, can you double check that the number you are entering is a number starting with 3011 (for a US hub). It may also be wort trying the QR code scan.

If you are still having issues, contacting support is probably the best option. They can get the information and do some checks to make sure that the record for the hub from the manufacturer has been properly loaded into the cloud.

There could also be a couple other root causes for this problem that support can work with you on.

3

@ScubaChad
Are you using the new Smartthings Connect app? That’s the one you need to add the new hub. Then you can go back to Classic if you want.

4

@posborne. Yes the hub serial number starts with 3011 and I’ve tried using the QR scan code. Still get same error. I’ve contacted ST and they have rasied support ticket to second lvl.

@NomadTech. Yes, I am using the new SmartThings Connect app.

5

Thank you for filing the support ticket. It looks like there have been a few now and we believe we know what is going wrong. Resolution should be coming quickly and you should get a message back from support when things are ready to rock.

6

Hello, same issue here. I just received it. I sent an email through the app with serial number, is that all I will need to do for now.

7

Update: Noticed the blinking light went to solid blue for an extended period of time. After researching the led light schema, I did a power cycle on the hub was then able to connect to my device this time. The LED light went to flashing Magenta which is downloading a firmware update which the ST app confirms. In the time it took to write this, ST Hub was updated and connected. Thank you all who contributed.

2 Likes
8

@ScubaChad Glad to hear; my guess would be that the SoftAP timed out after being online for a period of time. This is a security feature to reduce the chance that a hub left plugged in unattended can be claimed during this window.

I believe the mobile app uses the entered serial number or QR code to do a Wi-Fi scan to try to find/connect to the hub but if the AP had shut down it could result in the error message you were seeing as the mobile developers assumed that the reason it can’t find the matching hub is that the SN information is not correct. Assuming this is what happened, clearly there’s some opportunity for the app to give some better feedback on things that one might need to try.

Basic Rule of Thumb: If the hub isn’t blinking red/green it isn’t in setup mode and you will need to pull power to reboot it to get it back to that state (or, if it is claimed, do a factory reset [but make sure you understand what this does and ensure it is actually what you want to do]).