SmartThings cam needs SmartThings hub?

Devices & Integrations
1

Now i am curious to know weather SmartThings cam works with SmartThings app (without a hub).
I read messages on community - hub is needed for this cam. But these messages are old.
Does someone have clarity on this?

2

If you’re referring to the Aeotec 360 camera, there’s nothing in the manual that indicates that a hub is needed. Aeotec took over Samsung’s SmartThings hardware a few years ago and the devices are now rebranded under the Aeotec name. I have one of the camera and it shows up as a WiFi device. I do have a hub, but it isn’t needed based on the verbiage in the manual.

Here’s an excerpt from the technical manual:

Name: Aeotec Cam 360
Model number:
US: GP-AEOCAMUS
EU: GP-AEOCAMEU
EAN: 4251295701578
UPC: 810667025472
Product Dimensions: 4.53 x 2.91 x 2.87 in / 118 x 75 x 75 mm
Product Weight: 245 g / 8.64 oz
Product package contains:
Aeotec Cam 360
USB adapter
USB wire
Mounting adapter
Hardware required: No hub required (works directly with SmartThings)
Software required: SmartThings app
Operation System: Android 8 or higher
Operation System: iOS 12 or higher

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3

First rule of Home Automation: “the model number matters.” There are several camera models that might be called a “SmartThings camera.”

Model number GP-U999COVLBDA is a Wi-Fi model that does not require a hub. Its target market was people who owned Samsung smart televisions. It has been discontinued, but you can still find it for sale.

The Aeotec cam 360 is a completely different model. Also Wi-Fi. Also does not require a SmartThings hub. But when they first released it, it had an optional paid subscription plan which unlocked a lot of features. Now the subscription plan is no longer available so all you can do with it is 10 second clips.

A couple of years ago, SmartThings had a partnership with Vodafone in Europe to create a “vhome smart security system“ which included a camera model. This one required that you have a hub, not to make the camera work, but to validate the V home account. This line was discontinued and initially, they would not work with SmartThings. However, @fck-r reports below that once Vodafone shut down the Vhome system altogether, SmartThings did eventually unlock the devices so they could be used with a SmartThings account without a Vodafone account. See the posts below for details.

So which one were you asking about? :thinking:

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4

I was asking about the first one.

Thankyou for the answer Mr Roberts.

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5

Clarification. After vadafone closed the V-home service, all equipment previously sold by vodafone began to connect directly to ST without verifying the V-home account. Including the wifi hub and the video camera you mentioned. The camera has a resolution of 720p, motion detection, and is added to ST video with the corresponding limitations of the non-subscription version: no more than 4 cameras, recording 10-second videos and storing them for 24 hours.

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6

Hi @fck-r ,
Are you sure? I bought two V Home hubs last year (I knew they were unlikely to work at the time) and could not get them to connect to SmartThings (I got stuck at V Home authentication).
I wanted them for the WiFi Mesh functionality (I already have a working SmartThings V2 hub).
Cheers, Aidan

7

I have a V Home (V3) hub that has worked perfectly for 2 years, although the STHM screen had the title “V-Home” and each device screen had a Vodafone logo.
The Aeotec cam (same source, Vodafone second hand) would not work until approximately October last year when the Vodafone/ST team up terminated.
They now both run, without the logos, and with the standard STHM app.

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8

Hi @jaidank,

Yes, that’s right. I had an old V-home security kit and in June I read on reddit that it was unlocked by vodafone. I then installed the camera in my kitchen and it connected without any issues. I gave the hub to my parents and it also added to ST. This hub currently has Mariano’s drivers installed and several ZigBee devices connected. Everything works flawlessly.

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10

Good to know, thanks! :sunglasses:

11

Thanks @fck-r ,
I have found one of my V Home hubs (but not it’s PSU), now I need to find the other one, and I will set up my first Mesh network.
Cheers, Aidan

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12

Hi @fck-r ,
I found the PSU and started the setup.
My SmartThings App found the WiFi Hub (ET-WV523), identified it as a Vodafone unit and proceeded with the setup.
Alas, it got stuck at 69% with ‘Error code: 36-302’. This seems to happen to many people and there are several threads about it. I think the firmware is just too old.
After approx 3 attempts, the SmartThings App no longer finds it.
One person seems to have a workaround of repeatedly adding it as an additional slave to a working WiFi Hub mesh, which had the effect of incrementally updating the firmware to a working version.
I will keep searching for the other WiFi Hub in the hope that it has newer firmware (Vodafone support did advise me that the problem WiFi Hub was an unregistered Vodafone model before I bought it on eBay).
It did get past the Vodafone gateway, which is progress, but I will give up for now.
Cheers, Aidan

13

On the plus side, this did cause me to boot up my two spare V2 Hubs, just to get them onto the latest firmware.
They updated within 10 minutes of coming online, without the need to factory reset.

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The ST hubs marketed by Vodafone as part of their V-Home security system were initially ‘hardware’ locked but, at least in the EU, there was at one moment a consumer backlash. I can’t find the details now but basically from that time, around about the time the V3 hub was passed to Aeotec, the hubs were ‘free’ although the wifi cam still needed the Vodafone cloud.
If it is your hub, not the camera, that is asking for connection to Vodafone I fear it is locked in by firmware.

15

I bought the WiFi Hub (ET-WV523) last year while knowing it was a Vodafone unit.
It wasn’t very expensive on eBay and I just wanted to experiment with it in the hope that the Mesh WiFi functionality was not locked.
Very early in the setup procedure (as I remember) it asked for Vodafone account details.
In the absence of a Vodafone account it was just a paperweight, so I put it in a drawer.
Earlier in this thread, @fck-r explained that Vodafone had ‘released’ their WiFi Hubs and I decided to give it another try (once I found the PSU).
Sure enough, the setup procedure appears to be unlocked and goes on for ages, getting stuck at 69% with a ‘36-302’ error code. The ‘69%’ and ‘36-302’ appears to be well known and may be related to a very old firmware version.
I contacted Vodafone before buying my unit and they advised that my serial number was an ‘unclaimed’ or ‘unregistered’ unit, meaning it had never been set up (and then would have original factory firmware. I guess).
Cheers, Aidan

16

Hi, @jaidank
I should mention two things that could be potentially important. First, I used this hub a few years ago, paying for a Vadafon subscription for a few months, until I bought a v3 to replace it. It probably got some firmware updates. Second, when I added this hub to my dad’s ST account from his phone, it also froze when registering a new device. I noticed then that he had an old version of the app with an outdated interface. After updating the app to the latest version, the hub added successfully the first time.

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17

Thanks for all your help @fck-r , I am running latest SmartThings App on a Samsung Note 10+.
At this stage I am going to give up my SmartThings WiFi (unless I find the second one I bought last year).
With the unit I found (factory firmware), the only hope would be to find somebody with a working SmartThings WiFi network, and have them add my unit to their mesh (possibly multiple times) to get updated firmware. That is a big ask for somebody, assuming I could find somebody in the UK.
So, back in the drawer for now.
Cheers, Aidan