"SmartThings Classic" vs "SmartThings (Samsung Connect)"

See the official FAQ. Continue to use the Classic app until you get an individual message from support that you should start using the new one.

https://support.smartthings.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000114006-New-SmartThings-app-FAQ

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I am curious which app I fit in. I purchased a V2 smartthings HUB In mid January of 2018. At the time, the only app I knew of was the one that is now called Smartthings Classic so I downloaded it and use it. The email address and password I use to access that app also works to login into the samsung.com website (I just found this out after reading through this thread). Interestingly enough, I also just came to the revelation that the email/password combo I setup here for access to this community is not actually at all associated with my smartthings hub. (I can’t remember why this happened) I’ve actually tried now using my login combo on this site that I use in the app just to see what happens and it says invalid combo (same results when I reverse it). Would I fall under the narrow group of users that should actually be using the “new app”? My main reason for asking is that I currently have only two very very basic routines setup in Smartthings Classic. That is it. Nothing custom. I am wanting to start tinkering with things though but I don’t want to invest a bunch of time and energy into this Classic App and device handlers if I’ll be sent over to the new app shortly. I would rather just start my knowledge base under the new app if that makes sense. Thanks!

What specific devices are you using?

It is laughably elementary. Right now I only have smart bulbs (Hue), outdoor cameras (Arlo Pro) and one samsung smartthings motion sensor. My first foray into “smart devices” were a bundle of the Netgear Arlo Pro cameras on black friday. I then bought the smarthings hub (since the cameras were not Homekit compatible) and got a Philips Hue hub system with a few bulbs (after a bad experience with the Sengled brand) and lastly a smartthings motion sensor in my basement. The only routines I’ve setup in SmartThings so far is when motion is detected in the basement turn on the Hue basement lights. I know. Very elementary. I have some dawn/dusk things in the HUE app (off topic I know) I do eventually want to get more advanced using the motion triggers in the cameras to trigger lights etc (maybe get smart thermostats too). Maybe with something like Webcore. I’ve also looked at getting some smart light switches for some more of my outdoor lighting that I can have trigger off the outdoor cameras or start using my phone to enable home/away rules (although I heard this is finicky) or even create a “virtual button” that I can just press when I hear something strange outside in middle of the night that would then flip on all lights and start recording on all cameras.

Long story short, I am currently a very basic user but wanting to learn and advance.

There will be a lot of people that disagree, but if I was new and was going to keep things pretty basic, I would use the new app. I wouldn’t have said this a week or two ago, but it’s now to the point where it seems usable. I’ve been using both for a while, but haven’t really been able to fully use the new app since I have devices missing from the account migration.

Completely agree tbh, exact same as me except i have not been migrated but even if i was the situation would be the same with regard to a few missing devices

It just depends what you want to do. Right now, for example, you cannot use webcore if you only have the "smartthings ( Samsung connect) "app. You have to first set it up in the classic app.

If you have a 2018 Samsung smart television, you really need to have the Connect app. ( i’m not sure about the 2017 models.)

Thanks everyone. This is very helpful. I do have a new Samsung Television actually so maybe the "smartthings (samsung connect) " app is the way to go. I love the wealth of knowledge this community brings.

Careful with that one JD. Lots of compatible Samsung Tv’s do not work with Smartthings ( connect ) or Smartthings classic, thats a whole nother thread

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Added the model year to my post above, thanks! :sunglasses:

2017 Tv’s DID work perfectly with both apps until Samsung ( deliberately ) disabled control, no one knows why. There has been enough outcry for them to hear and fix Fw versions but alas it seems it is not to be

My understanding just from Published postings is that they didn’t intentionally disable control: the people on the television side changed some of that API Without giving the people on the smartthings side information needed to fix The integration after the change. And decision-makers higher than both levels didn’t want to put resources into fixing what is now smartthings classic since everything was going to be back together in the new app Eventually anyway. But that’s all I know.

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Edit: tv switch was easier than I thought. Simply log out of rando Samsung login and log in under my Samsung account associated with SmartThings. Now I switch from classic to SmartThings app.


Thanks for the heads up. Mine is a 2017 I believe. (also a blackfriday purchase). I may leave it out of smartthings world for now. And just found out I “very intelligently” set up the TV with a separate unique samsung account under a completely separate email address. :expressionless: Oh wow, I am so smart …

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I added my mom’s 2017 MU6300 when i was visiting a month or so ago. Seemed to work fine in the new app.

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The new App does not appear to support the House Monitor function. I found this out after I added a First Alert system to the Smart Things Hub. I could only rename or modify the new device via the Classic application.

Correct. The new app only has the security side of smart home monitor. They rebuilt it from scratch, so I assume the leaks and smoke/co side are following. You can rename devices in the new app.

Alright, just heard back from the mobile team at HQ in regards to the usage of the Contacts permission by the Android version of SmartThings (Samsung Connect):
“One of the Device to Device features that is supported by the SmartThings app is file sharing between phones, and in the case of file-share being requested from external phone, the app reads contacts with the info of the nearby phone and displays popup to the user that “Someone with the ‘contact name’ is trying to share a file with your phone”, to let the user know to accept or not based on the contact info”.

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Wow Vlad, thanks for the reply and the follow up, your contributions here show a genuine desire to help people and it’s much appreciated.
I’m still not entirely able to assuage my mind with this “file sharing” answer. Maybe I’m a cynic, but my own feeling about why the new app needs “contacts” permissions, and I understand why it needs ALL permissions is simply that Samsung have made a corporate decision to centralize all users of their products into one place, like Google, to have all their info in one place, you can better use targeted advertisements for one thing, and make data mining easier. Giving users less of a voice, moving decisions higher up the food chain, so if you want to use a Samsung product, you will have to give over ALL permissions, “sorry” Samsung support will say “that’s just the way it is, it’s the same for everyone”.

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Yes, agreed: Thanks, @vlad

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Thanks for the follow-up, @vlad.

I think @Alwas’ concern is reasonable.

What is the proposed use case for sharing files between mobile phones in the new SmartThings app?

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