SmartThings Hub - Can control Schlage (z-wave) smart lock from different location?

Devices & Integrations
1

Hi,

I just purchased the SmartThings Hub to connect to a Schlage (z-wave) smart lock for a condo I purchased in Miami that I will be doing Airbnb with.

I just talked to Samsung support and I’m confused in what they said because I thought I would be able to control the Hub from any location. They told me I can only control the Hub if I’m within my Miami condo Wi-Fi; is this accurate?

I thought I would be able to setup the Hub in my condo where the Schlage smart lock is, under the same Wi-Fi network, and then be able to change the key code to the lock from my SmartThings App here in NJ…is this not the case?

Thank you!

2

You are correct. Support is wrong.

3 Likes
3

It would be helpful if we could see the exact wording of your question and the answer you got, just because there is some tricky stuff about smart locks.

In the older classic version of the smartthings mobile app, you could set up automations that would do pretty much anything you wanted to with a smart lock. You could unlock the lock based on geopresence, or via motion sensor or with a voice command. (I am myself am quadriparetic, so hands-free control of a lock is very important to me.)

However, the design philosophy for security features has changed with the newest version of the mobile app, the V3 version. Now the only way to unlock a smart lock is by opening the app and using the device icon. Or, of course, using the keypad on the lock itself.

But you can use the app from anywhere in the world as long as your phone has access to the Internet and the hub at your condo has access to the Internet.

In addition, the word “location“ has a very specific meaning on smartthings platform. You define different locations, and usually that’s associated with the hub. So if the hub is at home and you are 20 miles away at the office and you open the app you are still using the same “location“ as your hub at home. You obviously aren’t within Wi-Fi range, but from an account architecture standpoint, it’s all the same “location.“

Some people have one hub at home and one hub at the office And would therefore have two “locations.” You only have one app, but you have to switch within the app from one “location“ to the other and then you can only see the devices connected to that hub. So in that case you couldn’t be logged into the office location and control the lock at home. You would have to switch locations in the app first.

So that’s why the exact wording might make a difference. :sunglasses: Especially if you had a first line support person who didn’t really know the answer themselves and was just looking it up in a database. It would be quite easy to find an answer that says “you cannot control devices from one location when you are signed into a different one.“

But to answer your general question, you can certainly be in New Jersey and use the new V3 app to unlock a lock at a condo in Miami, or use the official smart lock feature to change the lock codes on the lock in Miami. But you would have to be signed into the same “location“ as the hub which is controlling that lock.

1 Like
4

Thank you for the quick replies!

Ok, great…that’s how I thought it would work but got totally confused after talking to Samsung support. Lol.

This brings me to my next question which I also asked Samsung support and they said I should only set this up in the Miami condo first.

Anyway, I’m in NJ so I purchased the Hub and was going to set everything up here. Then I was going to mail the Hub to my cousin in Miami this way she could plug it into my router using the Ethernet cable and I would then be able to have access to it from NJ. Would I be able to do that or would it be better for her to set everything up from down there? I’m just trying to make it as easy as possible for her to setup.

Is there a website portal, like routers have (e.g. 192.168.1.1), that would allow me to setup the Hub through my laptop down in Miami through remote desktop? Or is the only way to setup the Hub is by using the SmartThings App?

Thank you, again!

5

First rule of Home automation: the model number matters. :sunglasses:

That applies here as well. We need to know the exact model of your hub.

6

Hi,

I purchased this model:

Samsung SmartThings Hub 3rd Generation [GP-U999SJVLGDA] Smart Home Automation Hub Home Monitoring Smart Devices - Alexa Google Home Compatible - Zigbee, Z-Wave, Cloud to Cloud Protocols

Thank you!

1 Like
7

OK, The older smartthings hubs did not have a Wi-Fi radio, so you could set them up pretty much anywhere and when you moved, you just plugged them into the new ethernet router and you were good to go.

However, the model that you have does have a Wi-Fi radio and it is painfully difficult to switch to a different Wi-Fi network. So I think the advice to set it up at the ultimate location is probably good for that particular model.

There is a web interface to your account which allows you to do a few things, but it’s not an interface to the hub itself. You still have to do everything through the app.

I don’t have that model and I don’t myself know whether your phone has to be on the same Wi-Fi as the hub when you first set it up or not. Hopefully somebody who does have that model will chime in. :sunglasses:

1 Like
8

Ok ok, thank you for the clarification!

Yeah, I just took a look at the web interface and it’s definitely not as user friendly as the app; so maybe I’ll just have my cousin download the SmartThings app, connect to my Samsung account, and then have her add the Schlage Connect Smart Deadbolt (z-wave) lock through the app. And hopefully when she does this I’ll be able to view the lock from my SmartThings app under the same Samsung account. #fingerscrossed Lol.

I was thinking of just setting it up through the Ethernet cable instead of using Wi-Fi just to make the connection more stable. So I wonder if I set it up now in NJ through the Ethernet cable, if when my cousin plugs it in to the router in Miami using the Ethernet cable as well, if it would transition smoothly…hmmm!

9

I have the following Schlage Connect smart lock installed in my condo.

https://www.schlage.com/en/home/products/BE469ZPCAMFFF.html

So I would need to add this "Smart Lock Guest Access automation to my SmartThings app this way it will allow me to create/delete different Airbnb guest user lock codes?

Thank you, again!

10

Olimits,

I would be leery of setting this up offsite! All sorts of issues that I could imagine leaving you dead in the water! Especially if using a v3 hub AND using WiFi instead of hardwired! JD mentioned this as well, I was lucky and moved my router that I used to do the setup to the second home where I installed the smart things hub. Nonetheless you need to establish your mesh networks at the condo.

1 Like
11

If you’re using it for rental and AirBnB you kay want a more reliable app with some automations built in for manage your lock and users. Check out this app

12

I would add that if you move forward with using this in a rental, as RBOY suggests use a more robust app and insure that you have and understand zwave mesh network, it will be critical that your network is strong so that you can reliably communicate with the Shlage lock.