SmartThings Kit Disaster! 2 sensors not working [FIXED]

General Discussion
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UPDATE: PC World swapped the kit out for another one and it now works perfectly.

Had a pretty bad experience with ST today. Excitedly went to PC World (UK) and picked up the kit.

Took it home and connected the hub to my phone - no issues. Presence sensor & outlet connected very easily too.

Then neither the Multi-Sensor or the Motion Sensor would connect. I opened both up and tried to hit the small button whilst re-inserting the batteries, but the LED wouldn’t light up. I managed to get the LED on the Multi-Sensor to come on by putting the battery at a diagonal angle. I got it to pair, it worked for about 30 seconds then I never managed to get the LED to come back on. I tried pulling the plastic clips in tighter and pushing down on the battery to try and make the contact touch the battery, but no luck (with either sensors). I then attempted to (very lightly) pry the battery contact up 1-2mm on the Multi-Sensor so it would touch the battery and it snapped right off! I didn’t really understand what this advice on the ST website meant:

“Try removing the batteries and then firmly pinching together the ends of the clamps until they snap back into place”

At this point I decided to give up. It definitely comes down to the sensors not being able to take power from the batteries on both sensors. Strange that it happened on 2 sensors in 1 set, and I can’t find anyone else having this issue online. When the Multi-Sensor paired for about 30 secs it showed the battery having full power.

Will be taking the kit back to PC World in the morning and will hopefully get a full refund. Unsure if I should just swap this for another kit from and hope it works? I still really want to try SmartThings!

Marty

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Marty,

I would swap it out, and give ST a try. However, understand it is not plug and play. So you will need to work with the hardware and setup. Read the boards, there are issues with ST, but they seem to be getting their act together and moving through the growing pains

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Hey Edward,

Yeah I’ll give it a shot. I definitely understand there’s some teething problems but I’m cool with that. I’ve been following the boards for about a month now and enjoy the community & tinkering.

As long as the hardware isn’t broken on the next kit I’ll be quite happy :slightly_smiling:

Cheers

Marty

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So far from my starter kit - I had one door sensor fail - took about 2 almost 3 weeks to get replaced.

I bought 2 extra door sensors - and for some unknown reason - 1 of the others drained the battery in less than 2 months - and without warning it just died.

ST is not ready for mass market. It is a niche products with no big benefits yet for UK users.

ST relies on the users writing their software and drivers and treat us all like 2nd class Alpha testers - while they focus on not fixing the important bugs but implementing idiotic video stuff that they can charge a monthly fee for.

All in all not a positive experience - so IMHO - take it back - get a refund - and wait a few years for ST to mature or something else to come along.

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