ST and Wink compatible things/devices?

Devices & Integrations
1

is there a list of cross platform compatible devices that work with both platforms?

thanks!

2

Not that I know of. What are you specifically looking into? Are you coming from Wink or are you wanting to build your system so it will compatible on both, just in case?

3

i am just trying to create a list of cross platform devices as i am not sure if i will go with wink or ST

4

Are you more of an iPhone* person or more of an Android person?

  • side question, do you do any coding/dev work/like tinkering at all?
5
  • probably more Android, however in my household there will be users on ios, andoid, windows on both smartphones and tables
  • no coding
  • wanna use amazon echo down the line
  • worried about cloud only option (same on both platforms) “wanna turn my light on etc even when internet is down” :slight_smile: i do understand ST has some very limited or selected local option
  • Benji - i see you use wink - why you wanna switch to ST v2?
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6

You can cross-reference devices on both of these:
http://wiki.winkathome.net/index.php?title=Category:CompatibleDevices

Wink is more user friendly, but it has a lag because of its cloud. They’re soon coming out with local control.

SmartThings is faster, almost instantaneous, and supports more devices. It also lets you add custom devices coded by the community, but it’s a little cumbersome if you just want plug and play. The UI is not straightforward and it needs some learning curve.

Both have their quirks and neither of them is perfect. I strongly advise you against any of the two if you want them as a dedicated security system.

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7

thanks buddy. i will take a look.

Is it possible to attach dedicated security system to ST?

8

So, the reason I asked the iOS/Android question was more of a, do you want a more polished app but one that doesn’t let you “think outside the box” V.s. One that’s a little more rough around the edges but the possibilities are FAR more extensive.

You don’t HAVE to tinker with ST but what you can accomplish if you even just slightly dip your toe (note that I have VERY basic coding knowledge, i.e. I could read it but couldn’t bash out a SmartApp) is insane.

With Wink it supports whatever Wink tells you it supports
 sure there are some possibilities to fudge it (read: IFTTT) but in my opinion IFTTT just adds to the lag, whereas with ST if a device isn’t officially supported, it’s possible a member of the community has made their own unofficial support for it.

Personally I hated Wink from the get go but that was also at a time when the app was equally as buggy or perhaps worse than the ST app. It’s most certainly improved and is definitely more stable than the ST app is now (for some) however, I still won’t ever go back. I liked the flexibility ST offered, I liked simple things like the fact that it had Ethernet port!

One of the biggest things I hated about Wink was how long it took to execute a command, my kitchen motion sensor would take anywhere between 10-30 seconds to turn on the lights and at first I was concerned this was the same with ST but @JDRoberts and many others convinced me this was not the case, even while still running in the cloud
 Well, when I first transferred everything over to ST and the first time I tripped the motion sensor and everything turned on within a fraction of a second, I could have kissed JD.

Speaking of the cloud, at the moment ST has more toes dipped into local control (i.e. without the cloud) than Wink (officially) does, not every device and not every SmartApp can run locally but depending on the devices you have, they might and for the most part, when I checked the last time (the list keeps growing) a lot of my devices and SmartApps are running locally now (not the case when I first changed over). Now, Wink has been talking about local control for a looooooooooong while now, lots of rumours however, within the last month it looks like a few Wink beta testers have let slip that they might have finally done it (in beta firmware).

In all honesty it’s entirely possible that if Wink ever does allow local control, right out the gate it’ll probably work better than ST’s local control why? Because it goes back to the fact that Wink has control over everything again, what devices are supported and the ‘functions’ of the app whereas SmartThings cannot just willy nilly allow anything to run locally as this could be a security risk, could cause issues with the hub or could even cause issues with their cloud.

Finally, if you’re worried about having to dip your toe in config, let me just say that everything I had on Wink, I transferred over to ST without even touching the back end IDE, any custom device types or SmartApps and everything just worked.

Yes there are plenty of issues with ST as you can see on the forum but, let me tell you this from my own perspective, I will never go back to Wink, that those issues do not outweigh the advantages (for me) to chose Wink over ST and lastly, I feel a LOT more confident about the future of ST than I do Wink


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9

Thanks +++ Benji that was amazingly helpful and i really appreciate your time and effort. Cheers!:grinning:

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10

No problem, happy to answer any other questions and I try and remain impartial even though I MUCH prefer ST.

Just note that in any case, neither solution is truly set and forget, they both require attention to keep running and I’ll be honest (at the moment) it’s likely that ST requires even more attention. Don’t go in to either one thinking it’ll be smooth all the way, both suffer from a lot of issues and while both platforms have helped make great strides towards making Home Automation more friendly, it still probably isn’t quite for the masses yet if we’re all a little honest.

Also, make sure any partners/family/friends/basically anyone that lives with you are on board and to also expect issues. It doesn’t take long for a few faults to make for unhappy husbands/wives/children.

On the flip side, when it works, it’s a GLORIOUS thing


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