Tips on deciding on the smartthings hub instead of other hubs/platforms in the marketplace

General Discussion
1

I am new at home automation, and would like to get your advise

  1. why should I decide on the SmartThings hub and not other hub?
  2. If buying the Smarthings hub, how can I tell if its V1, V2 or a newer release?

Thanks

2

Originally when I chose SmartThings, it was because they supported Windows Phone (which I had at the time). The other factors to me, which are more important are…

1: VERY OPEN - There’s an active community that work to get devices integrated into ST.
2: Supports multiple standards (ZWave and ZigBee)
3: Works with a TON of 3rd party devices such as Amazon Echo, Harmony Remotes, IFTTT, etc.

So, I don’t know what other “other system” your considering, but SmartThings is the most flexible IMHO.

As for v1 vs v2 - If you come across them they should say v2. V2 has a squarish look to it and there’s a battery compartment on the bottom. You want v2 IMHO. But if your looking to save a couple bucks, then get v1

1 Like
3

Every system has pluses and minuses, so it just depends on your needs.

The following thread should be of interest (this is a clickable link).

4

Is anyone from Smartthings monitoring these posts who can comment on what’s being done to stabilize the platform? is anything is being done to address the platform inconsistencies?

5

You can check any of the several active threads on stability. The company says that they’ve made it a top priority, and I believe that. They just aren’t quite there yet. They do post from time to time about various improvements that they’re making.

One of the significant things that they did a few months ago was to hire an engineering director from Amazon as their new chief engineer. I don’t expect him to turn things around immediately, but I think it’s a very good sign.

6

You know, I’ve been using SmartThings for over a year now and, while, initially, SmartThings was buggy as all hell, recent updates have been pretty stable for me.

I mean, my house is probably a lot simpler than some people’s houses - with maybe about 5 or 6 lights, a few sensors, a few smart locks and a few cameras, so maybe your mileage may vary, but I’ve not experience the major instability everyone talks about.