Totally new to SmartThings

General Discussion
#1

Hi all

I have had my SmartThings hub for around a week now and so far still have none of my smart devices working with it or connected to it, I’ve been hunting for how to guides but not coming up with much, of anyone could link me things to get me started I’d be very greatful before this thing hits eBay

Thanks in advance

#2

What devices are you trying to pair to the hub?
Are they already paired to a different hub?
Just a bit more information required please.

#3

Hi bobbies

Currently I have plugs which use smart life app, an sonoff light switch which uses EWeLink app, then are also paired with Alexa.

The reason for buying SmartThings was to control it all from one device

#4

And…Have you installed the SmartThings app on your phone?

Have you read the documentation that comes w/your devices to look for steps to connect to your hub?

#5

Yes checked all that out, the plugs must not work with SmartThings so I’ve been searching on how to make them work

#6

If you post the exact brand/model info of the devices someone here may be able to help you get things going…some devices that aren’t natively supported by SmartThings are sometimes supported when community members create device type code for them.

#7

There is no branding on the plugs is there a way I can find it out? The lift switch is itead and I’ve also a tp link smart plug, I have some itead sonoff switches on the way also would just like to control from SmartThings, I appreciate the replies

#8

As far as I know there is not integration completed yet for the Tuya Smart Plug (Smart Life App) branded plugs. If you want to have a cloud integration you may need to write your own code, otherwise IFTTT integration is probably the best choice for ya

For ITEAD SONOFF I think you have 2 possible solutions, one involves some flashing and program writing, the other is IFTTT.

For TP-Link you can just search TP-Link Device integration and there is already tutorial on that here.

I suggest you read the SmartThings Development Guide. I was in the same boat and I decided that I need to learn some Java first before I attempt anything. For now i’m just using IFTTT integration to get by (slight delay obviously)

#9

yeah, you may be in for a rough start. none of those devices natively work with SmartThings.

3 Likes
#10

Thank you for your reply, I have been trying the ifttt way but with no luck so Iam obviously doing it wrong, is there any handy links that point me the correct method of doing it?

#11

Hen… not really (as far as I know), but it is roughly likes this:

  1. you will need to create a virtual switch in your SmartThings IDE: FAQ: Creating a virtual Device

  2. In IFTTT you need to connect both via Smartthings and Smart Life accounts (for Tuya based plugs),

  3. once connected, just run your IFTTT (if a, blah blah) - you will need one for On and one for Off (if On on Virtual Switch, switch On on SmartLife plug) - do a test afterwards

  4. and voila completed

The delay is like about 2 secs if you are in North America (I’m in Canada it is about that long). It is not ideal but bearable.

#12

I agree with @Automated_House, you might want to consider pairing some devices with ST that are officially supported to get a feel for how the whole system is designed to work, before you go down the rabbit hole of hacking together a solution for WiFi switches that were not intended to be controlled by the ST hub.

#13

Having said that, if you really want to try to make these plugs work with ST, hopefully you’ve searched for some relevant keywords that may be of interest.

You can try to talk to some of the people in these threads. It seems like maybe firmware flashes are required, I’m still not sure exactly which devices you’re dealing with. Probably not worth it, but that’s just my opinion. Home automation should make your life easier, not frustrating!

#14

He needs all the getting started guides within the community first. All this is just going to make for a rougher experience. :slight_smile:

Did @JDRoberts make it back today? :sunglasses:

#15

Hey Mark,

This should help you out quite a bit.

Open this thread up. It has links to a lot of stuff to help you understand things better and help you navigate around.

#16

ok thanks everyone for your help and also the Matthews family who I messaged, I’ve finally got all my stuff working via ifttt, this has made me a little happier and my smart things hubs won’t be on eBay yet lol

my next mission is to try firmware updates on the sonoff’s to get them talking directly to smartthings hub

#17

Webcore is all you need. It’s a bit intimidating, it looks like coding but it’s really not. It has it’s own community to support it.

#18

Would anyone have any idea why ifttt has all of a sudden stopped showing my scenes? It just says no devices found now, it did work before as I’ve a few still running