V2 integration of SmartCam, Hue, Smartthings and Windows Phone

General Discussion
1

Hi all,
I was running my devices on V1 Hub, with SmartTiles as my daily interface for viewing camera (via Blue Iris) and quick light switches.
8 Hue Bulbs
2 ZXT-120 IR blasters for Aircon
2 SmartCam HD
1 Foscam Clone
3 Sonos speakers
2 Multisensors
1 Motion Sensor

Last night I migrated to V2 Hub, added a couple of outlets (yay!) although I am still waiting on delivery of the EU frequency version of my IR blaster and Yale lock. Also waiting for the new Hue Lightstrip PLus to be launched.

In short, setting everything up was a breeze. Uninstalling from V1 and adding everything to V2 was no problem at all. Everything discovered easily and added to its relevant room. I use an Android tablet at home for set-up, and a Windows Phone the rest of the time.

But then comes the usage, and here are my gripes:

  1. The android app crashes pretty frequently.

  2. Regarding the SmartCams, you can’t just see the feeds, you have to go the relevant room (although you can have the video displayed at the top of the room page, you still need to click to start the stream). Then you have to navigate back out and in again to another room to see another cam.

  3. Cannot in any way manage to get a video feed on the Windows Phone app. Trying to open the cams causes the app to crash. Admittedly, the Cam viewing is in Beta

  4. SmartLights is nice, mostly. Got my fan plugged in via a Smart Outlet so when I sit down the motion sensor turns the fan on, then off again if I leave for more than 20 mins.

  5. Drives me nuts that I can’t set a lighting state across all my hue lamps and recall it on a trigger. I don’t want all my lights the same colour & intensity, I want different shades and brightness in different areas. But it seems the only way to do that is with multiple automations. And if you want to do that at different times of the day, its a LOT of automations.

  6. The old workaround for different light colours & levels was to program in the Hue app and use a virtual switch to call an IFTTT command to trigger that lighting state. Of course, OAuth isn’t working so I can’t use IFTTT

  7. And because of the OAuth issue, I can’t use SmartTiles anymore, which means triggering lights manually in several rooms is a complete chore via the WP Smartthings app.

  8. Presence on Windows Phone is useless. It seems to always think I am home, no matter how far away I am.

  9. Good news is that the V2 Presence sensors seem much better. Still not sure if I am ready to rely on it to unlock/lock my front door though.

  10. Did a great Automation for my coffee machine to turn on, based on motion during morning hours and to turn off when there is no more motion. This suits me better than a timed turn-on/off and means if I lie in the coffee is still fresh :smile:

  11. Swiping left/right in Smart Home Monitor seems to be problematic.

  12. Intrusion detection works when triggered by the motion sensor & door sensors, and the SmartCams send nice little video clips. From both cameras, even if motion is only sensed in one room. Have to look more at this. They do take forever to load however, even in at 30" 360p quality.

  13. Why can’t the motion sensor on the SmartCams be used as a trigger/motion sensor???

I am sure there is more to add as I fiddle with the set-up.

My biggest piece of advice is to PLAN before you program. Decide on paper what you want to achieve, what your routines are, your life-flow. Just because something is possible, doesn’t mean its desirable :smiley:

2

Ok so I discovered the app SuperState, which creates a switch for a scene of Hue lights (colour, intensity) and can be switched like any other switch by whatever triggers you use. Create several different scenes for your different moods/time of day/presence.

Great app, solves my IFTTT problem and keeps the control local.

3

@Mike_Maxwell does great work. :sunglasses:

For those interested in this or other scene management smartapps developed by fellow community members, see the following forum category:

https://community.smartthings.com/c/projects-stories/created-smart-apps

4

Thanks for that @JDRoberts :smile:

I’ve just ordered another 10 Hue Lux bulbs, four Lightstrip Plus (with extensions), a Minimote and four Hue Dimmer Switches. All coming together nicely - plans for another cam or two maybe.

On a day-to-day basis, the big things for me now are seeing the Windows Phone app catch up with the Android app (specifically viewing video feed in real time, although intruder clips do work). Second to that is adding other users, specifically their phones as presence sensors.

OAuth is not an issue for me any longer - my routines don’t need IFTTT any more :wink:

1 Like
5

One more thing I forgot.

On install, my Multi-sensors were showing in Fahrenheit. I reported to support. While waiting for a fix I went into the IDE and Home Hub settings, switched it to Fahrenheit and back to Celsius. Now it works and displays Celsius temps.

I gotta say, the V2 sensors all seem to be far more accurate at reading temps than the V1 counterparts. Loving it.