With all of the V2 functionality misses and instability issues over the last week with reboot request from ST, constant network dropping, etc… the WAF plummeted and the purse strings opened to buy Wink to run in parallel. Should be interesting as I’ll run one floor of the House on ST and then second floor on Wink - she decides which to keep.
Before the trashing starts on Wink - it was her suggestion based upon her research as perhaps consumer functionality versus ST’s technology focus. We come from Revolv (which she LOVED), Hardwire Creston (bulletproof but she said ugly UI) and prior to that x10 - so we understand the nature of the technology. But, to her point — Revolv worked great in our current house setup and our Hue bridge and Sonos (yes, both proprietary) work great.
So I’m very much looking forward to this parallel test. It is not feature / function tech out … It’s simple WAF decision on which can RELIABLY turn lights on and off, lock the doors if both phones outside a radius, etc. I ordered popcorn!
I used Wink in the past and generally speaking, it was a good experience. My biggest issue was response time - typically 1 - 2 seconds, comparing to SmartThings’s almost instantaneous (when it works). Also, Wink did not support all devices that I have and of course there’s no way to add custom devices. This of course, does not matter for most consumers, who only use devices labeled “Works with Wink”. Would be interested to hear your impressions.
P.S. One thing is for sure, Wink’s mobile app is slick and beats SmartThings monstrous contraption hands down.
Good luck to you, but I am afraid that you guys will be shopping soon for a replacement on both. If you want to sabotage your wife, just trip over your router and seat back while your wife will need to manually turn off the lights on the second floor.
Have you opened any tickets about your reliability issues? Would you mind laying out the devices in your setup? I would love to help you get everything working reliably.
How’s that different from SmartThings? Despite much overhyped “local control”, most SmartThings functionality still depends on internet connection. Besides, preventing someone from “tripping over my router” is not that difficult and totally within my control, whereas preventing SmartThings “cloud flatulence” ™ is not.
Yeah, basic light automations may still work, but your routines won’t execute, SHM won’t work, custom apps won’t work, so for all intents and purposes the system would be out of commission. Besides, my internet connection has beed rock solid for the past year (knocking on wood). It is SmartThings cloud that is the weakest link.
SHM Child apps do run locally, however, they would have to be armed already - and even then they are not reliable and have NO WAY to alert you if remote as in a Armed Away scenario.
It does look interesting. It’s Android-based, has Z-Wave+ built-in and two functioning USB ports that can be used to attach a 3G dongle for back-up Internet connection or a Zigbee dongle, according to this video:
AND this is why I simplified my HA strategy to use ST for local light automation, a separate security system and 3 basic modes that can be changed across all devices using IFTTT.
I still have a separate alarm system for a couple reasons. 1) SHM is not ready for primetime. 2) If one system is compromised, the other still works. For example, if SmartThings is hacked and someone unlocks my front door, they will still set off an alarm when they try to open it because of my alarm system.
I one day hope to combine the systems, but I don’t yet see a single system that is as reliable and rock solid as my alarm system, and as diverse and customizable as SmartThings.
Regarding the Zipamini TV, that system looks awesome. I might have to pick one up to play with. Looks like Zipato might have a subscription service though for mobile alerts. Anyone have info on that?
I’ve heard great things about the new Insteon hub. I believe it works with HomeKit and they integrate with some other devices as well. If I were to scrap Smartthings, they would possibly be the one I would go to.
Well, more accurately, my experience is the ST staff acknowledges the ticket, says they have to escalate to get an actual answer, and then doesn’t respond.
Can we please just ban any expressions about opening tickets with SmartThings, and stick to possibly-productive conversation, at least until ST prioritizes support?
How? I have two SmartApps installed, but neither is running locally according to graph.api. And one of them is my own tiny app that should be able to run locally. Devices are even worse; my LANdroid device is tiny and should be running local, but doesn’t. About half of my devices run locally.
The question I can’t figure out is if one has the ability to write ‘device handlers’ for devices that aren’t explicitly supported, or in cases where you want different than typical functionality (for instance, controlling a Fibaro RGBW module as a four zone valve actuator.)
One stop shop in Home Automation is a utopian ideal. The reality is that there are so many moving parts, that is bound to break often if you’re trying to stich them together. ST has come close to get it right, and no doubt that they will eventually get there, but they have to work harder to stay valid.
