Who in Canada is using Smarthings?

[KevinE (Kevin Elbury)]

So I am entering my first foray into some basic home automation - mainly lighting control and a rudimentary self monitored security system. My first step was look at my WiFi and transition to a mesh based system to get better wifi throughout and around the perimeter of my house. I notice the Samsung Mesh WiFi system has Smarthings built into it which was a compelling reason to go this route (versus say TP-Link Deco M9 mesh router). I couldn’t find it for sale anywhere in Canada and my search led me back here to some Canadians who had the new V3 hub that they could not get working in Canada without a bunch of VPN work throughs to get the device to think it was in the states [not interested]. I just purchased a Galaxy Note 9 and was liking the level of integration of Smarthings into that device but now am having second thoughts. The technology is rapidly advancing and it sound like I can likely get something to work but I would have to purchase now outdated technology. So what are my fellow canadians doing? Once again we are put on the backburner. If you wend in a different direction which system would you go with?

[Automated_House (Jimmy)]

They actually just listed the v3 hub and the new SmartThings WiFi mesh system for sale on the Canadian samsung site.

[JDRoberts]

There are quite a few Canadian members of the forum, including some of the grandmaster coders. I’m sure some of them will chime in.

@tgauchat

[625alex (Alex, ActionTiles Control Panel)]

I’ve been using SmartThings for years. I haven’t had the chance to setup Hub v3 yet, but per the post above, the new hub is listed for $99 CAD, so they must have just added support for Canada. Maybe it will work without any tricks.

There’s a couple of dozens of us! Join us!

[yvesracine]

Canada rules…

Here are some integration that can be done with some Canadian code…

Nest devices (Cam, Tstat, Protect), Ecobee thermostat and switch, Flair devices (Puck, smart vents, Hvac Unit for mini/window splits, portable heaters/coolers) for creating zones in your home, Automatic Car connected, Neurio device (whole home power management)…

Demo of EcobeeSwitch+, Ask Alexa, My ecobee, My Flair, My Automatic integrations

Hi, I’ve just created a quick demo of the new ecobee switch+ with the Ask Alexa integration. The demo includes some unique features with My Ecobee,My Flair Devices, and My Automatic DTHs (custom Device Type Handlers). EcobeeSwich+ Demo You can use Ask Alexa to give you some comfort & energy saving tips using MyEcobee and MyNextTstat (for Nest Thermostats) DTHs based on the outdoor/indoor conditions at your home… http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=EcobeeGetTips The same features are also available with MyNextManager (Nest Integration). http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=NestGetTips Refer to these threads for more information about the above DTHs: Regards.

And, there are also some zoned heating/cooling solutions for your home.

*** No longer supported *** [RELEASE] Best Zoned Heating/Cooling smartapps

To whom it may concern, My smartapps are now officially approved by Keen Home: [image] The new UI presentation amongst others adds a custom capability (setZoneSetpoint see image below). [MyZoneDevice_Custom_P1_C] [MyZoneDevice_Custom_P2_C] [MyZoneDevice_Custom_P3_C] Latest versions of the smartapps EcobeeSetZoneWithScheduleV9, ScheduleTstatV9, ScheduleRoomTempControlV5: new major version with added custom capability in MyVirtualZone DTH for Setting Zone setpoint under the new Samsung connect app! V8.8.9 EcobeeSetZoneWithSchedule & v8.8.9 ScheduleTstatZones added some defensive coding to avoid conflict when the master tstat is also included in rooms (as a slave tstat) for the scheduled zones v8.8.8 ecobeeSetZoneWithSchedule & v8.8.7 ScheduleTstatZones v8.8.7 - Removed some logic i…

www.ecomatiqhomes.com/store

Regards.

.

[tgauchat (ActionTiles.com co-founder Terry @ActionTiles; GitHub: @cosmicpuppy)]

@yvesracine

Here are some integration that can be done with some Canadian code…

And ActionTiles is also 100% Canadian made! (I just live in California for the weather, Silicon Valley proximity, and … well, ugly high taxes).

[JackTheMan18]

I would also like to question the use of the V3 version of the SmartThings Hub. It appears from the specs, and from reviews that the V3 version is a step sideways or back from the V2. With the exception of wifi (versus ethernet connectivity) nothing much has changed. It’s true that the V3 is cheaper (but not by much).
You can still get the V2 at HomeDepot.

[yvesracine]

@tgauchat

And ActionTiles is also 100% Canadian made! (I just live in California for the weather, Silicon Valley proximity, and … well, ugly high taxes).

Hi, you mean in California or Canada? I used to live in California and the taxes are high too (and don’t t forget the housing costs which are ridiculous).

[Lumute (Gonzalo Parra)]

Canadian here, I would recommend have to SmartThings and your WiFi separate, I just don’t think its a good idea… I tried (and returned) many WiFi mesh systems including the Google WiFi, Linksys Velo, TP-Link. At the end I got some Ubiquiti (Unifi) Access Points and could not be happier, they are great!

I would also really recommend going with the V2 Hub, only get the V3 if you can’t put a network cable to a more/less centered location in the house for it and have to use WiFi…

[JDRoberts]

@JackTheMan18

I would also like to question the use of the V3 version of the SmartThings Hub. It appears from the specs, and from reviews that the V3 version is a step sideways or back from the V2. With the exception of wifi (versus ethernet connectivity) nothing much has changed. It’s true that the V3 is cheaper (but not by much).
You can still get the V2 at HomeDepot.

The V3 offer significant security improvements for both Z wave and zigbee. Whether the typical residential customer will care about that or not remains to be seen, but it is a generation forward.

Samsung SmartThings Hub (2018) discussion (Model GP-U999SJVLGDA aka V3)

Remember when the V2 was announced and people were saying “what’s the point?” And I kept saying “zwave plus, zwave plus, zwave plus”? We’ve got the same situation here, in that the V3 will be capable of supporting significantly better technical security features than the V2. It should be S2 certified for Z wave, although admittedly we still have to wait and see on that. And it will be zigbee 3.0 certified, although it won’t enforce all of the advanced security features on the zigbee side in order to allow for compatibility with legacy devices. All of that gets into super technical details that you won’t notice necessarily on an every day basis, but it does mean that those who are concerned about security issues should find that the V3 scores notably higher on those factors than the V…

[Lumute (Gonzalo Parra)]

Please correct me if I’m wrong but although some of the new security features are V3 only due to the hardware used (mostly related to inter process / chips communication and isolated secure place to store keys, etc.), those big items you mention on that quoted post (Z-Wave S2 and ZigBee 3.0) are both confirmed to be under development for eventual release on V2 hubs.

Now, I did read somewhere the V3 has a Thread chip but like Bluetooth it may never be used…

[JDRoberts]

I judge things based on what they do now, not on what the manufacturer says they might do some day.

[TonyC88 (Anthony Chow)]

I recently purchased SmartThings from amazon.com and I live in Canada with V2 hub. I have not see any issues other than the recent updates.

If you want to tweak or do some development, it is safer with the hub. I heard that the wifi mesh hub is limited in functionality.