![]() ![]() While I found the SmartThings iOS software polished and attractive enough, routine operation is marred by arcane icons and competing, redundant paradigms. SmartThings offers apps for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone, but expect to invest some time to master them. But that’s where the simplicity ended, leaving me wondering what to do next. I had everything added to the app in no time at all. Similarly, plugging the lamp module and the siren into power outlets rendered them discoverable. Each device immediately powered up so the Hub could find them. In other cases, you might just be out of luck, as I discovered when I tried to enroll my existing Lutron Caseta Wireless lighting controls into the SmartThings system (Lutron’s Pico remotes are super handy).įor the next step, the app prompted me to discover existing Things by removing the temporary shipping spacers separating the batteries from the electrical contacts on the motion sensor, the multipurpose modules, and the leak detector. In some cases, such as with Chamberlain’s MyQ garage-door controller, you’ll need to rely on fellow users posting helpful tips in the SmartThings’ community forums to figure out workarounds. You can incorporate a variety of smart locks into your SmartThings system, including numerous models from Kwikset and Schlage.Īs complete as that ecosystem sounds, holes remain. While you won’t find these products for sale in the SmartThings store, the company does provide online tutorials for incorporating them into a SmartThings system. You’ll also find a number of compatible third-party devices in the SmartThings store, including smart entry locks from Schlage and Kwikset, in-wall ZigBee and Z-Wave light switches and dimmers from GE, a smoke and carbon-monoxide detector from First Alert, emergency sirens and strobes, remote controls, and more.Ī SmartThings system can also incorporate other classes of devices, including third-party smart thermostats and smart light bulbs, Amazon’s Echo digital voice assistant, Belkin’s WeMo connected-home products, and even Bose SoundTouch and Sonos multiroom audio systems. There are several other SmartThings products to choose from, including a leak sensor, an arrival sensor that sends notifications when the bearer arrives home, a humidity sensor, and a security camera. Unless you live in a very small house, you’ll want to add other components to expand the capabilities of your system and to expand control to additional rooms in your home. This starter kit does just that: It gets you started. They can trigger a SmartThings lamp/small-appliance module to turn on a fan or small air conditioner when the room gets hot, or a space heater when it’s cold. The SmartThings door/window sensors will also monitor and report the ambient temperature. In addition to informing you when motion is detected and if your door or window is open or closed, the sensors also monitor the temperature in their proximity and can trigger the small-appliance module to turn on a window air-conditioning unit to cool a hot house, or to fire up a space heater if a room gets too cold. The lamp/small-appliance plug-in module is slightly bulkier and of course depends on AC power, but it’s also more likely to be placed out of sight. The two-piece units can be mounted to doors, windows, and even garage doors using the included double-sided tape or by screwing the corresponding backplate into your trim or wall. The motion sensor is similarly slim, and each of them is powered by a CR2450 coin-cell battery-no old-school wiring here. The company indicates its updated line of ZigBee sensors are one-third the size of its previous models, and I found the door/window sensors to be extremely innocuous once installed. ![]() While the second-generation Hub can be purchased on its own for $99, most people will get started with the $249 SmartThings Home Monitoring Kit, reviewed here. And it comes pretty close to delivering on that promise.Ī small hardware hub at the core of the SmartThings experience bridges multiple network protocols and acts as the local command center. SmartThings, acquired by Samsung in 2014, promises to break down those silos and integrate all the smart devices in my connected home into a single mobile app. My Bose audio system can play music in every room in my house, but I need to launch a different app when I want to dim the lights to hear mood music with my romantic dinner. One sensor can tell me if my garage door is open or closed, but it can’t turn on the smart light bulbs inside my house when I open the door at night. Yet as the buzz approaches fever pitch, a sizable percentage of the connected tech available today remains isolated in siloes. The Internet of Things is everywhere, reaching even the interior of your fridge. ![]()
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