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I delayed buying a V1 hub once I learned about the V2 hub coming out. I have not purchased any other smart hubs so I'm coming at this as a person fresh into the smart home arena. My initial impression is very positive overall. As of now I only have a handful of sensors set up so maybe things will change over time, but for now I am happy with my purchase. Here's my experience.
I get my V2 hub and start the setup through the app. The first time I input my Welcome Code it doesn't accept it so I get a little worried, but on the second try it works. I have already replaced one of my light switches with a GE ZWave switch so I go to add the device to my hub. The switch is about 10 feet away from the hub. The hub is searching for ZWave devices, but cannot see anything even as I push the button on my GE switch which supposedly puts it in pairing mode. I trying moving the hub closer and still no luck. I reset the hub a couple of times and start the pairing process again, but still no luck. I do a little research on the forums, but don't really get any helpful info. I go try to pair one more time and suddenly it works. I don't think I did anything differently than before, but I was happy to finally get it added. Once it was added I felt the setup for the device was pretty straight forward. I then install a second GE switch and am able to get it paired with my hub on the first try. I then install a GE in-wall electrical outlet, but I cannot get it to pair. I move the hub within 10 feet of the outlet, do multiple resets on the hub and it still cannot see the outlet. After about 20 mins I do a little research on the Internet and learn you can do an "exclude" function on the outlet which I think is about like a reset. I do this and am instantly able to pair the outlet with my hub. I install another light switch and it works right away. I then am able to pair a garage door opener on the first try. Finally, I install one last GE light switch identical to the others I have installed. I am able to pair this one immediately, however during the configuration process I keep getting an message saying "an unexpected error has occurred" and am not able to finish the configuration on the switch. I am able to control the switch, but it will not allow me to rename it or add it to a room group. I do a little research in the SmartThings forums and learn there is a website you can go to and configure your hub and associated devices (ide.smartthings.com). I go to the website and am able to rename the device and add it to a room group. Initially, though, the light switch does show the correct name in the app, but it still says it is "Not Configured". Since the device is fully functional I don't worry about it too much, but I guess my OCD just doesn't like having that "not configured" device showing up in my Marketplace. A few hours later, though, I decided to try and run the configuration again and it works. So I'm not sure what the problem was, but it did work itself out.
I have set up a few scheduled events to turn a lamp on and off at certain times and to turn my porch light on and off at sunset and sunrise respectively. Those have worked flawlessly so far. I felt the Smart Lighting was pretty intuitive and easy to work with. Also, you can set up scenes where basically with one push of a button it will do multiple events. So for instance when I push "Good Night" it turns off all of my interior lights, but leaves the porch light on. I could also have it do things like lock the doors, but I don't have any smart locks yet.
I will say there is a little bit of a learning curve in the app and it does still need some refinement. For example, why do I go to the "Marketplace" to add new devices? That sounds like where I should just buy devices (though you can do that as well). I also wish the app would be a little more useful for troubleshooting connection issues. Saying "an unexpected error occurred" doesn't really help much. Is any error really expected? How about telling me something more specific like is the issue with the app or the hub or the device?
Obviously, at this point things are still pretty basic for me. I am going to add some more light switches, a couple of motion sensors, and a smoke detector. I will see if I can get lights to react properly with the motion sensors and smoke detector.
Overall, I'm happy with my purchase. Despite the small amount of frustration with a couple of the devices I think this thing has great potential.
**Update 9/28/2015** - I am now up to 20 devices and everything is still working well. Most of them are light switches, but I also have a smoke detector and a Foscam that I am using as a motion detector (with a third party smart app). The response time of all my devices has been good, usually no more than a second with the exception of the Foscam. Since I am using a third party smart app for that it processes through the cloud. Any function/scene that uses only approved smart apps and approved devices will process locally and will process a lot quicker, which most of my devices and smart apps are.
The only real problem I have is when the smoke detector goes off SmartThings hub should send me a text message on my phone and turn on all the lights in my house. The hub does send a text message, but it does not turn on the lights. Other than that, though, I have been able to set up all the other functions I want. I have a couple of motion detectors coming later this week and a garage door opener coming next week so we will see how those integrate.
**Update 9/29/2015** - I just added a couple of motion sensors to my hub. They were easy to connect and work as advertised so now I have a basic security system. If motion is detected while the system is armed I get a text message/push notification on my phone and all of the lights in my house turn on. The hub itself has been working great for me. I will still say the SmartThings app needs a little work to make it a better layout and a little more user friendly, but overall I'm still pleased.
**Update 10/11/2015** - I have added a couple of open/close sensors for my front and rear doors and added my LiftMaster garage door opener. Overall, I am still happy with SmartThings, but I am removing one star and going down to 4 stars. My main issue right now is the SmartThings support. I still have not been able to resolve the issue I mentioned above with the smoke detector. Support takes about 3 or 4 days to reply. I understand they may be backed up on support tickets with the initial launch, but then again doesn't that speak something about the state of the product they launched? My initial support e-mail got a reply within a day, but since then it's been about 3 or 4 days between each e-mail. The support rep keeps asking me questions mostly in quickly written e-mails only a few sentences long. They have only made a couple of quick suggestions, none of which worked and one I had already tried anyway. Basically, at this point support is worthless for me. It is only because everything else I have set up works as I want it to that I'm still satisfied overall with my hub. I truly hope they do not end up alienating a lot of customers due to the excessively long support times. They should have hired more people to cover the initial surge of support tickets that often come with product launches. They also need to get to redesigning the app to make it more user friendly and adding useful features like grouping items together in other categories besides Rooms.
-- UPDATE 12/1/2016
While there have been a few ups and downs with this system overall I would say there are a lot more ups. I am still happy with this and I have seen improvements in reliability and functionality since I first bought this as the SmartThings team continues to make improvements. The app was also redesigned so it is better than before, though it might still need a little polishing to make it a little more user friendly. As I have added several devices since my first review they have all pretty much worked flawlessly. I have added a couple of Hue color bulbs and they work great, though there is a lack of color control for routines. You can change colors manually or for the Alarm function (i.e. they can turn red if the security system goes off), but I cannot find any way to change them through a normal routine. Also, SmartThings will integrate with the Echo so if you spend $50 on and Echo Dot you can have some pretty cool voice control of your home! It's not perfect as it is mostly just basic functionality (I can turn my hue bulbs on/off, but cannot change the color through voice), but it is still pretty useful and fun.
| Brand | SAMSUNG |
|---|---|
| Color | White |
| Power Source | Corded Electric, Battery Powered |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 4.9 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches |
| Connectivity Technology | Wireless |
| Item Weight | 0.5 Pounds |
| Voltage | 100 Volts |
| Control Method | Voice |
| Battery Cell Composition | Alkaline |
| Maximum Range | 40 Meters |
| Battery Life | 10 Hours |
| Included Components | Samsung SmartThings Hub, Quick Start Guide |
| Unit Count | 1.0 Count |
| Manufacturer | Samjin |
| Part Number | STH-ETH-250 |
| Item Weight | 8 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 4.9 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches |
| Item model number | STH-ETH-250 |
| Batteries | 4 AA batteries required. (included) |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Style | SmartThings Hub |
| Item Package Quantity | 1 |
| Batteries Included? | Yes |
| Batteries Required? | Yes |
