In-Depth Beginner's Guide to SmartThings and the Aeotec Smart Home Hub

[@therealcarolinegie]

Thanks for the video Brett! Been using SmartThings for years here in Warsaw, Poland and love the functionality and ease of use!

[@TechWithBrett]

The apps is really nice looking and simple to use. It has grown a lot over the years.

[@dankelley9361]

As always, a perfect review of how to setup & use the SmartThings/Aeotech hub. Have been using a SmartThings version 2 hub for years with great success. I know you need the version 3 Aeotech hub for use with Matter devices. I’m hoping you’ll be the first content creator that shows the steps to do this as I love your detailed explanations of products & tech & go into great detail how to achieve this. I’m guessing you first need de-exclude all Z-Wave devices but not sure if you need to if your moving to the new hub. Thanks for all your efforts in making these YT videos👍

[@BudsSmartHome]

Nice review Brett. Good to see you promoting the SmartThings Hub. Happy New Year! 🎉

[@TechWithBrett]

One of the OG products I had in the house but I certainly didn't give it enough credit back then.

[@joshk333]

Awesome video as usual Brett

[@payoneer88]

This guy should have more likes and followers! Excellent review and detailed step-by-step tutorial! This gave me a pretty good idea on what to do with my new home as smart home. Thanks!

[@MikeBirdman]

love this in depth video, thank you. I'm going to be installing this hub later this week and I know I'll be returning to this video because no way I'm remembering all that the first time lol .

[@TampaTec]

Great guide 👍 I need to order that.

[@TechWithBrett]

Very powerful product.

[@bradkrekelberg8624]

Thanks! I can see myself coming back to this video often in the next few months. I actually JUST bought an Aeotec hub to add to my Alexa smart home and I'm in the process of adding devices to Smartthings while trying to avoid having duplicate devices in Alexa. So this really couldn't be more timely for me. Thanks for reading my mind!

[@juliebeach2831]

Great review. Very helpful.

[@THEDADDY7770]

Great vid, question... Would you recommend replacing my old samsung hub or just adding this one to my network.. update, I have now reached the max devices on the ST hub...

[@432wheels]

so I just sat through the whole 35 minutes waiting for the 1 thing I was wanting to know that you said you would find out during the review. Does the hub have to remain plugged in to the router or can it run off wifi?

[@biiigdaaaddy]

Thank you for the video. I'm always wondering if I can use the motion sensor from a home security system say Simplisafe to turn on/off the light.

[@ebenezerebenezer7251]

Thank you very much Sir, this video really helped me out...

[@toddscruggs3407]

Can this powered into the back of the modem. Or does it need the power brick

[@kristianandersen9347]

Great video, Thank you very much

[@CarolBuser]

Does this hub work with a nest thermostat? I bought it to monitor doors and turn off AC when opened any length of time. Will this work with my Nest

[@gliksman1]

Great easy and informative review. Does it work with Govee and LifX? and will the HUB "remove" those devices from wi-fi? I have bunch of smart lights/strips for about 5 years and still trying to figure things out without going through hoops to just have simple set up with few contact sensors and a motion sensor. Keep losing connection with bulb, strip, bulb, strip...

[@williamtijesuni9590]

What is the coverage of This hub, cos it seem you used just one for the whole building

[@TechWithBrett]

Z-Wave Range: Up to 100ft indoors, Up to 30m indoors Zigbee Range: Up to 40ft indoor, Up to 12m indoors Range extenders are also available if needed.

[@EsotericArctos]

Aeotec version of the hub is virtually the Smarthtings third gen hub with updates. In fact, I think the Aeotec firmware can be uploaded to the third gen Smarthings branded hub. It was disappointing initially when Samsung dropped hardware as I feel they should have dropped hardware after Aeotec had fully taken it over, but things seem to have sorted themselves out now. Aeotec make really good quality gear, so this should last the distance. Great to hear Matter support is coming, as well as introducing the Thread router.

[@rogeratkins3028]

Most helpful. Can the app be put on 2 phones (me & wife)?

[@TechWithBrett]

Yep! Or you can share the home with her and then she can just sign in with her account.

[@rogeratkins3028]

Thanks. Does the thermostat application in smart things have the ability to do more than just up/temp? Have Honeywell T6 pro wave@@TechWithBrett

[@ErossaanBooming]

question: all these "smart devices" connected/ plugged in to manage and commadn orders, how much power do it consume? I assume not much to run small controllers, but is it saving you pwoer or adding more ti,y bits of powerr to the over all consumption?

[@narayansawant4059]

Thank you for the in-depth video. Q: If I get the AeoTech Hub, do I then need Lutron smart Hub too?

[@TechWithBrett]

Yes, certain devices like Caseta require their own hub to be integrated to other smart home products. But if a product is ZigBee or Z Wave it should directly connect to the Aeotec Hub.

[@garypoma4236]

happy new year

[@jameslawson3109]

Will the sensor you're using work with previous Samsung hubs? Great work as usual...it was a pleasure meeting you when we both worked for Samsung! 2011-2020..

[@TechWithBrett]

Great to hear from you James! Yes, the MultiSensor 7 will work with existing SmartThings hubs.

[@twohassles43]

This is probably a dumb question, but I am pretty new to all this. I have Phillips Hue Smart Bulbs that was given to me as a Christmas gift. The bulbs I got was a starter kit that also included a Phillips Hue Hub. I also have many Samsung products in my home, and I own the the flagship model of Samsungs phone which is the S22 Ultra. I have the smart things app installed on my phone, but I really haven't used it much. My question is if I were to buy this product would I still need the Phillips Hue Hub? I mean how many hubs does a person need? Would my Phillips Hue light bulbs function properly using Smart Things Hub as a stand alone Hub? I have tried other smart light bulbs besides Phillips Hue and none have worked as good as my Phillips Hue Bulbs. I don't want to mess up a good thing by trying to use a different hub.

[@twohassles43]

Never mind about my question. I had not finished your entire video when I typed in my question to you. Once I listened to your entire video you covered my question about the Phillips Hue Hub.. Ty so much for a very informative video. I think i am going to buy this hub. Ty again.

[@peterd.7069]

okay, my home is connected with alexa and such plugs and bulbs. probably have close to 50+ devices. so how can i use this with my current setup and what would be the benefits if any.

[@TechWithBrett]

If you don't have any ZigBee compatible Echo devices this will widen what your Alexa devices can do. This supports ZigBee and Z-Wave devices that allow for sensors and other devices to be easily connected. You can then add SmartThings into Alexa to use those sensors and run the routines directly from the Alexa app.

[@jasonbreaux7586]

I have the original SmartThings hub. Is it possible to easily transfer everything to this hub and will my created automations transfer as well?

[@dnoland77]

Since I already have a house full of Alexa and Google connected devices do I need to delete everything in those 2 apps and start with a clean slate before setting up the Aeotec/Smartthings hub?

[@TechWithBrett]

To have an experience without duplicates that would be best. You can also just add everything to SmartThings first to make sure everything works, the. Remove everything that for sure works from Google and Alexa and then link SmartThings to Google and Alexa.

[@dnoland77]

@@TechWithBrett Thank you, that makes perfect sense. Especially since this might take some time to complete.

[@blak238]

So to add any smart device to the hub you need to sign in into whatever smart device you want to add to the hub in the app for the hub? But what if say I have a smart light bulb in the kitchen and I want to add it to the hub, but the smart bill does not have any sign in, how do you add it to the hub? Or does all smart device have a sign in within it’s all

[@RodrigoFerreira-bs6hd]

great video! Quick question: do I need to buy "secondary hubs" for every brand or will they all connect directly to the aeotec hub (specifically talking about zigbee and z wave) ? I'm asking this because your lutron devices, for instance, seemed to have been paired to an account controlled by a hub. And if that's true, how do I know which do and do not require that. PS: I'm (very) new to this. Thanks!

[@TechWithBrett]

That is a really good question. It is usually noted if it needs its own specific hub like Lutron. If the device is labeled ZigBee or Z Wave it most likely will connect directly to the SmartThings hub.

[@Esau61082]

Will this eliminate other hubs in home setup? I have a Phillips hue hub for lights, outlets, and sensors, will smartthings hub allow for me to remove other hubs and only have one?

[@mariannesuesli5680]

The latest smart hub that connects all the different standards is called Matter, very important, like Brett mentioned.

[@Saturn2888]

Oh, these aren't magnetic? I'm looking for Philips Hue alternative sensors, and having a magnet on the back is a killer-app feature because I can basically put them anywhere.

[@blak238]

So I want to make my apartment smart. So without this hub thing I can’t set up my smart apartment?

[@nerfcorp1]

Will all my Samsung smartthings devices connect to google home so I can use both smartthings and google home

[@TechWithBrett]

Yes they will. I recommend connecting every you can to SmartThings and then only linked SmartThings to Google Home and then you won't have any duplicates.

[@nerfcorp1]

@@TechWithBrett thanks

[@matt19218]

Hey Bret I got a question everything i have is connected through Alexa can i connect the motion sensor to Alexa directly if not will it still be able to turn on the lights connected to Alexa?

[@TechWithBrett]

This sensor will need to be connected to a Z Wave hub like the Aeotec Smart Hub first and then when you link Alexa it can be used inside the Alexa app.

[@matt19218]

@@TechWithBrett awesome thank you

[@sun1234567890]

Hubitat or Home Assistant is the way to go.

[@garypoma4236]

I love you

[@mortenleinan]

Anyone know this issue: Bought a used Samsung smartthings hub V3, and i cannot for any number of reasons get it to show up in the app. So i cant set it up, seen different places that there are multiple people with the same issue as me, but no sollution. Anyone know?

[@TechWithBrett]

Is this after a factory reset and being plugged in over your router?

[@mortenleinan]

@@TechWithBrett yes it is

[@ClaudioVolber]

I bought one of these to open the cameras on Alexa, but before it arrived I managed to do this with a Raspberry with Home Assistant, and I confess that I wasn't impressed with the features of this smartthings equipment, I think I'll return it.

[@Max86421]

I'm using Google nest hub max to control some of my smart home devices because my kids don't have a smartphone

[@TechWithBrett]

That's a great idea. Lots of functionality.

[@Max86421]

@Tech With Brett Yep! I love the call home feature in the Google home app

[@joserenier5031]

Do a 2023 house tour

[@metalsmania4459]

You make SmartThings sound better than they are. Especially when they are doing a backend cleanup (so their email said) and they trash my entire 125+ device setup without the ability to recover it. So now I’m trying to get everything back with more than my share of devices causing problems. I’m not their biggest fan right now.

[@cashralston7786]

Hi brett

[@TechWithBrett]

Hello!

[@impuls60]

Aeotec hub started to hang after 1 year. It failed resetting too. Dont buy it.

[@jennyjangtun6154]

SCP999

[@anthonyrossetti7509]

I am going to post the best ST guide 👇 below 👇 Just toss it in the bin and buy yourself a habitat, ST is broken trash now , nothing works anymore After 6 years of this torture this is what I should have done but instead I F'd up and bought the Aotec, what a HUGE mistake that was. ST is worthless most of my stuff no longer works now I have to delete the integrations and just integrate with Alexa (not even bothering with POS Google home anymore either , another useless piece of trash that got worse and worse over time till it was totally unusable)

[@marcsanders9328]

Find it hilarious that you think Software and hub being developed by separate entities is a great idea.

[@anthonyrossetti7509]

ST is garbage The migration was horrible everything is broken now ,2 weeks ago all my Tuya and wiz stopped working, every day I waste my time deleting and unlinking and relinking but It still never works anymore Garbage platform that requires waaaaay more time than it is worth

[@williamtijesuni9590]

The description says it's not compatible outside north America, maybe that's why

[@anthonyrossetti7509]

@@williamtijesuni9590 nope I am on North America, Half my problem was my Asus router for infected with sand worm Russian mal ware I couldnt see any of my wifi connected clients but most of them still worked and all Ethernet connected clients showed up still I could not update the FW and I could not restore it either. I had to factory reset it a few times

[@tankthebear]

Folks smartthings is a hot mess right now ... might be good to sit on the sidelines or look at other alternatives until they complete their migration away from the legacy groovy platform.

[@eduardopadilla1677]

I watched this video earlier today and this comment wasn't here... I ordered the hub a few hours ago. Hopefully I don't have issues.

[@garypoma4236]

am not rich and a youtuber

[@TheOGJeff]

How to get your home hacked and give up control to energy companies!

[@TechWithBrett]

Hasn't been hacked yet... Been using these devices for years.

[@sheikhabdullah5171]

Such an american thing