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theethicalengineer
 
 
 
theethicalengineer's stats
 
  • Review count
    6
  • Helpfulness votes
    43
  • First review
    October 26, 2015
  • Last review
    November 16, 2015
  • Featured reviews
    0
  • Average rating
    1.7
 
  • Review comment count
    3
  • Helpfulness votes
    2
  • First review comment
    November 1, 2015
  • Last review comment
    November 16, 2015
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    0
 
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theethicalengineer's Reviews
 
Samsung SmartThings Arrival Sensor: Stay informed when people enter and leave your home with this arrival sensor. Just connect to your SmartThings hub and your Apple® iOS, Android or Windows mobile device to receive alerts on the go. You can also set up the sensor to trigger lights to turn on and unlock your door when you arrive home and shut lighting off and lock the door when you leave.
 
Customer Rating
1 out of 5
1
works but eats batteries + worst app ever!
on November 16, 2015
Posted by: theethicalengineer
Don't take my word for it. Read reviews for whatever version of the app you intend to use. IOS is currently down to 1.5 stars, and wouldn't be that high if it weren't for the popularity of the older version.
Pay special attention to those written wiithin the last couple of months. The V2 release has been a joke and still isn't right even 10 weeks later.
Also whenever you see those 5 star reviews online, click on the user name of the person who posted them. You'd be surprised to see how many of them have only ever reviewed this system, or Samsung products in general. I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
-2points
3of 8voted this as helpful.
 
Samsung SmartThings Smart Outlet: Use your smartphone to control a light, electronic device or appliance that's connected to this smart outlet. Just pair the outlet with your SmartThings hub and plug it in to get started. You'll also receive alerts when lighting or electronics are left on, so you can work to conserve energy.
 
Customer Rating
1 out of 5
1
Decent hardware, but a truly terrible system.
on November 16, 2015
Posted by: theethicalengineer
If you don't believe me take a look at the reviews of the app for whatever flavor of smart phone you use. I see a lot of rave reviews of this system by people who have never reviewed anything other than smartthings. I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions.
I was a V1 user and was largely happy with that system but once v2 came out, nothing has worked properly. It's approaching 10 weeks since it's release and my lights would be more reliable if I'd gone to walmart and bought a cheap timer that plugged into an outlet.
They may eventually get this stuff sorted out, but as of the moment, it's FAR more trouble than it's worth.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
-19points
5of 29voted this as helpful.
 
This GE 45856GE in-wall smart switch easily replaces your old light switch and integrates seamlessly with 2-way and 3-way systems. The over-the-air feature automatically keeps the switch's software up-to-date.
 
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Good quality.
on November 6, 2015
Posted by: theethicalengineer
I have quite a few of these in my home. They are good switches and seem to work reliably. Or they did before Smartthings crapped the bed with the v2 release. Fortunately these seem to work with quite a few different systems so I'll be able to reuse them when I upgrade to a better hub.
Easy to install and they look very nice as well.
I would recommend this to a friend!
-2points
0of 2voted this as helpful.
 
Samsung SmartThings Motion Sensor: Add this sensor to your SmartThings hub to trigger functions when motion is detected. The unit senses motion up to 15' with a 120° view angle, then sends an alert to your compatible Apple® iOS, Android or Windows mobile device.
 
Customer Rating
1 out of 5
1
Avoid Smartthings
on November 6, 2015
Posted by: theethicalengineer
Save your money. This system promised the moon, and while the earlier version never lived up to the hype, it was pretty good. Unfortunately ST dumped v2 on the world, and has now broken everything that made ST useful. They've taken away beloved features, made the app so bad it has one of the lowest ratings I've ever seen on Apple's app store.
You can now only have one user, so if you want anyone else in your family to be able to use it, you're out of luck.
Take a look at their own community forum on their own website and see how their users feel.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
-12points
4of 20voted this as helpful.
 
Samsung SmartThings Multipurpose Sensor: Stay informed and in control with this multipurpose sensor, which pairs with your SmartThings hub and your Apple® iOS, Android or Windows mobile device. A built-in accelerometer sends you alerts when someone knocks on your door or your laundry is done. You can also get notifications when doors, windows or drawers open. Plus, the sensor monitors the temperature and triggers your thermostat to adjust accordingly.
 
Customer Rating
1 out of 5
1
Smartthings is terrible!
on November 1, 2015
Posted by: theethicalengineer
These are decent sensors, and they will work with other hubs, but Smarthings as a whole is terrible. Their earlier V1 system was pretty decent, but since the buyout and the move to V2 they have pretty much abandoned their earlier users without warning.
With V2 everything has to be uninstalled and reinstalled manually, which takes forever. The new system doesn't allow for more than one user, so if you want other members of your family to have access, forget it.
Notifications come multiple times, or an hour later, if at all.
Lights that are on a timer, don't come on or go off at random.
Their tech support has been "working" on it for 7 weeks now.
ST has no phone support or contact numbers at all.
Their own community forum is full of angry people demanding status updates and our main contact within ST seems only interested in posting gifs poking fun at those of us who just want our systems to work once more.
They might be worth looking into a few months from now.... I hope but for now, I'd avoid them like the plague.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
-23points
9of 41voted this as helpful.
 
Samsung SmartThings Hub: Use your compatible smartphone as a remote for your home's smart thermostat, locks, lights and other smart devices when you download the SmartThings app and connect to this hub, which offers up to 100' range to reach smart devices throughout your home. A battery backup provides peace of mind.
 
Customer Rating
1 out of 5
1
went downhill fast.
on October 26, 2015
Posted by: theethicalengineer
V1 was an excellent little system for the money. Unfortunately ST got bought out and now they've released V2. Two months in the system still barely works. There is so little functionality that you can't even add additional users. You can only control it from one device.
ST takes forever to get back to you from support and either tells you it must be your fault or it's going to be fixed "soon".
They've stopped listening to users and have removed most of what made V1 a good system.
Constantly broken or non functioning app.
I have over 2k invested in ST and compatible devices and it's so bad now that I'm ready to walk away from all of it.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
-15points
22of 59voted this as helpful.
 
theethicalengineer's Review Comments
 
Samsung SmartThings Hub: Use your compatible smartphone as a remote for your home's smart thermostat, locks, lights and other smart devices when you download the SmartThings app and connect to this hub, which offers up to 100' range to reach smart devices throughout your home. A battery backup provides peace of mind.
 
Overall1 out of 51 out of 5
went downhill fast.
By theethicalengineer
V1 was an excellent little system for the money. Unfortunately ST got bought out and now they've released V2. Two months in the system still barely works. There is so little functionality that you can't even add additional users. You can only control it from one device.
ST takes forever to get back to you from support and either tells you it must be your fault or it's going to be fixed "soon".
They've stopped listening to users and have removed most of what made V1 a good system.
Constantly broken or non functioning app.
I have over 2k invested in ST and compatible devices and it's so bad now that I'm ready to walk away from all of it.
Customer Avatar
theethicalengineer
This is a reply to the comment by "Notyours"
November 1, 2015
What's wrong with it the app?
#1 It's unstable and still crashes on both my devices even after multiple updates.
#2 The dashboard / things page have been removed and replaced with pull down menus. After 2 months of people asking for it back ST has announced that it's gone, and isn't coming back.
#3 You now are limited to one user.
#4 The alarm won't turn off no matter what mode you put it in. I'm not talking about a slight delay. I'm talking about turning it off completely and it still goes off everytime one of use gets up during the night to go to the bathroom.
#5 The UI wastes too much space with room for pretty pictures up top and makes you scroll forever to access things.
#6 Timed events no longer happen reliably. My sunset / dawn lights either don't come on, or I'll come home from work at 6pm to find them on from the previous night.
I have contacted support for each and every one of these "known" issues. 7 weeks later they have yet to fix any of them. Worse they have not kept users on their community site informed. Direct questions are continually ignored, and they disconnected their one working phone number.
Don't take my word for it. Take a look at their reviews on the apple App store. It's barely above the minimum.
-2points
2of 6voted this comment as helpful.
 
Samsung SmartThings Multipurpose Sensor: Stay informed and in control with this multipurpose sensor, which pairs with your SmartThings hub and your Apple® iOS, Android or Windows mobile device. A built-in accelerometer sends you alerts when someone knocks on your door or your laundry is done. You can also get notifications when doors, windows or drawers open. Plus, the sensor monitors the temperature and triggers your thermostat to adjust accordingly.
 
Overall1 out of 51 out of 5
Smartthings is terrible!
By theethicalengineer
These are decent sensors, and they will work with other hubs, but Smarthings as a whole is terrible. Their earlier V1 system was pretty decent, but since the buyout and the move to V2 they have pretty much abandoned their earlier users without warning.
With V2 everything has to be uninstalled and reinstalled manually, which takes forever. The new system doesn't allow for more than one user, so if you want other members of your family to have access, forget it.
Notifications come multiple times, or an hour later, if at all.
Lights that are on a timer, don't come on or go off at random.
Their tech support has been "working" on it for 7 weeks now.
ST has no phone support or contact numbers at all.
Their own community forum is full of angry people demanding status updates and our main contact within ST seems only interested in posting gifs poking fun at those of us who just want our systems to work once more.
They might be worth looking into a few months from now.... I hope but for now, I'd avoid them like the plague.
Customer Avatar
theethicalengineer
In response to SoccerDad
November 6, 2015
I'm happy your system works. Mine still doesn't and according to support, the few times I've managed to get anyone to respond, all my issues are "known issues" and they are working on them. Well they've been working on them for two months. Rather than getting better, the system has gotten worse.
0points
0of 0voted this comment as helpful.
 
Samsung SmartThings Multipurpose Sensor: Stay informed and in control with this multipurpose sensor, which pairs with your SmartThings hub and your Apple® iOS, Android or Windows mobile device. A built-in accelerometer sends you alerts when someone knocks on your door or your laundry is done. You can also get notifications when doors, windows or drawers open. Plus, the sensor monitors the temperature and triggers your thermostat to adjust accordingly.
 
Overall5 out of 55 out of 5
Works as described with Smartthings Hub
By KrazyK
Works as described, I use it as a door alarm. I use the Samsung Smartthings hub with the iPhone app.
Customer Avatar
theethicalengineer
5 star reviews.
November 16, 2015
Before anyone believes all these 5 star reviews take a look at the reviewers. Most of the ones giving these rave reviews have only ever reviewed Smartthings.
If you look at reviews of the app through whatever app store they use you get a whole different story. Smartthings currently holds a 1.5 star review on IOS.
-2points
0of 2voted this comment as helpful.
 
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