This week I tried to take the plunge to upgrade my Smartthings hub from v1 to v2. A friend had updated an integration with my Philips Dynalite lighting system to have dimming but for whatever reason it was only working on a v2 hub.

A quick smoke test had it working on my v2 hub (1 of 3 that I own) but really I wanted this integration so it could be used by my Harmony remote. When it came to this I could see there were going to be issues. In setting up the v2 hub I had noted I wasn't on the normal graph.smartthings site but one with lots of EU written in it, ironic given that most of Europe doesn't have this product yet. And little to my knowledge it seemed the problems I was about to face were well documented here.
In a nutshell the Oauth used for security in many apps like Harmonys was pointing at the US site, graph.smartthings and of course no longer seeing my v2 UK hub.

I thought maybe reseting and selecting US as my region would work, but sadly this locked my account, I needed a new code contact support, at the end of this text is where I am up to: (Removed names and spaces and pleasantries)

Someone recently asked if I would recommend migrating from v1 to v2 and my conclusion (as they are in UK and needed integrations) was a pretty strong no. It took a long time as with most technology to come from the US, Smartthings, Amazon Echo, Harmony (previous version) and then when it does come it more than likely doesn't have all the features. So my conclusion if you are not in the US and want a Smarthome any time soon, is buy the stuff there and pretend you are in the US! Yes return policies potentially out of the window but it being a bigger market means there is a bigger focus, as there is more to gain from it business wise.

• Monday at 23:07I am setting up a v2 hub (already have a v1) and I needed to reset it, please can you provide me with another code, old one is xxxxxx
  
• Tuesday at 00:32Can you send me a picture of the bottom of your hub so that the barcode is showing? I can get your code reset for you from there.
  
• Tuesday at 06:47Image1.JPG
  
  
• Tuesday at 11:27Perfect, thanks,
  I've reset your hub so you should be good to go. Check out the article below for help activating your hub, and let me know if you have any questions.
  Your Welcome Code is xxxxxx
  If you are in the UK, this should work fine, if not please let us know.
  
  
• Tuesday at 11:45I am not in the UK. I would like the code to be compatible with US.
  
• Tuesday at 17:22Any update please? Was wanting to start my migration from v1 to v2 today
  
  
• Yesterday at 03:06Unfortunately as you have a UK Hub, it will only activate on a UK location in the mobile app. Where did you purchase your Hub? Is it possible to return it and purchase a Hub in the US or Canada?http://www.smartthings.com/where-to-buy
  Alternatively you can active the Hub if you select the UK when creating a location in the mobile app but your Hub will only communicate with Z-wave devices intended for the UK.
  
• Yesterday at 06:30The hubs, yes more than one were purchased more than a month ago in the UK. So no possibility via the retailerWhy does someone say to contact us"please let us know" if I am not in the UK if actually no solution?
  I have zero z-wave devices so this doesn't interest me. If I select UK then my current integrations with IFTTT, Wemo, Nest, Harmony, Smarttiles and weather will not work
  
  
• Today at 03:18Unfortunately we can't force a UK Hub to activate on a US location. I understand your concern with losing oauth integrations such as IFTTT, WeMo, Nest, etc but the Hubs purchased in the UK cannot be activated on a US location. I apologize for that frustration.
  
  
• Today at 07:16Thanks, how can these hubs be returned if I choose to go this route? Seeing as they do not do what is claimed of them? I purchased them on launch day so over a month ago. Then there is the set from theinsiders trial that has its own mechanism for return, which I will figure out.
  Will the code still work if I select UK or is it blocked again?
  Yes frustrated as for a second time a false expectation has been made and I waited for a response that I thought would fix it prior to a migration I had planned on that day.
  
  
  
  

Things are hotting up in the smart home space that by 2020 is expected to be a 100+ billion Euro per year industry by many.

There are many problems that need solving before then in terms of the eco-system and the pure ease of use, but with Nest, Samsung  & Apple having a combined bank balance with as many zeros as there are letters in the Alphabet you would hope that they plan to use some of this to fix some of these issues.

As I wrote about here I really do believe the key to the smart home is not in using apps, they are just not convenient enough so what is needed to control is something physical to take control, or perhaps voice control or  dedicated touchscreen just to deal with control decisions. Of course true home automation does not need a UI, but in the home very often there are a lot of exceptions to consider before we get there.
​
This week Savant a company accustomed to homes of the rich and famous and their gin palaces have decided to launch a $499 remote focused on not just the TV but also for smarthome too, just how much of it is not entirely clear from their material so far, even the normally ever present Philips Hue there is no talk of. The product does look great in terms of design but this device does need to control everything to work in this role

The new "low cost" Savant remote, a shrewd move to target the end user or playing in a price band where selling through retail becomes a burn on cash? Time will tell as they gear up to a December launch.

 But Logitech (or is it Logi?) last month updated their range with the new Elite range. In what appears to be largely cosmetic (I really believe they have the mentally with the guts of the system that "if it ain't broke don't fix it") I have the predecessor and it is one of the best smart home devices I own. It is the only remote for the ground floor and can control the TV, Cable box, blu-ray, AV receiver, Fire TV (Mainly for Plex), Philips Dynalite lighting system, Garden Lights, Wemo (including the sensor Wemo motion as input), Philips Hue, Nest thermostat and all the other devices gathering dust somewhere else too but also the Samsung robot vacuum to get rid of that dust too.

What doesn't it do so well? IR is unfortunately something that is a very old technology now in the days of 4k TVs etc. and whilst many of the devices connect via wifi or bluetooth two rely on IR both Samsung the TV and the cable boxes, so whilst it is not the Harmony's fault it is a problem. So far they have also not fulfilled my multiroom dreams, with only one touchscreen possible per hub. But as a long term user I am really nitpicking! The Elite is looking like lots of subtle improvements but back to only black, white to blend into my home no longer possible. At $349/349Euro it may not be worth the update for me, but I would wholeheartedly recommend it to those new to smarthome

With this they have also brought their Harmony home extender ($99) that adds even more to the table with Zigbee and Z-wave devices already being added to the party. Unfortunately this price is only in USD only, maybe another year until it comes to Europe? But each market and region brings it's own unique challenges. If I buy everything from the US then perhaps it will all stay compatible!

​Neeo is a Kickstarter project, I hope it does see the light of day, of course it is delayed (with original shipping dates of May 2015) looks to be well thought out but bugs in this kind of product need to be ironed out and Logitech have had years of experience to deal with the nearly half a million devices they support and although a limited team they have a team to deal with all the updates and changes.

Back to Neeo their remote (below) looks like the love child of B&O and Apple, if it performs at least half as well then they should sell well, with 6000+ backers and $1.5million from them. They have not got IR on the actual remote but do allow for multiple hubs or "brains" and multiple remotes, solving my multiroom issues possibly

​What is the future for these products and companies?
Savant are targeting to expand their market by going into the sub $1000 control system area and direct to consumer, will this act as a stepping stone to the customer installers, I doubt it as they are really setup to target a different market, will be an extra option for the custom installers and integrators to sell? yes, but the direct to consumer model is a risky one that I am not sure the market is ready for (yet)

​Neeo on the other hand are a startup that will need to get their product out for their balance sheet, teams in Cupertino and Switzerland will not be cheap and then it needs to get some distribution fast to keep the bean counters happy, so far they have gone for international backing of course so that support list becomes very niche when it comes to local thermostats in European markets. I wish them success though.

Logitech tried to sell Harmony off previously stating it was not part of their strategic direction, has their strategic direction changed in the couple of years that have passed? I doubt it, but the obvious extension to home control has opened their eyes to a potential cash cow. With it having no obvious connection with the rest of the business yet (It sits in Digital Home on their website with camera products) could it be a worthy investment for another smarthome player with money to burn? Potentially yes [I am just speculating here] Apple no not their style, Google/Nest/Alphabet possibly with Nest, Dropcam, Revolv they have some history here of embracing and killing off hardware designed elsewhere, Amazon? Again not exactly their style, Samsung? There is again some history of acquisitions in the space with Smartthings and Boxee and for me personally I would love it as it would make Samsung realize that having to use IR to turn on TVs is something that should have died out with plasma.
Staying to the neutral ground is of course also beneficial and with Logitech being originally Swiss they have some history there too!

It all begins with the need to turn the garden lights on remotely from a universal remote and also for them to come on automatically and go off if there is no motion detected. And then have the remote in sync no matter what the state is. In a nutshell that is my use case. Not so difficult right? As a few seconds delay is very much acceptable too.

The problem comes in the solution I have used, it is overly complicated for the use case it needs to solve but that is DIY smarthome for me so far!

Here's the solution I have used for the use cases:

1. Logitech harmony triggers from sunset time or a Harmony activity "Garden Lights" or Wemo motion (only for turning off) this in turn sends Smarthings (virtual) switch an on or off command

2. Smartthings virtual switch is acting as a conduit for IFTTT

3. IFTTT rule between smartthings and smappee plug, one for on and one for off

4. Smappee plug turns the lighting circuit (Inlite) on or off

5. Wemo motion to sense motion (in the room nearest the garden) to keep the lights on and lack of motion will turn it off

So overly complicated but it did all work until going away, and of course the one that cannot be looked into remotely is the harmony (well editing the rule to check it fully)

The on trigger still works but the lack of motion at all seems to be meaning the off command is not working. Wemo and smartthings are both displaying the correct state - "inactive" but it looks like nothing is telling the harmony hub about it anymore!

So without jumping to conclusions either the smartthings Wemo connect part or the harmony or the combination look to be to blame. Wemo have been in touch quickly to investigate, very proactive from a tweet and I will continue to investigate what I can in smartthings.

But really for DIY smarthome to succed this either needs to get easier, I am sure Samsung (now owners of smartthings) are working on this part, or have an integrator install and maintain the system. But in that case just how DIY is it? Yes early adopters or those with the time to use on this, but they are not the mass market that the manufacturers want to reach. So far the tipping point is not reached though!

UPDATE: Found the problem I think (and hope) and fixed it all at the same time. A very useful smart things community post pointed out that the smartthings was often not getting updates correctly from the memo motion, and to use a smartapp called pollster to fix it. And so far fix it has done