If you want a Smarthome... stick to buying it in the US

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.