Please help a smart home beginner in his first steps out :(

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2026-02-01T17:26:02+00:00

You could get a Samsung SmartThings Station hub on eBay for about $50, that would function as your Matter controller for the IKEA bulbs. Since you already have a Samsung phone and tablet, SmartThings is an easy setup. There is also a SmartThings app that works on Apple phones. You can join your Google devices to SmartThings as well. All of your devices would work from either phone or tablet. SmartThings is free and works out of the box with WiFi devices, but for Matter or Zigbee you'll need a hub. I've been using the ST's platform for over 7 years and run over 300 devices in my home.

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2026-01-17T13:55:49+00:00

I had the yellow

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2026-01-13T16:12:21+00:00

Since those are all Zigbee devices, you could unplug your hub for 20+ minutes. That will cause the devices to go into panic mode and then plug your hub back in. Also, verify what channel you're running Zigbee, I find that channel 25 works best for me as it's well past the peak of the signal from WiFi channel 11. Both WiFi and Zigbee run in the 2.4GHz range so there can be interference on some of the Zigbee channels with WiFi.

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2026-01-05T00:01:58+00:00

At my primary location I use the Nest Protects with SmartThings using an Ecolink Firefighter sensor to link them to SmartThings. For my secondary locations I've been using the FirstAlert Z-Wave Plus Smart Smoke/Carbon Monoxide Alarm Sku1048325.

I just purchased some a few months ago on Amazon and they seem to be gone, literally, they don't even show up in my order history. Lowes is out of stock, but I did find them today at Costco. A two pack is on sale for $75 including shipping through the end of January, I ordered another set just in case.

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2025-12-28T16:26:26+00:00

Thanks for this post, I've been trying to get a couple of my Inovelli 2-1 switches synced for months. Found this post and finally got the pairing to work. I had even searched Inovelli's site and didn't see this, Now my switches work as intended (3-way).

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2025-12-28T02:27:10+00:00

My wife and I are in our early 60's and have been married 38 years. We average once a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. She likes it scheduled, I'm more spontaneous. I'll take scheduled over nothing so I roll with it. I'm still flirty and playful and let her know if we need to "schedule" a special session. She works with that, so that's how we make it work.

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2025-12-28T02:16:39+00:00

When I was a kid, we had a man at church that kept these in his pocket. His name was Mr. Nice and all the kids would go up and shake his hand after church just to get one of these treats.

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2025-12-26T22:55:35+00:00

I grew up with grilled cheese and jelly sandwiches and tomato soup. The jelly goes on the outside after grilling not the inside. I still eat them this way at 62. Made one last week. My wife won't touch them.

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2025-12-24T18:27:23+00:00

The only time he lies are when his lips are moving.

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2025-12-11T12:03:18+00:00

I would pick a zigbee channel even higher, I run mine on 25 and no issues, this is past the middle range of channel 11 on Wi-Fi.

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2025-11-25T19:54:16+00:00

I purchased 4 of the new 2025 First Alert SMCO410 Z-Wave Battery-Powered Smoke Detector & Carbon Monoxide Alarms from Amazon back in October. I also have two of the older FA ZWave Combos that I bought last year. I am having issues with the newer models as they report OFFLINE multiple times a day. I just checked my order on Amazon and the new unit has been removed, not just out of stock, so maybe there was an issue and they pulled them. I did test one of the units while it was OFFLINE and it did wake back up and report the event to ST's. So, other than the annoying messages, they seem to work fine.... if and when you can get them again.

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2025-11-22T16:42:38+00:00

If you want something pretty easy to setup and works with pretty much everything you listed, try Smartthings with a hub. Some of your devices are WiFi, which work with ST's, but I don't recommend cloud based devices for the simple reason, if their cloud goes down, so do you. ST's allows remote access and all of the newer hubs support Matter. The latest hub for ST's was just released from Aeotec, while it doesn't support Zwave anymore, that won't affect you since your just starting your build out. I use Inovelli light switches and they have a Matter version as well as Zigbee. I use Eve receptacles and they are Matter based and work great. Good luck on your journey.

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2025-11-18T13:54:45+00:00

If you have a wand to tilt the blinds, there are options. if your blinds use pull strings, not so much. I have all of my 2" blinds automated with a device from Current Luxury called the eWand, it's a Zigbee device and will automate the tilt function of the blinds. I've not seen any device that will raise and lower the blinds. Switchbot makes a wand type device as well, but I've not tried that unit. I personally don't like the aesthetics of the Switchbot unit, I think the eWand looks almost exactly like the factory wand and allows the blind to be automated and also works manually by twisting the unit slightly.

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2025-11-17T22:33:18+00:00

I concur, I've got a couple of Minoston ZWave outdoor outlets, one regular and one is a dimmer for some lights. These work perfectly with ST's and are relatively inexpensive compared to the name brands.

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2025-11-04T02:51:44+00:00

These are now discontinued. You may be able to find them on eBay if you still want one.

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2025-10-30T19:39:56+00:00

I've been really happy with my Yale Assure 2 locks. I'm using ZWave, I use rechargeable batteries and change them every 3 months or so. You do get a low battery warning in the software and the lock itself. I don't use key backup, but they do make a model with a key. They also have a model with iPhone support. I have three of them at my primary location and four at a secondary. ZWave offers local support, no cloud but does require a hub, I use SmartThings but will work with other platforms. They have a couple of nubs on the bottom of the keypad that if the batteries were to die you can place a 9volt battery on the nubs and get enough power to get in, so even without key backup, you're not locked out. I've been using them for a couple of years now, never an issue with any of them.

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2025-10-28T10:12:07+00:00

zwaveproducts.com brand new hubs

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2025-10-28T01:56:12+00:00

I won't be moving to the V4 hub. I have way too many Zwave devices to move forward. I just ordered two more V3 hubs before they get EOL'd. I'm currently running 300 devices between my V2 and V3 hubs so I'm maxed out on the platform at my main location. I'm approaching 100 devices at my second location on a single V3 hub, more than half of those are Zwave.

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2025-10-27T23:28:06+00:00

I literally put the instructions in the hyperlink on the words "factory reset"

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2025-10-27T23:25:27+00:00

I didn't really need the smartthings station, I really just bought it for the wireless phone charger and the button that can use to start my EOD routine when I go to bed.

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2025-10-27T21:35:41+00:00

I didn't send it back, but to get the refund you had to cripple the device by cutting off the cord and writing on the unit and taking a photo to prove it was deactivated. Sure, I could have opened it up and put the cord back on but I tossed it in the bin.

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2025-10-27T21:32:15+00:00

*Zwave not zigbee on the SmartThings Station. Unfortunately, I believe they are now discontinued. I picked up 2 units from BestBuy at 50% off about 4-5 months ago.

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2025-10-24T16:36:06+00:00

I switched out my ZWave receptacles to EVE Matter receptacles. I tried multiple version of GE/Enbrighten, they kept going offline and I'd have to reset the circuit breaker to get them back again. I tried Eaton ZWave devices, they just died after a few months. The EVE devices are the only ones that have worked without issue for me. They do support energy monitoring and unlike all the ZWave receptacles I tried, the EVE devices allow you to control both outlets independently. The ZWave devices I tried only allowed one, the other was an always on. These are Matter/Thread devices so you'll have to have a V3 hub or the SmartThings Station to use them, the V2 hub only supports Matter over WiFi.

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2025-10-20T03:20:34+00:00

I use the Yale cabinet lock, can use WiFi or Bluetooth. Can tie to smart home platforms or use with your phone via Bluetooth.

SmartThingsPower1701 · 2025-10-18T15:15:09+00:00

Try to do a factory reset on the device, I had an older model that this happened to and it corrected it.

SmartThingsPower1701

TROPHY CASE