Samsung's SmartThings hit with wave of consumer complaints

SmartThings

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SmartThings, Samsung’s smart home subsidiary, has had a large number of complaints about glitches with its smart home hub posted on its community message board and Reddit in recent weeks.

Users called the system “fatally flawed,” and reported that their devices randomly disconnect from the system or turn on or off without command. One user, Shelley Powers, wrote that the hub repeatedly made her lights switch on and her home alarm system go off for no reason, CNET reported.

Rule Machine, a smart home app for making smart home devices perform complex tasks, withdrew support for SmartThings last week, citing these technical problems.

SmartThings CEO Alex Hawkinson posted an apology on the company’s community message board and said that the company is working on improving the hub’s reliability. As part of those efforts, the company is revamping the way that the system triggers scheduled actions – like a light turning on in the morning. It’s also working on providing more information to users about what exactly isn’t working when a problem occurs. 

Hawkinson described the problems as “growing pains” caused by SmartThings efforts to support an open ecosystem that includes more devices and apps.

SmartThings isn’t the only company that has run into technical issues trying to build a smart home ecosystem. Nest has encountered glitches with its Works with Nest program that allows smart home devices from other manufacturers to work in tandem with Nest devices. These kinds of reliability issues are holding back the entire smart home market right now, as consumers don’t want to pay for high-priced smart home devices that don’t always work when they should.

The IoT Revolution is picking up speed and when it does, it will change how we live, work, travel, entertain, and more.

From connected homes and connected cars to smart buildings and transportation, every aspect of our lives will be affected by the increasing ability of consumers, businesses, and governments to connect to and control everything around them.

Imagine “smart mirrors” that allow you to digitally try on clothes. Assembly line sensors that can detect even the smallest decrease in efficiency and determine when crucial equipment needs to be repaired or replaced. GPS-guided agricultural equipment that can plant, fertilize, and harvest crops. Fitness trackers that allow users to transmit data to their doctors.

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SmartThings

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