+10 votes
by (260 points)
We just sold our house and as part of the sale, I included all of my home automation stuff (switches, hub etc). What is the best way to factory reset all of this stuff?  
We just sold our house and as part of the sale, I included all of my home automation stuff (switches

9 Answers

0 votes
by (450 points)
 
Best answer
We went under contract recently so am dealing with the same issue. As I hadn’t thought about future sales when initially starting, here’s what I had to do: Create a new email (housebame@gmail) for hubs and items such as ecobee, ring, etc. Begin excluding devices one by one so that they could be readded one by one after a factory reset on SmartThings. Once I added everything back in (about 40 items, including switches and hubs, etc), I recreated basic automations such as good morning, good night, I’m home, etc. I did not recreate some of my more complex automations as I have no idea if they have a similar schedule or needs as our family. I then put together a full packet that had a list of all items, including model numbers, PDF manuals of each item, and passwords for each account using the new email. Final transfer email outlines how to begin once they arrive and WiFi is installed (download these apps, and read these things, etc. I didn’t want a bunch of calls or emails with an upset new owner after close, so did all of the above. Took about 3. 5 hours all in. For our new home, I will be setting up under a house email from the start so as to avoid the extra work the next time we sell.  
by (260 points)
Excellent instructions! Thank you!  
0 votes
by (7.3k points)
Change it to their email address
0 votes
by (150 points)
If possible, I would just edit the email address and any other identify information (effectively transferring your account to them). I assume they requested the automation stuff be included in the sale, because it was an already setup system and them having to reconfigure everything from scratch would not be what they would want.  
0 votes
by (150 points)
I just found myself in the same situation as you and factory reset everything and reconnected it to a new account login that I provided to seller. There was no way to “transfer” the existing setup to a new owner. It was a pain to reset it all, but it was also great because I knew none of my data and personal information would hang around.  
0 votes
by (150 points)
Congrats on being homeless!  
0 votes
by (4.8k points)
Change email. They'll be PISSED if they have to try to setup everything again.  
0 votes
by (1.9k points)
Seems like a lot of the automatons should remain. I set up a generic email account, so when I sell the house, I give them the password and they're set. I used the same email address for SmartThings, ActionTiles, TinycamPro, etc. My opinion only, they're paying for some of the functionality that comes with the automations.  
0 votes
by (1.1k points)
I feel like it is a bad idea. Are them tech savy?  
by (260 points)
No idea. Not even sure if they’ll actually use it, but I’m leaving them a great start!  
0 votes
by (15.3k points)
You need to factory reset everything. There's no way to get the location out of your account and with a Samsung account you can't easily 'just change it' as some have suggested. If you don't reset it you will forever be tech support for the new homeowners.  
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