Question

I'm increasingly finding the devices I want are wifi, not zigbee or z-wave, and I have to use them through ifttt. If I upgrade to the 3rd gen smartthings hub (I'm on 2nd gen now) will I be able to control them directly without ifttt?  

Answer 1

Nope. There's nothing different about the capabilities of the hub 2018 (v. 3 hub) besides connecting to your network by wif instead of wired and no onboard battery.  

Comments

@anatolia7046 ahhh THAT is what they mean by wifi. They say "wifi protocols" which made me assume they had some direct connection.  

Answer 2

A lot of WiFi devices have links with SmartThings. Check to see if they are ST compat

Answer 3

I'm on a V2 hub and have a few WiFi WeMo switches that I control through SmartThings directly without issue. All the hubs can communicate with WiFi devices that are supported by ST.  

Answer 4

Stop buying the WiFi stuff. Use google and find proper alternatives.  

Answer 5

Right!? What device are you unable to find in Z-Wave or Zigbee?  

Comments

So I'm hearing two things here. 1) ST supports wifi devices; and 2) stop buying wifi devices :-) Even where there are ST compatible products, it isn't with the same bevy of options or low price points as there are for the wifi-based models.  

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WiFi will definitely win on price. But you get what you pay for.  

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@royster ST supports Wi-Fi but remember wifi is a network protocol it is not a protocol for connecting to smart devices. Each manufacturer has implemented communications differently, thus why there is no magic support for all wifi devices while Zigbee and ZWave are control protocols. You control one ZWave or zigbee lamp or switch just like every other lamp or switch. Therefore SmartThings can support zigbee and ZWave and actually control devices while supporting WiFi means it can connect to and participate in a wifi network but still not know how to control a wifi device. WiFi devices will generally rely on a manufacturer creating a cloud controller that you will need to have or write software for so SmartThings can connect to.