FAQ: SmartThings Mobile App Migration

josh · January 15, 2020, 6:53pm

SmartThings has begun prompting users to transition from the SmartThings Classic app to the ‘new’ Samsung SmartThings mobile app.

Important: The migration tool will remove some functionality that you may be accustomed to using in SharpTools - specifically, functionality related to Routines and SHM. See below for more details.

Other Resources:

Impact to SharpTools

The biggest immediate impact to SharpTools users is the following:

Routines will be transitioned to Scenes
- We do not currently have support for executing scenes directly. As a workaround, you would need to use a virtual switch or mode change to trigger the desired Scene.
  
  How To: SmartThings Scenes with Simulated Switches
Smart Home Monitor (SHM) will be transitioned to SmartThings Home Monitor (STHM)
- SmartThings has not provided an API for controlling STHM. As a workaround, you would need to use a virtual switch or mode change to trigger the desired STHM state.
  
  How To: Use Virtual Switches with SmartThings Home Monitor

We are working hard to migrate to the new SmartThings API which brings support for executing Scenes, but this API does not expose STHM support to third-parties. If controlling and monitoring SmartThings Home Monitor (STHM) state is important to you, please reach out to SmartThings support and post in the linked thread letting them know that you want SharpTools to have STHM access!

This is a one-way migration, meaning you would no longer be able to manage Routines or SHM in classic. After these features are migrated to their ‘new’ app equivalent, the legacy features will be removed and no longer accessible within the mobile apps. (reference)

Summary of Changes

Classic App		New App	Notes

Things	↔	Things	New app doesn’t support some custom DTHs, but they will continue to work in SharpTools even with the mobile app change.
Modes	↔	Modes
Routines	→	Scenes	Scenes are not accessible in SharpTools today Can use a Virtual Switch or Mode to trigger these as a workaround →Virtual Switch Workaround →Dashboard Hyperlink Trick Supported in the new API and will likely be supported directly by SharpTools in the future
SHM	→	STHM	STHM is not accessible in SharpTools today Can trigger with a Virtual Switch or Mode →Virtual Switch Workaround Not supported in the new API. Voice your opinion to SmartThings if STHM support in SharpTools is important to you!

Ville_Rahkonen · August 24, 2020, 10:49am

Hi, any news on the smartthings migration to the new app - especially regarding routines (in new app called automations and scenes) and sharptools? I migrated to the new app (which is a big joke) but still using the old app’s (or is it an old api?) routines via sharptools - will this possibility dissappear in near future?

josh · August 25, 2020, 10:22pm

I’ve updated the article to better reflect the current status of the migration - including the fact that SmartThings is now actively presenting the banner to users in a widespread rollout of the migration.

Otherwise, the key comments from above still stand. Routines are being migrated to Scenes and SHM is being migrated to STHM. Interestingly, it looks like the old routines are technically still available after the migration and remain ‘linked’ to the equivalent Scenes that are created. That being said, the interface for managing routines disappears as part of the migration.

We’ve included links to a few workarounds for Scenes and STHM in the meantime:

PS. We plan on moving to the new SmartThings REST API which has support for Scenes, but we’re still waiting on one critical feature in the API to be released by SmartThings.