Aeotec Smart Home Hub2 - V4, Works as a SmartThings Hub, Zigbee, Matter Gateway, Compatible with Alexa, Google Assistant, WiFi (No Z-Wave)

When we moved into our house, we initially used our security system as the z-wave hub to control all our smart switches and devices with our Amazon Echo. Unfortunately, our security system and Amazon Echo are no longer compatible and I had to find a new smart hub. The Aeotec Smart Home Hub works flawlessly. It was simple to set up and made transitioning smart hubs effortless. The only con is that the unit is expensive. However, being compatible with zwave, zigbee, and matter makes up for that.

This is an excellent product which is very easy to set up using Samsung SmartThings app. I purchased the hub primarily for use with my LeakSmart sensors and valve. The company behind LeakSmart (not Aeotec) is out of business now. I was able to pair all the sensors and valve successfully, and configure 'Routines' easily; Those determine when the valve should close (Hint: When there is a water leak...). Some info for other LeakSmart users: In order to pair the valve, you have to remove the valve's backup batteries, disconnect the valve from AC power, then put the Aeotec Hub into pairing mode, and insert the batteries into the valve. The Hub found it immediately. I had a harder time pairing the sensors, but was able to pair all 4 after a few attempts. First, I put the Aeotec into pairing mode, then removed batteries from a sensor, inserted the batteries, and held the black button at the bottom of the sensor for about 2 seconds. Some of the sensors paired within 30 seconds, but with some I had to repeat the procedure several times. I am sure this is a LeakSmart thing and not Aeotec issue. I wish SmartThings offered Apple HomeKit integration, but for my particular application it wasn't an issue. Overall I recommend the hub.

Purchased this to replace our Samsung SmartThings Hub V2. I wanted a better solution for devices that use Matter since the V2 doesn't really provide the correct solution for this. The Aeotec Hub 2 (v4) does not support Z-Wave but in our home that is ok since none of our devices use Z-Wave anymore. Installation was incredibly easy. You just plug it in and in your SmartThings app just choose replace hub and it does it all for you in just a matter of minutes! First time I tried to replace it, I was impatient and didn't let the hub do all of its updates or something and the next day it dropped over half of our devices. The solution was to either manually reset each device or to transfer back to the old hub - so we moved it all back to the old hub and waited several hours for the Aeotec to do all of its updates first before transferring. Second time with patience was a charm. The Aeotec Hub2 is considerably faster than the older hub!

I'm a certifiable smart home nerd (everything in my house is controllable from app or voice - all wall light switches (I use GE Enbrighten Z Wave switches), smart plugs, garage doors, thermostat, exterior door locks, blinds, appliances, security system, etc.). I had a 2nd gen Samsung SmartThings hub and decided to upgrade to the latest-greatest Aeotec version. I would have given this straight 5 stars, but very, very unfortunately, they don't have a transfer utility to move devices from an earlier version of the hub to the new one. Since I use all Z-wave devices, each one of the over 70 devices in my home had to be reset before I could connect them to the new hub. 3 of the wall switches just wouldn't reset no matter what I did so I had to replace them even though they worked fine with the old hub. Anyway, after spending a (beyond annoying) weekend methodically resetting and adding each device, we're all good to go and everything works great. The Alexa skill for SmartThings works great and Alexa picks up new devices I add instantaneously; and since SmartThings handles all of the main wireless smart home standards, you can connect just about anything to it. Plus, the SmartThings app is easy and intuitive; and I love the automations you can create (such as locking all of my exterior doors at 10 PM every night, turn on my garage outside lights at midnight and off at 5 AM every day, etc.).

I have had this hub for two weeks now to replace my Vera plus that I've had for 10 years. Every device was easily excluded and included and works. I've added a bunch more including the level bolt and other Matter devices. My Vera system worked pretty good but this Aeotec Smartthings hub works better than expected.

I had originally purchased this as a means of getting my feet wet on my journey to upgrade my newly purchased home into a smart home. After almost a solid week of research, this product seemed like the all-in-one package. It supported both Z-Wave, Zigbee, and Matter, meaning I wouldn't have to have separate hubs for each protocol. Aeotec was given the IP rights for SmartThings, so that was a big green flag to pull the trigger on this company as I figured that meant it was at least reputable and proceeded with my purchase. The intent was to set up this device with HomeAssistant. The product description *heavily* implies that this product works locally, only needing WAN access for setup stating - and I quote - "Requires internet access for set-up: Ethernet connection recommended, but Wi-Fi is also available." There is also a question asking if it is cloud dependent in the Q&A with Aeotec themselves stating - again, I quote - "This hub is currently cloud dependent, but will become local-dependent in the near future through firmware updates." back in 2021. I had assumed that given the current product decription saying it only needed internet for setup, in addition to SmartThings Edge drivers, meant I could finally have local control, but alas this is not the case. As soon as I pulled my WAN cord to simulate an outage, I could no longer control my devices via the SmartThings App even still connected to the same WIFI as the hub via Ethernet. It outright refused to work and the app said my hub was offline. Home automation still should - in theory - work, but since I only have smart switches and lights, setting up automations was outside the realm of possibilities with my current hardware. This also meant that I had no way of integrating SmartThings with HomeAssistant to control it locally either. So why does this matter if the device works as intended without an internet connection? Well for starters, I value my privacy and dont want my devices phoning home constantly. I also dont like giving companies the ability to brick my hardware at the drop of the hat. A company called Insteon shut down back in 2022. Their service relied entirely on the cloud infrastructure to function (just like SmartThings). Once the company shut down it then effectively turned every single one of their IoT products into a paperweight and completely worthless. On the other hand, we have companies like Amazon shutting down user's accounts and devices (Including his IoT security system) for false claims of racism by a delivery driver. With all of this happening in the IoT/Smarthome ecosystem, I refuse to give any company control of my devices and my hardware - and so should you. If you disagree with that sentiment and instead want only cloud-enabled devices for your smart home, then by all means treat this review as a 5-star review. The product worked fine - albeit not as advertised.

Finally a solution to loosing control of my light switches due to dropping my prior security company that gave me access to some older light switches. I already own a smart controller but it would not connect to the older switches and it was an older version of the same one I bought. This one connected with little problem it also works with Alexia to control the lights, perfect!

The Aeotech SmartHub Hardware is excellent, however, actually programming this unit to successfully interact with all the peripheral devices such as alarms, sirens, sensors, and locks, is what counts, and this is where combining the Smart Home Hub and SmartThings gets complicated. Reasons: 1) All the YouTube and Self Help Articles are 3-5 years old and no longer apply because Samsung changed the code and User Interface and the instructions dont match the app features. 2) Samsung stopped supporting their Classic App Version which was a companion App. 3) To use the Aeotec hub with the Samsung SmartThings App, you will need to find and load compatible Edge Drivers for every device that you add, and these are not provided by Samsung or Aeotec. They are written by sources unknown who share them on 3rd party websites, and you must find them, and then determine if will work with your device, and then TRUST that they are not malicious. 4) If you are not Tech Savvy or you dont have a lot of extra time to research, read, test, and start over when imminent failure occurs, this system is probably not for you. 5) There is an obvious disconnect between Samsung who writes the code and hosts the system, and the hardware suppliers that provide the devices that make it all work. Nothing seems to be seamless or compatible. To be functional , you must utilize work-arounds, 3rd party Edge Drivers, and have time to research, test, and confirm. 6) If you can do all that, its really an awesome system, and the Aeotec Smart Hub does it's job well.