Samsung SmartThings Wifi

amazon Samsung SmartThings Wifi reviews

When we reviewed the Samsung Connect Home AC1300 Smart wifi System, we appreciated its versatility, ease of use, and ability to control multiple smart devices in the Home but save it. Note that it lacks malware protection and limits parental controls and QoS Settings. The Samsung SmartThings wifi ($279.99 for three plans) represents its second-generation mesh wifi system, and like its predecessor, it doubles as a home automation hub. SmartThings and easy to install. The design and system specs are unchanged except for minor tweaks, but Samsung has now leveraged Plume’s adaptive wifi technology to deliver much better close-range performance. It also uses Plume’s mobile app for network settings, parental controls, and malware protection.

Familiar look

Three identical nodes are included in the SmartThings trio of packages, one of which acts as a Router while the other two act as mesh satellites. At 1.1 x 4.7 x 4.7 inches (HWD), the buttons are roughly the same size as the first-generation buttons and look almost identical, although newer buttons have badges. SmartThings. Inside, the specs are similar to the previous generation: Each node is equipped with a 710MHz quad-core CPU and 512MB of RAM, but the newer nodes use 8GB of flash memory instead of 4GB. Aside from the increased flash memory, one of the biggest differences between this system and its predecessor is the use of Plume’s adaptive wifi technology, which analyzes your network traffic to provide optimal bandwidth to the clients that need it most.

Each SmartThings node covers up to 1,500 square feet, meaning the three-pack system reviewed here is designed for homes up to 4,500 square feet. A single button is also available for $199.99. The nodes are AC1300 Dual Band Routers that can reach maximum speeds of up to 400Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 866Mbps on the 5GHz band, but they use automatic band control cannot separate two bands. They are equipped with 802.11ac Wave 2 circuitry that supports simultaneous MU-MIMO (with the compatible client) data transmission and direct-to-client beamforming. Under the hood are two 5 GHz antennas, two 2.4 GHz antennas, and Bluetooth, Zigbee, and Z-Wave antennas. There are two gigabit LAN ports and power jacks on the back of each button and a small status LED on the front. As with the original buttons, there is no USB port,

With its mesh wifi duties, the system serves as a SmartThings home automation hub. That can control hundreds of Z-Wave, Zigbee, Wifi, and Bluetooth devices, including lights, thermostats, security cameras, and smart devices sockets, all from within the same app. The TP-Link Deco M9 Plus Mesh wifi system also acts as a home automation hub that will control multiple devices, but it does not support Z-Wave products.

The SmartThings mobile app (iOS and Android) allows you to manage certain aspects of your network and control your home automation gadgets. Still, most network settings must be configured using the app Plume mobile, easy to use but add unnecessary complexity to a device that is supposed to be easy to use. The SmartThings app opens to a Dashboard screen that provides options for purchasing components and adding devices and links to several video tutorials that teach you how to get started with SmartThings, add devices, and create Scenes and how to use automation. A button in the upper right corner lets you customize the Dashboard, view apps and update notifications, update firmware, manage your account, enable location services, and access databases whether help.

Along the bottom of the screen are Dashboard, Devices, and Automation buttons. The Dashboard button takes you back to the Dashboard screen, and the Automation button is where you go to add automation to control smart devices and create Scenes in which smart devices work together. To access the Router’s rather limited settings, tap the Devices button and then the SmartThings button. That will take you to a screen showing the number of gadgets connected to your wifi network. Click the Connected devices button to see a list of linked clients and information such as signal strength, IP address, and current radio band connections. There is also a button that allows you to freeze internet access.

Below the Connected Devices button is the Advanced Settings tab that launches the Plume app. The Plume Home screen shows the main Router and all installed nodes with dots orbiting each node to show the number of connected clients. Tap any button to see who’s connected, and tap any client to see what radio band and channel they’re using, MAC and IP addresses, and percentage of bandwidth used.

At the bottom of the Home, the screen is the Menu, People, and Devices buttons. Use the Menu button to access the wifi and Hub settings. In the wifi settings menu, you can set up guest network rules and passwords using Plume’s HomePass settings, allowing you to create a Home password that gives users full access to a network. The Guest password provides limited access to your network. The Internet Only password allows users to access the internet but denies access to all devices on the network. Here you can also select Router or bridge mode and configure DNS settings and Port forwarding. Hub settings allow you to check signal strength for each hub, rename hubs, and add new hubs, but to do this, you have to go back to the SmartThings app.

The People button allows you to create user profiles and assign devices to each user. Tap on any user to see the history of bandwidth consumed and freeze internet access for specific devices. You can also view MAC and IP address information for each device. Built into the Plume software are parental controls that allow you to assign profiles to each family member and limit the amount of time the internet can be accessed. The SmartThings system also uses Plume Security and Protection to protect against phishing, malware, and other harmful attacks. The lack of dedicated QoS settings allows you to specify network priority for each client, which you get with other wifi systems like the TP-Link Deco M9 Plus and Asus Lyra Trio system.

Good close-range performance

Installing a SmartThings wifi system is quick and effortless. I downloaded the mobile app and created an account. After verifying the email, I plugged one of the buttons into my modem and started it up. Then I hit Add Device on the app’s Dashboard, and the Router was immediately found. I tap on it, and when the LED starts flashing green and red, I press Next to connect my phone to the Router.

Then I create the network name and password and wait about 30 seconds to create the network. I have given the Router a location and am ready to connect the rest of the nodes. I tap Add hub, plug the next button into an outlet in my living room, and hit Next when the LEDs flash green and red. I waited another 30 seconds for the node to be added to my network, positioned it, and repeated the process for the third node, which I had placed in my basement.

The SmartThings wifi system gave mixed results in our transfer speed tests. The main Router’s score of 553Mbps on the close test (in the same room) is slightly faster than the TP-Link Deco M9 Plus, Linksys Velop Dual-Band, and Gryphon Smart wifi Mesh System. Its score was 105Mbps at 30 feet, slightly faster than the Linksys Velop but 100Mbps slower than the TP-Link Deco M9 and Gryphon routers.

On the proximity test, the SmartThings satellite node clocked at 205Mbps, beating the Linksys Velop node but not the Gryphon and TP-Link Deco M9 node. Its 118Mbps score at 30 feet is again faster than the Linksys Velop ($199.99 at Amazon) but falls behind the Gryphon and TP-Link Deco M9 nodes by a wide margin.

Our MU-MIMO transfer rate tests used three identical Acer Aspire E15 laptops equipped with the Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 wireless 802.11ac network adapter as clients.

The SmartThings Router’s 81Mbps score in the proximity test was slower than the TP-Link Deco M9 and the Gryphon Router. At the same time, the Linksys Velop took the top spot with a score of 138Mbps. In the 30-foot test, the SmartThings Router clocked in at 71Mbps, beating the Gryphon and Linksys Velop Routers and standing right behind the TP-Link Deco M9 Router.

The SmartThings satellite node’s score of 59 Mbps in the proximity test trails behind this pack, while the TP-Link Deco M9 node leads with a score of 100 Mbps. At 30 feet away, the SmartThings node recorded 46 Mbps, surpassing the Linksys Velop node but not the Gryphon node. Once again, the TP-Link Deco M9 node got the highest score (99Mbps).

I connected the Honeywell thermostat to the SmartThings hub and had no trouble turning it on, off, and adjusting the temperature. I also connected a Belkin Wemo Insight smart switch, which responded instantly to my on and off commands.

Wifi and Home Automation in One

With the Samsung SmartThings wifi trio, you can quickly bring close-range wifi to every corner of your home and control all kinds of connected smart devices in your home such as lights, thermostats, security cameras and lock the door. As with any worthwhile wifi system, it’s easy to set up, but having to switch between apps to configure network settings is a bit inconvenient. For dedicated quality-of-service settings and faster overall performance, TP-Link Deco M9 Plus is a better choice for a wifi system/home automation hub.

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