Smartthings V1 Vs V2 – Which Is The Better System?

Home controllers AKA smart hubs are all the rage these days, and its easy to see why. 20 years ago, the idea of controlling your entire home at the touch of a button might have seemed to the average person like something that would not take place for a very long time.

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As it was, a security company would have to come in and basically wire your whole house so that THEY could keep an eye on things for you.

Well, now it is 2017 and the future has arrived early without a doubt, putting the power in the hands of the user instead of some outside company. In recent years, several popular home controllers and hubs that have taken over the market, performing feats of automation with ease.

One of the most popular automation systems in 2016 belongs to the company Smartthings, a company based out of California. This system of which we speak is called the Smartthings Home Monitoring Kit.

Technically, the latest model of this system is version 2, although many people purchased version 1. Both are popular, and while you can still get version 1 of Smartthings, it is version 2 of the system that is, of course, more readily available.

That said, many people do still own Version 1 of Smartthings and may be reluctant to upgrade, since V1 is a good system on its own. Is it really worth the trouble to upgrade, especially considering the rumored migration feature never really came to full fruition?

This is why today we deal with Smartthings V1 vs V2 by taking a closer look at both versions, in order to compare and contrast their features, so that you can decide if it makes sense to upgrade to V2, or just stick with V1.

Samsung Smartthings Home Monitoring Kit (V1)

If you're new to Smartthings in general, let us start with the Version 1 and what it is basically used for. If you own V1, you probably know all of this already.

When you first purchase the Samsung Smartthings Home Monitoring Kit (V1), it comes with several things including the main hub that allows for the full automation of your home via your smartphone or tablet which integrates with a long list of compatible products.

For those who haven't tried either Smartthings hub V1 or V2, the Smartthings system has been designed highly versatile and you can program it to do almost anything. Being a home monitoring kit, security is certainly one of the main functions of this kit, but yes it does so much more…

Here's what the Samsung Smartthings Home Monitoring Kit (V1) does, in a nutshell:

• It has everything you need to monitor control, and secure your home from anywhere in the world
• You can control lights, electronics, and small appliances from your mobile device
• You will receive immediate alerts if doors or windows open unexpectedly
• You will be notified of movement inside your home when you aren't there
• You can know if your children are accessing off-limits areas
• You can monitor temperature changes in your home
• …and more!

The Smartthings Hub

The Smartthings hub is at the center of this entire system, and it was first available commercially in 2013. Then, in 2014, it was purchased by tech giant Samsung. Soon after that, V2 became available to the public in 2015, adding many new features.

Though not strictly used to beef up security in your home, this smart hub (V1) does give you total control over home security measure such as motion sensors (it comes with a few of them for doors and windows), as well as things like things less specifically dedicated to security such as lights and thermostats.

The kit does come with several sensors to start you off, plus the hub. You basically can expand your system as you like.

Do You Really Need Smartthings V2?

Once V2 of the hub hit stores in 2015 at basically the same price as V1 (around $100), new users immediately started snapping it up. However, some users of V1 weren't sure if they needed to switch over. One reason for this was that everything was set-up for V1 and it would be a pain to switch everything over. Things would need to be reconfigured entirely, and although there is a migration feature, but it is one of the few headaches of the Smartthings system as users say it isn't actually a migration at all, but rather a wholesale replacement of everything.

That said, if you have Smartthings V1, you may not have a strong incentive to upgrade as V1 is a great system on its own, but if you have neither, it makes sense to purchase V2 out of the gate. It is perfectly valid to keep using V1, but you'll be missing out on a few things.

Smartthings V2 = Better

There are a several features that come with V2 that make it even better than V1, such as video streaming with the Samsung Smart Cam. The smart cam allows you to add a whole new level of security to your home. In fact, new Zigbee and Z-Wave devices are being added all the time to V2, including smart deadbolts, which are extremely handy.

Also, with V2, there are two USB hubs in order to give you room to expand. This is helpful because it allows you to monitor more than one home, without having to pay extra for the internet. This hub does include bluetooth in order to prepare for future expansion, which is another real plus.

If someone snips your wires or your internet goes down, Smartthings V2 operates on a battery backup that works for 10 hours, and this is another huge security advantage of the system.

Here's a closer look at what the V2 of the Samsung Smartthings Home Monitoring Kit and what it does.

As you can see from the above video, the Smartthings Home Monitoring Kit (V2) is designed to give you full control over many of the functions in your home. To get started, you simply purchase the kit itself, and once you get it, you can download the app and get started with customizing your home the way you want it.

That said, if you have V1 currently and are wondering if V2 is worth it, we do think it offers you a lot more, but you'll have to put up with reconfiguring everything as well as buying the new kit. As we mentioned earlier, the Smartthings V2 is available for around $100, same as the old kit.

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