Bud
Apr 23, 2022
Updated: Apr 7
Effective Tuesday, April 26, SmartThings will begin rolling out the SmartThings Edge drivers in support of all newly on boarded Zigbee, Z-Wave, and LAN devices that connect to a SmartThings hub. These drivers run locally on the hub and deliver improved reliability and reduced latency compared to cloud-based device handlers know as Groovy DTHs. This transition marks the start of a gradual process that will include a small number of devices initially, but will expand to cover more devices over the coming months.
The steps required to onboard, (or add) devices with Edge drivers is unchanged from the existing experience, and according to the Developers, you should not need additional steps to complete this process.
SmartThings Developers have provided some answers to some anticipated questions in the FAQ section of the article (Edge Drivers FAQs). In the text that follows, I will provide you with a brief summary of the information contained in the FAQ section.
To use Edge-enabled devices with SmartThings, you will need a compatible SmartThings hub with firmware version 000.038.000XX or greater. To determine your hub’s current firmware version, find your hub in the devices list and tap on the Hub’s tile. Next, tap on the ellipsis, (the three dots) in the upper right hand side of your screen. Then tap on information. Your hub’s firmware version is listed under your Hub’s Name.
Your existing hub-connected devices (those which you previously installed) will not be transitioned to Edge drivers. Only devices that are being newly on boarded will have the support of the new Edge drivers. In other words, existing devices will not automatically transition to Edge drivers at this time.
If you wish to convert your current devices to use Edge drivers, you must manually transition the device by using the following developer resources. You can access Developer Documentation for SmartThings Edge as well as sample code and list of current Edge drivers. The developers invite you to start a thread or reply to existing threads in the SmartThings Community with questions or feedback on building or using Edge drivers.
To identify an Edge-enabled device in the SmartThings app, use the following steps. First open the SmartThings app and select the device. Then tap on the ellipsis at the top right. Edge-enabled devices will list the word “Driver” as an option in the selection menu.
The following link, SmartThings Edge Driver List will provide the current list of SmartThings Edge drivers which you can use to determine if a device has a supported Edge driver.
If you do not transition your devices to Edge drivers before Groovy support ends (date to be included in a future announcement) those devices will not communicate with the SmartThings platform until they have been re-on boarded or migrated to Edge drivers.
If you log into your online SmartThings account and see that your edge-enabled device is showing as a cloud-connected device, be aware that this is due to a known bug with the Graph IDE tool. If your device has an Edge driver it will be running locally through the hub.
SmartThings has stated that this current announcement is the first of many that will be made in upcoming months as they complete the conversion away from Groovy Device Type Handlers. I will be keeping you informed of these announcements as we continue our transition to the new locally based Edge Drivers. If you have not yet subscribed, take to opportunity to do this so that you can be informed as updates occur.
I’d be interested in your thoughts about this transition. Take a moment to comment below. Until next time, keep automating and God Bless!