Samsung SmartThings connectivity

[forkies]

I thought it would be a good idea to try out the Samsung SmartThings as a custom security/monitoring system for our server room. It has door contact with temperature, motion sensor with temperature and moisture sensor "things".

 

It didn't seem to work at the office so I took it home and everything connected up, took it back to the office and nothing. So I took it to another area of the school and it worked. I thought maybe something is blocking it, so I turned off power to everything in the area, completely shut off the power from the mains electric cupboard but still it wouldn't work (server room on ups).

 

At the end of my tether with this stupid problem a friend has been in today and we have found a solution... to wrap the Smart Hub in kitchen foil. Now, I bet you are wondering why the hell would that work, I am thinking the same thing. It works at a range of about 5-8 meters max depending on device which is less than in other working areas of the school. But it DOES work when wrapped in kitchen foil, so what is the problem and how is the foil helping?

 

A guess would be some sort of interference which the kitchen foil is helping prevent but still allowing the hub and things to communicate?

 

Attached is a photo for you to see the end solution and comment

 

Please do let me know your thoughts, if you have experienced anything like this and how you would go about working out the cause.

 

Thanks,

Tom

[dhicks]

Please do let me know your thoughts, if you have experienced anything like this and how you would go about working out the cause.

 

I understand that Smartthings uses the Z-Wave and / or Zigbee protocols for communication:

 

https://support.smartthings.com/hc/en-gb/articles/208672926-Z-Wave-and-ZigBee-FAQ

 

This would seem to use the same set of frequencies as standard wireless, so you might be getting some interference between the two systems. I did wonder how well Zigbee would work in an institutional setting - at home you can probably just about get away with it, but in a larger setup with managed wireless, adding yet more devices trying to create a network on the same set of frequencies must make for crowded airwaves.