This guide will lead you through the initial setup of Aeotec Smart Home Hub and get you started. It forms part of a broader guide on managing and using Smart Home Hub which can be found here. 

a.

Setup checklist

There are several things to ensure that you have set to setup your hub properly. Typically you won't need to do any of the recommended settings, but these settings will ensure that setup is a breeze. 

For best results.

• Keep your hub away from heavy metal objects (HVAC equipment, refrigerators, stoves, or other sources of interferences).
• Consider setting up your hub using an Ethernet connection first. Once finished, you can connect your Smart Home Hub to Wi-Fi afterwards. (Main Menu -> Settings -> Change device Wi-Fi network).
• Aeotec Smart Home Hub works best when placed in a central location in your home.

If installing your Smart Home Hub using Wi-Fi.

• Keep your hub, router, and phone temporarily close together just for the setup process. Once setup is done, you can re-arrange your Smart Home Hub however you'd like within the range of the router it is connected to.
• If using a WiFi mesh system, verify the hub is closest to the nearest Access Point (AP) to its physical location.
• If you have a Router with both 2.4GHz and 5Ghz Wi-Fi networks, ensure that they both have unique SSID names (ie. WiFi2.4GHz and WiFi5GHz).
• Verify that your Router connection has sufficient bandwidth in the installation location.
  • Run a speed test with your phone in that location using something like speedtest.net, then ensure that at least 2Mbps on both upload/download speeds.
• Check if your Router has the following ports open. If you're unsure how to check this, please contact your Internet Service Provider who may be able to assist you with this. You can find more resources on opening these ports here: https://www.wikihow.com/Open-Ports
  • 11111
  • 9443
  • 443
  • 39500
  • 37
• Check your Router to see if there are any new firmware updates and apply it. Access the internal access point of your router which should be printed directly on the router somewhere (typically this is 192.168.0.1).
• If your hub has trouble connecting to Wi-Fi at the location you wish to install/setup your Smart Home Hub, you may add a Wi-Fi extender halfway between your hub and your Wi-Fi router to help bridge that gap.

b.

Download SmartThings app

Smart Home Hub primarily will be controlled by app use through an android or iOS smartphone.

Android

1. Open Play Store app.
2. In the search bar, enter "smartthings" and search.
3. Tap on SmartThings app.
4. Select Install.

iOS

1. Open App Store app.
2. In the search bar, enter "Smartthings" and search
3. Tap SmartThings app.
4. Tap the Get button to install.
5. You may need to sign in with your Apple ID to start the download and installation.
6. Ensure that your SmartThings app Local Network is enabled
   1. Go to your iOS "Settings" page
   2. Tap Privacy
   3. Tap Local Network
   4. Look for SmartThings, ensure that it is toggled ON (ie. image below)
      

c.
Create an account

Creating an account is essential for the use of Smart Home Hub, this will be used to login anywhere in the world to control your connected home devices.

Steps

1. Open the SmartThings app.
2. Touch Sign In.
3. Touch Create account.
4. Touch Agree for the Samsung Terms and Conditions, Terms of Services, and Samsung Privacy Policy.
5. Now Fill in the information for your account:
   • Email address.
   • Password (at least eight characters containing at least one number and one letter).
   • Confirmation password (same as above).
   • First and last name.
   • ZIP code
   • Date of birth.
6. Touch Next.
7. Touch Done.
8. Select your Country.
9. Touch Continue.

d.
Understanding your Smart Home Hub's LEDs

LED Color	LED activity description	Function detail
	Alternating Green and Red	Hub is ready to be claimed by a Samsung account, you have 30 minutes to start the setup process.  If you miss this window for setup and your hub is blinking blue, just unplug power, replug your hub, then wait 1 minute.
	Solid Blue	Hub is claimed but has no internet or server connection.  Make sure to check SmartThings status webpage to ensure that SmartThings cloud is operational. If it is, try swapping between WiFi and Ethernet.
	Blinking Blue	There is no Ethernet or WiFi connection. This can happen if you allow Smart Home Hub to timeout its setup process.  Simply unplug your hub, and then re-plug your hub. If using WiFi, try connecting it to Ethernet.
	Blinking Magenta	Downloading update
	Solid Magenta	Applying update
	Solid Green	Hub is connected
	Blinking Green	Hub is in pair mode (searching for device)
	Fast Blinking Green	Hub is in Z-Wave exclusion mode
	Blinking Yellow/Amber	Factory Reset in process
	Solid Yellow/Amber	Factory Reset process complete
	Blinking Red	An Issue occurred during bootup, wait at least 2 minutes to see if it’ll resolve itself.  Try an extended power cycle to resolve this issue. (wait a minimum of 6 minutes before powering up the hub again.)
	Solid Red	Hardware issue, wait at least 2 minutes to see if it’ll resolve itself. Power cycle the hub (attempt this a few times), if the issue does not get resolved, contact support.

e.
Power up Smart Home Hub

Before you move onto creating your account and fully setting up Smart Home Hub, you must first power Smart Home Hub. 

It is recommended that you place your Smart Home Hub in the central most location in your home to have the best wireless reach around it.

Power Smart Home Hub

1. Select the location that your Smart Home Hub will remain for most of its use. 

2. Connect the plug adapter to your Smart Home Hub.

3. Connect the plug adapter to your power outlet.

4. (Optional) If you wish to use a direct LAN connection, plug in an Ethernet cable to your wireless router and Smart Home Hub now.

5. Once the LED flashes red/green, you will have 30 minutes to complete the setup in section f below.

f.
Finalize Smart Home Hub setup in SmartThings app

This final section will tie your SmartThings account to your Smart Home Hub, once this is finished, you'll be able to log in using your SmartThings app.

We highly recommend that you set up your Smart Home Hub using an Ethernet connection, and if you wish to switch over to WiFi, you can follow the next section (g), to set up WiFi on your Smart Home Hub.

1. From the Home screen, touch the Plus (+) icon (top right of the dashboard)
2. Select Add Device.
3. Select Add next to Partner devices
4. Select Aeotec
5. Select Add without QR Code (at the bottom)  
6. Select Smart Home Hub, then "Can't find your device?"
7. Select Wi-Fi or Ethernet select "Next"
8. SmartThings will ask you to power your hub if you have not done so already. Tap on Next.
9. If your hub isn't ready yet, your app will scan for your hub to be ready. Once its automatically detected, it will move onto the next step.
10. Using your mobile device's camera, scan the QR code located on the back of the Hub:
    • If necessary, tap OK to give Smart Home Hub access to your smartphone camera.
    • If you're having trouble scanning the QR code, tap "Add device by serial number" and enter the code manually.
11. It will ask you to join a SmartThings WiFi network ("st-hubv3-YYY") or some other similar name (where YYY can be any 3 digit number), make sure you press Connect. This is necessary to setup, if you tap cancel, your setup will fail and may require you to factory reset your hub before you start again.
12. (Skip if you are using direct Ethernet connection) If you are setting up the Hub via Wi-Fi:
    • Select your Wi-Fi network.
    • Enter your Wi-Fi network's password, then tap Connect.
13. Wait a few moments while your Hub is connecting. (During this time, the LED of your Smart Home Hub will by cycling red/green during the setup).
    1. It will register your hub first which will take about 2 minutes to finish. 
    2. Once registration is finished, it will begin downloading any updates necessary for your hub. This will take upwards of 30 minutes depending on how good your internet speed is.
    3. Once downloading is done, your hub will install the downloaded update, this should take up to 5 - 10 minutes. (At this time the LED of your hub should be blinking blue).
       • Note - in the middle of the installation, you may notice that the LED of your hub has become solid Green. This is a good indication that your hub is setup, but the interface is still getting other settings ready, but I would recommend waiting until the screen automatically finishes. 
         • You can close down your Smartthings app, and re-open it, and your hub should appear properly in your SmartThings app the next time you open it if you did choose to. 
    4. When the setup is complete, it should automatically ask you to setup its geolocation. 
14. Touch Tap here to set a location to set geolocation for your Hub
    • Drag the pin to your location, or enter your address manually.
    • Pinch and zoom the circle to set the size of your geolocation.
    • Tap Done.
15. When the Hub is successfully added, name it however you like, then touch Done.

g.

Setup with Wired/Ethernet connection but want WiFi 

You may follow the steps below if you want to connect your Smart Home Hub to WiFi after you have finalized installation. It is always preferred to set up your hub using an Ethernet connection, and then connect it to WiFi afterward.

NOTE - In order for WiFi to become visible, you must remove power from your hub. Your hub must be marked as "Offline" before you continue these steps.  

Steps.

1. Disconnect power to your Smart Home Hub and wait for your hub to go "Offline".

2. If you previously had your Smart Home Hub connected to Ethernet, make sure that you have the ethernet cable disconnected now. 

3. Open SmartThings app

4. Locate the Hub in your SmartThings device list, if it isn't listed "Offline" yet, wait for your hub to go offline. 

5. Tap on the Hub tile to open up your hubs page.

6. Tap on More Options (3 dot icon) at the top right.

7. Tap on "Information".

8. Tap on "Update WiFi information".

9. Connect your Smart Home hub to power. 

   • Regardless of the LED state at this point (blinking blue, solid blue, or other LED colors, push forward with step 10 (next step).

10. Press and hold the RESET button on the back of your hub, when the LED lights up yellow, release the reset button. 

11. Follow the on-screen instructions to set up your WiFi. 

    • Scan the QR Code / or manually input the SN code. (Both the QR Code or SN code are located under the hub). c

    • Press "Connect"

    • Select your WiFi and enter its password.

h.

Can't connect and need assistance?

Before you start troubleshooting.

• If your SmartThings app freezes during the firmware update process. Wait up to 10 minutes before you follow the steps below:
  1. Force close SmartThings app.
  2. Open up SmartThings app.
  3. Check to see if your hub is present in your SmartThings Dashboard and SmartThings IDE. If so, unplug your hub, connect it to Ethernet directly to your router, then plug your hub back into power.
• If the LED status is blinking blue, solid blue, or is still flashing red/green. 
  1. If it doesn't change to solid blue or solid green, try: 
     • Plugging your hub into Ethernet connection, and then unplug your Smart Home Hub, and then plug it back into power it back up. 
  2. Give it a few more minutes. 
     • If it should be blinking blue, upon initial bootup. 
     • If your firmware update didn't complete, it may change to flashing yellow or purple, then eventually return to blinking blue.
     • After a few minutes, the LED should change to solid green.
       
• Check the LED status of your hub before you move onto troubleshooting. If the LED of your hub is solid green, this may be a good indication it is setup, but you'll need to just move it to a room for it to appear in your interface.
  • If your hub does not appear in SmartThings app, check SmartThings IDE which you can verify if your hub exists in your account:
    1. Open an additional browser.
    2. Login to Smartthings IDE: https://account.smartthings.com/
    3. Click on "My Locations" -> then the location your hub is in.
    4. Click on "My Hubs", if you only have a single hub, it should direct you to that hubs page. If you have multiple, select the new hub in the list of hubs.
    5. This should be able to tell you if your hub exists in SmartThings. 
  • Finding your hub in your Smartthings app if you do not see it on the dashboard.
    1. Open SmartThings app.
    2. Click on Main Menu (top left corner).
    3. Select "Devices".
    4. Smart Home Hub if not renamed should be listed as "Hub", tap on Hub.
    5. Tap More Options (3 dot icon).
    6. Tap Edit.
    7. Tap Room.
    8. Select a Room for Hub to be located in. (ie. Living Room).
    9. Tap Save.
  • If your hub LED is solid green, and the hub shows up in both SmartThings IDE and SmartThings app, your hub should be good to go. You can start connecting your smart home devices. 

Troubleshoot your hub.

First troubleshoot your Smart Home Hub, which you can do by following that link. If you are still having issues, make sure you go down the checklist

Checklist before contacting Aeotec support. 

To gain the best help, you'll need to send these items to SmartThings support who will be able to best support you here in connecting your hub. It is fine if there are missing details, we will ask you if any further information from you is necessary. 

• SN Code (located under your hub).
• Error Code generated during the setup process (if any).
• LED status on your Smart Home Hub after a few minutes of it being powered (ie. Solid blue, blinking purple, solid green)
• Leave your Smart Home Hub on Ethernet connection and powered so that SmartThings team may be able to investigate your hub remotely.
• List any troubleshooting you've tried
• If possible, send them logs that may be helpful in the analysis of your issue. You'll need an empty flash drive to gather logs.  
  1. Do this right after the issue has appeared.
  2. Connect an empty USB drive to Hub.
  3. Wait about 10 minutes.
  4. Press the Reset button once.
  5. Magenta light should flash briefly.
  6. The logs will dump into your USB flash drive, confirm this by replugging the USB drive to your PC.
     • If no logs are produced, let us know when you contact us.

Where to contact Aeotec?

You can contact Aeotec support directly at one of these 2 locations:

1. Direct email to our support system: support@aeotec.freshdesk.com. 
2. Create a support ticket from: https://help.aeotec.com through our ticket system. 

Make sure you receive an automated response to your email, this will ensure that we have received your ticket. We will typically respond within 24 hours of your question (between business hours of Monday - Friday). 

Back to - Table of contents

Next page - Migrate your old hub to Smart Home Hub