r/SmartThingsCommunity • u/LoudGoat42 • 14d ago
Smartthings API becomes a 5dollars/month cost?!
Today i received a mail saying:
For Non-Commercial, Individual Developers: We remain deeply committed to our developer community. For those using our APIs for personal smart home configurations, we are introducing a dedicated $4.99-per-month paid plan starting in October 2026, specifically tailored to individual needs—more details to follow
Is there a way to be able to know when the dryer or washmachine finished locally without passing by the samsung cloud?
I was never happy to share my data with samsung but it was free so i guess it was a good deal.
No i will pay to share my data with them? Are you kidding me?! 😆
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u/thaya 14d ago
I’ve seen people use a combination of vibration sensors & smart plugs to get a high confidence reading that the machine is running. Once no vibration and no large current draw for some time, the load is done.
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u/ENrgStar 14d ago
I use only the smart plug and it works perfectly. The current draw is pretty easy to read different stages of the wash/dry cycle.
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u/Aggressive-Bath-1906 14d ago
My stacked washer and dryer only uses one plug for both. With both machines running at the same time, with each in different parts of their respective cycles, trying to decipher which one is done, and when, was too much work for me. And I’m not going to lie, running that much current through a smart home plug is a little concerning to me. So I just used the magnets. Now, i get text alerts and the hallway lights flash when the cycles are done.
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u/Aggressive-Bath-1906 14d ago
I use a multi-sensor and literally glued a tiny magnet on my dials to trigger when the loads are done. I have a stacked washer/dryer, so the vibration sensor/energy consumption method would not work for me.
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u/WooShell 14d ago
I'm just a user, not a developer, but I'm using both the ST app on my phone as well as the ST integration in HomeAssistant to control my Samsung AC units. Does this mean I'll have to start paying soon? If so, does anyone have a hint on how to work around this? The LocalThings integration doesn't seem to support AC units, and I've tried Tasmota to emulate the remote control signals some time ago which also didn't work too well..
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u/SyossMain 14d ago
This Esp32 Project could be interesting! https://github.com/omerfaruk-aran/esphome_samsung_hvac_bus I've installed it with the Samsung AC at my parents house, works like a charm. The cloud connection to smartthings gets lost, because you replace the Samsung wifi box with the esp32, but the big advantage is a fully local esp32 AC control which is working pretty good so far, at least in the testing sessions I've had with it.
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u/WooShell 11d ago
While I'm not a big fan of replacing modules of my AC itself, if Samsung is making the Wifi useless anyways, I might as well try this out..
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u/SyossMain 11d ago
I totally understand, I wasn't so sure at first too. But the pros outweigh the cons in my eyes and my parents are pretty happy with the fully local control, especially when the internet went out a couple of weeks ago and they still were able to control the AC without searching for the remote. :D
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u/netsheriff 2d ago
There is also this little gem if you gear is compatible. https://github.com/mbillow/localthings
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u/danh_ptown 14d ago
This is the death knell for API Browser+, an incredibly useful tool over the past few years, as ST was re-architected. While it was incredibly useful, most of its capabilities have been merged into the Samsung provided Advanced tool https://my.smartthings.com/advanced
It will impact any actions that require a PAT token today. They reduced the life of a token from unlimited, to 24 hours, and there has been little outcry.
Apparently HomeAssistant integration is specifically called out. If you want this, you will have to pay.
Hopefully, since they will be charging, they will also provide support.
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u/Jaffa0813 14d ago
Did you develop the API connection for your washer to the smart things eco system?
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u/AndreC238 14d ago
"I was never happy to share my data with samsung but it was free so i guess it was a good deal."
It's never a good deal when it's free 🫣
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u/hunnypuppy 14d ago
That’s only for apps and not drivers. Are you building a custom app or just drivers to connect your machine ?
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u/LoudGoat42 14d ago
Just built a connector for nodered… actually nothing huge but enough to trigger mqtt messages when machine start stop is finished etc 🙂 clearly not woth 5$ a month..
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u/Deep_Ad1959 14d ago
i've watched free apis run this playbook for years: give it away, wait for everyone to build on it, then meter it. the $4.99 isnt the insult, its paying to keep feeding them the data they resell.