Spruce Sensor and SmartThings

Contents

This guide covers using the Spruce Sensors with Samsung SmartThings. Start with the Spruce Sensor Integration Guide for a general overview of Spruce Sensor integrations.

Spruce Sensor and SmartThings requirements

  • The Spruce Sensor connects through a Zigbee wireless connection and requires a V2 or V3 SmartThings hub, or the new version which is now made by Aeotec, the Aeotec SmartThings hub.
  • The Samsung SmartThings app (Android or iOS)

Connect the Sensor

  1. Reset the sensors by holding the magnet to the sensor magnet pad until the sensor has indicated it is reset. See additional details at re-join-spruce-sensor-to-the-network/#gen3-spruce-sensor
  2. In the SmartThings app, go to the +, to Add a Device
  3. Proceed with your preferred method to start the search
    • Scan for nearby devices
    • Search For Spruce Sensor
    • select by the Brand Spruce Irrigation
  4. While close to the hub, tap the magnet to the Spruce Sensor to start the pair process
  5. SmartThings should identify the Spruce Sensor and give your the option to name the sensor
  6. If the sensor is not discovered after 1 minute, check the following:
    • Zigbee channel is NOT 26
    • Reset(step 1) the Spruce Sensor and retry the process

Occasionally the pairing finishes but is incomplete and either the humidity, temperature or battery does not report correctly. Retry the connection steps from the beginning.

Troubleshooting Connectivity

SmartThings has a few tools to help troubleshoot connectivity but they are only accessible through the online web IDE. From the web IDE you can check the wireless route through other devices, missed messages and signal strength.

To access the web IDE:

  1. https://graph.api.smartthings.com/ and log in with the same credentials as your SmartThings app credentials
  2. Select Devices from the top menu to access your list of devices
  3. Select the Device to view the properties
  4. View the properties for Route and Metrics
  5. The Route will show you if the device is using an intermidiary to send the signal back to the hub
  6. The metrics will show you:
    1. RSSI – signal strength, closer to 0 is better, typically -48 to -78 for reliable connection
    2. Messages transmitted to Device and Failures – Failures should be much lower than the transmitted value

See the support article Spruce Sensor Range for tips on resolving range.

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