Hubs & assistants · Checked September 2026
WiFiXpert Compatibility Score — SmartThings hub
Best plugged into the router with a cable, after which it is one of the steadiest hubs in a home.
Plays nicely with almost any Wi-Fi
Eight checks, same for every device. The eight numbers below add up to 84.
The eight checks
| What we check | Rating | Points |
|---|---|---|
Works on 2.4 GHz Works on the long-range band if you can't run a cable. | Excellent | 14/14 |
Works on 5 GHz Newer hubs take the faster band happily. | Supported | 12/14 |
Modern Wi-Fi security No trouble with modern router security. | Excellent | 12/12 |
Happy on mesh Wi-Fi Usually sits in one place near the router, so roaming rarely matters. | Very good | 14/16 |
Works on a guest network Your phone needs to see the hub locally during setup. | Poor | 6/8 |
Survives a plug-in extender Once set up it holds a link well. | Usually fine | 7/8 |
Doesn't depend on chatty discovery Finding new gadgets uses local discovery messages some routers block. | Some dependency | 13/16 |
Easy to fix when it goes wrong Re-adding devices after a hub reset is slow work. | Medium | 6/12 |
| WiFiXpert Compatibility Score | 84/100 | |
What usually goes wrong
Hub goes offline after a router change, or new gadgets won't be found during setup.
Free things to try, in this order
- 1
Plug the hub into the router with a network cable where you can.
- 2
Keep the same Wi-Fi name and password when you change routers — then nothing needs re-pairing.
- 3
Turn off 'client isolation' while adding new gadgets.
Before you buy anything
Almost never. A £5 cable solves most SmartThings complaints.
Using it with your router or mesh
Answers about this gadget
What it needs from your network
Small hub that bridges Zigbee, Thread or Matter kit onto your Wi-Fi or Ethernet.
- Bands it uses
- Usually 2.4 GHz, or Ethernet if you can reach it with a cable.
- How it's found
- Needs to be findable by your phone during setup, and by other hubs afterwards if you use Matter.
- Background discovery traffic
- Significant for Matter and for app discovery.
- On a guest network
- Breaks setup and day-to-day control.
- On a separate gadget network
- Keep the hub and the phones that control it on the same network unless you are confident with cross-network discovery.
Getting it set up
- • Wire it to the router with a cable if you possibly can — hubs are the one thing worth cabling.
- • Keep it away from the router itself: Zigbee and Wi-Fi fight at close range.
- • Stand next to your router while you set it up, then move the gadget to where it lives.
- • Put your phone on the 2.4 GHz network name for the setup, or use one name for both bands so the phone can follow.
- • If your router splits bands into two names, turn the 5 GHz one off for five minutes rather than fighting it.
- • Turn mobile data off on your phone during setup — some apps quietly use it and never find the gadget.
With mesh Wi-Fi
- • Plug it into a mesh box's spare port rather than sitting it on Wi-Fi.
Network notes checked September 2026.
Problem guides for this gadget
Manufacturer or ISP? Submit an update or correction — we check every change against a source before it's published.
Where these ratings come from
- SmartThings — support
- WiFiXpert cases and community reports for this device, checked September 2026.
What we haven't confirmed yet
- Our sources for this one aren't from the maker's own site yet.
- We haven't yet published provider-specific notes for this device.
Nobody pays to appear in this index, and no shopping link changes a score. If a manufacturer changes something that affects a rating, tell us and we'll recheck it.