Four years ago, Samsung had released a SmartThings Link dongle for the Nvidia Shield TV. The $50 dongle instantly turned the Nvidia Shield TV into a SmartThings Hub. Now, Samsung has announced that it has decided to turn off support for the SmartThings Link.
Samsung sent out the discontinuation notice to SmartThings Link owners via email. Effective June 30, 2021, users won’t be able to use their SmartThings Link dongle with their Nvidia Shield TV. They won’t be able to use the SmartThings app to control any Zigbee or Z-Wave devices connected to their SmartThings Hub. This move shouldn’t come as a surprise because the SmartThings Link often lagged behind other SmartThings Hubs in terms of firmware updates.
Samsung had announced last year that it would evolve its SmartThings platform by developing an API-based ecosystem to offer lower latency, higher reliability, and local execution. The company had also mentioned that it would retire legacy SmartThings-related apps and services.
To extend its gratitude towards SmartThings Link users, Samsung said that it will offer a discount on the third-generation SmartThings Hub. Users can also check Samsung’s refund portal to see if they are eligible for a full or partial refund. They must factory reset their SmartThings Link device before shipping it for a refund or recycling.
