If you pull Samsung appliances, TVs or SmartThings sensors into Home Assistant, that connection now has a price and a deadline. SmartThings says its current Home Assistant integration stops working after December 15, 2026, and the replacement needs a paid Developer Plan that costs $4.99 a month in the US.
The harder part sits in the fine print. The plan is sold in only nine countries at launch, yet the December 15 cutoff applies to every Home Assistant user, including people who cannot buy the plan where they live.
What changes for SmartThings users on Home Assistant
The switch happens in two steps, according to the SmartThings announcement posted on Wednesday, November 4. Home Assistant's December 2 release brings a new SmartThings integration and removes the option to set up the old one. Existing setups keep running until December 15, when the old connection stops working.
The new integration runs on the SmartThings API Developer Plan, priced at $4.99 a month before tax in the US. It covers up to 100,000 cloud API calls a month and up to 10 installed apps, for personal household locations only. The integration streams updates instead of polling constantly, but SmartThings warns that hitting the monthly cap can affect how it works.
Nothing changes inside Samsung's own app. Controlling appliances, Samsung TVs and partner devices in the SmartThings app stays free, as do in-app routines, local Edge drivers and hub integrations, according to the SmartThings blog post from October 30.
How to move to the new SmartThings integration before December 15
SmartThings concedes that the switch window “is short”. December 2 is the first Home Assistant release the new integration can ship in, which leaves two weeks to move over while the old one keeps working.
The steps themselves are simple. Update Home Assistant, remove the existing SmartThings integration and add it back. Setup then asks for a 24-hour personal access token, which loads a custom OAuth app into your SmartThings account.
Your automations should survive the swap. Device IDs are stored inside them and repopulate once the integration is added again, so the job is reconfiguration rather than rebuilding. Buy the plan first, though: since November 4, accounts without one cannot create new API apps, and the setup depends on creating one.
Why SmartThings now counts Home Assistant users as developers
The fee is not aimed at Home Assistant alone. SmartThings first announced paid API plans in June, and free cloud API access ended on November 3. Individual users who connect SmartThings to “external automation platforms” through OAuth now need a paid plan, whether or not they have ever written a line of code.
That label is what stings in the announcement thread. Owners of Samsung washers, dryers and fridges have objected to paying a monthly fee to keep using appliances they already own with the software they prefer.
The timing is awkward, too. Home Assistant's 2026.11 release, also out on November 4, had just added progress reporting for SmartThings washers and dryers, plus a picture mode control for Samsung TVs.
Where the SmartThings Developer Plan is available, and who is left out
At launch, the plan is offered in the United States, Korea, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and the United Kingdom, according to the SmartThings FAQ. Owners in Canada, Australia or Spain, for example, have no plan to buy.
The December 15 date still applies to them. After that, integrations without a plan have their API keys deactivated and their calls “paused at the gateway level”, in SmartThings’ words. Availability “may expand over time”, but no new countries or dates have been named, and affected users are pointed to developer support.
With more than 470 million registered users, SmartThings is one of the largest platforms in the smart home, and its open door to other platforms now comes with a toll. If you rely on the link, check the country list now, then plan the move for the two weeks between December 2 and December 15.
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