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Organize SmartThings in four layers: choose the right location, arrange its rooms, name and assign devices, then add frequently used controls to Favorites or the app’s Home page. Rooms keep the home’s structure clear; Favorites are a shortcut, not a second room system. Samsung’s labels and edit paths vary by app version, region, and platform, so look for the equivalent control if your screen differs.
Understand how locations, rooms, and Favorites fit together
A SmartThings location is the top-level grouping for a home or other site. Rooms sit inside a location and group devices by physical area. A device’s name and room assignment help you identify and find it, while Favorites—or the app Home page in newer terminology—provides quick access to frequently used devices and other items. Samsung describes these areas in its SmartThings app setup guide.
For one home, use one location and create rooms such as Kitchen, Living Room, or Bedroom. Use another location for a separate home or site, rather than creating extra locations just to divide rooms.
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Samsung’s US guide documents this route for room management:
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- Open SmartThings and go to Home.
- Tap Manage locations and select the location you want to organize.
- Open Rooms, tap Add, choose a room name, and complete the setup.
Room names should make sense to the people using the app and match how they think about the space. After creating rooms, assign each device to the room where it belongs; an unassigned or incorrectly assigned device is harder to find in the room view.
Rename a device or move it to another room
Samsung Canada documents this device-edit flow. Depending on your app version and platform, the equivalent action may instead appear after opening the device and choosing More options > Edit, as described in Samsung’s US and Gulf support guidance.
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- Open SmartThings and tap Devices.
- Tap the Home icon, select the location, and navigate through its rooms to find the device.
- Long-press the device card and tap Edit, or use the equivalent Edit control shown on your screen.
- Change the device name, location, or room as needed, then save or finish the edit.
The edit controls can also include Set as favourite, Add to phone Home screen, and Remove device. Choose the room assignment based on the device’s physical location; use a recognizable device name to distinguish similar items. Samsung notes that Bluetooth devices cannot have their details edited through this documented route. See Samsung Canada’s device-management instructions if you need the regional steps.
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Mark a device as a favorite from its edit controls when that is available, or use the Home page’s customization controls to add commonly used items. Samsung’s 2024 announcement calls the refreshed app Home page “formerly known as Favorites”; older help pages still use “Favorites.” The label you see can therefore depend on the app version, region, or platform. If you are looking for Favorites, check the Home page or its equivalent rather than assuming it has disappeared. See Samsung’s November 12, 2024 announcement.
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Keep the distinction clear: room assignment is how you organize devices by area, while Favorites or Home is for quick access to items you use often.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Hide a room without removing its setup
If a room is cluttering the Home screen but you still want to keep its devices and organization configured, Samsung says the room can be hidden temporarily. Use the Home screen’s room customization or management controls to hide it. Hiding is different from deleting: it changes what is shown on Home rather than serving as a substitute for removing devices or changing their room assignments.
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Use Map View for a floor-plan overview
Map View is an optional spatial view for browsing and controlling devices. Samsung says you can start with a floor-plan photo, draw a layout freehand, or arrange rooms and walls in a preset layout, then place room groups and their devices on the map. Map View rooms correspond to the rooms already set up in SmartThings, so create and assign rooms first; the map is an alternate way to view that organization, not a replacement for it. See Samsung’s Map View instructions.
Quick Recap
| View | Best for | Setup and relationship to rooms |
|---|---|---|
| Rooms and devices | Finding devices by physical area and managing their controls. | Create rooms in a location and assign devices to them. |
| Map View | Browsing a home’s devices in a floor-plan-style layout. | Arrange a floor plan and place rooms and devices; it uses rooms already set up in SmartThings. |
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