A note about parallel means of control…
Some devices have handheld or wallmount remotes which can Control a master device of the same brand when they are paired to it (or to the brand’s Bridge device), but which will not be visible to smartthings even if there is an integration with the master device.
These might still be useful as a parallel means of control. You use the battery operated device to turn on the master device, and in most cases smartthings will see the master device turn on. You just can’t use the battery operated device to do anything else in smartthings.
Here are a few of the brands that offer those. I am including this post in this list mostly because otherwise we get a lot of questions, particularly about the Lutron Pico, Lutron Aurora, and the hue Tap devices.
- (US, 10 year battery built in) Lutron Caseta switches and dimmers have battery operated “pico“ remotes which are often wall-mounted to make a virtual three-way with the master device. They will work fine when used in that fashion, it’s just that SmartThings won’t know that the pico exists.
- (Different models available for the US and the UK. Some require a battery, some don’t.) Philips Hue Bridge can add a number of different types of “accessories” which will be invisible to smartthings even though smartthings can see bulbs and lightstrips connected to that same bridge. So you can set up the accessories to control the hue lights through the bridge, or you can set them up to control other devices through apple’s Homekit. But smartthings won’t see the accessories.
This includes the Hue button, Hue dimmer switch, Hue Tap, Lutron Aurora Dimmer for Hue, and the “Friends of Hue” Green power switches from brands like Runless Wire in the US and Senic and Vimar in the EU.
This picture is of the Lutron aurora Dimmer, which fits over the existing switch so the current will stay on to the hue bulbs, but guests have a very intuitive wall switch. Smartthings can’t see the switch, but it doesn’t matter, it can still control the bulbs with Automations as desired. The wall switch is just a convenience which solves a very common issue, keeping power on to the smart bulbs no matter who is in the house.
And here are some Friends of Hue Switches. These don’t require batteries because they use the zigbee green power profile. Remember that these will require a hue bridge and switch itself will not be visible to smartthings so these can only be used to control another device connected to the same hue bridge. (Or via Apple HomeKit.)
US:
Set these up to look like a traditional rocker or as two skinny rockers side-by-side. Available in five or six different colors.
UK:
Most companies are putting these out as double gangs. Available in different styles and colours from different companies.
- IHome remote. The iHome plug-in smart plug has a smartthings integration, but its handheld remote does not.
- GE two button remote 34174. This is a Z wave device, but Can only work through zwave direct association with other Z wave devices, so it’s also going to be a parallel means of control. And set up gets a little complicated. But you add the Z wave devices you want to control to smartthings and you add the remote to smartthings just as a Z wave “thing“ (no special DTH), and then you follow the manufacturer’s directions to directly associate to the other Z wave devices. After that, a button press on the remote can turn the other device on/off. But you can’t use the buttons for anything else and smartthings won’t know that they were pressed.
Please take further Discussion of this device in the following thread:
- Echo button. These popular buttons can be used to trigger Alexa routines which can then turn on devices controlled by smartthings, but the buttons themselves are invisible to smartthings. These go in and out of stock a lot, and are usually available around the holidays as a set of two for $20. They are an excellent size for small children or big dogs.
