I recently installed the new SmartThings app onto my Android phone after using the Classic app for more than a year. In the Classic app you could add an automation (e.g., Goodnight, I’m Back, etc.) as a Favorite to the Home screen for easy access. From what I can see in the new app, although Scenes, Devices and Rooms can be added to the Home screen, you cannot move any Automations to the Home screen. Am I missing something, or is this the state of affairs for the new app?
Also, I assume you turn the Automations ON or OFF with the toggle icon next to each Automation, right?
Automations are automated events, they are not Routines. Scenes can be built like Routines and they can be executed from the main screen. Scenes turns to be Automations when you define the rules when to execute/trigger them.
I’m having the same thought, it would be nice to have Automations on the home screen so specific actions could be done (ie: set a vacation automation to occur when I wanted it to, manually). Have not tried doing it as a Routine yet, so if you have an example you could share, that would be most appreciated.
I agree. Sometimes you need to run automations manually. An icon on the home screen is needed.
For example: When arriving home, selecting the Scene I’M BACK does NOT Disarm the system. I need the option to run my “Guest Arriving” automation…easily if needed. In my case, my first option is to use my Minimote Button device to initiate “Guest Arriving”.
You can do it by creating a virtual switch which runs the automation. See the community FAQ. Obviously it would be better if the official features had this option built-in, but at least it’s doable.
Earlier you mentioned an icon on the home screen: you can do that with a scene in the new app, so you can have the scene turn on the virtual switch. You can create widgets for up to eight scenes.
What I’ve done is create scenes that perform the actions I need to be able to do manually and then set the automations to trigger the scenes.
For instance, an I’m Home scene can be set to turn on entryway lights, adjust the thermostat, and set the location mode to Home. If you need to set the STHM status, create an automation that sets it to disabled when location mode is Home.
The added benefit of using scenes is that you can create widget (at least you can on Android) so that you can activate the scene without even opening the app.
