Not a single problem at all. I have three of them in my system.
Excellent - #2 arrives Thursday.
Thanks for the info.
Because it is very much the SmartThings way to implement the minimal product for initial release. I have this same gripe about almost all of their supported devices. I have 100% of my devices on custom device code because the default code from ST never supports all of the features of the device. And thatâs years after the devices were released. They push out the minimal device code and then leave it there. Of course community folks immediately release better versions and we all switch to the custom versions. Smart Things wins is two ways with this. 1) they donât need to write the code 2) when you contact them for support they say we donât support custom code. Itâs a Win Win for them.
I wouldnât disagree that ST generally does the minimal integration (looking at IFTTT), but I donât know if thatâs the whole story here.
It may not have been an option for âofficial integrationâ. Notice that none of the âofficial integrationsâ have this feature about asking for status. Itâs only âturn onâ, âturn offâ, âset toâ, etc⊠I suspect that Amazon provided a limited keyword set for their direct Home Automation integration and asking for status wasnât part of it yet.
I think I read that they expanding it to incorporate direct thermostat control soon, so hopefully ST will continually update their direct integration as new options are enabled. I donât really expect it though.
i agree almost all mine are custom⊠i modified or wrote a bunch. the problem with this is most likely they will never run locally in the hub, and when the cloud is slow⊠they are slow⊠Even when you publish them and submit them to smartthings they dont bother to look at them in most cases.
This is also ridiculous. Itâs backwards, if anything custom code should only run on hub. If I screw up my hub it only affects me, if I screw up the servers it affects everyone. I was shocked when I got my V2 hub that I couldnât remove into it somehow and see stuff at the OS level. Since they sold this as the device that would have local processing I really expected a linux system that I could hack. But then again SmartThings has never met my expectations so why did I expect them to for the V2 hub ?
Correct, the APIs SmartThings is using is the Alexa Lightning API found here for those who are curious:
https://developer.amazon.com/public/binaries/content/assets/html/alexa-lighting-api.html
It does provide some benefits over using a skill, it is for example more reliable in understanding custom names of devices.
Anyone noticing that Alexa to SmartThings commands are running slow? For the last few weeks it seems that when I ask Alexa to do something it sometimes takes 30 seconds or more before the action is done.
Echo hears fine and Alexa responds with âOk.â right away thenâŠ
âŠsometimes the action happens pretty quickly.
âŠsometimes the actions takes 30 seconds or more before it happens.
mine are running fine⊠the ifft ones are very slow going to the net like you say, but the alexa direct to smartthings lights are turning off even before alexa starts saying ok. What device types and devices? (Are they local)
Question on the Echo (I apologize if this was asked/answered - didnât feel like going thru the whole thread)
Can ST tell the Echo (Alexa) to announce when a device triggers? For example, when a motion sensor is triggered, can I have Alexa say âsomeone is in the garageâ?
Thanks,
Dave
No.
A temporary âhackâ is to run a VLC server or similar to send TTS output via Bluetooth, since the Echo can act as a Bluetooth speaker.
You would need another app to do this.
Something like the LANnouncer app running on an Android that is Bluetooth connected to the Echo.
Currently ST canât tell Echo to speak.
I take Alexa along for a ride in my car now. I donât use the Echo in the car, but the new Fire TV that now has Alexa. The Fire TV is unique in that it has Bluetooth audio out (no speakers, so that makes sense). That pairs fine with my carâs built in Bluetooth audio. I get internet access to a wifi hotspot in the car. My cell phone and media pair separately, so the cell still works and overrides the audio from the media like it should. Since itâs connected to the same amazon account as home, I can control the same automation by voice from the car. Has anyone else tried this?
Not sure if this has already been brought to light and I am not sure if everyone noticed, but Echoâs latest âWhatâs New?â email mentioned integration with Ecobee. And, upon further research it was found that there is a Echo âSkillâ called âReflectâ (https://www.reflectconnectapp.com/), which allows direct influence over your Nest from the Echo.
Thought you all should know if you havenât seen it already.
My question is if they can control an Ecobee when will they allow temperature set commands to be sent to hubs like SmartThings to control any smart thermostat you may have???
I realize you can probably do this through IFTTT or something but it would be nice if it was part of the SmartThings/Echo integration.
@Motley luckily a community member - @DarcRanger - has already made a smartapp for controlling the temperature via Alexa. I have confirmed it works with the Nest custom device type.
Essentially what you have to do is create two virtual dimmer switches (one for heat, one for cool), then select the switches in the smartapp along with the thermostat you would like to control. Then you expose the two virtual switches to Alexa. Name the switches heat and cool (or whatever makes sense to you) and then you can say âAlexa, set heat to XXâ or âset cool to XXâ.
Thanks, I will check that out once I add my CT100 back to my network, for now since the reliability of firing timed events is mediocre at best I have removed my thermostat in favor of my old one which I have a schedule set on. I really hope they get that issue resolved so I can add my thermostat back.
Nice, I figured I wasnât the only one thinking this should be done.
Does this work in Auto mode?