Hi, I’ve got a Kwikset 914 Z-wave lock, and I can control it with SmartThings. But I’m trying to control it with Alexa, and to put it in a Good Night routine to lock all my doors. But I’m stuck.
I have Ask Alexa installed via Github, I’ve enabled OAuth, and Saved and Published it. The SmartApp is on my phone. But no matter what I do from there, I can’t seem to get Alexa to play ball. I’ve read the Wiki, threads, etc. but apparently I’m misunderstanding or missing something.
Can anyone walk me through from the point I’m at, or if there’s a better way to get this to work, I’m willing to start over with a different approach.
Thanks so much in advance.
Mark
bamarayne
(Jason "The Enabler" as deemed so by @Smart)
2
You can try EchoSistant… It works great at locking doors, among other things.
We wrote EchoSistant with the user in mind. You choose your devices… And you say lock or unlock, and it works. Works great on garage doors to. Oh, and you can use a PIN code for locks and doors.
Note I have mine selected and it locks it when this routine runs. I can trigger the routine via a virtual switch or any or the other above mentioned methods
An automation is an event responding to another event automatically. Examples:
Door opening triggers light turning on.
7:30pm triggers mode change daily.
Those are great things for SmartThings to do. You program it to respond to events without human intervention… automation.
Alexa, otoh, is voice control. You might be changing the means of execution - you tell Alexa to turn on the lamp, rather than you telling your son to do it - but it is a human-initiated process. And therefore, it’s voice control rather than an automated process.
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it In any event, that conceptual separation allows me to place processes and groupings how they make sense to me. One great example is “Alexa, turn off downstairs” wherein all the lights on my ground floor turn off. I can think of no circumstance where I might need that to occur automatically. So it makes no sense for me to go to the pain of trying to create virtual momentary switches in ST to do that while leaving the command ready to be used again independently of its devices - especially when Alexa device groups do exactly that with zero effort. Yet it’s an outstanding voice control command to have available at bedtime.
bamarayne
(Jason "The Enabler" as deemed so by @Smart)
11
Glen,
you still lost me… I understand the difference between the two… but the OP wants to use Alexa to lock his door. I created an app that allows him to say…
Alexa, tell home to lock the door.
and the door locks. he can also run that command in preprogrammed actions or routines. He can automate it, use voice to control it, or send his kids over to do it… or tie a beacon to the dogs neck and every time he goes near the door it locks…
[quote=“bamarayne, post:11, topic:74691, full:true”]Glen,
you still lost me… I understand the difference between the two… but the OP wants to use Alexa to lock his door. I created an app that allows him to say…
Alexa, tell home to lock the door.
and the door locks. he can also run that command in preprogrammed actions or routines. He can automate it, use voice to control it, or send his kids over to do it… or tie a beacon to the dogs neck and every time he goes near the door it locks…
the sky is limit…
[/quote]
Ahhh, now I see… I didn’t mean it as any sort of slight to you or the hard work you’ve done and shared. I only read the original post, and answered that.
bamarayne
(Jason "The Enabler" as deemed so by @Smart)
13
I didn’t take anything like that at all… I was just trying to figure out what you meant based on my take of the OP’s questions… no worry…
either way… Hey OP… you’ve got a ton of options when it comes to using Alexa to lock the door.
Hi Mark,
There is a flurry of options here on the thread, but no response from you, were you able to get your door lock with a good night routine to work?
You mention you have the APP “on your phone” - that is only part of the set up for ASK ALEXA.
If that is where you are in the process we can help guide you as to the remaining installation process of ASK ALEXA. I will point you to the WIKI which is VERY well written with step by step instructions with screen shots.
You will need a 2 part install on the AMAZON side. http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=Ask_Alexa
Let us all know if you need some help - there are many here you are more than willing if you have chosen ASK ALEXA as your method of control.
I have a vrtual switch that is linked to my lock with an app. The On off states of the virtual switch are linked to lock and unlock. This allows you to lock and unlock by telling Alexa to turn on or off the switch. Try searching the forum using “link switch and lock”. I no longer use this method because ask Alexa is working well for me but sounds like you’re having a different experience.
OP here. With respect to Ask Alexa, I have done the Amazon side of things in AWS and Lamda. When I try “Alexa, tell SmartThings to turn on Good Night” in the test console, I get the following error:
The remote endpoint could not be called, or the response it returned was invalid.
If I try it verbally with the Echo, I get “Sorry, I can’t find the answer to the question I heard.”
If I say “Alexa, tell SmartThings Good Night” it says that there was an error in the Ask Alexa application.
I just set this up last night, minor modification this morning.
So I setup a simulated switch (virtual switch or vswitch) called “Lock”. Then using SmartRules I set up 2 rules . .
Lock Backdoor - when vswitch “Lock” is turned on then lock Backdoor
Unlock Backdoor - when vswitch “Lock” is turned off then unlock Backdoor
This morning I noticed that if I manually lock/unlock the backdoor that my vswitch and actual lock are out of synch, so I wrote 2 more rules 1 that turns on the vswitch “Lock” when the doors locks, and another rule that does the opposite when back door is unlocked turn off the vswitch “Lock”. Seems to work like a champ.
In my Goodnight Routine I added Turn On vswith “Lock”. So “Alexa turn on Good Night” makes sure that the lights are off and my back door is off. Wife is happy! Which is very important, as I could not continue with my addiction without her support.
I can also “Alexa turn on Lock” to lock the door, or “Alexa turn off the Lock” to unlock the door.
bamarayne
(Jason "The Enabler" as deemed so by @Smart)
19
If you install EchoSistant there is nothing for you to setup our program. You select the device, put in your aws slot and say lock the door. You can even PIN protect the action.
In any event, that conceptual separation allows me to place processes and groupings how they make sense to me. One great example is “Alexa, turn off downstairs” wherein all the lights on my ground floor turn off. I can think of no circumstance where I might need that to occur automatically. So it makes no sense for me to go to the pain of trying to create virtual momentary switches in ST to do that while leaving the command ready to be used again independently of its devices - especially when Alexa device groups do exactly that with zero effort. Yet it’s an outstanding voice control command to have available at bedtime.