Frustrated out of the gate! How to use ST to trigger C by GE lights through Google Assistant or IFTTT?

Devices & Integrations
1

Can one of you veteran users give me a bit of guidance? I need some help getting rolling.

  1. I have a ST v3 hub with a ST motion sensor (new style).
  2. I have a number of C by GE lights associated with my Google home account.
  3. I migrated my Nest account over to Google before I knew I shouldn’t.
    Q1: How do I get the motion sensor to trigger one of my “C by GE” lights?
  • I’ve tried IFTTT, but as soon as I select ST’s as my “IF”, Google Assistant disappears from the “THEN” list.
  • Google assistant requires a voice command or a scheduled time to start any event.
  • ST’s app doesn’t show Google Home / Assistant under Smart Apps

Any help would be appreciated.

2

It would not have made a difference if you hadn’t migrated to a google account since that would only apply to users who already had an existing integration. Google killed the Nest API on Aug 31, 2019 so users are not able to create new integrations after that date.

Go the the menu (three bars in the upper left of the screen) select settings (the cog icon) and choose Connected services

3

OK, apparently I’m not as bright as you’d hoped… the Google Assistant icon was already there, and I went thru the device authorization (again?). What is the next step? My ST’s motion sensor was already showing up in Google Home, but I can’t set the motion sensor to trigger any of the lights.

4

You might can try Google Assistant Relay v3. Check with the author that would it work or not.

@ghesp, will that work through Assitant Relay? Is it available to process something like, “turn on the lights”.

5

I’m confused when you say Google Assistant “disappears” from the IFTTT selection list.

As far as I know, Google Assistant never has any available “actions” (the “that” in an IFTTT applet)—only “triggers” (the “if”). (That’s true of Echo as well.) It doesn’t have anything to do with selecting SmartThings as the If. Have you tried creating an applet with some other trigger like location just to see if Google Assistant does appear as a That candidate?

If you had an Echo, you could do what you want with an Echo routine. But as of this writing, January 2020, google assistant routines are not as robust. Google has promised to add more features to their routines sometimes in the future, but they’re not here yet. :disappointed_relieved:

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6

I can see the Google Assistant option when I select the initial trigger, (the “IF”), so I know Google Assistant is part of my IFTTT environment, but once I select SmartThings as my “IF”, the option of selecting Google Assistant for my “THEN” disappears. I CAN select my KASA outlets / bulbs for the “THEN”, there’s just no way to have the motion sensor trigger my C by GE lights…

7

What you are trying to do is not possible with the Google assistant. Google assistant can only be used as a “trigger” in IFTTT. That means it will only appear on the IF side of IFTTT.

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8

@alsterb, you definitely need a Google Assitant Relay to achieve what you want, look at this command.

You will need to tinker to create a WebCore piston when motion starts to send the right command to your Google Home, but it is not going to be a real device as the C by GE will not report back as being on or off when you control it with your real Google Home device. But you can chain it with your motion sensors to turn on or off through the Relay.

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9

It’s up to each individual Device manufacturer whether to make their devices available as an “if” or as a “that” in IFTTT.

SmartThings can be used as either an “if” or a “that” in IFTTT.

Google Assistant can only be used as an “if.” in IFTTT. It can’t be used as a “that“ no matter what you pick for the “if.” Nothing to do with smartThings: that’s a decision by Google.

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10

Sounds like your frustration stems from trying to get unsupported devices to work with smartthings.

What you want is pretty easy to do if you stick to devices on this list:

You can add alexa/google/Siri voice control to almost any smartthings device.

11

I’d heard that Google “kinda” broke Nest when they killed the Works with Nest platform, but being new to all this, I didn’t want to assume all that, and I felt that the ST community could either confirm my fears or show me that I was wrong and there was still hope.

12

I’m not sure what kind of hope your looking for. The motion sensor from the nest thermostat or smoke detector was never exposed. So if you were looking to use the nest thermostat or smoke detector to trigger an automation… it’s not been possible pre or post works with nest going eol. Works with nest also has nothing to do with “C by GE”. When it come to anything works with nest and smartthings… if it’s not already setup and working… it’s not ever going to work and officially it’s never been supported.

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