Hello,
Hive have just announced that they are dropping IFTTT support from Jan 31st 2024, which I was happily using to turn my heating on and off using Smartthings automations. Is there any other way I can get Smartthings to talk to Hive? Can I do it via Alexa or Google or HomeKit somehow? Or better yet, is there an Edge driver for the thermostats so I can fully integrate them?
Thanks,
Chris.
I’m not sure about an Edge driver. Check Alexa and Google Home routines. Both have improved their routines recently so you may be able to use them to sync a SmartThings virtual swtich.
Probably time to ditch Hive, I’m still with them and have been for years, but their lack of innovation and reluctance to integrate with anything, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are shutting it down slowly.
They stopped making some products last year and haven’t innovated for ages
Got something up and running via Google Home. Alexa doesn’t allow me to use any switches to trigger manual routines. A shame really, since I’d love to use Alexa to switch my Blink cameras on and off too, which Google Home can’t do. Trying to ditch IFTTT, as it’s so unreliable.
Thanks,
Chris.
Chris, If you have a ST hub you need to use @TAustin 's virtual Alexa Switch to trigger Alexa routines. If you don’t have ST hub you can use a virtual lock to trigger Alexa routines.
I use virtual Alexa Switches to control my Blink cameras and many other things in Alexa.
I’m struggling to find a reliable way to use Alexa to arm and disarm the whole camera system (I have one for indoor cameras and one for outdoor). The virtual Alexa Switch works great and status is correctly shown on both sides, however the custom routines to arm/disarm the camera system are flakey.
Any hints welcome…
Hear are my 3 routines: arm, disarm, bring motion back to ST.
With the Alexa switch make sure you create the child contact sensors and use them in Alexa.
For motion use a virtual motion sensor.
Thanks, my routines look pretty much identical. Disarming works pretty reliably, but arming only works if I manually run the routine (press play next to the name). All the switches and sensors are set up correctly. I’ll keep experimenting, it also occasionally tells me there are multiple devices with the same name, not sure it likes the space in the name…
Mine run with out any problems.
Make sure you are using the child contacts you created under settings, not the contacts built into the Alexa Switch.
Got it working reliably within the Alexa app. The switch triggers the contact and the routine runs and arms/disarms the Blink system. The status of the switch and contact are accurately reflected in both Alexa and Smartthings apps.
Sadly, when I change the switch in the Smartthings app, the associated contact changes and the change is also accurately reflected in the Alexa app, but the routine does not run and there is no change to armed/disarmed state of the Blink system.
Guess I’m still missing something…
Why don’t you post screen shots of your routines.
Here are two of them. As I said, they work fine when run from the Alexa app. Either directly or by flipping the switch, which in turn flips the associated contact. The switch and associated contact also correctly flip if I make the change from Smartthings, but then the routine doesn’t run.
The difference I see is that my verbiage is a different. I am not sure if that makes a difference.
I don’t think it makes a difference, since the routines work perfectly when run from the Alexa app, either by tapping the little ‘play’ icon next to a routine on the list page, or by flipping the switch on the Alexa device page (which also correctly sets the associated contact).
It’s a mystery. I’ll get in touch with Alexa support, maybe they can shed some light on it.
I doubt they support Alexa Switches.
I don’t know if it’s what’s going on in your case, but these are exactly the symptoms that people started seeing earlier this year, when the original “Alexa switches“ which had both the “switch“ and the “sensor“ capabilities stopped working to Trigger Alexa Routines.
The solution was a new kind of virtual device, which pairs a separate switch with a separate contact sensor. Each of those two virtual devices has only one capability. the edge Driver was set up so that whenever the switch was turned on, the contact sensor would be opened. That contact sensor then worked to trigger Alexa routines reliably again.
So the first thing I would do is check the exact type of edge device that you are using to make sure that you were using the new paired virtual devices rather than the old dual capability “Alexa switch.“
(BTW, I agree that Amazon support is unlikely to be able to help you with this: it’s probably an issue on the smartthings side as to what it sends to Alexa.)
Remember: it’s not just which driver you were using, as for example vEdge Creator can create both of these kinds of sensor/switch pairs (the one with two capabilities in one virtual device, and the one that synchronizes two virtual devices, each with one capability). So it depends on the exact steps you took to create it. 
I deleted all the switches and associated contacts from Smartthings and Alexa. Then deleted the routines from Alexa. Then set everything up again from scratch and it is now running the routines if I flip the switch from Smartthings. I added a push notification so I know the routine is being triggered. So happy days on that front.
Now the weird thing is that the Blink system is arming and disarming fine if I run the routine manually from the Alexa app, but not if I flip the switch from Smartthings.
Getting closer, but still not quite there yet 
Thanks everyone for your help so far…
So should we all assume that we need to rip out Hive gear and install something else?
What are people using for central heating control in the UK in regards to SmartThings integration these days?
Nest, Honeywell, something else?
Regards: Elliott.
