iOS App IF logic

Hello folks - im slowly getting there with the automation cycles and using some IFTTT functions, along with some cool secondary apps. I am trying to figure out if natively the mobile app has logic that applies, for instance.

I am setting up an Im back routine. Ive managed to get it pretty well tuned so that, it only does it if we are both out and its after a period of time. If I am in (and in bed) it will do it, as in night mode. The command is to turn on two hue lights…

Now, what I am wondering is, can I add a motion sensor trigger. So, in the automation list I have all the options under “automatically perform i’m back when” … then the list… at the moment I have someone arrives enabled. If I also enable things start happening, for a motion sensor, do the two work together or do the cancel each other out?

I know the next step is CoRe - im wondering though if this logic is natively in the current app?

Many thanks,
N

(I’ve moved this to smart app ideas because this kind of logic is actually run in the smart things cloud using a smart app or another automation, the SmartThings mobile app is just the UI to the system.)

The short answer, as you’ve already noted, is to use core. It can likely do every combination of if so you can imagine, and a few more. And there are many community members who will be happy to help you set up your rules.

The longer answer if you don’t want to use core is that there is probably a way to do it in SmartThings but it depends on each individual use case that you are trying to solve.

Smartthings is flexible and versatile, but one thing it is definitely not as consistent in the way that features are exposed through various options. Nor is it consistent in what’s an “and” and what a “or.”

For example, there was just a question yesterday from a community member who wanted to have different types of notifications for the official smart home monitor feature depending on whether the armed state was “armed away” or “armed Home.”

It turns out that if you are using the armed states, there’s only one place to set up the notifications, so they end up applying the same way to all of the armed states.

But if you use the official SHM feature and select “custom” alerts, then you can set up a unique notification profile.

That distinction isn’t easy to find. It’s not all that easy to understand. But it does mean this particular community member can do what they want to get done, just not the way they were trying to do it.

Just another random example: a smart lighting automation can be triggered based on a mode change. But not an SHM armed state change. Core could be triggered on either or both or an exclusive or. :sunglasses:

So I think it’s likely that there will be a way to get whatever it is you’re trying to do with the motion sensor accomplished without using core. I just also think that at this point it’s probably going to be a lot more straightforward to use core when you have stacked conditionals.

Thanks JDRoberts,

Very kind of you to provide such a detailed explanation.

I think I am going to have to progress with CoRE as you mentioned although I did find a paid app called smartrules that may do the job.

Ive already come up against a few issues using CoRE as I detailed in my first post (hopefully that was in the right place - sorry for that). Connecting the IDE to Git isnt working for me and I don’t know why.

But, this is certainly much fun and quite challenging.
Thanks again,
N

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