I have been trying to use IFTTT to link smartthings with other devices and have found various topics on this but nothing exactly with the same problem I’m having. I have followed instructions to create both a Virtual Switch(from smartthings classic app) and a Simulated Switch (from IDE) and everything works fine. When i got to Authorize IFTTT(either from within the classic app, or from IFTTT site) I see the newly created Virtual and/or simulated switch and can click the checkmark button next to it. All looks right in that step also. My problem occurs when i go to create a new recipe in IFTTT. When i choose either switch on or switch off as either a trigger or an action, my virtual switch isn’t in the drop down list. I have tried this multiple times and have even removed and readded IFTTT from smartthings, and deauth/reauth from IFTTT. Nothing ever changes. Anybody have any ideas of where i can look to figure out what is going wrong?
I believe virtual switches run local only and simulated switches run in the cloud.
Paul, i have tried both and get the exact same results. They both show up in the list on both the IFTTT smartapp in the smartthings classic and on IFTTT during the authorization screen as other instructions have shown, but i just can’t get them to show up as an option when creating a action or trigger. I also have other switches that also show up during authorization and aren’t choosable in triggers but because those are created by 3rd party device handlers(harmony, TPlink, etc) i just assumed they will never work. But the virtual/simulated switch is native to smartthings so I have to believe it should work.
Then I’m at a loss also 
I use IFTTT to toggle a couple wifi led strip lights. I created a simulated switch within the IDE site but I did not create any virtual switch at all. My automations work just fine without a virtual switch. I am not sure what you are trying to do but I get along just fine.
My goal at the moment is to be able to trigger an IFTTT action using a tile in action tiles. One example being to pause my Tivo. Tivo already has a action to pause that works from within IFTTT. We currently use things like an Alexa command as a trigger. Occasionally we leave the room during a commercial and realize the show has come back on before we are back and the action tiles tablet is central to the house and easy to get to. I could always yell out to Alexa but this seems like a more civilized solution. I have other ideas I plan to implement through actiontiles down the road but the basic operation would be the same.
Did you ever figure this out? I was having the same issue but I found that I had to go into the old SmartThings app, click on SmartApps, click on ifttt, and then click on which switches and select those new switches in order for them to appear in the ifttt dropdown when creating an applet.