Need Help With Nest Hello Triggering Front Porch Light

SmartApps & Automations
1

Hi, I am trying to get my Front Porch light to trigger on motion using my Nest Hello. I have the NST Manager installed and recently implemented the REST app on an Ubuntu server. I am using WebCore for the automation.

I used to have a 1st generation RING doorbell that I did this same thing through the smart lighting smart app, and besides the short delay to pick up motion due to the way that doorbell works it triggered perfectly.

Moved to Nest Hello because I have all Nest thermostats and google home devices, plus I thought that since the Hello was hardwired and always on it would be better.

I’m having tons of issues getting this to work though. At first it wasn’t even triggering it and I could see no motion events in the logs on IDE, but then I changed a setting on the device in the IDE and it started triggering those events and turning on the light.

The setting was MotionOnPersonOnly and it was set to True, but changing it to false seemed to allow the motion communications to be seen by smartthings. However, it was triggering it all the time. Basically the light was always on.Despite that I have a statement in there that says after five minutes inactive to turn off.

I have a Motion zone set up and so I went in to NST manager and changed the setting to only trigger motion in that zone, but I can go stand in front of my door and though the doorbell sees me and sends me an alert through NEST app the light never comes on and the logs show no activity. If I remove that setting then it is back to being always on.

Hoping someone can please help. This should be so easy to do, but I’m getting super frustrated with it. I’ve seen where some users are doing the exact thing I am trying to do with the Hello, so if you could pass along your settings that might help. Thanks in advance.

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I’m guessing that no one here is able to help or is willing. Either way I figured I’d add another update.

So webcore is not triggering this for me. I switched to the setup I had with the Ring through the Smart Lighting smart app and it will actually trigger it, but it is very inconsistent.

I can go stand in front of the Hello waiving my hands for minutes on end and the light will never trigger.

However, I have a bathroom right off the front door that has a window looking on to the front porch. If I enter that bathroom in the evening and turn the light on then the light going through the window on to the porch will trigger a motion event and turn on the front porch light. I say it triggers a motion event, but not in my nest app (which it should not do), but it must trigger one with NST Manager / REST.

Also, if my neighbors across the street pull in or out of their driveway with their car lights on it will trigger it.Or if a car drives by my house with headlights that reach my porch it will trigger the light to turn on.

The problem is it triggers it for these non-events, but doesn’t actually trigger it if someone is standing in front of the camera.

Serious problem with NST Manager / REST that needs to be sorted. May be just a setting I have not configured correctly, but I have combed through every setting available to me and changing them seems to make no difference. It either comes on and basically stays on indefinitely as described in my previous post, or it comes on for non-events of simple light changes and not for actual motion.

3

Hi Sven,

Just found your post. I’ve been trying the same thing, raising the lights when someone comes on the porch. It seems that the Nest Hello API (from my research) isn’t available yet so the the NST Manager is treating it like a camera. Ideally for me, would be that when a person comes on the porch in my defined zone, I raise the lights. Having no luck so far. Can’t even get the “switch” function to work. I assumed this was the doorbell press.

Have you made any other progress?

Regards

Mike

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Hey Mike,

Unfortunately I have not, and I’m guessing the writer of the NST Manager app has either not seen this topic or does not know how to help.

Either way at this point my front porch light turns on randomly throughout the time period I have set up in the Smart Lighting automation app. Usually because car headlights pass, my neighbors pull in or out, or their Christmas lights register on my camera. Sadly never because a person is standing in front of it.

I have it set up to turn off five minutes after motion stops, so it’s basically like a very extended blinking light on my porch all night long.

If it is an API issue hopefully Google will start playing nice with us in the ST community and give access.

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Hi Sven, any progress on this for you yet?

I’ve been attempting the same thing, using Nest Hello, webCoRe, Smart Life Bulbs, and lots of curse words…

My webCoRe script does work. When I hit the test button, the whole thing works. The lights come on, I get my push notification, everything waits for 5 minutes and then shuts off.

However, it does not work on it’s own. For whatever reason, Smartthings never receives the motion trigger from the Hello doorbell.

I have even broken it down to simply test motion on the Nest Hello by requesting a push notification if motion is detected, or a sms. I can dance the watusi all day long in front of the door bell, and the Nest app will blow up my phone telling me that there is a fool at my front door, but the Smartthings process never receives that motion trigger.

I don’t know why. Even if Smartthings only see’s it as a camera, every camera out there is also a motion detector. The Device Handler’s all have motion detection enabled. Running the test button, actually works.

If Smartthings receives that motion trigger then webCoRe will activate.

Now, if IFTTT can get that trigger, and use it, then why can’t Smartthings? All the pieces are in place, they just need to make the minor tweak to recognize the motion detection.

Like you, I’ve experienced where light changes will occasionally trigger it. I have other automations that turn on or off the lights and every once in a while, that will trigger this specific webCoRe script.

Very bizarre set of circumstances. It does not seem to be a Nest issue. The doorbell works. It sends out motion detection notifications. IFTTT can see them. Smartthings cannot.

This is on you, Smartthings. Please fix this.

6

There is no official ST integration with Nest.

If you are using NST Manager, you may want to post in that thread and see if the developers can offer assistance.

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@Mark_Mc honestly I don’t know if it is a smartthings not playing well with the Hello or Google not playing nice with ST and giving access to the API for the motion piece. Or maybe the REST app for NSTmanager is just not complete and development has stopped for it.

Based on others replies this setup won’t work, which sucks because this is a much better video doorbell than my first gen Ring was, but even that one worked perfectly for this use case.

@JKP I have posted this on the topic introducing REST for NSTmanager with no help even though the writer of it has claimed he is using it for this use case.

Bottom line for whatever reason (API issue or otherwise) I don’t think this will ever work, and after playing with it for four months or so I finally removed REST from my environment and picked up a Bosch ISW-ZPR1-WP13 from Amazon for $15.

Sure it sucks to have to get another piece of hardware when the doorbell should do it, but now it works flawlessly and has for almost three months. Maybe worth considering for yourself.

Link to other topic I have posted on about this for further edification: NST Manager Real-Time Events

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If you have HomeKit/Homebridge, you can do what you want with the following plugin

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@Mark_Mc

There is a more direct integration into SmartThings since April 2020:

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Can your smartapp detect the Nest Hello button press and use it to trigger actions?

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No, the Cams are not exposed to SmartThings anymore