New Alexa Routine for Guard

It looks like Amazon finally added Guard to Alexa Routines! Am I missing something, or can you only enable Guard (set to Away) via a Routine? I was planning on setting up a virtual switch to toggle on / off, but if you can only arm via routine that clearly isnā€™t going to work.

Iā€™m not really sure how Alexa knows, but mine has been automatically setting Guard to ā€œAwayā€ when I arm my Ring security to Away. Disarms when I disarm the house.

It looks like though, I have some virtual Alexa switches that I can use in a routine to trigger it. I then use those switches in ST. https://thesmartcave.com/smartthings-with-any-alexa-device/

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Nice article, I like the step-by-step screenshots from the new V3 app. :sunglasses:

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As do I! Iā€™m too new to this stuff to not need my hand held, so it was really helpful in getting my cheap plugs all set up with ST. Thanks to that article, Iā€™m down to a single bulb thatā€™s not in ST!

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Nice article @dare2smile. You can also create a virtual device via the Virtual Device Creator smartapp built by SmartThings. No IDE or coding required! Right now you need the Classic app to install it, but after that the new app can easily use it to create devices without having to use the IDE at all.

To find this little gem, go to the Marketplace in Classic, then SmartApps, and then finally Virtual Device Creator. It remembers all the ones you created, which will go away when/if you delete the device in any of the usual ways. To create a new virtual switch/dimmer, just enter a device name and then tap on Done:

Oh yeah, and the virtual device created this way is local to your hub, not cloud based!

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Really like the virtual switch creator, but at the present time in order to trigger an Alexa routine, you have to have a sensor. Not just a switch. So both the community FAQ and the blog article linked to have code for a virtual device which is both a sensor and a switch. That allows you to turn it on and off, but Alexa will see it as a sensor opening and closing.

I may be wrong, but I donā€™t think the virtual switch creator creates one of that type at this time.

FAQ: Can I trigger an Echo Action without Speaking to It?

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Correct. Just set this up last night and needed the IDE to have a switch also be a contact sensor.

Easy enough to control WiFi bulbs now!

Also love the Echo Speaks integration with Alexa Guard. Quick and easy to setup and use run flawlessly

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Ah yes, correct as always @JDRoberts, good catch. I read and replied too quick. Thanks for confirming @Sddabrow1

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The issue is that even using a virtual contact sensor, on the Alexa side the routines can only apparently arm Guard. No way to disarm Guard through a routine, unless I am totally missing something.

Same here.

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Hilariously enough, I jus tried to tap Guard in a routine that I already have set up with Alexa for when I arrive home.

ā€œSecure Actions Arenā€™t Supported With Location-Based Routines: To create a routine using secure actions such as locks and security systems, remove your location based cue.ā€

I wonder thoughā€¦ (five minutes later)
Okay, so after a few bits of digging and stuff in Alexa, in theory, you could do the Alexa voice workaround. So you set up something that can talk (google mini) next to an Alexa > Set up routine in ST that will result in Google saying ā€œAlexa Iā€™m homeā€ > Alexa hears > Alexa disarms

Iā€™m sure that thereā€™s much better written versions of this around somewhere, but thatā€™s how Iā€™ve always understood it. So maybe when your presence sensor gets home and your front door opens, it pushes the virtual switch. Virtual switch then triggers the routine to tell Alexa youā€™re home? Not the prettiest solution, esp if youā€™re aiming for quiet, but an option.

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The community FAQ covers both methods: using a virtual sensor with Alexa routines and using a second smart speaker nearby. :sunglasses:

FAQ: Can I trigger an Echo Action without Speaking to It?

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Thanks @JDRoberts! As we both know, Iā€™m still fairly new to these forums haha

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