New samsung tv, having issues with automation

I just got my 2022 samsung TV in the mail. I expected since it has smartthings and its samsung it wpuld have loads of options for automations. Instead this is all I get Imgur: The magic of the Internet . I was really hoping to have a virtual switch for each of my favorite TV shows and be able to click it and it turn the TV on to that show, dim my living room lights and turn off the rest of the lights. Instead I dont see how to automate basically anything other than to turn the TV on.

Can anyone give guidance to making my switches dream come true?

Welcome. I gotta track this answer.

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Do you already have smart switches that show up in the SmartThings app?

Yes i do, what idea do yoi have? If I try to adjust the TV with a smart switch these are the only options

It doesnt give you the option to select a streaming service to load when you boot up, and definitly doesnt give you the chance to select a show.

I was thinking that since most new Samsung models have Alexa support you can probably use Alexa as an intermediary and automate with SmartThings so that the end result was similar to what you were describing. It does take some work to set it up, though.

However—some Alexa tv implementations only allow “watch Netflix,” not “watch the Witcher on Netflix,” so I’m not sure what that specific model does.

So it depends on the details of “watch my favorite show.”

If Alexa can launch your favorite show, you can probably do it with the method in the following faq.

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

But if Alexa control of your tv isn’t granular enough, you might have to add a streaming device with more detailed controls.

(I myself am quadriparetic with limited hand control and can’t use a regular button remote, so I tend to follow this area pretty closely. It was a really big deal when Fire TV cube added the ability to select a specific show, not just launch a streaming service. )

The alexa app says to press and echo button, how do I create a virtual echo button in smartthings? I need the initiating button to be in smart things so I can create a sharptools tile to go on my ipad thats mounted to my couch and just touch it

The faq tells you how to do it with a virtual device. Not a real button. :sunglasses:

Once you have created the virtual device, you can then use it in both a smartthings routine And an Alexa routine.

I’m pretty tired right now and we just went over all this in detail in a different poster’s thread earlier today, so if it’s OK, I’m just going to link to the FAQ again. There are two different methods, one for if you have a smartthings/Aeotec hub, and one for if you don’t.

Take a look at this faq and see if it helps. If not, post, any questions, and someone will be able to help you.

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

Note that this method is just a way of initiating an Alexa action from smartthings. But as long as an Alexa voice command can get you to the TV program you want, you can include that in a smartthings automation using the FAQ method.

i created a switch, and went to add it to amazon but I can’t figure out how to add it to alexa app, when I select add a switch, it asks what brand of switch it is. When I click other it says tell us more about your device and has the options matter, Bluetooth, zigbee, wifi, zwave or device doesn’t have a matching logo. I select that and it says device requires set up in a device maker, device needs to be placed in pairing mode, device requires a hub.

I don’t know what to select. Can you tell me what options to use to get the virtual switch added?

As long as it shows up in your smartthings app, it will show up in the Alexa app.

But as the FAQ says, there are only very specific types of virtual devices which can be used to trigger an Alexa routine. So you have to follow the FAQ instructions and use the right kind.

It has to be either both a switch and a sensor, or a virtual lock.

Alexa will not use most virtual switches to trigger Alexa routines at this time.

Did you follow the instructions in the FAQ? What specific method did you use to create the virtual device?

Do you have a SmartThings/Aeotec hub? if not, you will have to use a virtual lock for this method.

Anyway, I’m going to take a nap, so hopefully other people will help you if you still have questions before I’m back.

I have a hub. I used the software in the FAW to create a sensor/switch like it said. I added it to smartthings. I don’t know how to disable and re-enable smartthings in alexa, but I did click add new device in alexa and couldn’t find it, which is why I asked how to add it manually

Ok, probably the best thing is to ask in the author thread for the virtual device that you used, and someone there should be able to help you get it working in Alexa.

And I’m sorry this feels so complicated. Right now, it is complicated. There are a lot of different pieces and several different steps for each piece but there are definitely people doing what you want to do (although I’m not sure if they’re doing it with the exact model of TV that you have), so if you do want to keep working at it, I think you can get there eventually.

I wish there was an easier way to do it.

I built the switch in alexa app and if I click it on there it works, but I dont know how to trigger it in smartthings, theres my automation I tried that didnt work, advice? The movie switch turns the lights off and it worked just fine

Also if im not in prime video and teigger to load the show, it opens prime but stops at me having to select which user I am, anyway to bipass this and go straight to the show?

That’s not the way this is going to work. You have to create the switch through the smartthings platform first. That’s what the instructions in the FAQ describe.

So far, it sounds like you are starting from the Alexa app. That is not what is described in the FAQ I gave you. So I am confused about which step-by-step instructions you are following. :thinking:

Why don’t you try instead creating a virtual switch using the following edge driver. Then make sure that this shows up in the smartthings app.

Once it is in the smartthings app, you should be able to discover it in the Alexa app, and then create an Alexa routine with it.

[ST Edge] Virtual Things Edge Driver

If you have any questions about using that edge driver, please ask in that thread, and someone there will help you.

Once you have the virtual switch created, and it shows up in your smartthings app, then you can go onto the next step of getting it discovered by Alexa.

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I made the switch in smartthings, found it and added it to the alexa automation but when I click the automation in alexa app it works, but when I click the virtual switch in smart things it doesnt do anything

See, I made the switch as directed and called it alexa test. In alexa i made that switch when it opens turn on westworld. In alexa when I press play ot works. When Im in smarter things and turn on the switch it doesnt run the automation