Not sure what I need (wall mount minimote?)

Greetings,

I am fairly new to smartthings. I have a few light switches I have installed and use a Minimote to turn several on or off at once. What I would like to have is a wall mounted light switch that I can assign some of my routines to similar to the minimote but fits in a standard light switch box,

Is there something like this? If so, how would I power it?

Thanks for any advice…

I am also new at this but from what you describe, I think there is a simpler solution. You can create a virtual switch in ST (you can actually create as many as you want) and assign them to your routines. This way, there is no HW needed, and you can activate your routines from your phone. There is a step by step set of instructions on how to do that somewhere else in the forums but I can’t find it right now… Sorry.

Just found it :blush: Pasted below:

Virtual / Simulated Device Types are functional “Things” but are not physical devices you have. Installing them allows you to control them via SmartApp’s just as you would a physical smart device.

Creating Virtual Devices - On/Off Switches

There are many reasons you’d have the need for a virtual switch.

You want one switch to control multiple other switches and/or commands.
You have a multi relay device and want to control the relays individually. (currently ST doesn’t support this)
You could use virtual switches the same way you’d use Hello Home Actions, to take care of multiple actions or state changes with the change of your virtual switch state.
To create a Virtual Switch

Login to the IDE @ https://graph.api.smartthings.com/
Click “My Devices"
Click the “New Device” Button
Enter a “Name” for the device, this can be whatever you want.
Enter a “Label” for the device, this is optional and can be whatever you want.
Enter a “Device Network Id” This can be anything you want. I recommend short and sweet but it cannot duplicate other device ID’s. Lets say it was a virtual switch for your living room lights, maybe call it LRVD01
"Zigbee” Id should be left blank
Select a “Type” from the dropdown, this should be Simulated Switch
"Version" should be published
"Location" should be your hub location, probably “Home”
“Hub” should be your hub name.
“Group” you won’t be able to select when creating, but these are Groups you’ve created in the Things page in the SmartThings app.
Click Create
Now you have a Virtual On/Off Switch in Things on your SmartThings App. You can use this Virtual Device

The process is very similar for other Virtual Devices, instead of Simulated Switch you can choose from many other Simulated Device Types.

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There are both wired and battery powered options for this. They are sometimes called “scene controllers” or “multibutton wall mount controllers.” I don’t like to use the term “scene controllers” even if the manufacturer does for technical reasons, because that usually refers to single protocol, and smart things is a multiprotocol platform and we get into some weird technicalities. Anyway there are a bunch of these that do not work well with SmartThings. Because of that multiprotocol issue.

The ones that work best with SmartThings are the Leviton VRCS4 and the VRCS2 These do require custom code, but a number of community members have them working. ( note that the VRCZ4 does not work with SmartThings).

The ENERWAVE SC7 also works for some community members, but others report that sometimes they have to push a button twice to make it work.

This SmartenIT three toggle is battery operated. That’s the one that I use, but while it looks like a wall switch, it doesn’t fit in a regular single gang box, it’s more of a square. So it might not be what you want.

So I would look at those 4 first.

The other option is to look at a wall mount $20 wife iPhone with a dashboard app on it. That gives you a lot of nice choices. But not everybody likes the look.

A couple of threads to look at:

Leviton VRCS4 (wired)

Leviton VRCS2 (wired)

ENERWAVE SC7 (wired)

SmartrnIT 3 toggle (battery)

and take a look at this thread for an example of the small wall mount phone with the dashboard:

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I use white Velcro for for all Mouton. Easy to move and no wall damage.

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