Revolv switcher newbie needs help

Apps & Clients iOS
#1

Hi, I’ve been waiting for the V2 hub to arrive before I shutdown my revolv system. Since getting the hub I’ve added my 3 Schlage locks, 5 wave switches, 8 hue bulbs and both Harmony Hubs, I think, not sure exactly how the harmony hubs work in smartthings. The other items seem to be working fine after a very odd, hit and miss, setup.

I’ve got lots of questions but I’ll start with a couple for now. First off the app seems a bit convoluted and more complex than it needs to be.

First off I don’t understand why I have two security sections under the smart home monitor like this

image.png750×1334 212 KB

Secondly, integrating harmony actions from my harmony hubs into smartthings makes no sense at all. For instance I want to change the routine called “bye” that’s turns everything off including the current action running on the downstairs hub. Basically the same as pressing the all off button on the remote. It turns off the TV, and the Apple TV. I was told the install a smart app that allows this but that process makes no sense. I had a couple screenshots from the iOS app but I’m only allowed to post 1 image. If anyone needs to see the screens I’m seeing. I can send them.

I don’t want to “control the harmony hub when somethings happens” I want to add the off function to the bye routine. This proces seems backwards to me. I don’t want a device to detect something that would then allow me to control the hub. Does anyone have any experience with using harmony hubs and actions with smart things ?

I need to also get help with modes which make no sense as they seem to be manually initiated and it seems like modes would be something that would occur automatically, like the detection of someone arriving after sunset that would turn things on like lights that wouldn’t turn on the day. Or everyone leaving the house that changes the mode automatically to away.

Any help for this newbie would be much appreciated

Thanks
Joshua

#2

You can automatically change modes by including the mode change in a routine. That’s what most people do.

For example, I have one routine which automatically sets the mode to “home” at seven in the morning. That’s just what works for me.

I have another routine that automatically sets the mode to “night” at sunset.

And I have a third routine which sets the mode to “asleep” when I hit the sleep button on my jawbone fitness tracker.

So you can trigger a mode change off of many different things, but typically it’s done in a routine.

#3

The harmony integration works, but it’s weird. There’s no way around that, it’s just not very intuitive.

SmartThings cannot control AV devices directly through harmony. The only thing SmartThings can do is trigger a harmony activity.

But, as you noted, you can’t trigger a harmony activity just from a routine.

So you have to go through these 3 steps:

1) ) Create the activity in Harmony. using the harmony app, set up a harmony activity that does exactly what you want done in this particular situation.

2) Create the trigger for that activity in SmartThings, usually a virtual switch. use the SmartThings mobile app to access the “Logitech Harmony trigger” SmartApp and use that to set up whatever conditions you want to trigger the activity from step one.

The following topic explains The details of how to do this:

3) Add Turning on that virtual switch to a routine. if you want to trigger an activity from a routine, the simplest way is to set up the trigger in step two so that it is based on when a specific switch is turned on, and then include turning that switch on in the routine. Fortunately, this can be a “virtual switch” so you don’t have to have an actual physical device.

That way you can put all the restrictions around when the trigger switch is turned on inside the routine, just like usual. So if you only want it to happen when someone leaves home, or you want it to happen at a particular time of day, or you want it to happen only in a particular mode, or some combination of all of that, it works fine. And you can also include control Of other SmartThings devices like the lights, the thermostat, etc.

So: create a Harmony activity. Create a trigger for that activity based on a SmartThings virtual switch. Include turning on that virtual switch in any routine you like.

I can’t say it’s simple, or intuitive, but it is powerful and it does work. :sunglasses:

#4

Welcome! It takes some getting used, but is really powerful when you do.

First, your double Security. Looks like a job for support, which has been backed up lately. Most likely you accidentally installed two instances of the Security SmartApp without knowing it. You could try uninstalling all those rules, and starting over; but support@smartthings.com is your best bet for a solution there.

Modes and Routines: Think of Routines as the way to move between modes, and Routines can be triggered automatically like you described with someone coming home. Towards the bottom of the Routine setup is “Automatically perform …” to configure those triggers. Right above that option is the ability to change mode, so when you put it all together: someone comes home triggering the Routine, which turns on lights and changes mode.

You can add the Harmony Action into the mix. In the Harmony Trigger app, you can use the Mode change to fire your Harmony action, so your “bye” Routine could change mode to Away and the mode change would tell your Harmony to Activity OFF.

If you don’t mind tinkering a bit, then Virtual Switches are your friend, and for Harmony, Virtual Momentary Buttons in particular. Since it’s almost always an option to turn on a switch in the various Routines/SmartApps, you can create these virtual versions to be included in Routines and have the Harmony trigger off the switch turning on. Please search for the Harmony thread on using virtual switch and the thread on virtual switches for great instructions. When in doubt, look for @JDRoberts posts as he has graciously written numerous step-by-step and how-to for these scenarios.

Enjoy!!

Added: And he even beat me to this. Always good advice!

1 Like
#5

Also, since you’re new, this topic might also be of interest:

#6

Thank you JD, I’ll delve into this asap and let you know where I’m at. I appreciate the prompt response from the community here. That’s very reassuring.

#7

Ok, I talked with smartthings support and they basically deleted the smartthings home monitor on my system and it went back to default like I had never set it up, so that’s good. I don’t think I have enough devices to really make use of it right now anyway.

I mentioned to them about a hue light issue I’m having where if I use the hue app or hue tap, the smartthings app loses control of the lights. So if I turn a light on with the hue app, smartthings still sees it as off. Setting that light to turn off in a routine does nothing. I have to open the list of things where it still incorrectly shows off, tap it on, and then off again.

The support guy said smartthings should only lose the status of the light for about 10 minutes but that’s not the case for me.

#8

Thanks for that link JD. I’ve read over it and it’s helping me wrap my head around routines and modes which seem a little counter intuitive at this time. The idea having to force modes changes, either manually or through a routine is very odd to me. If anything should happen automatically it seems like modes should. I was trying to access this link you posted in another one of your posts

https://support.smartthings.com/hc/en-us/sections/200174660-Having-Your-Home-Work-For-You

It wont open for me and says I am not authorized to access this page. Is that link still active?

Thanks
Joshua

#9

Looks like the modes article has moved to here:

Customers

Developers

Download the SmartThings app

© 2020 SmartThings, Inc. All Rights Reserved.