Simple doorbell

I’m looking for a simple doorbell to work with smartthings.
Aeotec has one,(gen5) but you can’t buy just the doorbell. It comes with the chime.

Any suggestions?

So you’re looking for a button?

Indeed. But one that looks like a doorbell :wink:

I use a normal doorbell button wired into a contact sensor. They usually have screw terminals on them for wiring things in.

That depends on the brand. Ecolink, Schlage and monoprice all sell a z-wave contact sensor that can accept external inputs. They look like the same rebranded device to me.

But that’s a good solution if one wants to maintain the look of a traditional doorbell.

You are going to hear a ton of different suggestions / solutions, but you said you were looking for simple.

Depending on what you have for an existing doorbell, the simplest solution is by taking a SmartThings Multisensor and sticking it above the ding plate in the existing chime unit. You don’t need a new doorbell, relays, reed switches or wired contacts whatsoever. If this is too simple, you can work your way up from here.

When the doorbell button is pressed, the spring hits the ding plate (what makes your doorbell ding inside the house), the ST (acceleration) sensor is triggered (which is sitting right on top of the metal plate). I then receive an SMS on my phone, an audio announcement is played on external speakers and also TTS messages through LANNouncer on tablets and an Android phone.

Its a solid solution but it is absolutely the simplest solution possible, if your doorbell setup is similarly. 2 minutes to set it up. It takes longer to get the Sensor added to ST than anything.

If you have something like this for your existing doorbell, this can work for you:

Inside of unit with Multisensor resting on top of metal plate:

With cover on. Magnet attached to cover so that Open/Closed always remains in Closed state (this is about 7ft high up the wall, so the magnet is not visible):

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If you just want a button, and it doesn’t have to make a sound itself, and battery operated is OK, the Aeotec panic button keyfob has a nice doorbell type look and will work straight out of the box, you won’t have to do anything special.

You can then trigger a routine or smart lighting automation when the button is pressed.

Quite a few members are using this, I know one who is deaf uses it to have lights blink in the house.

Again, it’s just a button, it doesn’t make any sound at all on its own. But your smartthings hub will know when it has been pressed and then you can have anything happen that smartthings can control.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PJ88FUA/

( The blue in this picture is just a reflection, it’s a silver button)

The contact sensor idea already suggested is also a good one, but now that the price of the panic button has come down to $25, it’s a good simple solution. :sunglasses:

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thanks for sharing this idea! have an extra multipurpose sensor that I may setup like this

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People have approached doorbells in many different ways, depending on the exact details of what they want to accomplish.

If you check the quick browse lists in the community – created wiki in the project report section, there is a list there for “doorbells“ where you can see what other people have done. :sunglasses:

http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=How_to_Quick_Browse_the_Community-Created_SmartApps_Forum_Section#Quick_Browse_Links_for_Project_Reports.2FQuestions

Allright :wink:
Thanks for the help!

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You were very lucky that there is sufficient space between the ding bar and the housing cover. I’ve got a Monoprice shock sensor which I think has even a lower profile than the ST sensor, but it will not fit. Do you by any chance know who the manufacturer of your chime kit is? Many thanks.

Why do you need the magnet? Aren’t you only using it for the accelerometer?