Is there a way to have my WeMo in wall single pole switch countdown from when turned on to go off. Example: I forget to turn off my spot lights after I barbeque so I would like the switch to stay on for 45 minutes after I turn it on.
Sure. Add it to Lights & Switches, and use “Turn off after a period of time”.
Thanks, is "Turn Off after a period of time in the IOS app?
Yes. Lights & Switches on the mobile Dashboard. Click the gear, add new light, your Wemo. Then you can select the way you want it to work. This is adding a “shortcut” to the device, which you already added.
Thank you. Now to decide if I want to purchase more in wall WeMo switches or another brand.
I have my switches installed in the SmartThings app but how do I get to the turn off after a period of time.? I must have missed that in setting it up. i found where to add turn off after a period of time but no way to add a countdown timer, so the switch turns off lets say 45minutes after it is turned on.
What is the difference between turning off “45 minutes after it is turned on” and “turn off after a period of time”? You found it. It’s one of the choices in Lights & Switches, where the description reads, “Any time the lights are turned on, wait this many minutes and then turn them off.”
I am sorry but I can’t seem to find it, please give me the steps. Thanks.
Assuming you have a shortcut in Lights & Switches: Go into Lights & Switches, click the gear at the top of the page (in mobile app). Open the shortcut in question, and there will be a list of 8 different ways you can control the light.
If you don’t have a shortcut in Lights & Switches: Go into Lights & Switches, click the gear at the top of the page. Scroll to bottom and click on Add new light/switch. Give it a name, then pick the device(s) you want a shortcut for, then you will be presented with the list of 8 ways to control.
OK, I have 5 icons in the menu things 3 are WeMo In wall light switches and the other is my thermostat. I don’t see an gear icon at the top of the page. There is a faint icon on each switch icon but that doesn’t seem to do anything. But if I click the icon I go to a page that has 5 buttons 1. refresh, 2. WeMo Connect, 3. SmartApps, 4. Activity, 5. Preferences. Under preferences is just change icon or remove switch. At the top right of the IOS page is blurb icon which when tapped brings me to a page with an icon of a gear on the bottom that when tapped there is are 4 actions good morning, good night, goodbye, and i’m back then a button called Add an action. So I am lost.
You are in Things. Go back up one level, click the left arrow in the upper left corner. Then you’ll be in the Dashboard, and Lights & Switches is there.
We might be on different OS as when I go back one level I have Home a & Family, Things, Smarthings Labs and at the top it says dashboard.
OK. If you have the big plus button to add things, click on that and slide to the right to Actions. Under Actions there should be “Add shortcuts for groups or individual lights and switches on your Dashboard and tap them any time for easy control.” Add one of your Wemos there, and then you should have Lights & Switches on your Dashboard, right there with the other things you described.
Thanks, that works now. I have all my switches in Lights and switches. But they are also in Things, does that matter? Also my Thermostat which is using the “Total Control API” is there also. Should it be somewhere else? I tried to move it to Thermostats but it seems tied to Things…
All of your devices will be in Things. That’s the basic inventory of, well, your things. Lights & Switches has “shortcuts” that allow you to control your “things”. They are little apps that do common things.
Thank you for your help and hand holding, I now feel a little more confident to add to my automation setup. I am hoping soon that a true alarm system with a keypad will be available so I can complete the link. Thanks again.
Any chance at updating this thread with current instructions.
I’m new to this community and am looking to have a plug-switch turn off automatically a few minutes after it’s been turned on. The above instructions don’t seem to work with the latest software versions.
That’s What happens when you reply to a thread that’s three years old. Quite a bit has changed in that time. 
There are a couple of different ways to do this now. Someone is bound to suggest webcore, which is a very sophisticated rules engine which will let you do just about anything, but that’s probably overkill if all you need is a timer.
There is a “power allowance“ option in the official smart lights feature (which wasn’t available three years ago) that’s probably the simplest.
There’s a how to article in the community – created wiki which explains how to create a virtual timer for a light using that.
http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=How_to_create_a_virtual_timer_for_a_light
Ugh do I feel silly. Apologies all around.
I was really confused with how all of this worked but had an epiphany of sorts (obviously after my earlier post).
I created a SmartApp that triggers a timer-off command. The app is activated by the switch being turned on - so it’s working as designed.
Once I found this somewhere in the community - as I said - it was the epiphany I needed.
Thanks for a prompt reply - that is quite impressive by anyone but even more so on a holiday weekend - cheers!
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