SmartLights: Once-per-Day option has been deleted

SmartApps & Automations
#1

It appears that the “run once per day” option within the SmartLights app, has been removed.

I opened a chat session with Customer Support, and they seem to confirm this.

This SUCKS!

Personally, I see this as a necessary/core feature for a SmartLight app/routine.

I had LOTS of SmartLight routines, that were set to trigger just ONCE per day.

Example:
When there is motion in the hallway between my master bedroom, and the living room between 6am and 9am (Mon-Fri) – I have it turn on a “good morning” virtual switch.
That virtual switch would:
Turn on the living room lights;
Have the Samsung speaker talk to me: "Good morning, Sir."
Turn on the TV, soundbar, satellite TV set-top-box
Switch TV to HDMI-1 (cable box – just in case it was set to something else when it was last used.)
Switch the soundbar to "TV: (again, just in cast it was set to something else when last used.)
Change the channel to Headline News

So, each morning when I’d simply walk from the bedroom to the living room, everything would automatically come on, and welcome me.

This isn’t the ONLY time that I walk through the hallway in the morning (especially if my wife is also up, and getting ready for her day, too.)

We needed the “once-per-day” option, so it wouldn’t repeatedly keep saying:
“good morning, Sir.” each/every time we walk through the hallway.

Similarly, we didn’t want it to keep power-stroking all of the entertainment devices, and keep flipping the TV back to HDMI-1 repeatedly (on-screen displays now keep popping-in, each time someone walks through the hallway.)

These once-per-day routines/settings worked PERFECTLY before! I have NO IDEA why they killed this feature?..

Again, this was just ONE of the “once-per-day” routines. I/we had MANY more (especially text-to-speech events.)

e.g. when my Netatmo Welcome camera sees/recognizes a person, it would turn on a virtual switch, that would play a personalized greeting. We would time-bracket these, and set them to once-per-day. e.g. 4am-noon = “Good morning, Amanda.” Whereas, noon-5pm = “Good afternoon, Amanda.” And, 5pm-midnight = “Good evening, Amanda.” Each of these were set to “once per day.” Amanda only periodically visits us. But, when she does, our system would greet her with the proper greeting-of-the-day – ONCE!

Whereas, now, it KEEPS repeating the same greeting, each/every time it sees her.
“Good afternoon, Amanda. Good afternoon, Amanda. Good afternoon, Amanda.”

That doesn’t make for a very smart-home, nor a “SmartThing”…

Or, as my wife is now calling it, “StupidThing.”

Regrets.

#2

I hope @MichaelS doesn’t mind me doing this, but check out his GitHub here: https://github.com/MichaelStruck/SmartThings/tree/master/Other-SmartApps/Smart-Room-Lighting-and-Dimming

I use his lighting app, and a while a go when he was re-writing it, I requested a few features, one of them was the trigger once per day… Even an off once per day option too! Its a parent child app so normal install process for those applies.

1 Like
#3

No problem at all…no support is available on this outside of making it available to everyone…I actually used this myself until I converted over to Bruce’s app (and we know what happened there).

Anyway, enjoy…if you like it, feel free to donate: https://www.paypal.me/mstruck

#4

I know it sucks but could you trigger the same virtual switch with Alexa? (making assumptions you have Echo of course)

It’s the point of the matter though…I get it.

#5

I can MANUALLY trigger any of the switches – via the ST app, or via the native apps from each device manufacturer, or via Alexa, or via IFTTT, or via SmartTiles, etc.

Heck, even my sensors will auto-trigger the switches.

The PROBLEM is that they KEEP triggering (when they were SUPPOSED to ONLY trigger ONCE-per-day.)
e.g. they were supposed to trigger ONCE via the SmartLights app, and then that routine should go null/dormant until the next day.

Even while that “routine” is dormant, OTHER routines can still run properly, and devices can still be manually controlled, etc.

This is simply a situation where ST has disabled ONE feature within their app.

Note: I had used a GitHub “unoffical” app before. But, the app had some issues, and the ST folks said they couldn’t help me, because it was an “unsupported app.” They encouraged me to migrate all of my routines to THEIR “official” app (SmartLights.) Now, their “official” app has been degraded. What are they recommending? That I switch to a DIFFERENT “unsupported” app (again.)

I bought ST so I didn’t have to write my own apps. But, if I have to keep re-coding scripts to switch from app to app, I might as well go back to creating my OWN custom apps (that I would never have to change, thereafter.)

#6

Use smart Home Monitor.