SmartThings Door Sensor Audio Alert?

SmartApps & Automations Automation Ideas
1

Hi

I would like to setup an audio alert when my door is open using the Samsung smart things sensor, I would imagine i will need to have a PC with the audio file in iTunes or something similar , can anyone provide any assistance, I’v googled but find nothing on this project.

Thanks

2

There’s a forum FAQ for this, but it’s just going to pass you along to the following article in the community – created wiki. There are several ways to do it, and one is as you suggest with a laptop, but there are other options too:

http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=How_to_Set_Up_a_Door_Open_Chime/Siren

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3

thanks for your link, i will look into this

thanks

4

yes that article doesn’t explain my original question. how to setup audio with door senor when door is opened.

thanks anyway

6

Sorry if I wasn’t clear enough, but the article does address your question in a couple of different ways.

First, option one is the $49 Aeon doorbell. This can play up to 99 different sounds, and you can upload your own custom sound files. So that’s really all you’d need. You can have it play a speech file or a chime or whatever when the door is opened as long as you have a sensor on the door to capture the opening event. So that’s the one which is probably going to be the fastest and easiest way to do what you were asking about. The door opens, a custom audio Notification plays. It’s very popular. And you can have different notifications play for different events, again with a limit of 99 maximum different ones.

Option 4 is a general statement that you can do this if you have a specific TTS device. But that’s talking about devices that have a text to speech feature built-in, like Sonos. I don’t think that’s really a good fit for your particular situation, although it might be if you happen to have one of those devices.

Option 5 in the article is the one that applies directly to your question in a way that you were suggesting in the first place. It’s just using an android device instead of a laptop. It has a link to the community discussion on LANnouncer, which is an app which will let you do this on any android device. So you can just get an inexpensive android phone or tablet and use that to play the sounds.

You can also use the quick browse lists and look for smart apps for alerts to control when the various sound files are played.

http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=How_to_Quick_Browse_the_Community-Created_SmartApps_Forum_Section

You might want to just try this one. It’s very popular and can work with a number of different devices, including the LANNouncer App which is also linked to from the original wiki article.

But I do think most people will choose option one from the wiki article, the Aeon doorbell. It’s inexpensive, it works well, and it integrates well with SmartThings. Once you follow the links to the community discussions, you’ll find that there are existing device type handlers and smartapps that will allow you to easily set up a sensor trigger for individual sound tracks on the device.

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7

Hi JDRoberts

I have a iPhone so that software is no good, i will however look into the Aeon doorbell as this sounds like something that could work, however will it link into the Samsung system ?

Also i did see a video on you tube about a guy illustrating what I’m trying to do, he used i tunes to do this, door opens and sound system in the house alerted him with door open wav file.

Paul

8

Depending on what kind of Samsung speaker system you are using, try this:

  1. From the mobile app, select Marketplace>Speaker Notify with Sound
  2. Select the relevant sensor
  3. Scroll down to action and select the audio notification and speaker

Note - this is an official SmartApp and does not support custom sounds.

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9

The point of LANnouncer is that it doesn’t have to run on the phone you use every day. In fact it probably wouldn’t because most people prefer their announcer device to stay at home. (you can get push notifications on your regular phone as well if you want the alert that way)

So that instead of buying the $49 Aeon doorbell you could buy a $40 android tablet and it becomes your speaker device.

So you can think of that as a device option rather than as an app option. You might still prefer the doorbell device, but it’s always good to have choices. :sunglasses:

Not quite sure I understand your question of whether the Aeon doorbell “will work with the Samsung system.”

Were you asking if that device can be controlled from SmartThings? If so, definitely. It’s a certified Z wave device. The link in the wiki article takes you to discussion of the device type handler that works with it. If you haven’t had a chance to follow that link yet, here it is:

Remember that that device can be used in two different ways. It comes with its own physical button, so it can be used that way.

But you can also play any of its 99 tracks by sending a command from the smartthings hub. So that’s how it fits into a SmartThings system. You can set up a rule so that if the front door sensor is opened, the sensor tells the hub and the hub tells the doorbell device to play track 17 or whatever. You can play a different track for a sensor on the back door. Still another track when someone pushes a button on a handheld device. Or pretty much anything you can think of that is triggered by an event that the smartthings hub can recognize.

I hope that helps clarify it. If you have any further questions about the Aeon doorbell itself, you can ask them in the thread at the link above in this post. Those are the people who are using it every day.

10

Hi Aaron

Im not using a samsung speaker, i have the samsung smart things hub

Thanks

11

Then buy the Aeon Siren. Use the following device type:

I just set mine up this weekend to beep when a door was opened.

I Use the CoRE app with a basic piston:

If contact sensor changes to open
then Beep Aeon Siren.

Rather simple integration.

12

Good point. The siren is definitely a possibility if you want a louder sound, but it is limited to just a couple of different beep options.

The doorbell device from the same company can play up to 99 different sound files and you can upload your own, so it is very easy to use for TTS notifications or chimes or whistles or anything you want. So it’s a more versatile device, but the doorbell is limited to about 85 dB while the siren goes up to about 105.

Choice is good. :sunglasses:

13

the siren or the doorbell with siren as there are 2 models on amazon both priced the same 49.99.

I would like to add my own mp3 files into the device, i read it can do that, i wounder if the samsung smart things hub will allow me to configure the following:

When door opens play custom mp3 file, if door bell is pushed play door chime mp3 and turn light on ?

Thanks

14

As I just posted above, these are the following differences:

One) the siren is louder, but you only have a choice of the six different built in sounds.

Two) the doorbell is a typical doorbell volume, so a little quieter than the siren, but it allows you to upload up to 99 different custom sound files. It also comes with its own pushbutton.

So if you want to use Custom MP3s, you need to get the doorbell model.

15

Thanks very much JDRoberts for the information, I will take a look around for prices and buy one.

Thanks again

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16

Getting the Aeon Doorbell and Aeon Siren to pair securely can be difficult. Both devices will work without being paired securely, but it causes problems with both devices.

If the Aeon Siren isn’t paired securely, the beep feature is completely unreliable.

If the Aeon Doorbell isn’t paired securely, there’s an additional 1-2 second delay before it starts playing.

Pairing the device while it’s close to the hub and tapping the action button multiple times while its looking for the device will improve your chances of having it pair securely.

Be aware that the response time for these devices isn’t great so when you open the door it will probably take 1-2 seconds before you hear the tone.

The Aeon Doorbell has some quirks, but I have about 80 devices and it’s still my favorite.

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