Sonoff Ewelink IFTTT no longer free - how to control sonoff devices from smartthigns?

Hi,

I just got my Sonoff touch wifi light switch installed and was looking forwards to connecting it to my smartthings hub via IFTTT using the virtual device integration method.

Then I discovered that the ewelink account I have is a ā€œfreeā€ account which doesnā€™t allow me to use IFTTT without upgrading to advanced which costs 10usd per year.

I donā€™t want to pay the subscription.

Is there an alternative to IFTTT like perhaps via Alexa or Google Home integration controlling the device via smartthings?

Iā€™m not eager on flashing tasmoto to the sonoff device either.

What I want to achieve is using a Philips Hue outdoor motion sensor to turn on my outdoor lights witch are behind the sonoff touch switch.

Any suggestions are welcome! Thanks for any support =)

For the set up you described, a hue motion sensor triggering an eWeLink switch, you can probably just use an Alexa routine. :sunglasses:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=202200080

If you want to run it through smartthings, you can still use Alexa as an intermediary, but you have to set up a virtual device. See the community FAQ:

FAQ: Can I trigger an Echo Action without Speaking to It?

Many thanks @JDRoberts.

I managed to connect ewelink and smartthings both to Alexa and then use two Alexa routines: one to turn on the light when there is motion and another to turn off the light when there hasnā€™t been motion for x minutes.

Unfortunately Alexa canā€™t do anything with the illumination part of the sensor so its kind of dumb to just turn on the lights during the day. I could schedule it based on certain times but time of sunset differs around the year.

Smartthings would be a lot better with access to the illumination information so the automation there is a lot smarter.

I managed to create a virtual device in smartthings and Alexa sees the virtual device but I canā€™t create a routine for when virtual device turns on then turn on real light switch. Alexa doesnā€™t allow me to select the virtual device in the routine.

Well then I found the link to creating the ā€œSimulated Alexa switchā€
http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=How_to_use_SmartThings_to_have_Alexa_do_something_without_speaking_to_it

I created that simulated Alexa switch in smartthings. It appears in Alexa and Alexa even shows it in the list of devices when creating the routine but when selecting it Alexa gives an error ā€œThis device is not currently supportedā€.

Any ideas on why Alexa gives that error?

You must use a virtual device which is both a switch and a contact sensor. The code for one is at the FAQ link that I already gave you. You will be able to use the virtual sensor as the trigger for the Alexa routine. And you will be able to turn it on from smartthings by using the virtual switch part of it. Turning on the switch makes the sensor look like it opened.

All of this is explained in the FAQ, so just read it carefully and follow each step exactly in the order given. :sunglasses:

http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=How_to_use_SmartThings_to_have_Alexa_do_something_without_speaking_to_it

The discussion of the specific error that you had is in the FAQ in the forum, but just following the process in the community ā€“ created wiki should avoid that error. Donā€™t skip any steps even if you think you have already done them, they have to be done in a specific order.

You can read discussion of the error in the link I already gave you:

FAQ: Can I trigger an Echo Action without Speaking to It?

Thanks again @JDRoberts. Got it to work now.

It seems I missed hitting publish in the IDE. After that it started working.
I guess you were refering to the disable and enable smartthings skill part. For some reason I didnā€™t need to do that.

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Just chiming in to say thank you!!! Iā€™m starting to get irritated by the number of devices that I have whose IFTTT integration is going kaput. Luckily Iā€™ve only lost 3 without workarounds so far, but given this is now the 7th instance of devices with workarounds Iā€™m concerned my luck is running out. Why canā€™t they all just get along on the same platform! (Sarcasm)

There is a new effort underway to make just that possible, at least for Wi-Fi and other IP protocol home automation. Project CHIP. Amazon, Apple, Google, Samsung, and the zigbee alliance are all involved. But it will probably be two or three years before we actually see interoperable devices.

Matter - smart home connectivity standard (formerly Project CHIP)