I cant seem to figure out how to sync a virtual device switch with other virtual switches
I have 6 different devices in a room, all lights, they are controlled with zwave and or wifi connectivity via IFTTT, all 6 have there own on off
Switch in ST classic, all 6 can be switched on off with a single virtual switch called lounge lights group
On the home page of St classic i use the singular on off switch, called lounge lights group, all good and works fine
My issue is amazon echo, all devices are setup as they should be per room, lounge on voice command switches lights on but in St classic the single virtual switch remains out of sync while individual items in the group display correct status
I can’t seem to figure out how to keep in sync the lounge lights group virtual switch, i did add it as another switch in alexa… for whatever reason the lounge turned into a disco, on off on off on off the whole place went bonkers
And if you want to use it with echo, Then don’t put the virtual switch in an Echo group with the other switches. Instead, just turning the virtual switch on or off with Echo should turn your whole group on or off just like it does in the ST app. All echo does is send a message to smart things to turn that switch on or off. If you already have it set up in ST so that your other switches follow it, that should still happen.
In order to sync them, use echo to turn the virtual switch on and off, not to turn the individual switches on and off. That way smartthings will turn the real lights on or off just the way it does when you use the SmartThings app and everything will stay in sync.
Agreed and I was just about to type the same but excluding the individual items from alexa would … ah, ok, the alexa routine would need to be changed, omit individual items, and only include the virtual switch from St that is the group switch
Tadaaa, thank you JD the Oracle of everything, i couldn’t get my head round it for ages, i was looking for a smart app to sync, then an automation, a scene i even tried in routines but ended up with smoke coming out my ears with over thinking it
Heh. Thanks for the shout, but there’s a lot of stuff I don’t know. Like webcore. And the new app. And scenes in either app.
What I do know is stuff that most people don’t care about: network protocols and engineering specs. So that makes me stand out.
I also know a lot about echo just because I totally depend on it every day all the time. But a lot of other people know a lot about it as well. I just happened to answer first.
Because of your answer i have now re worked my other alexa routines to provide better device syncing for similar lighting routines in other rooms
I might ask for help in sorting out how to get alexa to tell me somone has knocked the front door which has a ST multi sensor on it… I have tried countless times, i understand virtual switches and what alexa can include and use but the end result still evades me, for another day and thread
Use the official SmartLighting feature to create an automation to recognize when the multisensor activates and turn on the virtual device using its switch name
create an echo routine (not a SmartThings routine) to announce when the virtual device triggers ( using its sensor name) and also turn it off again by its switch name. That way it will be ready again for the next time.
I understand that JD, actually you can also use the UVDT (universal device type ) but in the smart lighting automation there is no action on vibration, the closest is either movement or acceleration to trigger action, St forgot to include vibration
To add confusion, in SHM classic app you can action on vibration but the title when saved is acceleration
So perhaps if i use a lighting automation and use acceleration which actually means vibration then that should action a device that echo includes in routines resulting in voice output if setup accordingly, assuming of course acceleration in Smart lighting is the same as vibration in SHM
That is where the wiki lacks clarity and also does not mention the UVDT
The UVDT already in the IDE exposes contact AND motion from a single switch, the alexa routine then provides 2 options when selecting the device, the wiki linked devices require installation and expose singular items dependant on type therefore it is possibly easier for some users to just select the UVDT
The UVDT still requires installation (you may have done it previously) and the DTH in the wiki produces two devices (one contact sensor and one Switch), so that part is fine.
“Vibration” and “Acceleration” are the same thing, a report from the accelerometer. This is listed in the Classic app SmartLighting as “active”. So it’s there, it just has a different name. I don’t know about the new app.
I would suggest ungrounding them and use the App TrendSetter. It’s perfect for this! It will create the Master Switch, create necessary rules and keep everything in sync.
Yup, i remember now JD. I had to dig the UVDT out of somewhere deep, it was deliberately buried for a few reasons … non the less as a DT its damn usefull
I will have another bash at annoying the wife as i keep testing this
Thanks Ron, i had a read of the app and it will definately do what i want but for now as i seem to have got sorted to some extent i am going to push on using just St aggregated lighting automations
