The virtual switch created in Labs does NOT contain contacts and does NOT trigger Alexa routines.
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Unfortunate, but thanks for the information. Maybe theyâll add one for the post groovy world. We can always hope.
I use Webcore, VLC Player,dedicated laptop and Bluetooth speaker to speak notifications (i.e., freezer door has been open for 2 minutes, Backyard gate has been opened. etc.). With Webcore going away I can convert to sharp tools but I canât find anything about an Edge driver for VLC player.
Does anyone know if an Edge driver has been created for VLC Player? If not, are there any alternatives to VLC player?
Is there a way to see a list of the custom driver channels one is subscribed to?
Go to your hub device page in the mobile app, tap the upper right menu and choose Driver
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I donât usually come on and put in my $0.02 on these matters but this is absolutely unwarranted, and you should apologize now to @jkp
Also, Please refrain from attacking individual users, remember that most of us here are volunteers and offer advice based on a true drive to help.
At the time - the advice was ABSOLUTELY sound, and the correct advice, in fact the same advice we were getting from dev contacts. There has been ZERO whispers of any replacement for Smartlighting as a smartapp, until the announcement (that oyu notice came out to outlets OTHER than the community first, I might add - telling ytou wher ewe sit in the ST management teamâs eyesâŠ
âŠand in fact those of us who had dev contacts were being advised by ST internally to do the same thing. We also screamed (LOUDLY - I might add, now that the relevant players have left ST) that the way thigs were being done were a very bad idea. And I will even point out I know for a FACT, JKP himself griped about the way they were handling the smartlighting aspect of this.
SO - if you want to direct your ire - put it where it is deserved - at ST staff. Theyâve managed to bork this rollout one way or another at every single turn.
If youâre unhappy with ST - leave and stop trolling people trying to help. Iâm done.
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Node-Red could be an option. 
Your Blinds Controllers are similar to mine, and I have many of them - 12 of them to be precise. Although mine are actually Zipato Micromodule Motor Controllers, they are actually just re-branded Philio Pan-08 Blind Controllers. So far, whenever I added one of these, they flawlessly joined the Zwave network using the stock Zwave Window Shade stock DTH, not a custom one, and for the most part, they work without any problems. However, when I tried adding them using the Edge Zwave Window Treatment drivers, they would not add, and kept adding using the old stock Groovy DTH. I dug into the code a little and noticed the fingerprint for these Pan-08 devices is not included (yet it was in the old Groovy DTH). I even tried adding the fingerprint myself but it just wonât work properly, so obviously itâs not a matter of simply adding a fingerprint.
(Fingerprint oif the device is: zw:L type:1107 mfr:013C prod:0001 model:0015 ver:1.03 zwv:3.95 lib:03)
Perhaps someone from the ST staff, like @alissa.dornbos can guide us. What are we supposed to do when a device used to add without a problem in the past and now wonât add - because its fingerprint is missing from your EDGE drivers, please?
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Node-Red looks like itâs way outside my capabilities to configure.
Yes! This is what I do. It does take some technical abilities but certainly no more than if you were to move to Home Assistant!
You can run SmartApps on your Pi, or use something like MQTT or other methods to integrate locally with Edge drivers.
EDIT: To be clear, youâre not simply running existing groovy stuff on your Pi, but rather you are able to implement new or ported SmartApps written in javascript and using the new SDK. OR use any language such as Python to talk directly to an Edge driver. So this gives you a way to implement pretty much anything without SmartThings constraints, but still be perfectly integrated with SmartThings going forward.
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There is Homebridge that uses API, not ideal but it works okayish for me
iOS to ST devices are functional - switches, dimmers, locks, and shades.
other direction (motion, contact, and presence sensors, buttons) needs the notifications, which requires running HTTPS server and ST approvals
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Also using http requests might be solution for you. I use Node Red and Web Requestor Edge driver to connect Panasonic airpump to SmartThings. Bit of a mix but it works and thatâs all that matters.
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This may not be the right place to ask, and it may be a dumb question that I just canât figure out, but after Groovy is gone, and so are the Rboy apps (i.e., LUM), how do we program or change lock codes in our Zwave locks using SmartThings? Thanks.
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This tool will be migrated, this info is included in the FAQ page about the platform transition.
Also, I previously mentioned the following:
The team is working on a separate plugin for the SmartLighting app:
- The automation created there will use the Rules engine.
- It will support the mirror feature.
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Make sure a tablet ypu buy will run the SmartThings app. Not even all Samsung tablets meet the requirements to operate the SmartThings app. I got burned with that when they did the last big app update.
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Sorry, I didnât reply to your previous comment about this. I already raised this question with the internal team but thereâs no feedback yet. Iâll keep you posted.
What do you mean by âcontactsâ and what happens with Alexa routines? This is to understand the behavior.
Canât you just install ST APP to Android Emulator, there are many emulators available today.
The virtual switches created in Labs donât show up in Alexa routines to use as inputs OR outputs (by default).
- To be used as inputs (âwhen this happensâ) in Alexa routines, it has to be a sensor of some kind (temp/motion/contact).
- To use as an output (âactionâ), you need to go into the Alexa app (under Devices) and change it from a switch to a light. Then you can control it.
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At the present time, an Alexa routine (not a smartthings routine, but rather one created in Amazonâs Alexa app) can only be triggered from a contact sensor, motion sensor, lock, flic button, or echo brand button. It cannot be triggered by a switch of any kind.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?ref_=hp_bc_nav&nodeId=GCCRGDPHL7L9W7TJ
So many people use a virtual device which is both a contact sensor and a switch. Alexa routines can be triggered when the contact sensor opens or closes. And you can use the switch from a smartthings routine or other smartthings automation, or by voice. So the virtual device has both the capability switch and the capability contact sensor. When you turn on the switch, the sensor opens. When you turn off the switch, the sensor closes. This turned out to be a great way to integrate smartthings automations and Alexa routines.
For this reason, most of the community created Edge Driver virtual devices have both a switch and a sensor capability. 
See the community FAQ for more details:
FAQ: Can I trigger an Echo Action without Speaking to It?
Use Cases
As far as use cases: using this method, you can take any command that you would speak to an echo device and instead automate it from smartthings. For example, suppose you have a sprinkler system which doesnât have any integration method with smartthings but which does work with Alexa.
If you create a virtual device which is both a contact sensor and a switch, you can have whatever logic you want on the smartthings side (Check temperature, weather, time of day, whether you are home, whether the pet door is closed, etc.) and use that to create an automation which turns on the switch part of your virtual device in order to trigger an Alexa routine to start the sprinkler. 
So Alexa becomes an intermediary between SmartThings and a third-party device which does integrate with Alexa but doesnât normally have an integration with smartthings. Very useful.
Itâs also a good way to create a simple smartthings integration for echo devices, including fire TV devices. And itâs also a popular way to have an echo device make an announcement or play a chime when a door is opened or a particular person arrives home.
Basically almost anything you could say to an echo can instead be added to a smartthings integration via a virtual device of this type.
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To trigger an Alexa routine you need a contact sensor, motion sensor, lock, time or voice. You cannot use an ordinary switch.
To get around this Alexa limitation community members have developed virtual switches with contact sensor capabilities. These are some times refered to as simulated Alexa switches.
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