Updating Status Only on a Simulated Dimmer Switch?

Hello, I am trying to solve a problem related to simulated switch status and smart lighting integration. The goal is to use this with ActionTiles.

I have a ST Smart Lighting automation configured with several Wiz downlights mirroring the behavior of a simulated dimmer switch. This routine/simulated switch works perfectly on its own.

That said, if one or more lights are turned on any way other than using the simulated switch, the simulated switch does not updates it’s status.

It would be great if this would function like a ST light group - if any light in the group is on, the group shows on.

The end goal here is for the Tile in ActionTiles to control the lights on a panel, but still allow control by voice and other apps, as well as having the ability to turn on one or more of the lights independently and not be locked into all of the lights associated with the simulated switch.

I am new to the advanced features in ST.

I was hoping there was either a way to access the light groups in other apps (like ActionTiles) or if there is an app that can update the status only of the switch. I could not find one that would update the status without triggering the switch.

Maybe someone has another idea, these were the ones that came top of mind.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Walt

I may be misunderstanding your need but could you create 2 routines to sync status?
If ANY light on > Turn on sim switch
If ALL lights off > Turn off sim switch

Thank you Terri, unfortunately that will not work. The challenge is if the switch is actually triggered than all the lights in the group turn on.

In most cases my family or guests would turn all the lights in the group on, so that would be okay.

If I want to set a scene or manually control a subset if the lights, for example a movie time scene, where the lights around the TV are off and the lights over the seating area are dimmed and colored, the fix you suggested would not work.

I am not sure if my description is more clear or if I need to provide more details or examples.

Ideally I’m looking for either a way to update only the status of the switch without triggering the actions on the switch OR for a light group to be presented as a device that I can provide access to Action Tiles (or another dashboard).

Thanks in advance for any help that can be offered!

Walt

I found a solution to cover the “mission critical issues” here are some details:

he problem: When grouping lights, switch / tile would report “off” unless all lights in the group where on.

The use case: Using smart bulbs (or in my case downlights) and wanting the ability to control lights with multiple groups. For example, All Kitchen Lights, Front Kitchen Lights, Back Kitchen Lights, or even a single kitchen light etc…

In order for fix the status updating correctly, I used a smart app called “TrendSetter”.

This application worked where virtual and simulated switches/dimmers did not. For the lights I have (Wiz), only the dimmer worked, despite my lights being color and temperature changing. The individual lights work as expected (color and temperature too).

I know there are a lot of other solutions out there, for my setup this is the only one that worked. I also understand this is not perfect. For me, it allows my non-tech savvy family members and visitors to do what they need.

I still have one known bug, but not a deal breaker for me. I am trying to play with rules to fix it, but have not been able to yet. Some of my family members like to use the physical switches instead of smart controls. When they do that and a light is offline, the TrendSetter group does not update accordingly. I am not a developer, but used to script a lot. I intend to look at the trend setter code to see if I can add something around device status. I also plan to look at WebCore to see if I can do something with a piston there… If anyone else finds a solution to the known issues I would appreciate a quick reply to help documented a full solution for the community.

Best of luck all!

Github Repo →

image

Partial example of the main dashboard (still WIP). Most of the lights on this panel are Trend Setter Groups. I have the link to “Lights” which brings up the panel below to control the rest of the downstairs lights, down the the individual light.

Partial example of the detailed light dashboard I created. The area circled in Red are the TrendSetter groups and the other lights are the individual lights.

Very clever! :sunglasses:

Just to make sure you know…Trendsetter, like all custom groovy code in the free Samsung cloud, will stop working soon when support for that cloud goes away. That goes for Webcore as well. :disappointed_relieved:

That’s why you see most people in the forums now looking for solutions based on the official routines feature in the smartthings app or the new Rules API, Since those are what will be available after the groovy cloud shuts down.

Otherwise you’ll have to write your own code and host it yourself.

Originally the shut down was supposed to happen at the end of 2021, but there haven’t been any recent announcements on it and a lot of people are hoping it’s going to be delayed a bit. But again, nothing official as to a delay.

Original Official announcement:

Thank you JD,

If I understand what you are saying correctly…

Given the routines have not worked, the best choice would be to try and build a new SmartApp in JSON using the new Rules API?

-Walt

Building your own Smartapp and using the Rules API are two different things.

The rules API is supposed to be sort of the new platform equivalent of Webcore. You will not need to provide your own hosting for it. And it has its own syntax. They call the rules “recipes,“ which is essentially the equivalent of a piston in Webcore.

If you want to write your own smartapp, you can write it in any language you want, because you are going to be doing the hosting. Then you will be communicating with smartthings for device control through the cloud to cloud API.

So it’s up to you