Using Smarthings for Security & Echo Integration

Devices & Integrations
1

I am interested in using Smarthings for home security with the Scout monitoring.

Questions:

  1. Can you arm and disarm zones similar to the stand alone systems? for instance have the motion detectors in the basement on all the time, yet only arm main floor motion at night or when away, or arm doors without motion etc.

  2. Can you at least arm the security with Echo? I understand the risks of disarming, but voice arming at night would be nice.

  3. Can you do geo-location. for instance when my wife and I leave the house, it automatically arms?

Any feedback anyone has on the Scout monitoring would be helpful. Thanks

Jeff

2

Hi @JeffTodd, I don’t use Scout but I use SHM anyway for self monitoring. I still think I can provide some answers for you.

Yes, via a Routine to arm SHM and to also turn off lights and set my thermostats. I have another Routine that disarms SHM. We use our phones as presence sensors, but I also have presence sensors in all our cars that can be used. Understanding and experimenting with geo-fence settings are recommended, as well as a good Zigbee mesh for ST’s presence sensors to work well.

With the “out of the box” SmartThings/Echo integration you can’t. I would imagine using SmartApps like “Ask Alexa” or CoRE that you could. For example, you could build a virtual switch that when turned on/off will also arm/disarm SHM via a Routine or CoRE. That virtual switch can be used with Echo.

Depends on your definition of “zone”. It can’t when compared to purpose built security systems because it’s not that sophisticated yet. You can’t bybass a zone in either stay or away modes whenever you want like you would in a tradition system. Saying all that, you do have flexibility with SmartThings between Arm Stay and Arm Away by using a combination of open/close and motion sensors, and depending upon how many you have you can do what you want.

In my usage of SHM, my Arm Away setting uses almost all my open/close sensors and certain motion sensors. My Arm Stay settings use fewer open/close sensors and just a couple strategically placed motion sensors. I think that’s a similar use case to what you described.

Hopefully I helped, but if you have more questions just ask.

3

to arm with alexa, I use a virtual switch that I then tie to the smart app “switch activates home phrase” from the marketplace. I then link it to a routine. In some cases, I have added a switch or lock feature to the device type to trigger it inside the routine. So when you tell alexa to turnon goodnight, it launches the virtual button, which then launches the routine, which includes the alarm.

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