I'd like to trigger a device to turn off after 10 minutes

Techno_Vol · November 10, 2021, 7:08pm

I just signed up today to test SharpTools. The first rule I’d like to create is to turn on a light when my presence changes to home. The light should turn on for 10 minutes and then turn off. I was able to create the rule trigger etc., but I couldn’t find a way for it to be set to turn off after a period of time. Thanks

James · November 10, 2021, 7:23pm

@Techno_Vol, welcome to the community. You can add a DELAY action in the rule flow as shown in the screenshot below.

Techno_Vol · November 10, 2021, 7:27pm

Thanks James! If I wanted this rule to run when either me or my wife arrive home, can the trigger be defined as “Or”?

James · November 10, 2021, 7:31pm

You can just add your wife’s presence as the trigger. The rule will be executed when any of the triggers occurs. For the IF condition in the Rule Flow, you can define the logic between AND (all) and OR (any).

Techno_Vol · November 10, 2021, 7:33pm

Thanks! I’ll give it a try.

Techno_Vol · November 10, 2021, 7:37pm

Is there a log to see events with time stamps?

James · November 10, 2021, 7:40pm

You can find the Rule Logs by tapping the ... button in the Rule Editor. This will show you the timestamp of each rule execution and the detailed steps. Not sure if this is what you meant by the “events”, or do you mean the device state update events?

Techno_Vol · November 10, 2021, 8:12pm

Yes, that’s perfect. I really appreciate your help.

I have another question as I’m learning… can you add multiple devices to an Action, or do you have to define 1 device per Action?

James · November 10, 2021, 9:00pm

You can control 1 device per action in the rule flow at this point.

Techno_Vol · November 10, 2021, 10:53pm

Just did my first test. The rule I created uses my presence as being present. I arrived home at 5:36 PM but my presence didn’t change until 5:44 PM when I unlocked my phone. Any idea why this could happen?

I also need to find a way to limit a rule from running unless it’s after sunset. Is that possible?

Thanks!

James · November 10, 2021, 11:28pm

@Techno_Vol, there can be several reasons that restricted the presence being report from your mobile device to SmartThings. Many SmartThings users have commented the built-in presence from SmartThings might not update in time, and therefore prefer the Life360 app. You can find the related information in this article including the community developed Life360 device handler and smartapp.

You can also find the example in the thread how to limit the rule to be executed only when after sunset.

Techno_Vol · November 10, 2021, 11:42pm

Thanks @James, I’ll read up on Life360 in the thread you provided.

Carlos_Juarez · November 11, 2021, 3:34am

Hi my friend, I have read by now, and its also my case, that iOS presence only triggers “arrives” when ST app is open, when you leave status triggers ok but arrives does not update if ST app is closed… I have read its an iOS issue… maybe its your case…

Ridyn_2007 · November 15, 2021, 4:58pm

The Life360 app is the way to go for sure when it comes to using the Presence of a device or devices to trigger and event or events. @James introduced me to this feature and i have been using it with no issue for some time. You will need to go into the settings to allow Life360 to “Always” allow location tracking.

I have both my wifes and my phone in the same family circle on Life 360. Both of our phones become a presence sensors at that point.

My use is, if i come home AND my wife is gone AND its dark outside, turn on the inside lights ELSE if my wife is home and/or its NOT dark outside, do nothing. I have a rule that applies to her arrival at home as well. Its a bit tricky dealing with the scenario of both of us coming home at the same time. i had to get a little bit creative with that one.

I also have a rule that shuts off any lights that are left on, when we leave home. However, if only i or she leaves while the other stays at home, then nothing happens.

Attached is a screen shot of the rule for when I come home. Please note a few things.

$LuxLessThan30, a variable that is set to true or false, based off of a Lux sensor that I have on my roof.
$SaraIsGone, is a variable that is set to true or false based off of my wife presence. However, i have delay set for this. If we come home at the same time, there is a chance that my rule will not run as we could have our status set to “Present” at the same time. When my wife comes home, the $SaraIsGone variable is set to False 2 minutes after her actual arrival. In the example, if its dark, then “Then” path is initiated if Sara is not-present OR $SaraIsGone is True. This has worked flawlessly for the case of i come home and she is NOT home, and when we come home at the same time.

Techno_Vol · November 17, 2021, 3:34am

@Ridyn_2007… Great info, thanks!

Is getting Life360 installed/configured difficult. I plan on trying to get this working tomorrow.

Chris_C · November 17, 2021, 8:14pm

If youre familiar with installing custom device handlers, its pretty straightforward. The community wiki can be helpful if its your first time https://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=Welcome_FAQ

Ridyn_2007 · November 18, 2021, 4:14am

Apologies for the delay. Here is a good video for adding device handler into smartthings. Also note, that once you have this completed, you will need to authorize that new device(s) from SmartThings into SharpTools. It does not show up in SharpTools by default.

Techno_Vol · November 19, 2021, 3:27am

Thanks everyone… hoping to get this set up tomorrow.

dave.blackwell · August 31, 2022, 9:51pm

Is there a way to specify the wait in number of MINUTES, rather than number of SECONDS? (Yes, I understand the math… just seems like a simple thing that I haven’t figured out how to set to MINUTES.)

Thanks

Ridyn_2007 · September 6, 2022, 6:01am

The delay command is only seconds.