Smartthings & ok google to arm/disarm

[Scott2ya]

Since getting my arlo cameras, it's kinda got me into a little bit of an automation addiction. So I got me a few sensors and a SmartThings Hub on the way. I've been frustrated waiting (over a month) to see if the IFTTT would start working with arlo to arm and disarm and still no joy. I am also dissapointed that when it did work, or when it does start working again, you cannot set custom modes. That got me thinking, maybe I could use SmartThings to do the same thing. Does anyone know?

I'd love to be able to say, OK Google, set Arlo "insert custom mode"

[brh]

I have been using Smartthings and Arlo cameras for about two years and just love the integration. With Smartthings I can let just about let any sensor fire a camera or several cameras at the same time such as motion sensors, open/closed switches, smoke alarms, water leak sensors and lights. Like everything else there is nothing that is perfect. I do get a glitch every now and then but it sure beats being without the ability to do so. Also you can do so many things with Smartthings you might get overwhelmed when setting it up. 

The main thing with the Smartthings integration is that you basically want Smartthings to be the on/off switch for the Arlo cameras. You use Routines to set the cameras to standby mode to be ready to record video. You turn off the cameras or disarm them through another Routine.

Like Arlo's app you set up rules to actually start the video recording from the devices you hsve selected for that rule.

Bear in mind that there will be a couple of seconds delay in starting to record as Smartthings must talk to Arlo over the cloud and Arlo must send back its instructions to Smartthings over the cloud and must send that information to your phone or computer.

Finally I am not sure about vouce control as I don't use it. I believe it is possible. You can check out the Smartthings forum to find out.

Good luck,

Brian

[steve_t]

I'm not sure if this is still the case because someone on the internet told me I was wrong...

Smartthings and Arlo integration - You connect the Arlo system via the Arlo (Connect) smartapp. This gives you the ability to turn the cameras on and off, and to use them as ST motion sensors.

If you want to use full ST control, this is done through the SHM. The Arlo system will have a Smartthings mode generated and it will contact rules like "Front door cameras motion triggers back door camera to do nothing, possibly with a push notification". Video recorded will not be recorded to the Arlo cloud but to the ST/SHM cloud. Using it like this, you really should have minimal reason to open the Arlo app.

In the SHM, you have different modes in which you can configure the operation of the cameras. You should be able to get voice control to change modes though it's possible there may be a need for WebCoRE or some workaround like a virtual switch to run a routine to change the mode.

I played with this integration for a while but in the end, decided that I preferred the Arlo app and while I have ST integration, I only use the cameras to trigger lights inside and outside the house after sunset. The combinations of schedules and geofencing etc give me enough flexibility to control the cameras through the various modes and rules. I pretty much never disarm my Arlo system. If I know I'm going to trigger a camera a thousand times eg when out in the garden or washing the car, I just turn that particular camera off in the app.

[Scott2ya]

Thanks for the reply's..

I got my SmartThings this afternoon, and was able to get Arlo integrated. I was confused at first because it added and set a custom mode called SmartThings with everything fully armed but not to record. Took me a bit to figure out why I was getting notifications but no recording. So once I figured that out, I started playing around with SmartThings HomeSolutions (I guess that is ST's version of setting up modes in Arlo) and I don't like that at all, it's seems you can only set armed (away), armed (home), and disarmed. I guess I am going to have to find some kind of how to guide on that. For now I am going to stick with the arlo app and use the motion sensors to trigger my lights, which I love.

But I still haven't figured out how to use OK Google to set different custom modes on my Arlo, and was hoping with SmartThings I would be able to.... I still might, just got to do some more digging.

[steve_t]

Sounds like my previous experience is still how the systems integrate... which is rather awkwardly. Keep us posted on how you manage your integration. Otherwise, you'll probably find it easier to be like me and use Arlo as an independent system apart from using the cameras as triggers in ST

[brh]

I'm glad you got your Smartthings and Arlo system integrated. Now it is time for the fun to start. Smartthings has been setup to give you a lot more control, in my opinion, than the Arlo App. What is confusing at first is that the icons on the Smartthings home page, (Armed Away, Armed Home and Disarmed) are simply visual representations to show the current state of the modes. Here is the confusing part - you are able to change the states of the modes by clicking on these icons liike you would on any alarm system, but that is all you can do with them.

The heart of the system is the ability to customize your system through the Routines and Custom Rules. Between the two you can do just about anything you want to do.

A mode will not run a routine, but a routine can change the mode.

Confusing--yes to a newbie.

Now, Smartthings uses these routines and any custom rules to control how the Arlo cameras work, (basically a smart switch, if you will). You turn the cameras on/off through the Routines. You control the video captures through the Custom Rules. In other words in the Goodbye Routine (you set the Armed Away mode) and tell the cameras to turn on in the standby mode. In the Custom Rules you set up how and when you want each camera to trigger and record video. In the Good Morning Routine you set tne mode to Home and turn off whatever cameras you want (setting them to the Disabled state). The Custom Rules also allow other sensors to trigger a camera to record video after the Routine has set the cameras to standby.

This is just an over simplified explanation.

Brian

[brh]

Hi Steve,

---

You said, "Smartthings and Arlo integration - You connect the Arlo system via the Arlo (Connect) smartapp. This gives you the ability to turn the cameras on and off, and to use them as ST motion sensors."

This statement is correct in so far as they can be used as motion sensors but that can also record video, and can be controlled by other devices including other motion sensors.

You also said, "If you want to use full ST control, this is done through the SHM."

This statement is also trye, But, SHM (Smart Home Monitor) is another source of confusion. It is simply a visual representation of the underlying Smartthings Smart App called, "Security."  Any incident that happens in SHM will trigger an Intrusion Alert. You select only the sensors/cameras inside your home to trigger this alert. If you get motion on your outside sensors/cameras you may wish to set them up with the Routines and Custom Rules, as no intrusion has occurred yet. You probably don't want the mailman triggering an Intrusioon Alert.

 The main reason that I use the Smartthings/Arlo integration is so that when I leave my home I don't need to Arm three systems, (Frontpoint, Smartthings and Arlo). Plus the amount of customizing I can do is unbelievable. For example using Smartthings sensors I can set a rule that if the temperature in a certain part of the house exceeds a certain amount, I can fire the appropriate cameras to see if there is a fire. I can do the same thing if my water leak detector detects water.

Just thought I would add a little clarification in your post. As you can see I am addicted to all the customization that can be done with the Smartthings/Arlo integration.

Brian

[brh]

I thought I would also add that currently I see the recorded videos in both Smartthings and Arlo.

Brian

[brh]

@Scott2ya

Google "OK Google and Smartthings" and you will find many referrences to how to set up and use Google Assistant to control many things in Smartthings and things it won't do.

But first, I recommend that you understand the difference between modes, routines and rules in Smartthings. Because Smartthings is so powerful and can be very confusing at first it might take a little while to get the hang of.

The first thing to understand is that there are only three built in Modes - Away, Home and Night. These are used to tell a routine or rule when to perform a task.

If you want to set up your routine or rule to trigger an intrusion you have three more Security Modes - Armed (Away), Armed (Home) and Disarmed.

Suppose I am waiting for a package to arrive and I want to monitor a couple of outdoor sensors and an outdoor camera to record video whenever motion is detected by the sensors or camera. You can go into your IDE and create a Custom Mode called, say, Waiting for Delivery. Now create a Custom Routine and call it, say, Delivery. Since you don't want an Intrusion Alert when the outdoor sensors/cameras fire, you set SHM Mode in the routine to Disarmed. You change the regular Mode to the custom Mode you created, Waiting For Delivery. You also turn on your outdoor camera to standby (meaning you take the camera out of the disarm state), You can further customize this by creating a custom rule.

Now you should be able to say something like, "OK Google, Run Delivery" or something like that as I don't one of these devices, and it should work.

Clear as mud?

Brian

[Scott2ya]

LOL

Not really that clear

https://community.smartthings.com/t/how-can-i-create-multiple-modes-for-use-with-my-arlo-cameras/113...

[brh]

@Scott2ya

There is one problem using Smartthings to control your cameras and that is the delay. Smartthings and Arlo must establish a connection and commmunicate back and forth with each other over the cloud, (picture how fax machines communicate). This causes a two to three second delay that you shouldn't have using the Arlo app by itself. I solved that ptoblem by placing motion sensors on either side of what I wanted to record - each about 8 feet away from it and use these sensors to trigger the recording,

Happy Recordings!

Brian

[brh]

The problem is that people call different sections of the app by different names and Smartthings does not make it any easier. Some people call the home page SHM but that is potentially incorrect. The bottom line is that the arm/disarm buttons on the home page although they will change the underlying modes, they are only a visual representation of the Security App. Since these buttons will not run routines or custom rules, they are useless in my opinion. I only use them to see the armed/disarmed state of my system, but I never arm/disarm my system using these buttons. I only use the routines to arm/disarm my system as routines can arm/disarm the system and change the modes). Just remember whenever you run across the Armed (Away), Armed (Home) and Disarmed these are for telling the system to send you an intrusion alert if something happens inside of your home.

In the Goodbye routine this should be set to Armed (Away). In the Good Night routine it should be set to Armed (Home) and in almost every other routine is should be set to Disarmed, unless you want the rule or routine to trigger an intrusion alert.

Hope this cleared it up a little,

Brian

[Scott2ya]

That sucks... So I am probably beating my head against a wall for nothing, but then I still want to get this figured out.

[brh]

Yes, it sucks a little, but the combination of these two systems being integrated is so powerful, (and a little confusing at first) I can put up with and find work arounds for the delay problem. It is also very addicting and you will constantly be thinking of new ways to improve your security and overall experience.

Brian

[Scott2ya]

Update:

Ok, so.... like @brh was and others were telling me, the draw back when using SmartThings to control Arlo is a delay in recording. I did a few tests, and averaged about a 5 second delay sometimes it would be only 3 seconds and sometimes 7 seconds. That just isn't going to cut it for me, but I did learn a lot about SmartThings, and I've got my work around that satisfies my needs. I'll share, and hopefully this will help others with similar needs.

So, I've decided to keep Arlo as my main controller for my cameras. I have a schedule in Arlo and it's pretty comprehensive and works pretty well for me using 3 different custom modes. But when I need to let the dog out usually between10pm and 6am I'd like to use OK google to turn off the camera's in the back yard. Since it's not possible to use OK google to change custom modes in Arlo, and SmartThings has a 5 second delay if I used that service, I elected to use a combination of OK google, IFTTT and SmartThings to disable my camera's monitoring my backyard. What I did is fairly simple. In SmartThings create a virtual device, then using "Smart Lighting" a SmartApp, create a new lighting automation to turn off the switches (your camera's) when the virtual switch is triggered. Then go to IFTTT and create an applet using OK google to toggle the virtual device you created in ST. Now I didn't have to use IFTTT, I could have used just OK google, but I wanted to be able to say OK google, Let the dog out, and have the google assistant say, "Lucy is free to roam the back yard" rather than say, OK google turn on or off (name of your switch) I named my switch "Dog Out". You get the picture.....

Anyways... hope this helps, and thanks again to @brh for helping set up SmartThings.... 

[brh]

@Scott2ya

You are quite welcome. One of the reasons that I try to help people is that I am always looking for new ideas and new ways of doing things, so we both benefitted by this exercise. I am still laughing at our communication on both this forum and at the Smartthings forum during this exercise not realizing that we were talking to the same person. I thought I was helping two people with the same problem until I just happened to remember seeing your username on the other forum. Too funny.

I am very surprised how quickly you picked all of this up and am glad you found work arounds to solve your issues. Given a little time you will think of more elaborate solutions.

One final thing I want to mention. Up until the soon to be released lights/motion sensors come out, one of the weaknesses with Arlo with regards to the delay problem was that they did not manufacture any type of sensors and without Smartthings or other similar services there was no real way to incorporate other manufacturers devices into Arlo to trigger their cameras. That is why I paired Arlo with Smartthings. By using Smartthing sensors I can do very complex triggering and the delay problem has all but been negated. Plus I have been able to strengthen my Arlo/Smartthings experience.

So, good luck to you and stop by once in a while and let us know of any new ideas and solutions you have come up with. We will all benefit.

Brian

[Scott2ya]

Yeah, that was kinda funny.

Any how, I've been picking up quite a bit lately. I spent hours friday night trying to get my garage door tilt sensor make one of my inside lights flash blue and red until the sensor closes and send me a text message. My wife has been surprisingly supportive.... bless her heart. I've got a couple more light switches in the mail too.. gonna make my garage door turn off my garage light when it closes and to turn off if it's been on for a certain amount of time, and who knows... LOL

This is definately becoming an addiction. You should check out webCoRE for smartthings, man the possiblilties are insane. It's a bit of a pain to set up, but worth it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgXA_rv2-_8

https://youtu.be/y_ElUwmmI6Y

[brh]

Wow, you are already at webcore! I've ben using my systems for two years and never delved into that. As I am using my system mainly for security reasons, and it is doing what I want, I don't know if I ever will mess with it. Before I retired I was a programmer, but somehow, I just don't want to get back into it. Maybe subconciously I am worried that Smartthings might somehow pull the plug on that and if I only use Smartthings created apps then I am safe.

Anyway the Arlo/Smartthings integration is simply awesome. Don't deplete your savings account. LOL Wifey wouldn't like that

Good luck, Brian