Needed to add notifications

[rickw12]

I had a terrible time getting the new app set up, and I finally figured out a few things I simply didn't understand. 

My setup is simple. I wanted to automatically switch the system to Standby in the morning and then to Arm Home in the evening, so I set routines for both. But it wasn't working.

What I didn't understand was that in the routines setup at the top under where you put the name, you have to choose which actions are available to use: arm away, arm home, and/or standby. That doesn't actually choose them for the routine but makes it possible to choose them. So for my purposes I checked all three as available options. 

Another problem was that it seemed that it wasn't activating routines until I brought the app to the foreground on my phone. When I did bring it to the foreground, I got a notification and the proper icon lit up. What I didn't realize was that for each automation, I needed to add Notification as an action. So in the routines setup for the evening, I had to enter not only Arm Away as an action but also Notification for that specific action. The same again for Standby in the morning. I thought the general notifications permission for the app covered everything, but it doesn't.

A third problem was setting the proper rules for each device that would be used. I didn't know I needed to click on each of my four cameras and tell it what it was supposed to do. 

So now I get a notification in the morning saying it's on Standby and one notification in the evening saying it's on Armed Away, and the proper icons are lit up for each.

What I still don't understand is why the whole shebang had to be made so complicated. It was simple before. Tap on the little blocks in the schedule setup to turn them green to let it know when the system turns on or off. The app is now geared for people who have very complex system requirements. For simple systems like mine, there needs to be a shortcut setup routine of some kind. We aren't all computer geeks who really get into messing with all the minute details of these things. 

[ShayneS]

Hi @rickw12 

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience, we truly appreciate your valuable feedback. Your insights help us understand where improvements can be made, especially for users with simpler system setups. We're glad you were able to get things working and will definitely keep your suggestions in mind as we continue to improve the app.

[ShayneS]

Hi @rickw12 

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience, we truly appreciate your valuable feedback. Your insights help us understand where improvements can be made, especially for users with simpler system setups. We're glad you were able to get things working and will definitely keep your suggestions in mind as we continue to improve the app.