Can Alexa turn off light when manually set?

...Ghost... · 18-01-2021 4:33pm #1

I ordered a pair of these Sonoff wifi switches ==> https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32956966467.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.27424c4dFUkWwr

Is there a way to have Amazon turn off the light automatically after a few seconds?

For example; I manually press one of the buttons to turn on a light. I want the light to stay on for lets say 30 seconds. Can I set Alexa to do this automatically?

I use Alexa schedules to turn on/off certain lights and plugs, but these are all set on a timer schedule, but I need the functionality of the switch deactivating after a certain amount of time. If not Alexa...maybe IFTTT or another option?

dam099 · 18-01-2021 5:10pm

...Ghost... wrote: »

I ordered a pair of these Sonoff wifi switches ==> https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32956966467.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.27424c4dFUkWwr

Is there a way to have Amazon turn off the light automatically after a few seconds?

For example; I manually press one of the buttons to turn on a light. I want the light to stay on for lets say 30 seconds. Can I set Alexa to do this automatically?

I use Alexa schedules to turn on/off certain lights and plugs, but these are all set on a timer schedule, but I need the functionality of the switch deactivating after a certain amount of time. If not Alexa...maybe IFTTT or another option?

Can that switch trigger an Alexa Routine? If it can you could have a wait action for x seconds and then a switch off action.

...Ghost... · 18-01-2021 5:16pm

dam099 wrote: »

Can that switch trigger an Alexa Routine? If it can you could have a wait action for x seconds and then a switch off action.

That is what I am wondering. So far, my alexa routines are all automatic and at set times. I don't know if alexa routines can be triggered with a manual action.

ike · 19-01-2021 1:19pm

I don't think you can as you need a 'trigger' to work off.

An example of what I have is When Ring Camera detects motion - Turn on front lights

and the reverse is

When Ring camera detects no motion for 5 minutes then turn off Front lights

...Ghost... · 19-01-2021 3:25pm

It's a real shame that such functionality remains lacking though. I can trigger a routine with a phrase, but not with a button. Bonkers!

Another poster pointed me toward a sonoff relay kit which will do what I need, so I think I will be going that direction.

wexfordman2 · 20-01-2021 1:13am

The first problem is, does the switxh report it's status when manually activated, otherwise, you have no way of telling alexa that the light has been turned on and to start a count down timer or something.

Open alexa, and look at the status of the switch, then turn it on manually and see if the status updates on alexa.

If it does, there is a way of doing it, but you would need to have a controller like openhab or home assistant do that for you, which is cheap enough to do if you are willing to learn a bit about it

If your switch doesn't update its status when manually turned on, then it gets very difficult.ti impractical.

That's the thing about smart lights etcz they need to be 2 way to be able to do anything smart with them.

...Ghost... · 24-01-2021 1:06am

wexfordman2 wrote: »

The first problem is, does the switxh report it's status when manually activated, otherwise, you have no way of telling alexa that the light has been turned on and to start a count down timer or something.

Open alexa, and look at the status of the switch, then turn it on manually and see if the status updates on alexa.

If it does, there is a way of doing it, but you would need to have a controller like openhab or home assistant do that for you, which is cheap enough to do if you are willing to learn a bit about it

If your switch doesn't update its status when manually turned on, then it gets very difficult.ti impractical.

That's the thing about smart lights etcz they need to be 2 way to be able to do anything smart with them.

Makes sense. The sonoff 4 channel relay will do the job. I happened to have a wifi relay module laying around which works using Tuya. The app allowed me to set the relay to turn off 2 seconds after it was turned on. This works no matter the method the switch is activated. Works with Alexa too. I've learned a lot in the last few days and blew a couple of fuses on my pcb too

wexfordman2 · 24-01-2021 2:00am

Cool, if your up for tinkering a bit further and having some more flexibility, have a look at home assistant or openhab, and you can have much more complex logic, for example have the timer start when it's after sunset only, it using different trigger mechanisms to start the timer.

...Ghost... · 24-01-2021 2:11am

wexfordman2 wrote: »

Cool, if your up for tinkering a bit further and having some more flexibility, have a look at home assistant or openhab, and you can have much more complex logic, for example have the timer start when it's after sunset only, it using different trigger mechanisms to start the timer.

I'll check it out. Using alexa routines is great, but certainly has its limits. Kinda like a wysiwyg website.

I have a smartthings hub, so gives some more options at least

Can Alexa turn off light when manually set?

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