Alexa - Skill 'Smart Life'

You need to create an account on the app compatible with your plugs. Generally any Tuya app will work with Tuya devices. Smart life is as good as most. The accounts use a phone number and password. Call it password1.

You them need to install the matching Amazon skill, if you?ve used Smartlife for smart life.

Then you need to link the two.

As I recall, you do this from Amazon. Request the skill to link to Smartlife and enter details, including password1.

Then tell Alexa to find devices.

That is how I remember it.

Once linked, you can add devices without the password etc.

Be careful to buy Tuya devices in the future otherwise you end up with a mix of software which could be a pain. Sono off isn?t Tuya for example. Different Tuya devices seem to be fine with software from other manufacturers. I have three or four different makes on the same software, all linked to Alexa.

Radio Man expressed precisely :

Thanks, I will try again..

Harry Bloomfield, Esq. wrote on 15/09/2020 :

This worked, I didn't realise I had download and register the TUYA app first, to get a password set up...

There are several apps compatible with the Tuya standard. Smartlife is probably the most common although I believe it doesn?t offer ?if then? etc anyone. A number of the apps dropped it due to licensing costs as I understand it. If you need it, there is an app called Bright Smart which offers it but I don?t know if it works with Alexa.

In real terms, I?m not convinced the apps are that different. I?ve looked at several and they look much the same, icons vary, etc.

Radio Man formulated on Tuesday :

The separate Smart Life app, which doesn't work via Alexa, offers direct on/off, programmed on/offs and timer on/offs.

With Alexa, is just seems to offer the direct on or off control.

Yep, that is usual.

You can set up ?Routines? with Alexa. I?ve not done any with smart switches yet but I?ve done a few others. Basically you have things happening at certain times or trigger by something.

Some are a gimmick but others I?ve tried are nice to have rather than life changing.

You set the routines up via the Alexa app on your phone.

One thing I was hoping it might be able to manage, but I haven't found any evidence it can, is....

I have a single light in my drive, just providing enough light to see where you are going. That is powered by an ancient solar clock, on at dusk, off at midnight.

Could Alexa take over the switching of that light? Can Alexa decide when it should be dusk by my latitude and longitude and power the light on?

Another way I could do that, is by powering a light sensor switch from an Alexa Smart Plug - on at midday, off at midnight.

I have some large floodlights able to light up my drive and back garden, which I used to control on/off via an RF remote control. I have just swapped those over to Alexa control. Handy for being able to turn them on when almost home in the car.

I don't know, but can not just say enable and the skill name? iIf it needs linking it should tell you what to exactly. Is there any cost involved in these link ups? Brian

Sounds a bit like Tile, but I've not progressed this via Alexa, only the phone. Then of course they simply send me loads of adverts about silly new tiles and premium services for a sub. Brian

Brian Gaff (Sofa) used his keyboard to write :

None that I am aware of.

I don't know about Alexa, but Hubitat can trigger actions a certain offset before/after sunrise/sunset.

Another question has occured to me - if I use the Smart Life app on my Iphone, to set on and off times, will it continue to switch on and off at the times set if my Iphone is turned off or has no access to the internet?

Not something i?ve tried. Certainly if you can find a sensor which is Alexa compatible you should be able to set up a skill to do it I would think.

Certainly you can get modules which control relays etc and are Alexa compatible.

Yes. You don?t even need to keep the app running.

None of the common ones.

Yes, the schedule isn't stored on your phone, it's on a server in the cloud, and the plugs talk to the cloud not to your phone (or your phone to the plugs).

IFTTT has started charging £10/month if you want more than three I think.

IMHO third party automation apps, especially Chinese ones, might be a hostage to fortune. Chinese developers quickly lose interest and don't fix bugs but instead move on to develop the next thing.

In five years from now, there's a fair chance even established suppliers like IFTTT may not be around. Call me old fashioned but I want this stuff to last longer than five years.

It would be nice to have one open standard interface for devices and apps but the market seems to be heading for increased fragmentation.

How do they monetise their service? If they don't have regular income they will soon be bust.