Ewelink, alexa and alarms

Ideas & Suggestion Free discussion
1

This is about the fifth manufacturer I have tried with home automation. Every single one has deficiencies that can’t be over come when it comes to alarms. I am now trying the Sonoff setup. I have the WiFi bridge and a door sensor.
I want a simple alarm.
If the door is open, wait 30 seconds then activate a smart switch that sets off an external alarm. This for example can be done with Alexa.
Now I want the ability to have an Away mode activated by Alexa. Well the ewelink skill does not have this capability. So I have to use another app.
I also want the ability to cancel the alarm when I come home. Ideally I say to Alexa, I’m home. However, it would seem that the alarm is going to go off anyways.I can only cancel it when it is ringing. The neighbors will hate me.

Any solutions?

2

Hi there,

From your description, I can offer a few suggestions for your alarm setup:

You can create a scene in the eWeLink app with the following logic:
IF
Door sensor is open
THEN
Delay for 30 seconds
Turn ON/OFF device A

This scene will trigger when the door sensor detects the door opening, and after a delay of 30 seconds, it will activate or deactivate Device A. Please note that this scene doesn’t achieve “if the door remains open for 30 seconds, activate Device A” as the door sensors that are compatible with eWeLink app won’t continuously report their open/closed status within a specific time frame to the eWeLink app.

For stopping the alarm, you could consider using a combination of IFTTT and the eWeLink Webhook capability. Here’s an approach:

  1. Create an Applet in IFTTT:
    IF
    Arrive at a location
    THEN
    Send a Webhook request
  2. Create a Webhook Scene in eWeLink WEB:
    IF
    Webhook request received
    THEN
    Disable the smart scene (which is your existing alarm scene in the eWeLink app)

This way, when you arrive at a certain location, IFTTT will send a Webhook request to the eWeLink Webhook Scene, which will then disable the smart scene you created for the alarm. You can also set up similar scenes to enable the alarm when you leave the location.

*Please note that both eWeLink - IFTTT integration and the webhook feature are available through the eWeLink Advanced Plan. If you are not currently an advanced user, join the advanced plan here or via the App to unlock all the exclusive features: )

3

Awfully complicated and fragile. I’m trying to avoid all these additional services.
I think I found a better way using an additional switch (Sonoff mini switch inline with the plug).
.For example, Smart plug, wiring to switch, switch to alarm.
Then when you leave you first enable the switch, then the scene if door is open, then enable the plug after 30 seconds.
This will ring the alarm.
When you return no matter when, you run the scene to close the switch and then the plug, and then the alarm will not go off even if it is scheduled to do so in a few seconds.
This can all be controlled by alexa.

An additional question: ewelink interfaces with my Sonoff hub. The Sonoff hub is a a zigbee hub. Why will other zigbee devices not work with this zigbee hub? I was told by Sonoff that a Tuya alarm will not work.

Thanks for your expertise!

4

Hi there, I’m glad my expertise could be of help. Whether a Zigbee hub can discover and add TUYA Zigbee sub-devices depends on the compatibility of the hub itself with these Zigbee sub-devices. Unfortunately, I can’t provide deeper insights into this aspect.