Use a texting app such as text me from the Amazon app store, send SMS from webcore to this phone number and just replace these directions for textme. Skip inputting the text title as it was the only way I could get it to work
Making voice announcements & controlling Amazon Alexa Echo
guarddog13
#43
I absolutely love this integration. I’ve always used tasker to grab notifications but I was always annoyed how cluttered my panel would get on my phone. Plus now I have my old android tablet as a cheap sonos style speaker now.
Bboy486
#44
You were just using virtual devices in webcore to trigger real contact sensors right in Alexa
GRClark
#45
Yes I take whatever it is I’m wanting a notification for and connect it with a simulated contact sensor. For example I wanted to play an notification when SHM was armed so I stated if SHM changed to armed/stay or armed/away then open contact sensor. Then in Alexa my routine says if Contact Sensor opens play message.
Bboy486
#46
I was confused because I didnt see virtual sensors in my alexa routines apps (only real ones). So you are basically forcing a sensor open and closed based on a webcore piston.
I like the routines but I dont like the lack of restrictions (only do this, if this is true). I have one that tells me if the door opens at a certain time. I can push this out to my cast devices via the web-cast-api but not alexa. I can have alexa say the phrase but it always happens when the door (sensor) is open.
WCmore
#48
Oh, how right you are… I have a suspicion though that being the way big business’ think, there will likely always be limitations between products made from other companies… Thankfully we have many tools we can use as workarounds
Bamarayne
#49
That is true… work arounds are great…
But direct integration removes all of the limitations
WCmore
#50
What I mean is, based on everything I have ever seen, when it comes to big business, direct integration between companies practically guarantees limitations for the end user. In fact, I can not think of a single case where it did not happen. (and this is coming from an eternal optimist)
I suspect the root reason is that it is next to impossible for both companies to agree on everything 100%.
Bamarayne
#51
Gotcha… I’m not talking about a direct company to company integration… I’m talking a smartapp written by a user type of integration
WCmore
#52
Ahh yes… This actually sounds more hopeful (and capable) than an ‘official’ integration to me.
(Of course, the irony is that the DH will be filled with workarounds to make the two devices ‘play nice’… So either we code workarounds now, or wait for someone else to code workarounds for us)
Oh the joys of being a pioneer, LOL
WCmore
#53
In a way, that was the purpose of this thread. I didn’t want to wait, and now you don’t have to either. 
mrmike
#55
I’m trying to get google home to play a preset shortcut when I wake up and get into the kitchen. I have set up tasker and auto-notification on my cell phone, as the cell is charging near the home device at night. When I send a push notification to the phone, the smartthings app intercepts the message, and the cell doesn’t speak. Is this to be expected? Do I need an old cell phone for this?
WCmore
#56
Any Android cell phone should work. Have you programmed Tasker to intercept the SmartThings notification as shown in the first post here? (step 6)
One thing that I sometimes do during testing is have Tasker make a sound effect or flash a message when it receives the new notification. It makes troubleshooting easy.
Normally, within one second of the piston running, my phone gets the notification, and Tasker does it’s thing immediately.
Side note:
If your phone is in “Do not disturb” mode from you sleeping, that may also silence the voice.
Also, you can hit the triangle in Tasker to test the voice while you are editing the Task. This lets you know that the voice part is working, and lets you try other voices to find a favorite.
(although you may have to fake a phrase since it won’t have a notification to read back testing this way)
Glen_King
#58
And this is now obsolete, with the advent of the Echo Speaks smart app. Using that app, Smartthings can now make announcements via your echo devices.
Using sharptools, you can now take events in android land and have Smartthings make them announce on your Echo devices.
Imagine you are running a bed & breakfast. You have a smart lock. You can set up routines such that, if a message is received from a particular smart phone, it unlocks the door. You could assign smart phones from all your clients to that functionality. Just before the door opens, the echo at your front desk announces “mr. Smith is entering”…
GRClark
#59
Maybe you might be able to answer this question for me, but one thing I’ve been wanting to deal with having Alexa make announcements is do you have variables passed so that you don’t always have to have preset messages. For example you could have a rule that announces the temperature or what door opens without having to create routines for each contact sensor.
Glen_King
#60
I don’t know yet, but I imagine so. I have an “open windows and doors” piston that announces these things out of my android tablet via tasker, and I’m in the process of moving that function to Echo dots. The function says it will speak those variables:
