Off Line Notification

#1

Is it possible to have a notification sent (or SMS text message) from the cloud or where ever “off line” notices are sent from?

I have a device, “plug1” that I would like to monitor. If the power is off or “plug1” is off-line for any reason, I would like to get a text message. I have tried DeviceWatch-DeviceStatus is “offline”, but is does not send a notification, most likely because when it is off-line, so is the hub due to the power being out. Hence the need to watch the status from another location.

Is this possible?

#2

Hi there.
Well i don’t know if you can get sms while the hub is OFF line (St app sends you a notification though)

My workaround would be using one or two ups power supply for the ST hub and your modem.
This will give you enough time to monitor your plug.

#3

That is one way. I was thinking there could/should be a way without those because I do get notices when my hub goes “off-line”. That comes from ST. Most of the time it is because the internet went down. There is still power at the hub and modem. If I knew what generates that notice, maybe I could duplicate that for the “plug1” I’m trying to watch.

Thoughts??

#4

SMS messages actually originate from outside our home network. If your entire neighborhood is in a blackout, you can still get SMS messages if a trigger fires. (such as a time based trigger) Obviously, the trigger won’t fire based on local conditions, since there is no power there.

#5

Maybe I don’t know enough about how this works. Couldn’t a piston watch for “plug1” to go offline and then send me an SMS message? How about if the whole hub goes offline, (power outage), can the piston still send me a text message?

#6

Possibly. I have seen a thread here in the forums covering this question…

Maybe try searching here.

Most definitely YES, since all SMS messages come from outside our home network.
BUT…
The trigger cannot be a local device, since it’s obviously offline in your scenario.

IE:
This works without power:
Every day at noon, send SMS

This won’t work unless powered:
IF Bulb turns off, send SMS

#7

Thanks for the help. I now better understanding what I’m asking for. I’ve been searching the forum for a couple of days. It seems the question has been asked many times, but no real answers. I’ll keep looking. Alternatively, I’m wondering if SmartThings could be set to send a text message when the hub goes offline instead of the push notification it sends. The push notification gets lost, or most of the time is unnoticed. A text could continue to alert me until I read it.

#8

I use Tasker on my Android. When important notifications come in, Tasker can make a unique sound, or alert me many other ways to make sure I get notified ASAP.

#9

Oh wow!
I use Tasker for several things, but never thought about that.
I’ll give it a go.

#10

Here is a few ideas for quick alerts:

When an important notification comes in, Tasker can:

  • Turn off Silent mode
  • Play music or a sound effect
  • Change your wallpaper
  • Popup a scene that covers your screen until you click a button
  • Send a SMS to your spouse (or self)
  • Vibrate a specific pattern
  • Flash a certain color using your notification LED etc

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…and many many more!!

#11

That’s great. Not my perfect solution, but might get me by until something better comes along. How do I make Tasker see the notification from SmartThings?

#12

Tasker can see anything that comes in to the Notification tray.

I have another thread showing how I do it. (almost identical for your task)

Scroll down a bit and check out Step 6 Detailed Instructions in my other thread.
(ignore that part about ®, replace it with the keyword in your notification)

Also, replace lines 1 thru 6 with whatever you want to happen when that notification comes in

Pro Tip:
You could even have Tasker read out loud the Text in the notification. (as shown in step 6)

#13

So I learned today that I can get an internal battery backup for my modem/router, and the ST hub has 4 AA batteries in it. I’m thinking that if they both stay up when the power goes off, I should be able to get a text when the hub goes on battery. That would indicate the power has gone out. That is unless a storm takes out the cable as well…
Anyone know how long the ST hub can run on those 4 little batteries?

#14

I’ve never tested but 4 AA batteries should last a long time with ST HUB

#15

Thanks!
I just need long enough to determine it is on battery and get the text message.

#16

…Continuation of the original post!

So testing out the suggestion of using UPS backups to alert me of the power being off, I decided to see if this would work “before” I bought the UPS backups.

I created these 2 pistons to watch for the hub changing to battery power, and changing to mains power. I unplugged the hub from the wall to see if it would trigger a message. It did not. Instead, the hub just goes “offline”. Could this be a problem with the hub? I replaced the 4 AA batteries before testing…

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#17

UPDATE—
I have rebooted the hub and verified on SmartThings that it shows when the hub is on battery power and when it is not. So,… the hub is working properly.
It must be my Piston.

#18

I’ve never tried creating a piston with HUBs status so I don’t know what’s going on there (And I don’t use the batteries either) BUT
my understanding was you have a outlet called plug1 and you want to see if that goes OFF.

If that plug is never to be turned on or off manually, status of that outlet would show you if there is power outtage or now. The piston can be something like this:

IF plug1 changes to OFF
Then
Send SMS “Power is OFF”

IF plug1 changes to ON
Then
Send SMS “power is ON”

#19

Tried that. Problem is that if “plug1” is on and power goes out, it is still being reported as “ON” in ST. I have “plug1” unplugged beside me for 2 hours now. Still showing “ON” in ST. I would have thought it would be “offline”, but nope…

#20

himmmm
I wonder if your ST App/devices/Webcore is having communication issues?

My last recommendation would be testing something simple with another device
and turnning that device OFF and see if that triggers anything in webcore (just to test the connection between three legs)

EDIT : one more thing, can you turn that outlet OFF via switch on the device instead of unplugging it?