SmartThings status updating Tasmota device handler

[BrettSheleski]

Please use this thread for discussion regarding updating the SmartThings device handler(s) status in the case when the Tasmota device is triggered from outside the SmartThings App.

[tonyfitzs]

Hi Brett, not sure if this is the right place to write this or not but given based on my interpretation this issue relates to “status updating Tasmota device handler” it does seem reasonable.
I am trying to get a Sonoff basic working with Smarthings, I have spent many hours on it with very little success, and I am about ready to through the smarthings controller away and build something else (just kidding…sort of).
Anyway, I have managed to flash the Sonoff and that all works exactly as I want it too. I have also followed to the letter the instructions found on this page https://github.com/BrettSheleski/SmartThingsPublic/tree/master/devicetypes/BrettSheleski/tasmota.src, and i cant get it to work correctly. I think there must be some information missing because I can’t work out how to build a relationship between the Tasmota Device Handler and the Tasmota-Power Device Handler

The instructions seem to end after you have added a Device (which appears to relate only to the Tasmota Device Handler). Anyway, I wonder if you can help with what appears to be the missing piece of information.
In case there is no missing information, and it just works via magic, then can you have a look at the screenshots below because nothing appears to be working. The first screenshot is of the Device Handler in the app on my phone. The information is not being populated with anything

The second screenshot is of the Tasmota-Power Device Handler. This doesn’t do anything at all. It just shows as constantly being on.

[BrettSheleski]

It looks like the device handler is not able to talk to your Sonoff. I'm guessing the IP address is not set properly for the Tasmota device. You'll need to go to the SmartThings IDE, go to My Devices, click on your Tasmota device, in the Preferences section, click the edit link, and make sure to set the IP address to the IP of your Sonoff.

You should not manually add any other device other than the Tasmota device. The Tasmota device handler will spawn child devices depending on the configuration of the device itself.

[tonyfitzs]

Hi Brett, thanks for the speedy reply, I really appreciate it. Below is a screenshot of the device handler settings, I have not put a username and password in because I have no idea what username and password it is looking for.  Below is a screenshot of the webpage that is on the other end of the screenshot. So unless im missing something, I think this is what it is supposed to be.  From: Brett Sheleski <notifications@github.com> Sent: Thursday, 19 April 2018 11:09 PM To: BrettSheleski/SmartThingsPublic <SmartThingsPublic@noreply.github.com> Cc: Tony Fitzsimmons <tony@fitzsimmons.com.au>; Comment <comment@noreply.github.com> Subject: Re: [BrettSheleski/SmartThingsPublic] SmartThings status updating Tasmota device handler (#13) It looks like the device handler is not able to talk to your Sonoff. I'm guessing the IP address is not set properly for the Tasmota device. You'll need to go to the SmartThings IDE, go to My Devices, click on your Tasmota device, in the Preferences section, click the edit link, and make sure to set the IP address to the IP of your Sonoff. You should not manually add any other device other than the Tasmota device. The Tasmota device handler will spawn child devices depending on the configuration of the device itself. — You are receiving this because you commented. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub<#13 (comment)>, or mute the thread<https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/Agn3lR9EG_wDUPRlFKh9fWal9VJ2HPhTks5tqIxmgaJpZM4SojgS>.

[tonyfitzs]

Brett I am still not having any success with this, are you able to help further, please.

[BrettSheleski]

The screenshot shows the http:// prefix. Only put the IP address of the Sonoff without any prefix. (10.110.20.156)

See what happens after doing that.

[tonyfitzs]

Hi Brett, so we have a bit of a result.... I did as you suggested and removed the header from the IP address. the TASMOTA app is now getting information from the device.

this is a great start.

but the Tasmota Power Handler still isn't working correctly, it is always on. do I have to have the Tasmota setup in a special mode somehow? the instructions for the power handler are pretty vague. I have set the properties for the power device handler as follows.

I appreciate your help a lot.

[BrettSheleski]

Once you configure the single Tasmota device, you should not have to configure any other devices. The Tasmota device will, in your case, spawn a single Tasmota-Power child device since the Sonoff is configured as a Sonoff-Basic (Module 1). The most you should really do with any child device is rename it to your liking.

If you press the refresh button on the Tasmota device it should update the status of itself and all child devices.

In your case I believe the Power Channel of the Tasmota-Power child device should be set to 1. Again, this should be set for you automatically. I would recommend deleting your Tasmota device and any Tasmota-Power child devices (but keep the Device Handler code) and starting over if you're having problems.

Currently, the status of the device (including any child devices) will not update when changed outside the SmartThings app. Meaning if you somehow toggle the state of the Sonoff by other means (the Tasmota web interface, MQTT, etc.) the status reported by SmartThings will not automatically update. This is a limitation of how SmartThings works.

I have been developing a SmartThings SmartApp to address this limitation. The goal of the SmartApp is to provide an HTTP endpoint one can call after the Sonoff device is triggered. One way of getting this working is to create a flow in Node-Red which would listen to the MQTT traffic for state-change, and make an HTTP call to the SmartApp providing it with the current state information. This is a work-in-progress though.

[tonyfitzs]

Thank you, Brett, after I posted my last post to you I managed to get it working. what I discovered is that the Handler doesn't automatically spawn the switch which was what caused the confusion. what I had to do is go to the Device Handler in edit mode then open the simulator and simulate an action. as soon as I did that it spawns the switch.

Now all I have to do is figure out how to get Smarthings to set up the second switch because in my case I am using the Sonoff with a second relay so while its a basic it kind of behaves like a duo.

what I might do if this is of any help to you, is I will do some more testing and tighten up the wording a little for your tutorial and repost it for guys like me who aren't really programmers.

[BrettSheleski]

Do you have a gpio pin setup to control another relay (and configured via the Tasmota web interface)? If so, I intended on supporting such situations.

Give me a screenshot of what http://ip-of-sonoff/md shows if you don't mind.

Also, feel free to make a pull request containing any additional documentation you feel may be helpful.

[tonyfitzs]

thanks very much, Brett, I would like to help you out if I can, one of my skills is the development of help text, I do it as part of my job. based on my present experience I can re-word the current help document so it's more clear and then send it back to you if that would be helpful.

[BrettSheleski]

Nice. Btw, you shouldn't have to go to the Simulator in the IDE. If that's the case, that should be fixed.

It looks like I should be able to support relays attached to GPIO's relatively easily. I may be able to make some code changes to accommodate this.

[BrettSheleski]

I was able to implement relay devices configured on GPIO pins (see commit 4f56a96).

The code is stubbed out to support other devices attached to GPIO pins, but not implemented (yet).

You'll need to update your Device Handler code from this repo. It should then create an additional Tasmota-Power child device for you automatically.

[tonyfitzs]

Thanks Brett. I will give this a try, I do have the other question. You mentioned the other day that you are working how to update Smarthings by creating a flow in Node-Red which would listen to the MQTT traffic. this got me thinking, if Smartthings is able to get updates from Node-Red then presumably it can send messages to Node-Red. wouldn't it make a lot more sense (and be a lot easier to get working) to just use a Smarthings Node Red integration to drive Tasmota? you could then simply configure the Tasmota device as an MQTT device and smart things would be able to send a turn on turn off command via Node Red.

I have node-red running in my environment and I use it for unrelated stuff to home automation. if I knew how to tell smartthings to send it a message and vice-versa I would love to give this a try. so if I may ask. how are you configuring Smarthings to listen to Node red? and is it even posible to send a message to Node red if you press a button in smartthings.

warm regards.

[BrettSheleski]

I'm not aware of any SmartThings nodes for Node-Red. I'm just doing raw http requests in Node-Red.

However, you're on the right track regarding Node-Red. Check out https://github.com/stjohnjohnson/smartthings-mqtt-bridge. It's a solution to access SmartThings devices via mqtt. I've thought about going down that route but decided against it for now at least.

What you could do is create virtual devices for all your actual things in SmartThings and the configure Node-Red to "translate" decice-specific mqtt messages to the format the mqtt bridge is expecting.