Home Security with SmartThings via Octoblu

Create your own home security system powered by Octoblu and SmartThings! Here's how it works... SmartThings allows you to connect various devices to their hub. We can then create devices in Octoblu based on the devices in your hub. Here, you can see how to connect an outlet and motion sensor. When the motion sensor is tripped, Octoblu will turn on the outlet, send a SMS, and speak some text.

SmartThings Hardware Setup

SmartThings requires a hub, which you will need to connect your SmartThings devices to. Check out this page if you would like to know more about how it works.

To start, it is necessary to download the SmartThings mobile app on either IoS, Andriod, or Windows. Follow the setup instructions and connect your hub to your SmartThings account.

• Plug your smart outlet in and position your motion sensor

• Then add your two devices to your SmartThings hub

SmartThings Custom App Setup

Now that you have your SmartThings outlet and sensor connected to your hub, we will need to create a SmartApp that will connect your SmartThings outlet and sensor to your Octoblu account. They will show up as their own separate devices. The custom app's purpose is to take you through the Oauth process and add selected devices to your account.

If you would like to know more about what Oauth does, check out these docs. Note that all the information in the linked docs are supplementary, you don't need to know any of it.

You will only need one custom app to add all your devices.

Start by navigating to the SmartThings developer page.

• Then create a new app and copy/paste the code from octoblu-smartapp into your app

• Now you can save, then publish your new app

• Go back to your SmartThings app on your mobile device

• Go to the Marketplace tab in the bottom right

• Then scroll down to My Apps

• Click on your SmartApp, and follow the instructions to add your devices from your hub to your Octoblu account

Octoblu Flow Setup

Import my SmartThings flow:

Then use the Setup Wizard. You don't need to edit any of the devices during setup. Click "Done" in the bottom right corner.

If you had added your SmartThings outlet and sensor to your Octoblu account before importing, they should appear with their proper logo once you finish importing. The image for the logo is added to your devices when they are created in the custom SmartThings app.

Here's how the flow works... When the motion sensor detects activity or inactivity, it will send a message. We then decide to turn off the outlet if it's inactive, and we turn on the outlet, send a SMS and speak text if it's active.

You could easily change out the SMS Thing for another Thing such as Email. And adding more SmartThings devices to Octoblu is easy with the Octoblu SmartApp.