Added 2 wifi plugs to Alexa App on iphone, Can't see on Hubitat Alexa Skill

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1

I had three Hue White A19 smart bulbs working in a group via my Hue bridge and set them up in Hubitat to turn on/off via motion sensor.

Same weekend, two of the three bulbs stopped working. Dead. Won't light up in known good socket.

Anyway, I had a couple Capstone Wifi Smart Plugs I bought a couple years ago from Sam's Club in a box. I added them to my Alexa App on my iphone and can control them via voice to turn on and off.

I would like to have them available on the Hubitat so I can replace the two dead devices with them in my previously mentioned lighting automation using the motion sensor.

How can I get these to show up in Hubitat? Can I migrate a device discovered and controlled by my Echo Plus/Alexa INTO Hubitat? Please note, I know how to use the Hubitat Alexa Skill to add already discovered Hubitat devices into the Amazon Alexa app. I want to go the other way.. Add a device controlled by Alexa into Hubitat.

Or am I barking up the wrong tree? I tried adding the Capstone Wifi plugs via LAN Discovery, But nothing showed up. That's why I thought I might be able to bring something over from Alexa -> Hubitat.

2

Amazon doesn't permit that.

As a workaround create Hubitat virtual devices using a virtual contact sensor + switch driver, and expose these devices to Alexa via the Hubitat skill.

Then create Alexa routines to control your WiFi devices using as trigger the state of the virtual device (eg. closed = on, and open = off). Turning the virtual device on/off at the Hubitat end, for instance using RM, will control the physical device via your Alexa routines.

Here's an example of a virtual contact + switch driver:

metadata {
	definition (name: "Virtual contact with auto-off Switch", namespace: "cw", author: "cwwilson08") {
		capability "Sensor"
		capability "Contact Sensor"
        capability "Switch"
	}   
}

preferences {
        section {
		    input (
                name: "AutoOff",
                type: "bool",
                title: "Enable auto off", 
                required: false, 
                displayDuringSetup: false, 
                defaultValue: false
            )
        }
}


def on() {
    sendEvent(name: "contact", value: "closed")
    sendEvent(name: "switch", value: "on")
    if (AutoOff) {
        runInMillis(12, off)
    }
}

def off() {
    sendEvent(name: "contact", value: "open")
    sendEvent(name: "switch", value: "off")
}   

def installed() {
}
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3

Thank you for the super fast response. I understand what you are saying and it makes complete sense.

I just want to use the Wifi Plugs for the time being until I get a few new smart bulbs. Will be able to control the lamp on/off (with a "dumb" bulb) via the wife plug.

Appreciate you!

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4

Using a combination of a Hubitat virtual device with an Alexa routine can even be used for other things. Such as, using the Alexa app for geofencing.

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