I am deaf-blind, and I am trying to configure my Samsung TV Remote device. Now, you might be asking why a deaf-blind person would have a TV. Mainly, I just want to make sure the thing is on or off. Sometimes people come over and give me sighted assistance, and they are more comfortable seeing the problems on screen. And I ddo have a tiny amount of hearing, and I can comprehend spoken content through my hearing aids.
Back to my problem. I have set up the device, but the only thing that is being captured is whether the TV is on or off. It does not capture volume leverl, channel number, etc. I believe the problem is the device id. The installation instructions say to use the ST Device ID." I have tried the number reported to me in the log--a ridiculously long series of hexadecimal digits and dashes. The current state does not present the information correctly. I have also tried the device ID in the log which is the Hubitat device id, in this case "103." This does not work either.
I also want to point out an accessibility issue. When I use NVDA, the checkboxes in the Preferences section are not described by the speech to text software. I switched to JAWS, and there they were, but instead of the usual check box, control label ordering, they were described in reverse order. So I kept checking the wrong box, and getting nothing. The Windows Narrator engine built into Windows actually describes everything correctly.
Hello, i think @JDRoberts should be able to help you.He's in very well versed in all things automation and uses a screen reader, so should have some valuable experience to share. JDroberts is also on the smarththings forum
Well, my difficulties are not with tthe screen reader. I was just making observations that developers at hubitat might want to take a look at. The problem Iam trying to solve is getting my tv to integrate with hubitat correctly.
BTW, my favorite screen reader was Cobar manufactured by Baum.de, but the company went through administration and folded. Most likely because it was over engineered, and had a humongously steep learning curve.
I am using a driver for my Fridge that has the same info needed. It looks like on the TV driver this is optional to get extra info. You need an API key from SmartThings and also the Device ID. They are both long HEX strings with dashes.
Once you get the API key, you add that to the device, and click Save. Then I think it logs ALL the ST devices with the ID numbers on the logs, so you would need to find the correct one for your device, and copy and paste it to the device page.
Unfortunately this does not sound that friendly to do using a screen reader.
I am using the driver you linked to. I installed the driver using the HPM, and during the installation phase, the HPM presented me with a list of packages to install. I checked the box next to "Samsung TV Remote." I have no other Samsung devices in my home so I did not check any other boxes. I followed all the instructions as I understood them. I acquired a token, which was a long multi-part hexadecimal string with parts separated by dashes. I do not feel comfortable posting it here, as I am not sure that it is safe to do so. The log file entry with what I suspect is the device ID is:
I replaced the first few characters with 'X' just to be sure I am safe from hackers. There are to IDs in the log entry. "Dev 103" and the long hexadecimal string. From what you say the hexadecimal string is the correct information to put into that edit box.
However, I am still getting errors "404 bad message."
When I log into my SmartThings account on the web, I cannot find the TV listed in the device list. Perhaps the device is not installed in the cloud properly." At this point, all I can do is to turn the TV on and off.
And one more thing, in settings?general?network Settings?Expert Setting, the Power Mobile menu item does not return a result of "true" per the installation instructions. I can either turn it "On" and "Off." It is turned on.
It looks like maybe you are only getting the last part of the device ID and not the entire thing, based on where you put the XXX. The full device ID in your post, including the XXX is:
fa8b0967-bae9-447d-a585-XXX97486075
The instructions just say that the Power on with Mobile should be selected (blue), which I assume means it is on. Sounds like you have it turned on which is allowing you to turn it on and off from Hubitat. Also the IP Remote setting must be enabled.
I do know that for my Fridge and Oven, they are connected to the SmartThings cloud via the SmartThings mobile app. I think that is how the API and Device ID gets info from them. But if it was not connected to the cloud system I do not think you would be able to get a device ID for it, so maybe it is connected already.
Well, I am not using the SmartThings app. I deleted that when I migrated from ST to Hubitat. I inserted the entire ST Device Id, and now I am gettings error 403, command forbidden. Apparently there is a security barrier preventing this from working. I do have 2-step verification turned on in my SmartThings account. Could that be causing the problem?
They suggest that error could be that the token (api key) was not created with all of the Scopes selected, which you may have missed that menu when you created it and not selected any scopes possibly?
Also it says if you do not connect to the TV from the SmartThings app for 28 days they may disconnect it from the app and cause the 403 error with the API. So you may need to set it up on the app again to get this integration going. I suspect once it is going you will not need the mobile app anymore.
Well, I generated a new token with the checkboxes all checked. I put the new token into the token field in the Preferences section. I am still getting the same result. It seems that I will need to add it to the the hub again. And the hub--its in a box in the basement somewhere
However, something else you said poses another problem. After 28 days without activity, the device is deleted. What kind of activity is required to prevent this from happening? Will some kind of keep alive event from the hubitat be sufficient?
To give you an idea how often I turn this device on, I bought a new router last August, and i FInally got around to updating the WiFi settings three days ago. I do not watch TV, participate in social media, or anything else requiring internet connections. I am an ordained Buddhist monk. I will celebrate the 25th anniversary of my ordination in May. I find TV, social media am obstacle to the inner calmness of the mind that I am trying to cultivate.
I will dig out the hub sometime in the next few days, but right now I have other things to do. At least, I can now see if the TV is on or off, and add it to my night mode routine which turns all the lights off.
You should not need the hub, you only need the mobile app on your phone. My Fridge and Oven connect to my Wifi and then to the ST cloud directly. I can change the settings and see some info in the mobile app. Thats all I have setup and I am able to use the similar driver for those.
I suspect as long as your hub checks in on the TV regularly it should stay linked up, you could setup a daily refresh rule or something just to keep it active.
Nice, he has the Fridge and Oven in there also. I had seen talk about that Replica setup before but I didn't realize what it was. I should be able to get real time updates from the door sensor on the fridge with this which would be nice. I will have to check it out.
I will be adding others (washer/dryer) to replica in the near future.
Today, I am working on both Samsung TV Remote drivers (Replica and Standard) to try to finally resolve some issues with on-off detection and setting the preferred on state (i.e., Ambient mode and Art (frame Art) mode) initial condition. The Samsung TV wifi implementation is (of itself) quirky (kind wording).
Testing with Replica has indicated response from SmartThings for changes in generally under (well under) 2 seconds.
Well, I figured this one out. My TV is not in the ST Cloud. You do not need the hub to add it to the cloud. You do need the app. However, when trying to add the device to the cloud, the ST app will begin the connection, and then asks you to type in the numbers displayed on the screen. And the Voice Guide does not read the numbers, so I will have to ask a neighbor to help me. And I added hubithings package. Not sure where the driver of the tv is in that package. The hubitat successfully connected to the ST cloud, and it actually found my old hub which I never got around to deleting when i retired the hub.
