IFTTT very slow

Help! Community Support
1

Is there a way to link a Blink security camera to a logicblock in Apilio without going via IFTTT? I am using IFTTT and an Apilio logicblock to turn on security lights at night when the camera detects motion. But there is often a delay of 30 minutes or more between the camera detecting motion and IFTTT calling the Apilio logicblock which makes the system useless.
Any help would be very much appreciated.

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2

Hi Les,
there isn’t at the moment, but we are constantly looking into opportunities to improve the service for our users.
According to this a thread on the blink community though it looks like there is no API nor any other type of integration (e.g. with webhooks) offered by blink.

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Strange isn’t it that a Ring doorbell works fine but a Blink camera doesn’t when both are owned by Amazon.

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I guess Amazon prefers to push it’s own platform more than others… :cry:

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I am using a Sengled motion sensor and while its not 30 minutes the delay is about 5minutes. This is slow when you are looking to setup and automate the toggle of lights. Has anyone found an alternative solution to IFTTT?

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Buy a Tuya/Smart Life compatible sensor and use Apilio’s native integration with Tuya to trigger actions based on motion.

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I’m not sure which motion sensor exactly, but as @teknofilo said, our Tuya integration is fast.
If the sensor is Zigbee standard, chances are good that you only need a Tuya / Smart Life hub to connect it.

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Is it Alexa compatible? If so the easiest solution is to set up a routine in Alexa. Alexa is so flexible I have replaced about a dozen of my IFTTT apps and they all work faster and more reliably.

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Thanks very much for your suggestions. Very much appreciate it.

This is the Sengled sensor i have is (https://us.sengled.com/products/sengled-smart-led-with-motion-sensor-par38-bulb) and it looks like it is Zigbee compatible so should it work with SmartThings but would it integrate with SmartThings/Tuya in Apilio without needing to a specific Tuya hub? What i have is the sengled hub.

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I see that it is Alexa compatible. I have 3 ring cameras that are also Alexa compatible and I want them to turn on lights at night if they detect motion in order to deter intruders. I did this with IFTTT and the delays were both long and unreliable. I now do this via Alexa and it works instantly and reliably.

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Thanks @Les. What you have done is exactly what i want to do and have the same issue with IFTTT :slight_smile:

I haven’t used Alexa before. Can you please let me know if i need to enable Alexa voice assistant on my mobile or purchase an Alexa base station to achieve what you did?

I am not keen on enabling alexa voice assistant on my mobile for privacy reasons.

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You need to purchase an Alexa echo device and set it up in your house using the Alexa app. Then via the app you add the devices to it so that they are linked in to it. Then you set up routines using those devices.
My Ring doorbell routine is for example,

Ring door bell detects motion
Switch on hall lamp
Wait 10 minutes
Turn off hall lamp

Hall lamp and Ring door bell are 2 devices coupled to Alexa

You can set time parameters so that this routine only runs at say nighttime and even specify which days it runs on.
Hope this all makes sense,
Les

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Thanks @Les! Got it.

Is there an alternative to using Alexa Echo device as i am not a fan of voice assistants.

What’s a good smart hub to buy as the Sengled doesn’t support SmartThings/Tuya?

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I don’t know of any other alternative than IFTTT. However you can switch off the voice assist on an Alexa Echo and treat it as a hub. Easy to set up and very cheap c£30 in uk

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Hi @MPK,
to continue using Apilio for the automation, I think you have two possibilities:

  1. You buy a Tuya / Smart Life based Zigbee hub (I have one from Lidl for 20$) and try to connect the Sengled sensor with it. If you can pair them it’s a great solution, but it’s not guaranteed it works (in which case you could return the hub).
  2. You buy a new WiFi Tuya / Smart Life sensor → No need for a hub, but check the list below for recommendations as not all are great options.

Finding the best Tuya hardware can be tricky depending on the region / country you live in.
We have started a user-created list of recommendations: Smart Life (Tuya) product tracker: compatible products curated by the Community
You can also ask here in the community of course :slight_smile:

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