I recently decided to expand my smart home setup by adding devices at my girlfriend’s house, in addition to my own. I’ve been using Google Home alongside SmartThings, and while the initial setup was smooth, I’ve encountered a few quirks that I’d like to share and seek advice on.
Setup Overview:
- I have one SmartThings hub at my house and another at my girlfriend’s place.
- Both hubs are integrated with Google Home, allowing me to control devices at both locations using voice commands.
The Challenge:
- The issue arises when I reset my phone and have to reconfigure Google Home. Upon reconnection, Google Home lists both SmartThings locations, but there’s an unexpected behavior in how devices are synced.
- My girlfriend’s location consistently appears at the top of the list, even after renaming mine to sort alphabetically higher. When I try to sync my house’s devices, Google Home often pulls her devices instead.
What I’ve Tried:
- I’ve attempted to blow away my location and rebuild it with a name that sorts higher alphabetically, but the issue persists.
- As a workaround, I’ve had to delete her location entirely, which forces Google Home to recognize mine. After adding her location back, everything works as intended, but this process feels overly destructive.
Questions and Requests:
- Is there a way to change the sort order of locations within the SmartThings API to prioritize my home?
- Are there any settings or configurations within Google Home that could help manage multiple locations more seamlessly?
- Any suggestions on how to avoid having to delete and recreate locations would be greatly appreciated!
I’m hopeful there’s a more elegant solution out there. If anyone has insights or workarounds, I’d love to hear them!