Can you integrate a Nest Hello doorbell and LIFX bulb for smart home automations?

On our most recent IoT Podcast, Rick called in with a question to our voicemail hotline. He previously used IFTTT to integrate his Ring doorbell with a LIFX bulb; the bulb would flash whenever someone was at the front door. Rick now uses a Nest Hello video doorbell and wants to replicate that automation.

Unfortunately, IFTTT dropped support for Nest products just over a year ago so that’s not an option for Rick. However, there’s hope, as long as Rick is patient.

This week Samsung announced that it would be supporting the Works with Nest program. That means with a Samsung SmartThings Hub, or perhaps just with the SamrtThings mobile app, Rick’s Nest Hello doorbell can be used as an automation trigger event. We know for sure this will work with the hub but details on if a hub is required for SmartThings in 2021 aren’t yet available.

However, SmartThings does support LIFX bulbs so Rick can integrate his Nest doorbell, or any other Nest products for that matter, with LIFX once support rolls out next month.

There’s also a little trick to setting this automation up properly because there’s no “flash the light on and off” action available for LIFX in the SmartThings app. I currently use a workaround for this as I have a LIFX bulb turn on and then off in my office if someone opens the door. Since my desk faces away from the door, this gives me a heads up that one of my family members needs my attention. That’s especially helpful when I’m wearing noise-canceling headphones, which is often the case.

Here’s the trick: When setting up the LIFX action in the SmartThings app, use the “turn on” option. Then look for the setting that says to turn the light off after a certain amount of time. You can customize this time period or use a preset option. I’ve manually set mine for two seconds, which is enough time to grab my attention. At that point, the light will turn on briefly and then off when triggered by an automation event.

To hear Rick’s question in full, as well as our discussion on the topic, tune in to the IoT Podcast below.