+11 votes
by (590 points)
Hi Guys, how do you name your devices in smartthings so you can use Google assistant to know their status? For instance I had all my temperature sensors name " Temperature in ###Room" so when I used google assistant I had to say "What's the temperature in "Temperature in ###Room"", few days back just renamed them to their location "###Room". So when I ask google what's the temperature in "###Room", it doesn't work.  
Hi Guys, how do you name your devices in smartthings so you can use Google assistant to know their s

6 Answers

+5 votes
by (15.3k points)
 
Best answer
I point at something and ask mybwife what she calls that. Thats what I name it. It solves most Alexa voice command issues. And she generally calls things by (roomname) (device)
by (130 points)
@anatolia7046 Learned to ask first the hard way. I had to rename everything
+4 votes
by (1.7k points)
[RoomName] Sensor. "Alexa, what's the living room sensor's temperature? " Works for me with Alexa
by (590 points)
(Y) ok so I need add "Sensor" to my request
by (4k points)
@adali no, you don't have to have sensor in the request. You can, but not required.  
+4 votes
by (1.2k points)
Also after renaming you might have to update it in Google
by (1.4k points)
To test it, ask using your old naming scheme. If that still works you know google didnt update.  
+2 votes
by (5k points)
I generally use the format <Room> <Device> in order to give devices unique names that work outside the context of rooms. With Google, I find things work best if the device name ENDS with the name or type of device - switch, motion, light, temperature, TV, printer, fan, white laptop and so on. Just using that bit of the name is often enough for Google to work out which device you mean, particularly if you don't have more than one per room.  
by (11k points)
I do this as well.  
+4 votes
by (1.6k points)
Have you actually assigned the device to the room in google Home app? And checked the names there not in smartthings. Its valid to need to identify identical sensors in different rooms but it sounds like you are confusing google by calling it ‘in room’, which is a part of a sentence that means something to google when trying to answer questions - google knows what rooms things are in. It’s also the best just to call devices what they are, rather than use the name to make a specific UI present the device’s capability in a certain way. It is not “the temperature in living room”, it just reports it. It could be a “living room temperature sensor”, a “thermometer”, a “thermostat”, or a flopsidoodle. Google knows which devices can sense temperature and it knows which room they are in, don’t try to second guess it, just ask it what the temperature is in a given room, or on the device.  
+3 votes
by (4.2k points)
I ask someone what that is. Gold lamp, ceiling fan.  
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