Different locations for different devices

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Different locations for different devices

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Different locations for different devices
Different locations for different devices
2022-06-07 01:01:34

I have two houses with vastly different lattitudes, with smart switches in both. I would like to assign one location to devices in Oregon, and another location to devices in my Southern California home, and use the sunset/sunrize logic to turn some of them on and off. But I don't see a way to assign different locations to different devices, so the sunrise/sunset times are calculated correctly. Is there a way to do this? My work-around is to use Alexa Routines which allow for different locations for different devices, but that's hardly clean and reliable. Any help would be appreciated.

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Re:Different locations for different devices
2022-06-07 16:07:59

  @JacktheRipper 

 

Most people in your situation have homes in different time zones.  That can be an Achilles heel for setting time-sensitive features like away mode or schedules.   This is because time is set or instead updated via the app so all devices in an account are limited to one timezone.  If this applies to you, I recommend setting up 2 separate Kasa accounts since an account is free. 

 

For your situation, you can try to use the Alexa routines and grouping feature in the Alexa app.  You can also great specific grouping of products in the Kasa App.  For example, you could group all of your devices in So Cal as a So Cal group and Oregon as an Oregon group.  The thing with groups to know is that it only controls the on and off function.  You can use smart Actions to set a schedule for groups but keep in mind you can only have 3 active smart actions at this time. I know that limitation sucks and we have been urging the development team to do something about it. 

 

Another option is to name the devices specific to your region so for instance So Cal Master Bedroom or Oregon Living Room.  This way when you try to control a specific property you can do it by region.  

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Re:Different locations for different devices
2022-07-02 14:04:13
Carl...Thanks for delineating the available options. The fundamental problem is that the Kasa software only has one global home position for an account, and it uses that to set the latitude for all devices, and, presumably, for all the groups in the account when setting Sunrise/Sunset schedules. I also have Feit Smart devices, and their software allows you to choose a location when setting Sunset/Sunrise for each device, independent of where "home" is set. I would have gone with their system except they don't make a wall switch with a motion detector. I'm currently using the Alexa Routines work-around you suggested, but I find those routines rather unreliable. Surprising, because most Amazon software is rock solid. And I thought about two accounts, but that would presumably force you to log out/log in to see all you devices, a real pain. Hope tp-link addresses these short comings. (Do they even monitor this forum???)
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