SimpleCommands

It took a lot of fiddling and experimenting to get this to automatically open my garage door when I drive into my street using geo fence and MyQ, but I finally got it working. At least it does about 60-70% of the time. Unfortunately 25-30% of battery usage is SimpleCommands using background location and drains the battery quickly. I got tired of charging my phone 2-3 times a day so finally had to change permissions to only when using app, so of course this feature doesn’t work any more. Hopefully there will be a fix for this soon so can start using it again.

I first downloaded this app in order to control a MyQ garage door (I’ve since added some other devices). I’ve read many reviews stating the app did not work with MyQ which simply is not true. However, it does take a bit of setup and background research. Note that you cannot simply add the myq device and then sync with Alexa app. You must create routines (one to open and another to close) inside the SimpleCommands app. You will then add those to the Alexa app as scenes and you can then run those within an Alexa routine. I admit it is a bit cumbersome but the SimpleCommands app is providing a workaround that otherwise doesn’t exist so I appreciate the developer for creating a solution. By the way, I learned of the need to create a routine from the app developers support page. The developer has lots of support articles so take a few minutes to read them and give it a try before leaving a negative review. Again, this app allows me to control something with Alexa that wouldn’t be possible otherwise so thumbs up!

When I first got this app I tried to connect it to my wink hub 2. It wouldn’t work. After some back and forth with their support it would connect and get the list of devices but selecting any device gives me a “Retrieving state...” and nothing ever happens past that. They’ve been very supportive up to now. Haven’t heard from them for a couple of weeks. I do have hope that they will find a solution but until they do I have to give one star. UPDATE: They have now fixed it. Works great with my Wink Hub 2. I may find some problems as time goes forward but they deserve 5 stars for a customer service that won’t quit!

[Edit: After two full un- and reinstalls, it works great again on both my Apple Watch and iPhone. Maybe something gummed up. Awesome app and I’m glad we’re back together again!] (Original) The app used to work very well under iOS 12.4, upon upgrade to 13 I am not able to use my Apple Watch s3 as a controller, it only says “Waiting for phone” even though the app says successfully connected (and I can’t un- and re-pair the Apple Watch skill in the iPhone app). Tried uninstalling all, reinstalling all, rebooting both devices etc. Is there a fix? If not, SC may be dead under iOS 13 😐

Ok for simplicity it’s 5 stars! I have used this to allow Alexa to control our Chamberlain garage door with flawless success... awesome. Have used it to setup some routines on my 89 year old fathers Alexa at home making him happy and feel very safe. The ONLY thing that they must do is add more connections. We have the Honeywell Total Connect Comfort thermostats upstairs and downstairs in our home as well as my fathers apartment. Would be awesome to be able to get control via SC. The IFTTT app has it, I really hope these folks get it.