How to: Use Wink Without Opening the Wink App

It’s late, you’ve just come home from grocery shopping, and your hands are full. Fumbling once you’re through the front door to find the light switch is a hassle. So is searching for your phone before you get out of the car. Luckily, there are a number of ways you can leverage the power of Wink to make everyday tasks in the home a little bit easier to carry out without even opening the Wink app: 

IFTTT

IFTTT (If This, Then That) is a web service that lets you turn many different products and apps - from Instagram and Dropbox, to Google Calendar and Jawbone - into triggers (IFTTT calls them Recipes) for other actions. IFTTT is a great way to expand the depth of your smart home. For example, you could set up an IFTTT Recipe that turns off the lights, locks the door, and adjusts the thermostat when you’re in bed and set your Jawbone UP to sleep mode. Read more about how to use Wink + IFTTT here.

Wink Robots

Robots can be created within the Wink app to make your connected products and even your location a trigger for other actions to take place (similar to IFTTT). You could set one up that triggers the downstairs lights to turn on whenever the sensor on your front door detects it’s being opened, or another that shuts the garage door, locks the door, and shuts off all the lights after you pull out of the driveway every morning. Read more about how to create a Wink Robot here. 

Wink Schedules

With a Schedule, connected products can be set to turn off products at a desired time, or at Sunrise/Sunset. Particularly handy if you’re someone who often works late into the night, but want to create the illusion that someone is home by having the lights turn on. Read more about how to create a Wink Schedule here.

Amazon Alexa

The Amazon Alexa voice assistant allows you to put many of the automations mentioned above into action, with a simple voice command. You can ask Alexa to turn on/off or dim a Wink-compatible lighting product, or adjust the temperature of a Wink-enabled Nest Thermostat. You can take this a step further by creating a Shortcut within the Wink app (Shortcuts let you control multiple connected products with one tap), activate the Wink Shortcut and Alexa channels within IFTTT, and create The Recipe: “If Alexa is triggered, then activate Wink Shortcut.” 

Wink Relay Now Works with Uber, Fitbit, and IFTTT

Starting today, you can do a lot more with Relay - the Wink touchscreen control panel.  

In addition to controlling the smart products you use every day, Relay can now be used to call an UberⓇ, monitor fitness through Fitbit, and take advantage of the many automations possible with the IFTTT ecosystem. 

We introduced Relay in 2014 to bring the light switch into the digital era. We imagined a beautiful, unobtrusive device in the familiar spot we have become accustomed to controlling our lights from, but with the power to control everything in the home.

The first step was Wink-compatible devices.

We knew there was a need for an additional touch point through which you could control your smart home that didn’t require being tethered to your phone. Mobile phones are inherently personal and rarely shared. Relay provides a common interface for anyone to lock the doors for the night, turn off the lights, or adjust the temperature, easily from the wall.

The next step, starting today, is to unlock a new class of services and experiences that can be accessed through the convenience of Relay. 

THIRD PARTY INTEGRATIONS:

Uber and Fitbit will appear as widgets on the Relay interface as part of an update we’re releasing to all users today. Relay is also now live as a Channel on IFTTT. It’s easy to put all three into action:

Uber: 

The Uber widget can be found on the Relay homescreen. When you press it for the first time, you will be prompted to log in to your Uber account. The Home location and default credit card on file will automatically carry over, and Relay is now set up to order a ride whenever you need!

When a ride is confirmed and on its way, you'll see how much time you have until it arrives. As the ride gets closer, you'll see your driver’s name and picture, along with the make, model, and license plate of the car. Rides called from your phone will also show up on Relay.

Just like in the Uber mobile app, if there is surge pricing, Relay will prompt you to confirm the fare. If you need to cancel a ride, do so at any time by pressing the cancel button below the ETA. And if your driver cancels your ride, Relay will tell you so you can order a new one.

Fitbit: 

To connect Fitbit, select the Settings icon on the Relay homescreen. Navigate to the Widgets page and then select the top right icon. Then, press Fitbit and you’ll be asked to sign in to your Fitbit account.

From there on out, Fitbit will ambiently display your step count and progress toward your daily step goal on the Relay sleep screen. It’s the perfect fitness nudge on a lazy day (or high five during those crazy times when you’re running around)!

IFTTT: 

You can now turn the two Relay buttons to the right of the touchscreen into triggers for the many automations enabled by IFTTT (pressing the Relay button becomes the “This” in “If This, Then That”).

To get started, log in to your IFTTT account (online or through the IFTTT app) and select “Create a Recipe.” Under “Choose Trigger Channel,” search for and select Wink Relay. You’ll then be prompted to connect IFTTT and Relay by entering your Wink login credentials.

Select which button you want to have trigger the automation, and then you’re off to the fun part: identifying what you want Relay to prompt. For example, a text could be sent to your phone when your child presses a Relay button in the afternoon, letting you know they are home from school safe and sound. 

RELAY PRODUCT UPDATES:

In tandem, we’re introducing a number of enhancements to the Relay user experience.

The microphone and speaker functionality have been enabled so that if you have multiple Relays, you can turn them into an in-home intercom system. Simply press the microphone icon on the top left of the touchscreen, talk as you would normally, and your message will be broadcasted to the other Relays throughout your home. Corralling the family out the door or downstairs for dinner is now a lot less cumbersome. 

In addition, we’ve refreshed the design of the weather and clock widgets on the sleep screen with a sleeker look that’s easier to read at a glance.

Relay makes taking advantage of the technologies and services you love easier, so you can spend less time tethered to your phone. Stay tuned, because ordering a ride, tracking your fitness goals, and communicating around the house are just the beginning of what we have planned. Additional lifestyle experiences will be introduced over the course of 2016.

In the meantime, we hope you enjoy! 

And of course, if you don’t already have Relay you can purchase one (or many) today for $99 at wink.com and Amazon.com.

How To: Use Wink with IFTTT

“If This Then That,” more commonly know as IFTTT, is a web service that connects all your favorite apps into one so they work better for you. “Recipes” are set up within IFTTT to trigger specific actions given a certain set of criteria. For example, you could create a Recipe that texts you the weather at the beginning of each day, or one that automatically saves every Instagram photo you post in a Dropbox folder. 

IFTTT also works wonders with the smart home. The Wink channel on IFTTT allows you to activate Wink Shortcuts through a variety of triggers, ranging from ESPN alerts to Google Calendar events. For example, using IFTTT, you can activate your smart home camera when your Google Calendar notifies you that it’s time to leave for vacation through a Wink Shortcut. 

Creating and utilizing the Wink channel within IFTTT is easy. Let’s follow along with the vacation example and start with how you sync with the IFTTT Wink channel:

Step 1: Download the IFTTT app and create an account (this can also be done via the web interface).

Step 2: Tap the “Recipe” button in the upper right corner. 

Step 3: Select the gear icon in the bottom right corner. 

Step 4: Select “Channels,” and you will see a menu with all of the compatible IFTTT channels. 

Step 5: Type in "Wink" and select “Wink Shortcuts.” 

Step 6: From this menu you can connect to the Wink Shortcuts channel within IFTTT. Once you press “Connect” you will be prompted to enter your Wink account email and password. When the connection is successful, the channel will display “Connected as ____”

Now let’s create the Recipe that triggers your Wink Shortcut to activate your smart home camera when the Google Calendar event "Vacation" starts. 

Step 1: Activate the Google Calendar channel within IFTTT.

Step 2: Select the gear icon in the bottom right corner.

Step 3: Tap the “Create a Recipe” button at the bottom of the screen.

Step 4: Select the “if +” sign and then tap the Google Calendar channel. You will want to select the event within your calendar that you want to have trigger the event. 

Step 5: Tap the “then +” sign and select the Wink Shortcuts channel. 

Step 6: Choose the “Vacation” Shortcut.

Step 7: Tap “Finish” and your Recipe is complete!

This is just one of many examples through which IFTTT + Wink Shortcuts can be used to further elevate what's possible in your smart home!

Wink now compatible with IFTTT, Google Now and the Google app

We’re always looking for ways to make it easier for people to interact with their smart home and control their favorite devices. Here are three of our most recent partnerships that will help you do just that: IFTTT, Google Now, and the Google app. Here’s how they work:

IFTTT

IFTTT or “If This Then That” is a web service that aggregates lots of web apps—from Instagram to Dropbox to Gmail—into one place and then performs actions given a certain set of criteria. How? Once you’re signed up, you can create “Recipes” that automatically prompt something to happen as soon as something else does.

The Wink Shortcuts channel on IFTTT enables you to activate Wink Shortcuts through IFTTT triggers.
Use a Jawbone UP to monitor your sleep activity? Set up a recipe in IFTTT that tells the lights to turn off and the thermostat to adjust automatically when your UP goes into Sleep mode.

Google Now

Google Now is an intelligent personal assistant available for Android users that serves information at the right time. If Google and Wink detect you aren't home and your door is unlocked, an alert will now automatically prompt you to take action through the Wink app. Google enables Wink Android users to know what's going on in their home, no matter where they are.

 

 

 

Google App

Lastly, the Google app integration allows Wink users on Android phones to trigger eight different Wink Shortcuts by saying "Ok Google, activate [shortcut] on Wink."

Users can customize each Shortcut within the Wink app so that multiple smart products can be controlled simultaneously with a simple voice prompt.

For example, saying "Ok Google, activate Away Mode on Wink" can now lock the doors, lower the thermostat, and turn off the lights.