After messing with it for days, I finally figured some stuff out that I thought might help others.
Be sure to install AltUI
(Login online, I don’t think you can do it from the app; then go to Apps → Install Apps and search for AltUI)
Using AltUI you can hit a web address to turn on/off a light, or to lock/unlock a door.
NOTE: This worked in Chrome, but didn’t work in Edge, even with “port_3480” instead of “:3480” it still didn’t work for me in Edge.
Example 1 - Turn on/off a light
Turn ON URL: http://<VeraIP>:3480/data_request?id=lu_action&output_format=xml&DeviceNum=<dev#>&serviceId=urn:<service>:serviceId:<serviceID>&action=SetTarget&newTargetValue=1
Turn OFF URL: http://<VeraIP>:3480/data_request?id=lu_action&output_format=xml&DeviceNum=<dev#>&serviceId=urn:<service>:serviceId:<serviceID>&action=SetTarget&newTargetValue=0
[u][b]FINDING THE SERVICE/SERVICE ID[/b][/u] --- This was a struggle for me. I couldn't find the information through the UI.
[ol][li]Pull up the Device in the Vera UI (note the device number for the <dev#> field in the URL) and go to Advanced
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[li]Note the “device_file”
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[li]Go to http://:3480/luvd/<device_file>[br/]Example: http://192.168.1.16:3480/luvd/D_BinaryLight1.xml
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[li]In the serviceList section (see below) I was able to find the as “upnp-org” and the as “SwitchPower:1” (remove the colon for use in the URL)[br/]I expected this to BinaryLight1, but that didn’t work. I had to go to the XML to find out it was SwitchPower1.
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[li]Build your URL[br/]http://192.168.1.16:3480/data_request?id=lu_action&output_format=xml&DeviceNum=29&serviceId=urn:upnp-org:serviceId:SwitchPower1&action=SetTarget&newTargetValue=1
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[li]Open the URL in a browser (Chrome worked and Edge didn’t for me) and change the 0 to a 1 and test it to make sure it turns on/off the light.
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[li]Create a desktop shortcut to the URLs. Bingo! Double click on one to turn on the light and the other to turn off the light.
[/li][/ol]
<serviceList>
<service>
<serviceType>urn:schemas-upnp-org:service:SwitchPower:1</serviceType>
<serviceId>urn:upnp-org:serviceId:SwitchPower1</serviceId>
<SCPDURL>S_SwitchPower1.xml</SCPDURL>
</service>
[u][b]FINDING THE VeraIP[/b][/u] --- Lots of ways to do this including looking in your Router settings, this is just the way I confirmed I had the right one
[ol][li]Log into your controller
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[li]Go to Settings → Net & Wifi
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[li]Click on “Troubleshoot Network”
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[li]In the IP Configuration section, find the correct “inet addr” - mine was in the “br-wan” section
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[li]You may also note the External IP and then see the ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED below
[/li][/ol]
=== IP Configuration ===
br-wan Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr ##:##:##:##:##:##
inet addr:[b]192.168.1.16[/b] Bcast:###.###.#.### Mask:###.###.###.#
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr ##:##:##:##:##:##
eth0.1 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr ##:##:##:##:##:##
inet addr:###.###.##.## Bcast:###.###.##.### Mask:###.###.###.#
eth0.2 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr ##:##:##:##:##:##
inet addr:###.#.#.# Mask:###.###.###.#
ra0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr ##:##:##:##:##:##
rai0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr B4:A5:EF:F1:87:54
========================
External IP: ##.##.#.###
Example 2 - Lock/Unlock a door
Lock Door URL: http://192.168.1.16:3480/data_request?id=lu_action&output_format=xml&DeviceNum=5&serviceId=urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:DoorLock1&action=SetTarget&newTargetValue=1
UnLock Door URL: http://192.168.1.16:3480/data_request?id=lu_action&output_format=xml&DeviceNum=5&serviceId=urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:DoorLock1&action=SetTarget&newTargetValue=0
NOTE: the different "service" used here - "micasaverde-com" instead of "upnp-org" and that it is "DoorLock1"
Use the same process as in Example 1 to build your URL
<serviceList>
<service>
<serviceType>urn:schemas-micasaverde-com:service:DoorLock:1</serviceType>
<serviceId>urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:DoorLock1</serviceId>
<SCPDURL>S_DoorLock1.xml</SCPDURL>
</service>
ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED
[ol][li]The shortcuts open up a browser, which I don’t want and then I have to close.
There might be a way with TelNet or something to hit that website address without opening a browser. That would be ideal.
If I figure out how, I’ll repost later, or maybe someone can reply with help for that.
[/li][li]You should be able to create shortcuts on your cell phone’s home screen to hit the same URLs and it should work also, but I haven’t done that yet.
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[li]My gut says there should be an easier way to do this and I’m probably just missing it.
If anyone knows of other/easier ways to get shortcuts that do things in Vera, please post those!
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[li]I’m sure you can probably trigger things remotely using the External IP Address, but that probably requires doing some port forwarding on your router to send port 3480 to Vera. I haven’t done that and how you do that depends on your specific router.
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[li]If you use this process, you will probably want to assign a static IP address for your Vera controller. This is done through your router and the process is router specific.
If you don’t assign a static IP, then you run the risk of a router reboot assigning a different (IP address) to your controller and your shortcuts will stop working
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Thanks to all the other posters here, I couldn’t have figured this out without your posts.